Twelve Permaculture design principles articulated by David Holmgren in his
Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability:
*Observe and interact:* By taking time to engage with nature we can design
solutions that suit our particular situation.
*Catch and store energy:* By developing systems that collect resources at
peak abundance, we can use them in times of need.
*Obtain a yield:* Ensure that you are getting truly useful rewards as part
of the work that you are doing.
*Apply self-regulation and accept feedback:* We need to discourage
inappropriate activity to ensure that systems can continue to function well.
*Use and value renewable resources and services:* Make the best use of
nature's abundance to reduce our consumptive behavior and dependence on
non-renewable resources.
*Produce no waste:* By valuing and making use of all the resources that are
available to us, nothing goes to waste.
*Design from patterns to details:* By stepping back, we can observe
patterns in nature and society. These can form the backbone of our designs,
with the details filled in as we go.
*Integrate rather than segregate:* By putting the right things in the right
place, relationships develop between those things and they work together to
support each other.
*Use small and slow solutions:* Small and slow systems are easier to
maintain than big ones, making better use of local resources and producing
more sustainable outcomes.
*Use and value diversity:* Diversity reduces vulnerability to a variety of
threats and takes advantage of the unique nature of the environment in
which it resides.
*Use edges and value the marginal:* The interface between things is where
the most interesting events take place. These are often the most valuable,
diverse and productive elements in the system.
*Creatively use and respond to change:* We can have a positive impact on
inevitable change by carefully observing, and then intervening at the right
times
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*revision by Erinaceous <https://www.reddit.com/user/Erinaceous>— 5 months
ago*
Directory of intentional communities and resources for setting them up.
*Science and Peer Reviewed Work*
We frequently see requests for peer reviewed sources for Permaculture and
more empirically based references. The best way to find these kinds of
sources is to look in the related and sometimes overlapping fields of
agroforestry and agroecology. Here are some starting points.