Permaculture Philosophy and Mapping
Permaculture Philosophy and Mapping
Յոհաննես Ջենսոն
How would you explain permaculture to your friend?
Modern lifestyles are not sustainable, including the buildings we live in, the clothes we wear, how we grow food, and how we treat the environment. We cannot continue this way of life for long because we are using up too many non-renewable resources too fast. Unsustainable lifestyles have become the reason for the ever-increasing prices of food, fuel, and electricity in the world. Moreover, it contributes to deaths every day in those parts of the earth where famine and drought prevail due to the lack of these resources.
Permaculture is a design philosophy inspired by natural ecosystems that can always sustain human needs. It has clear design principles and can be used by anyone, anywhere.
Permaculture is a design philosophy inspired by natural ecosystems that can always sustain human needs. It has clear design principles and can be used by anyone, anywhere.
In other words, the permaculture design principles are thinking tools that guide people to creatively re-design their environment and behavior.
Overview of the permaculture design principles
Overview of the permaculture design principles
- Observe and interact: Take time to observe and engage with the site or problem to design solutions that suit it.
- Catch and store energy: Develop systems that collect resources at peak abundance for use in times of need.
- Obtain a yield: Ensure your inputs will sustainably generate a significant yield.
- Apply self-regulation and accept feedback: Be open to seeing and accepting both the reality of the result of our actions (or inactions) and listen to and consider criticism from others.
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10. Use and value diversity: Diversity reduces system-level vulnerability to threats and allows the most efficient use of space and other resources in the environment.
11. Use edges and value the marginal: The border between things is where the most interesting events take place. These are often the system's most valuable, diverse, and productive elements.
12. Creatively use and respond to change: Design to accommodate future change, understanding that things will alter over time. The changing seasons, changing attitudes, our changing climate...
11. Use edges and value the marginal: The border between things is where the most interesting events take place. These are often the system's most valuable, diverse, and productive elements.
12. Creatively use and respond to change: Design to accommodate future change, understanding that things will alter over time. The changing seasons, changing attitudes, our changing climate...
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5. Use and value renewable resources and services: Make the best use of nature's abundance: reduce consumption and dependence on non-renewable resources.
6. Produce no waste: Value and use all available resources: waste nothing.
7. Design from patterns to details: Take into account the existing properties of the environment and society and base the overall design around these, later adding details.
8. Integrate rather than segregate: Proper designs allow relationships between existing and new design elements to work together to support each other.
9.Use small and slow solutions: Small and slow systems are easier to maintain, make better use of local resources, and produce more sustainable outcomes.
6. Produce no waste: Value and use all available resources: waste nothing.
7. Design from patterns to details: Take into account the existing properties of the environment and society and base the overall design around these, later adding details.
8. Integrate rather than segregate: Proper designs allow relationships between existing and new design elements to work together to support each other.
9.Use small and slow solutions: Small and slow systems are easier to maintain, make better use of local resources, and produce more sustainable outcomes.
What do you think is more important, taking care of people or the earth?
Actually, there is no need to choose. By taking care of the earth, we take care of people. it is impossible to take care of nature without caring about people.
The Permaculture module consists of 9 lessons in which we will cover how each of these permaculture design principles is integrated to help build stable communities through the harmonious interrelationship of humans, plants, animals, pollinators, and the Earth.
This might be your first opportunity to practice applied science (applying scientific knowledge to solve practical problems), as permaculture has foundations in many sciences, such as ecology, botany, geography, hydrology, biology, biochemistry, etc., and physics. While designing a permaculture system, you will learn hard and soft skills and become a permaculture designer. These skills include creative, innovative, and analytical thinking, teamwork, time management, communication, and empathy.
This might be your first opportunity to practice applied science (applying scientific knowledge to solve practical problems), as permaculture has foundations in many sciences, such as ecology, botany, geography, hydrology, biology, biochemistry, etc., and physics. While designing a permaculture system, you will learn hard and soft skills and become a permaculture designer. These skills include creative, innovative, and analytical thinking, teamwork, time management, communication, and empathy.
Պերմակուլտուրայի սկզբունքները կարող են կիրառվել կյանքի բոլոր ոլորտներում։ Դրանք եղել են ոգեշնչման աղբյուր մարդկանց համար, որոնց աշխատանքային ոլորտները տատանվում են ինժեներիայից և ճարտառապետությունից մինչև առողջապահություն, լուսանկարչություն և ՏՏ։ Իմանալով, թե ինչպես է կարելի կիրառել պերմակուլտուրայի սկզբունքները՝ դու կունենաս յուրահատուկ առավելություն ցանկացած մասնագիտական ոլորտում, քանի որ կունենաս խնդիրները նկատելու և այդ խնդիրներին նորարարական և կայուն լուծումներ տալու հմտություններ։
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Here is a list of professions where permaculture knowledge and skills would be useful:
- Architecture
- Engineering
- IT
- Agriculture
- Photography
- Scientific research
- Healthcare
- Graphic design
- Business/ Marketing
- Politics
- Product development
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Many architects, graphic designers, and engineers use permaculture to create sustainable projects. Furthermore, there are new interdisciplinary fields, such as Transition Engineering and Appropriate Technologies, that have found applications in sustainable construction, construction, agriculture, water management, sanitation, energy production, transportation, healthcare, food preparation, and in, storage, information, and communication technologies.
The core permaculture principles can be applied to anything you do in life. They have been a source of inspiration to people working in fields ranging from engineering and architecture to healthcare, photography, and IT. By knowing how to apply permaculture principles, you will have a unique advantage in any field you decide to go into, as you will have the power to notice problems and innovate sustainable solutions to those problems.
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The Permaculture module consists of 9 lessons in which we will cover how each of these permaculture design principles is integrated to help build stable communities through the harmonious interrelationship of humans, plants, animals, pollinators, and the Earth.
This might be your first opportunity to practice applied science (applying scientific knowledge to solve practical problems), as permaculture has foundations in many sciences, such as ecology, botany, geography, hydrology, biology, biochemistry, etc., and physics. While designing a permaculture system, you will learn hard and soft skills and become a permaculture designer. These skills include creative, innovative, and analytical thinking, teamwork, time management, communication, and empathy.
This might be your first opportunity to practice applied science (applying scientific knowledge to solve practical problems), as permaculture has foundations in many sciences, such as ecology, botany, geography, hydrology, biology, biochemistry, etc., and physics. While designing a permaculture system, you will learn hard and soft skills and become a permaculture designer. These skills include creative, innovative, and analytical thinking, teamwork, time management, communication, and empathy.
Careers that permaculture knowledge and skills will help with include but are not limited to:
-Architecture
-Engineering
-IT
-Agriculture
-Photography
-Scientific research
-Healthcare, including medicine and public health
-Graphic design
-Business/Marketing
-Politics
-Product development
-Architecture
-Engineering
-IT
-Agriculture
-Photography
-Scientific research
-Healthcare, including medicine and public health
-Graphic design
-Business/Marketing
-Politics
-Product development
Many architects, graphic designers, and engineers are using permaculture knowledge to help create sustainable designs. There are new cross-disciplinary fields, such as Transition Engineering and Appropriate Technologies, that have applications in sustainable building and construction, agriculture, water and sanitation, energy generation, transportation, health care, food preparation and storage, and information and communication technologies.
How to apply permaculture principles?
José Tomás Franco is an Architect from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile who was very interested in permaculture. He has even written this article about how architects can apply each of the 12 permaculture principles to their projects.
Even photographers and writers get inspiration from permaculture. David Trood is a prize-winning travel and commercial photographer who has worked for National Geographic, Sony, and BBC. He now creates films about his sustainable permaculture lifestyle to inspire others to live more sustainably.
Even photographers and writers get inspiration from permaculture. David Trood is a prize-winning travel and commercial photographer who has worked for National Geographic, Sony, and BBC. He now creates films about his sustainable permaculture lifestyle to inspire others to live more sustainably.
In order for permaculture systems to work, it is necessary that peoples' everyday conduct is focused on the good of the planet, nature, and people. This is why permaculture has its own ethics.
- Morals are principles of what is right and wrong, good and bad
- Ethics are a codified or formalized system of morals of a particular group of people. In this case, permaculturists have defined their own system of morals, called the Foundational Ethics of Permaculture.
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3. Fair share: share/distribute surplus of resources, including food, water, and information, so everyone's needs are met in the community. Earth's resources are finite so it follows that there is a finite and measurable share of resources available to each person on the planet to support them. Taking more than the fair share of Earth's resources, such as food means taking someone else's share.
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The foundational Ethics of Permaculture are:
- Caring for the Earth: Care for all living and non-living things, such as people, animals, and plants, as well as land, soil, water, and air. All living and non-living systems are interconnected and interdependent. When one is affected, all are affected.
- Care of people: Promoting self-reliance and responsibility towards the greater community, the main focus of permaculture is on creating sustainable communities.
Permaculture attitudes:
- In permaculture, we have a unique attitude. When we encounter problems in our systems, we say "the problem is the solution". For example, weeds are not the problem but are the solution to the problems the soil is facing. We do not have a slug problem but rather, a duck deficiency
2. All living beings affect their environment in one way or another. Once we understand this, we can choose to have a regenerative rather than a degenerative influence on the systems in which we participate. If we choose regeneration as the goal, we have to learn to think and design like nature.
Why do you think mapping is important in permaculture?
At the heart of the mapping is the 7th permaculture principle: design from patterns to details
The first step in designing a permaculture system is to gather information about the existing elements and patterns in the area around which the new design will be created. Only after a good understanding of the existing environment is it possible to make the right decisions about how and where to add new elements.
In this reading material, you will learn the steps in mapping a permaculture space and start mapping any space in your home or community using these principles.
For mapping, you can use paper, a printed satellite map (from google maps), or a computer program such as Sketchup. If you want to learn how to use Sketchup, you will find many tutorials on the Internet.
The first step in designing a permaculture system is to gather information about the existing elements and patterns in the area around which the new design will be created. Only after a good understanding of the existing environment is it possible to make the right decisions about how and where to add new elements.
In this reading material, you will learn the steps in mapping a permaculture space and start mapping any space in your home or community using these principles.
For mapping, you can use paper, a printed satellite map (from google maps), or a computer program such as Sketchup. If you want to learn how to use Sketchup, you will find many tutorials on the Internet.
First, it is necessary to create a base map. This map should contain the following information:
- Area boundaries and dimensions
- Entrance and exit location, walking paths through the area
- Water sources
- North direction
- Important objects (building, greenhouse, statue, warehouse, etc.), the distance between them (you can measure with a phone app or a meter), and the slope (use a compass)
- Trees and other plants present, including their names
- Names of animals, birds, and insects (domestic and wild) living in the area (use the Merlin Bird ID app to find out what birds visit the area). Look for signs of their activity in the area.
- Available working tools
- Events characteristic of the area: natural disasters or gatherings
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Base map example
- Zone 3 – Less intensive low-maintenance production.
- Zone 4 – Wild zone-wildflowers, native species that need no maintenance, left to naturalize; people occasionally visit, walking along a pathway
- Zone 5 – Place that humans rarely visit, and wildlife feels safe. No pathway for humans
Depending on the size of the area, it can be divided into fewer zones. In your own garden, you can probably separate zones 1, 2, and 5. Zones 3 and 4 can also be accommodated in larger areas.
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Second, it is necessary to create a map depicting the zones of the area. Dividing the space into zones helps determine where each object will be placed with due care and attention.
- Zone 0- Main building
- Zone 1 – Closest to the building access points (front and back doors), also alongside regularly used pathways. High maintenance annual crops
- Zone 2 – Gets less attention; perhaps further from building, but still intensively used. May include small animals, soft fruit, fruit trees etc.
Zone map example
Third, create a sector map
In permaculture, sectors are flows of energy that we can capture or deflect, coming into and through the permaculture site: like sunlight, wind, water, wildlife, views, or noise.
Aranya Farm on the Deccan Plateau in India is a mature example of a successful permaculture site built on shallow soils in an arid climate. Founded by Narsanna and Padme Koppula in the late 1990s, it all started with a simple sector map of the direction of water, wind, and fire, which are the main limiting factors when living in a desert.
In permaculture, sectors are flows of energy that we can capture or deflect, coming into and through the permaculture site: like sunlight, wind, water, wildlife, views, or noise.
Aranya Farm on the Deccan Plateau in India is a mature example of a successful permaculture site built on shallow soils in an arid climate. Founded by Narsanna and Padme Koppula in the late 1990s, it all started with a simple sector map of the direction of water, wind, and fire, which are the main limiting factors when living in a desert.
For your site identify:
- The midwinter and midsummer sun sectors (where does the sun rise and set at these different times of the year?)
- The direction of the prevailing wind (i.e., where does it enter the site?)
- The direction of the coldest, most damaging winds
- Any areas prone to flooding or frost
- Any fire risks
- Any particularly good or bad views?
- Any other factors and the direction they come from (e.g., pollution, crime, wildlife, pedestrians, noise, smells, bright street lighting)
- Identify neighbors and any problems or resources coming onto the site from their properties.
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You may need to observe the site over the course of a year to gain all this information or ask older residents or frequent visitors of the site who may already know the answers. This information will help you to identify the different microclimates on the site, any opportunities to harvest incoming energies and the areas where the site needs to be protected from them.
Aranya farm
Sector map example
Fourth, create a slope map.
If the site is small and the slope insignificant, it may be unnecessary to consider this part.
The easiest way of identifying slopes is through the Google Maps Relief function, which shows the differences in elevations of different parts of the map and highlights ridges and valleys. Water will always flow from higher to lower elevations and from ridges to valleys. If neighboring slopes channel water and materials towards or away from the site, these need to be recorded.
If the site is small and the slope insignificant, it may be unnecessary to consider this part.
The easiest way of identifying slopes is through the Google Maps Relief function, which shows the differences in elevations of different parts of the map and highlights ridges and valleys. Water will always flow from higher to lower elevations and from ridges to valleys. If neighboring slopes channel water and materials towards or away from the site, these need to be recorded.
Permaculture principle #1: Observe and interact
Develop your observation skills by visiting the site during different weather conditions to observe:
Develop your observation skills by visiting the site during different weather conditions to observe:
- Heavy rain – Where is water focussed? How does it flow down slopes? Off roofs? Are there any leaking gutters? Overflowing drains? Where does it puddle (this can also be a clue to soil compaction)? Are watercourses colored brown by soil washed off fields (a sign of erosion)?
- Strong winds – Where are the windiest areas? Where are the most sheltered spots? Poles with simple flags (or bags) placed around the site can enable you to observe wind patterns across a large site from a distance.
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- Frost – Where does frost settle? Is this cold air trapped & unable to move downslope? Can this be remedied? Are there frost-free areas around trees, under hedges, or around buildings?
- Snow – The thaw after snow can show us more that we wouldn't normally see. Roofs of heated buildings are less well insulated if the snow melts more quickly (more heat loss). Capped wells & other underground bodies of water will melt snow more quickly than the surrounding ground (a melted circle on a yard is probably an old concreted over well). Other microclimates, like around buildings, will also thaw snow more quickly. Conversely, the coldest spots will hang onto snow residues the longest. Preferred walking pathways are also easy to see in the snow; where do people & animals prefer to walk through the space?
- Drought – When rain is scarce, which areas are most affected by the lack of water? Where are heat & drying out most prevalent? What happens during the first fall of rain after a dry spell – does soil capping (crust formed on dry soil) prevent the efficient infiltration of water into the soil? How long does the current water storage last before it runs out (in tanks, soil etc.)?
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Also observe:
- What animals, birds, plants, and insects do you have locally?
- Where does the water come from, and where does it go?
- What plants easily grow in your local climate and ecosystems, and which would be more difficult?
- Who are the local ecosystems' main primary, secondary, and tertiary consumers?
- What are the biggest threats to your local ecosystems (drought/fire/flooding/deforestation/etc), and can you see ways to help mediate them?
- What free or cheap resources are available on or close to the site-sources of organic waste, large containers used to store rainwater, pallets being made into compost bins, cardboard (for mulching), etc
- Where are you, in your ecosystem, and how do your actions impact the ecosystem in or around which you live?
A complete integrated map of permaculture
What do you think, how does mapping facilitate permaculture design?
Discussion 8: preparatory tasks
Complete the task before Discussion 8 and come ready for the discussion
1. Reading material 8 summarizes and completes all the principles of permaculture mapping. Based on the reading material, try to draw out and fill in the gaps in your map. Send your map in a public group chat. Before the discussion, examine your friends' maps and highlight some of their strong and successful aspects. Separate all your questions about mapping and raise them at the beginning of the discussion.
1. Reading material 8 summarizes and completes all the principles of permaculture mapping. Based on the reading material, try to draw out and fill in the gaps in your map. Send your map in a public group chat. Before the discussion, examine your friends' maps and highlight some of their strong and successful aspects. Separate all your questions about mapping and raise them at the beginning of the discussion.