From: "Lawrence F. London, Jr." <venaurafarm@bellsouth.net>
To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: [permaculture] (fwd) Draft of list of permaculture concepts and practices
Date: Sun, 28 Mar 2010 12:52:19 -0400
(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.
[permaculture] (fwd) Draft of list of permaculture concepts and practices,
Lawrence F. London, Jr., 03/28/2010