Permaculture

When I was a little girl, I got as a gift from my Aunt Mary a book of Nursery Rhymes and Children's Stories. Its cover was a soft yellow cloth that my fingers loved to touch. The book was almost bigger than my small hands could hold, so it presented great times between my Mother and me especially before Bed.

As I remember, that book included a story about the Blind Men and the Elephant. Those Blind Men were describing the Elephant, but their descriptions were limited to what they could feel. Each Blind Man only "saw" one part of the Elephant. Their descriptions together made for the whole elephant.

So what is Permaculture? In many ways, I feel that we are like the Blind Men and the Elephant. Permaculture is a very complex concept. We 3 C's are feeling our way around. Over time, the concept becomes more clear. I shall define it by what we have been able to see so far, but I know that we will be able to see more over time:

• Permaculture is about whole systems and how they work together.
• Permaculture designs focus on where a given family or an intentional community live; such designs focus on their Home and Surroundings.
• Originally, Permaculture was defined as "Permanent Agriculture". Growing things is a big part. But it seems to have evolved into something far bigger.
• Permaculture focuses on "flows". We all have lived in systems which have blocks. Things get all cobbled up. Tension results. More energy must be used. The outcome is less satisfactory. The intention is to create natural flows with the least amount of energy and the greatest satisfaction of need. (We shared this one with Arnie and Jonie. Arnie said he had been practicing this for a long time and some people just thought he was lazy. We laughed. We always laugh when we are with Arnie and Jonie.)
• Having a Kitchen Garden immediately outside the Kitchen would be an example of Permaculture. On Saturday, we made a quick meal for one of the participants who had run out of energy. Melanie scrambled 2 Eggs. I grabbed a jar of Salsa from the Fridge. I ran to the Garden to pick some Herbs (Parsley and Chives), and chopped them up over her Eggs. And Voila! Crawford Fast Food emerged on the plate right in front our Fellow Traveler. This was perfect illustration that those things one uses frequently should be right at the door.
• Plants are placed from those used most frequently to those used least frequently. The former (like Herbs, Lettuces, Onions which we use a lot) should be close to the back door and the latter (like Fruit Trees or Wood for Chopping) further away.
• Permaculture uses Natural Inputs. Rainwater is collected and used for watering plants. (Plants like that better anyway. Just ask them.) Gravity feeds allow Nature to deliver the water to the site, as possible. Chris suggested a gravity feed for Rain Collection and Delivery; the Rain is collected from our future barn; since the Barn's roof is at a higher elevation than the Garden, gravity feed delivers it to the Garden. That means we mimize carrying buckets. Wow!
• Permaculture mimics Natural Systems.
• Participants observe and interact with systems, seeking methods which flow and give the greatest return.
• Permaculture is a set of techniques and practices for designing sustainable human settlements. I think we got that definition from a text somewhere in the swirl of information in the past few days, but where was it?
• Permaculture minimizes and eliminates waste which does not break down or has no further use.
• Permaculture uses natural inputs. Permaculture uses waste to biodegrade and feed into other systems. Vegetable scraps and garden waste become compost. Chickens help with that natural process. And so we have: healthy, vibrant soil.
• Permaculture gives attention to the creation of healthy vibrant Soil. Soil is the basis for Life.