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  • From: Sean Kenney <colorchord@gmail.com>
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] (fwd) Draft of list of permaculture concepts and practices
  • Date: Mon, 29 Mar 2010 17:26:11 +0000

Hi,
I just thought I would throw this out there.
gabion- works well in bank retention
keyline- a feature that would be moving H2O across a slope. ex/ a swale with
grade
Let me know if I've misunderstood something, thanks
Sean

On Sun, Mar 28, 2010 at 4:52 PM, Lawrence F. London, Jr. <
venaurafarm@bellsouth.net> wrote:

> (this got deleted by mistake -Linda: please resend your original)
>
> Subject:
> draft of list of permaculture concepts and practices
> From:
> LBUZZELL@aol.com
> Date:
> Sun, 28 Mar 2010 11:56:26 EDT
> To:
> sbperm2006@googlegroups.com, Scpg@arashi.com,
> westcoastwomenspermaculture@googlegroups.com,
> perma-psychology@googlegroups.com, permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
> CC:
> 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
>
>
> PERMACULTURE CONCEPTS AND PRACTICES: A LEXICON
>
>
>
> Compiled by Linda Buzzell lbuzzell@aol.com
>
>
>
> 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 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.
>
>
>
> 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. Designing by zones involves starting at Zone 0 (the self),
> expanding to Zone 1 (the habitation), and outwards to Zone 5
> (wilderness). This pattern can be applied to psychological and social
> systems as well.
>
> 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 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 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, larger scale 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 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.
> * 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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