Are You Asking “What is Permaculture?”

Discovering & Defining Permaculture

Permaculture is a philosophy of working with, rather than against nature; of protracted and thoughtful observation rather than protracted and thoughtless labor; and of looking at plants and animals in all their functions, rather than treating any area as a single product system.

—Bill Mollison, co-founder of Permaculture

Permaculture was coined in 1978 by two Australian ecologists Bill Mollison and David Holmgren.  Permaculture was originally a reference to “permanent agriculture” but was expanded to include “permanent culture” after the influence of social society was recognized.

Permaculture is an approach to design that is rooted in ethics and a wonderful set of design principles.  In the simplest form permaculture assists us in rediscovering the patterns and relationships that exist in nature and educates us on how to work, skills & design, with those patterns and relationships help us create the truly sustainable world we want to live in.

Harmony is a big focal point in the permaculture design framework.  The synergy between all the individual elements is crucial to the design just as it is to the health of the natural environment.