Permaculture Principles Discussion Completed

Finally I have finished it: I managed to write about each design principle of Permaculture, on the list compliled by Bill Mollison, David Holmgren, and the instructor of my own PDC course, Scott Pittman. It ended up being much longer than I thought, even though some of these 24 points overlap a little. Sometimes two permaculturists mention the same idea in their lists, other times one of them may break up one concept into two distinct parts, which I lumped together. So in the end, I created my own list, mixing and matching the theory in a way I considered appropriate. The final result is almost worthy of a book: 18 chapters of 19,255 words in total.

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All Linked Up

It was three years ago, when I first started blogging actively, that I picked this topic of permaculture, which is so close to my heart. In spite of my nearly five hundred posts in three years, most of the principles remained unfinished, and I felt the urge to do something about it. Now I can finally say, the work is done... for now. Of course, I can see myself coming back and revisiting these principles later on, as the opportunity offers itself. In fact, there may be an entire book growing out of it, as I refine and add ideas to them. For now, I am quite satisfied to have written a discussion on each principle, with a complete list of links to all of them at the end of each post.

Shared Literature

Of course, I don't just want to share my own ramblings on permaculture theory. Thanks to LBRY, I can finally offer a .pdf version of those great books that have helped come up with all these ideas. This way I'm not only giving credit to the giants on whose shoulders I'm standing, but I invite anyone who's interested to read these books for themselves, so we can stand up here together... and hopefully help each other reach further heights. Please check out my sustainability library, where you can find all the books mentioned in my discussion of permaculture principles, as well as many other books on natural building, companion planting, food forests, composting, and other related topics.

Theory and Practice

For now it seems like I am getting involved in another project, or rather projects. They are way too complex to talk about them in detail, and it's also quite early, as many things are still uncertain. Suffice to say, I am in California, it has to do with site assessment, site development, documentation, education, and yes... Hive is going to be a part of it. But let me get back to this as it starts developing into something.

For now, if you're curious, I invite you to look at how I interpreted each one of these design principles, including the very basics of what permaculture is supposed to be. I think the best place to start is here, but eventually you'll probably end up skipping to the principles you find most interesting.

Enjoy the theory, and stay tuned for more posts on their practical application.

David Holmgren

1. Observe and interact
2. Catch and store energy
3. Obtain a yield
4. Apply self-regulation and accept feedback
5. Use and value renewable resources and services
6. Produce no waste
7. Design from patterns to details
8. Integrate rather than segregate
9. Use small and slow solutions
10. Use and value diversity
11. Use edges and value the marginal
12. Creatively use and respond to change

Bill Mollison

1. Work with nature, not against it
2. The problem is the solution
3. Maximum effect for minimum effort
4. The yield of the system is theoretically unlimited
5. Everything gardens

Scott Pittman

1. Cooperation instead of competition
2. Every function is served by multiple elements
3. Every element serves multiple functions
4. Make the most out of energy
5. Use the edge effect
6. Everything is connected
7. The problem is the solution