permaculture

[robgil@yesyou.u-net.com (Rob Squires/Gill Ellison)]

Hi Folks, I am currently in the process of conceptualising a sustainable
land use (permaculture) project - Sacred Valley. I am negotiating with a
large QUANGO (quasi - non - government - organisation) called the Groundwork
Trust, who are prominant within the region, regarding the provision of land
on which to develop Sacred Valley. Below is a project outline which I am
intending on submitting to the Groundwork Trust. I would be grateful if
permaculture designers more experienced in this line of work could provide
me with support, feedback, ideas or advise. (Please bare in mind that the
intended recipients of this document at the Trust are largely unaware of the
principals of Permaculture)

Also, a few months back somebody (on this list I think) was researching into
self-build in the UK, and the problems they encountered through red-tape.
Could whoever it was please get intouch as your research would be invaluable
to me. 

Thankyou in advance, Rob.

___________________________________________________________________________

                      Project : Sacred Valley
                      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sacred Valley is a sustainable land use project currently in the development
process, and expected to be located within the Sankey Valley around St.Helens.

The project is being established by Rob Squires (BSc. Hons.) using
Permaculture principals to design and demonstrate integrated systems for
circulating information, energy and resources towards the evolution of
sustainable communities. 

The name, Sacred Valley, originates from the old English word 'sankey',
meaning sacred, the concept of which was assigned historically to the river
of the same name, and it's catchment area.  Through  using the name Sacred
Valley, rather than, for example "Rob Squires' Permaculture Project", the
natural tendency will be to associate the project with  sustainable land use
rather than with the  ambiguous pre-conceptions that could be contrived
about 'Rob Squires' or 'Permaculture'. 

What is Permaculture ?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Permaculture is a practical concept which can be applied in the city, on
the farm, and in the wilderness.  Its principles empower people to establish
highly productive environments providing for food, energy, shelter, and
other material and non-material needs, including economic. Carefully
observing natural patterns characteristic of a particular site, the
permaculture  designer gradually  discerns optimal methods for integrating
water catchment, human shelter, and energy systems with tree crops, edible
and useful perennial plants, domestic and wild animals and aquaculture."

(West Coast Permaculture News and Gossip and Sustainable Living Newsletter, 
Autumn 1995)

"Permaculture principles focus on thoughtful designs for small-scale
intensive systems which are labour efficient and which use biological
resources instead of fossil fuels. Designs stress ecological connections and
closed energy and material loops.  The core of permaculture is design and
the working relationships and connections between all things. Each component
in a system performs multiple functions, and each function is supported by
many elements.  Key to efficient design is observation and replication of
natural ecosystems, where designers maximise diversity with polycultures,
stress efficient energy planning for houses and settlement, using and
accelerating natural plant succession, and increasing the highly productive'
edge-zones'  within the system."

(Bill Mollison: the founder of permaculture)

"Permaculture:  the use of ecology as the basis for designing integrated
systems of food production, housing, appropriate technology, and community
development.  Permaculture is built upon an ethic of caring for the earth
and interacting with the environment in mutually beneficial ways..."
(The Permaculture Activist, Autumn 1989)

_________________________________________________________________________

                       
                       Sacred Valley: The Concept
                       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Permaculture is a  land use planning philosophy, rather than a production
system. It is site specific and therefore amenable to locally adapted social
and ecological parameters. For example, an effectively designed permaculture
project located within an area characterised by urban decay could produce
economic yield within such a social environment through concentrating on the
distribution of information pertaining to local self reliance (as opposed to
state dependency). Alternatively, a project which focused primarily on food
production through polyculture systems incorporating livestock, would be
likely to produce less economic yield because of [distorted] land values and
'social pollution' in the form of vandalism.

Aims
~~~~
To design and develop through permaculture principals, a financially self
sufficient project which incorporates multiple sectors of society, from a
diversity of communities, to circulate information, energy and resources
towards the evolution of sustainable communities.

Objectives
~~~~~~~~~~
To establish a self sustaining not-for-profit community business employing
and educating members of local communities wishing to learn about
permaculture, and incorporating and educating  board members from many
sectors of society, including business, private, environmental
organisations, campaigning groups and government.

To return all profits back into the business in order to further the aims
described above.  

To acquire and place into trust a sufficient area of land   to design,
develop and demonstrate the  following integrated projects :

- sustainable labour intensive polyculture agriculture / gardening systems,
- affordable self-build shelter, featuring ecological building materials,
energy and water self sufficiency and waste water treatment.

Community development and empowerment through:

- the teaching of practical skills,
- Local Exchange Trading Systems (LETSystems),
- Community Supported Agriculture (CSA),

Develop Information Technology (IT) systems to further the development and 
empowerment of communities.

To hold workshops, practical sessions and design courses to further propagate 
permaculture, and to help achieve the above objectives.

To design, develop and demonstrate systems of ethical and sustainable
business based on diversity and reciprocity rather than mass consumption.

To educate and demonstrate to public, private and authoritative sectors
alike, issues surrounding sustainability and the Agenda 21 programme.
 

Time Scale
~~~~~~~~~~
June 96   Conceptualisation

July 96 - 1997  Development (planning, research, acquisition of funding /
land / planning permission, networking)

1997  Project initiation 


Medium / Long Term Aims and Objectives (5 years)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To acquire sufficient information, finances, land, resources and networks to
design and develop a 'full scale' sustainable village project local to a
suitable development plot (probably about 200 acres). 

The ongoing practice, education and demonstration of sustainability. 

The propagation of similar projects.


___________________________________________________________________________

                     Sacred Valley: The Strategy
                     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It is more productive to manage a small area intensively, than it is to
manage a large area extensively. 

Within the final project design, achievable targets will be set at all
times. It is vital to ensure that all developing projects are financially
and strategically secure before embarking upon new projects. By adopting
this strategy, potential energies and resources will be maximised on.

Permaculture involves copying and learning from natural patterns. Within a
biological organism, a cell which becomes too large, becomes inefficient.
Larger organisms therefore evolve through the reproduction of genetic
information to create complex organisations. Diversity and reciprocity are
fundamental to the production and maintenance of life, and it is upon these
principals that the concept of community is based. Within a healthy system,
different elements are interconnected, and serve multiple functions. Each
element offers mutual benefit to other elements of the system. This is also
the basis for growth within the Sacred Valley project. Within Sacred Valley,
growth will be organic. Systems will be maintained at  small and manageable 
sizes, leading to the reproduction of projects with similar working
principals, which in the long run will prove more productive than unwieldy
systems based on mechanistic growth. The diversity and reciprocity of
community is the basis of the design of  Sacred Valley . Each new objective
which is achieved will be maintained in such a way that it self sufficient,
and mutually supportive of other objectives of the  project.

It is unwise to plan too far ahead at this stage, since one single
occurrence may completely alter the course of the project.  We may however,
speculate on the likely sequence of events for the future. Given that we
have a small area of land, and that  socio-environmental conditions dictate
that the distribution of information, energy and resources towards self
sufficiency are the most viable route to financial sustainability, then it
follows that the primary objectives to achieve are the construction of a
self sufficient and ecologically sensitive shelter which is integrated with
a labour intensive polyculture gardening / agriculture system. Revenue can
therefore be generated through permaculture workshops in gardening, self
build techniques and sustainable living in general. Food grown on the land
could be sold through a Community Supported Agriculture network, thus
creating direct links between the community and the project. Further revenue
could be generated through science grants for research, admission fees for
organisations / general public wishing to view the project, and  through
design and consultants fees.

Once all these objectives are interacting  efficiently to produce a
financially and strategically sustainable system, we may concentrate on
extending the project to increase revenue, through the reproduction of
projects based on similar principals, and which interact mutually with other
elements of the project design. These include the development of local
currencies (LETSystems) within the region, the development of information
systems taking advantage of advancements in IT, particularly the internet, 
and the development of  systems of ethical and sustainable  business based
on patterns of diversity and reciprocity rather than mass consumption.
  
It is realised that social and political constraints may slow the progress
of Sacred Valley. 

Firstly, within the present political system, land use is compartmentalised,
with one area being ear-marked as a housing zone, for example, and another
for development, or for agriculture. It is difficult to acquire permission
for the kind of multiple land use which is required for the project. Cutting
through this 'red-tape' barrier may prove to be one of the most significant
achievements in the project. Over the next year, I intend to network, to
acquire sufficient political and professional backing to make this objective
more achievable.

Secondly, the key to growth in the project lies in sharing resources and
co-operation. Because of the nature of our capitalist society, it is
important to demonstrate, how we can work together, forming mutually
beneficial interactions so that our communities may survive the ecological
and sociological crisis we currently face.

Sacred Valley is intended as a primer project.  Provided that the project is
designed effectively along permaculture principals, then there is no reason
why the project shouldn't demonstrate the capacity for organic growth. The
medium term objective therefore is to develop a full scale permaculture
village, which will demonstrate sustainability on a larger scale, and
hopefully lay down a blueprint for the ongoing pattern of sustainable land
use development.





















 



                               |
 Rob Squires of CTCSystems     | http://www.u-net.com/~yesyou
 Eco-activist / Permaculturist | E:mail - robgil@yesyou.u-net.com
 ============================= + ===========================================
 Gill Ellison                  | http://www.connect.org.uk/merseyworld/ACSH/
 Age Concern - St.Helens       | E:mail -robgil@yesyou.u-net.com
                               |