permaculture

[LBUZZELL@aol.com]

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.