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  • From: LBUZZELL@aol.com
  • To: permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [permaculture] Draft of list of permaculture concepts and practices
  • Date: Sun, 28 Mar 2010 17:04:15 EDT

Just to aid my own understanding, I'm starting to compile a list or lexicon
of permaculture concepts and practices (not including the ethics and
principles, of course) and would greatly appreciate any corrections or
additions. My hope is that this might become a handy additional tool as we
go about
applying the permaculture ethics and principles in every area of society,
from land care to people care, health care, politics, economics and even
psychology and spirituality.


Cheers,
Linda
This is a rough


PERMACULTURE CONCEPTS AND PRACTICES: A LEXICON
Compiled by Linda Buzzell
In addition to the permaculture ethics and principles, the following are
some useful permaculture concepts and practices that can be applied in many
of the different sectors of society like land care, people care, community
practices and even psychology and spirituality:
BERM. A area of elevated soil, usually on the downhill side of a swale.
(see “swale”)
CHOP AND DROP. The practice of not moving resources far from their
source. In garden care, chopping up trimmings and leaving them in place as
a
mulch.
ENERGY FLOWS. Careful observation of natural energy flows on a piece of
land or in social or economic situations can help us make decisions about
where to place various elements.
GABION. Rocks contained within a wire or other porous container to divert
or block a stream.
GUILD. A community of elements working harmoniously together to perform a
function or various functions.
KEYLINE. Wikipedia: “a technique for maximizing beneficial use of water
resources of a piece of land. The Keyline refers to a specific _topographic
feature_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topography) linked to water flow.
Beyond that however, Keyline can be seen as a collection of design
principles, techniques and systems for development of rural and urban
landscapes.”
Some say that land above the keyline should be considered sacred land.
NEEDS & RESOURCES. In assessing any situation, it is wise to make a list
of needs and available resources before beginning a redesign.
LOW TECH SOLUTIONS. Exhaust biological solutions before using
technological solutions.
NATURAL SUCCESSION. Design for harmony with natural succession: the
pattern whereby pioneering plants (or people) are naturally followed by
other
species, leading up to a climax forest.
PATTERNS. Observing the patterns in nature we can then apply these to new
situations. The circle and the spiral are key patterns for this purpose.
For example, time is a spiral based on the movement of the earth around the
sun and the movement of other celestial elements. The straight line is not
a common natural pattern.
REDUNDANCY. It is wise to include multiple elements to perform a single
function. Good backup creates resilient systems.
RESILIENCE. The ability of a system to survive various shocks. See “
redundancy.” Permaculture teacher Rob Hopkins' "The Transition Handbook" is
based on applying the concept of resiliency to community systems.
SECTORS. Wikipedia: “Sectors are a way of considering the external
energies that move through a system such as prevailing wind direction, site
orientation and aspect (north, south, east, west, etc.), winter/summer sun
paths, underlying geological make up (bed rock causing clay or sandy soil
types,
etc.), frost pockets and so on; and how we might best take steps to either
utilise or counter such factors.”
SPIRAL. A common natural pattern used in many permaculture designs.
STACKING. Stacking functions involves a single element in a design
performing multiple functions. This element could be a plant, an animal, a
person
or a social system.
SWALES. On-contour ditches which capture and hold water, making it
available to trees and perennials planted on berms built up on the downhill
side
of the swale with the soil from the ditch. (see “berm”)
ZONES. From Wikipedia: in permaculture design, “a method of ensuring that
elements are correctly placed. Zones are numbered from 0 to 5, and can be
thought of as a series of concentric rings moving out from a centre point—
where human activity and need for attention is most concentrated—to where
there is no need for intervention at all…
* ZONE 0 — The house, or home centre. Here permaculture principles
would be applied in terms of aiming to reduce _energy_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy) and water needs, harnessing natural
resources such as
sunlight, and generally creating a harmonious, sustainable environment in
which to live, work and relax
* ZONE 1 — The zone nearest to the house, the location for those
elements in the system that require frequent attention, or that need to be
visited often, such as salad crops, herb plants, soft fruit like
strawberries
or raspberries, greenhouse and cold frames, propagation area, _worm
compost_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worm_compost) bin for kitchen waste,
and so
on.
* ZONE 2 — This area is used for siting perennial plants that
require less frequent maintenance, such as occasional weed control
(preferably
through natural methods such as spot-mulching) or pruning, including currant
bushes and orchards. This would also be a good place for _beehives_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beehive_(beekeeping)) , larger scale _home
composting_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_composting) bins, and so on.

* ZONE 3 — The area where maincrops are grown, both for domestic use
and for trade purposes. After establishment, care and maintenance required
are fairly minimal (provided _mulches_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mulch) and similar things are used), such as
watering or weed control once a
week or so.
* ZONE 4 — A semi-wild area. This zone is mainly used for forage and
collecting wild food as well as timber production. An example might be
_coppice-managed woodland_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coppicing) .
* ZONE 5 — A wild area. There is no human intervention in zone 5
apart from the observation of natural eco-systems and cycles. Here is where
the most important lessons of the first permaculture principle of working
with, rather than against, nature are learned.
This pattern can be applied to psychological and social systems as well.
Articles have been written about “Zone 00” – the self.




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