Did you know there are twelve principles of permaculture that guide the permaculture design process? Developed years ago by those who founded the school of permaculture, these principles help keep us focused on the goals of permaculture design. Although these principles are pretty well known, they can be tricky to understand at first.
In this article, we are going to go over each of the twelve principles and what they mean. Plus, I’m going to explain where I see some problems with these principles and offer some alternatives.
What is Permaculture?
Some people have a hard time wrapping their heads around what permaculture actually is. Basically, it’s a kind of agriculture that mimics the way plants and animals naturally grow in the wild. In conventional agriculture, there is an emphasis on separation and order. We grow in straight, tilled rows planting only one crop per row or per field under lots of water, fertilizer, and pesticides that have been trucked in from elsewhere. This is largely true for organic agriculture, too.
In permaculture, the emphasis is on relationships. We create micro-environments that mimic the ways plants naturally grow. When we do this, we don’t have clean rows like we do when we use conventional growing methods, but we create environments that don’t need outside inputs, that reserve water, and that can protect themselves from opportunistic plants and pests.
Permaculture is rooted in set principles. These principles guide the entire permaculture design process. Let’s get into them.
The 12 Principles of Permaculture
In the world of permaculture, there are twelve principles taught to us in the very beginning. If you study permaculture, then you likely know these principles very well. They are:
1. Observe and Interact
Observation is the most important step in the permaculture design process. It’s the foundation of everything we do. As humans, we tend to jump right into things. We are excited and innovative by nature. However, we can’t effectively become a part of a landscape–let alone make sustainable changes to it–without getting to know it well.
2. Catch and Store Energy
When we say to capture and store energy, we mean all energy and resources. Yes, this means energy from the sun, wind, water, and more through solar panels, wind turbines, etc. But it also means capturing and storing energy in plants and plant material, storage crops, firewood, and more.
3. Obtain a Yield
When creating permaculture designs, it’s important not to get too caught up in the bells and whistles. The goal of permaculture is to create abundance with less physical labor from us. Therefore, when creating a design, it’s important to design for yields.
4. Apply Self-Regulation and Feedback
Evaluate your trials and successes and turn conflict into growth. In permaculture, there’s no such thing as a setback, only opportunities to create better systems. The principles of permaculture teach us to constantly be analyzing our methods so that we can continue to improve.
5. Use and Value Renewables
Because of the world we’re all living in, it’s almost impossible to avoid non-renewable resources. However, it’s still our goal to try! As much as we can, we aim to create self-contained and renewable resources on the land we’re working on. A forest is self-contained therefore our designs can be, too.
6. Produce No Waste
Every output has a use. In permaculture, we change our mindset from one of waste to one of resources. We challenge ourselves to utilize all of the products from every element
7. Design from Patterns to Details
In permaculture, we start with the big picture. What are our goals? What elements do we definitely want and need? How do we want the landscape to flow? Then, we move into designing the details. When we design in this way, we make sure that the ecosystems we are creating flow well together and we don’t miss any big-picture errors.
8. Integrate, Don’t Segregate
Nature doesn’t grow plants in organized rows. When we walk through the forest, we don’t see one kind of plant here, one kind of plant there, and so on. Plants in nature grow in relationship with every other plant around them and they often grow in guilds. And contrary to conventional agriculture, we do the same.
9. Use Small, Slow Solutions
Permaculture is all about longevity. When making changes, we take it slow, consider the whole picture, and focus on making the smallest changes for the biggest effect.
10. Use and Value Diversity
In conventional agriculture, it is common to see lots of monocultures. Yes, even in organic agriculture! This monocropping leads to plants that are more susceptible to disease and pests while also creating instability. In permaculture design, we recognize the importance of diversity and work to support it.
11. Use Edges and Value the Marginal
In permaculture, we recognize that the places where two ecosystems meet host great opportunities for diversity and abundance. Therefore, we optimize, utilize, and value the edges and margins of the landscape we’re designing for.
12. Creatively Use and Respond to Change
The biggest limitation to abundance is creativity. There are solutions to every problem and change is our friend. When we embrace change, we are gifted with opportunities to grow and create better systems. As permaculturists, we go into the process knowing that change and conflict are inevitable and we remember to show up with an open and creative mind.
Problems with the Principles of Permaculture
There are many gems in these principles. By learning and following these guidelines, it is easy to create well-functioning human-made ecosystems that benefit both the environment as well as those the landscape sustains.
However, in my time studying sustainable agriculture, decolonization, and mysticism, I have found these principles to be vaguely problematic for three reasons. First of all, these principles center the permaculturist and the yield. Second, they disregard the importance of human communities in nature. And lastly, they fail to convey the heart of what permaculture is: learning to work with nature and the systems she has perfected over billions of years.
Following the lead of Toby Hemmenway in his book, Gaia’s Garden, I have remixed the principles of permaculture to better encompass the philosophy of this school of agriculture. If you’d like to read them, check out this article on my remix of the permaculture principles.
The Free Permaculture Visioning Workbook
Learn more about permaculture and the permaculture visioning process with this free workbook. Visioning, the second step in the permaculture design process, is arguably the most fun and creative. Here, we dream up all of the elements we wish to include in our design. Type in your email above and get the guide sent right to your inbox!
Summary: The Principles of Permaculture
These principles are the classic guidelines for permaculturists when creating our designs. They help keep us focused and help us keep in mind the ultimate goals of permaculture design. Although these principles have guided designers for many years successfully, there are some problems with them that I believe can be fixed.
Do you have any questions or comments on these principles of permaculture? Let me know your thoughts in the comments, I would love to hear from you!
Thanks for reading and happy designing!
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