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Permaculture
Abstract
Permaculture is an international grassroots network founded in Australia in the late 1970s that focuses on the sustainable design of human settlement. This decentralized and little institutionalized movement disseminates a distinct worldview, design system, and set of associated practices. Permaculture's central concept is that humanity can reduce or replace energy and pollution-intensive industrial technologies, especially in agriculture, through intensive use of biological resources and thoughtful, holistic, design, patterned after natural ecosystems. To create autonomous, resilient, and equitable living spaces permaculture proposes pragmatic methodological principles informed by scientific ecology, traditional indigenous knowledge, observation, and experimentation. In the design of farming systems, permaculturists promote complex multistrata polycultures involving perennial plants, crop-animal integration, high levels of habitat diversity, whole-landscape water management, and sustainable on-site energy production. Beyond scientifically-informed ecological design, permaculture encourages practitioners to develop emotional and subjective links with the earth, and develop their imagination and creativity as valuable parts of the design process. The originality and specificity of permaculture are discussed, along with critics, controversies and research perspectives.
... Tarkastelen tätä kokonaishaastetta turvautuen kriittiseen agroekologiseen ajatteluun metodologisena kehyksenä. Agroekologia on tieteenala, jossa kestävän viljelyn perustana toimivat ekologiset periaatteet, luonnonvarojen hallinta ja biodiversiteetin hoito (de Tombeur et al., 2018;Morel, et al., 2018;Sass Ferguson & Taylor Lovell, 2013). Tämä artikkeli käsittää permakulttuurin kuuluvan agroekologian piiriin. ...
... Eräs omavaraisuuteen tähtäävä metodi, joka tavoitteellisesti yrittää rakentaa kestävää elämää, on 1980-luvulta lähtien käytetty permakulttuurinen suunnittelumenetelmä (Holmgren, 2015;Mollison, 1997). Sen lähtökohtana on antaa yksilö-ja yhteisötasolla työkaluja elinympäristön ja toimintojen suunnitteluun kestävästi ja ympäristöystävällisesti (Chakroun, 2019;de Tombeur et al., 2018;Fiebrig et al., 2020;Morel et al., 2018;Sass Ferguson & Taylor Lovell, 2013). Tarkastelen tässä artikkelissa omavaraisuutta permakulttuurisen näkökulman kautta. ...
... Permakulttuurisessa suunnittelussa pyritään kestävään elämäntapaan, joka muodostaa kokonaisuuden eläinten, kasvien, rakennetun ympäristön, ihmisten ja yhteisöjen kanssa (Fiebrig et al ., 2020;Holmgren, 2015;McNamara 2012;Morel et al., 2018) Permakulttuurin ajatus perustuu avoimeksi kirjoitetulle etiikalle, joka määritellään kolmen osa-alueen avulla: 1) maasta huolehtiminen; tärkein on elävä maaperä, 2) ihmisistä huolehtiminen, johon liittyy henkilökohtainen vastuu ja 3) reilu jako, joka asettaa rajat tuotannolle ja kulutukselle sekä voiton jaolle (Holmgren, 2015). Tämän etiikan voi mielestäni käsittää hyvin ihmiskeskeiseksi, koska se lähtee ajatuksesta, että maa säilyy elinkelpoisena meille ihmisille. ...
Tämä artikkeli on osa taiteellista väitöskirjatutkimusta, joka keskittyy ekologisen jälleenrakennuksen ristiriitoihin arvojen tasolla. Artikkelin keskiössä on tutkijan elämä kaniinien kanssa permakulttuurista ammentavassa omavaraistavoitteisessa elämäntavassa. Artikkeli avaa näkymää kaniiniyksilöiden elämään, bioregionaalin alueen vuorovaikutussuhteisiin ja entropiaan. Se kertoo, kuinka paikallisiin resursseihin nojaavan praktiikan kautta on mahdollista paljastaa arvokysymyksiä. Tutkimuksen löydökseksi nousevat suhde eläimeen eettisenä affektina sekä surun ja syyllisyyden tunteet omavaraistavoitteisen elämän atmosfäärinä. Artikkelissa tutkija väittää, että kestävyyteen perustuvat eettiset valinnat saattavat olla erilaisia kuin moraalin kannalta tehtävät eettiset valinnat. Tätä hän perustelee kulttuurisbiologisen näkemyksen kautta.
... Therefore, permaculture is a sustainable agricultural method that avoids the use of fossil fuels, artificial fertilisers, and pesticides [81]. For this purpose, patterns and elements of the natural ecosystem are imitated and optimised [82]. ...
... Composting is implemented, and animal manure and organic fertilisers are used. Physical barriers are created for pest control, and species-rich ecosystems are sought in order to use natural enemies of pests for plant protection [79][80][81][82][83][84]. Overall, permaculture has a lot in common with agroecology, agro-forestry, and traditional and indigenous land uses [82]. ...
... Physical barriers are created for pest control, and species-rich ecosystems are sought in order to use natural enemies of pests for plant protection [79][80][81][82][83][84]. Overall, permaculture has a lot in common with agroecology, agro-forestry, and traditional and indigenous land uses [82]. It often bundles techniques and practices from these areas and gives recommendations and evaluations for successful application. ...
Globally, food production is one of the main water and energy consumers. Having in view the growing population on global scale, a higher efficiency of food production is needed. Circular approaches offer a large potential to enhance the efficiency of food production and have a long tradition in the food production process of mankind. However, industrial farming has interdicted traditional cycle-closed farming approaches leading to a variety of environmental challenges. The contribution illustrates the basics of traditional gardening and farming approaches and describes how their characteristics are adapted in innovative modern farming systems like aquaponic, permaculture, urban farming, as well as recovered traditional farming systems. The approach to combine traditional farming methods with modern ones will provide multiple benefits in the future to ensure food security. There is to be underlined that such a strategy holds a substantial potential of circular flux management in small scale food production. This potential could be transposed to a larger scale also, particularly in terms of agroforestry and integrated plant and animal husbandry or integrated agriculture and aquaculture. In this way, small-scale food production holds a large potential for the future implementation of the water-energy-food security nexus.
... Ce mouvement est né en Australie à la fin des années 70 (Mollison and Holmgren, 1978). Il repose sur le design de sociétés humaines durables (et en particulier de systèmes agricoles) les moins dépendantes possible aux énergies fossiles (Mollison, 1988 ;Holmgren, 2014 ;Morel et al., 2019). Après avoir posé quelques bases conceptuelles, nous présenterons la trajectoire d'une ferme inspirée par la permaculture dans l'Ouest de la France. ...
... Entre, ces deux pôles, les zones 2 à 4 constituent un gradient d'intensification et d'intervention (avec par exemple des cultures moins exigeantes en zone 2, de l'élevage en zone 3 et des vergers en zone 4). Au niveau des pratiques agricoles, la permaculture met particulièrement en avant la conception de systèmes très diversifiés, multistrates et à haute biodiversité, pouvant intégrer plantes pérennes, animaux et infrastructures écologiques (haies, mares, etc.) ; une gestion fine de l'eau, de l'énergie, des microclimats ; le bouclage des cycles de matières et une attention particulière au sol (Morel et al., 2019). Pour Mollison (1988) : "dans la vie comme dans le design, nous devons accepter que les règles immuables ne s'appliquent pas et au contraire se préparer à orienter notre exploration continue par des principes et des directives flexibles". ...
... La permaculture met d'abord l'accent sur le design de sites ou de projets individuels (Morel et al., 2019). L'interaction entre différents projets/sites et le territoire environnant est cependant présentée comme primordiale au changement d'échelle et à l'avènement de sociétés plus durables. ...
La permaculture qui promeut l'emploi du design systémique pour concevoir des sociétés durables, inspire un nombre croissant d'installations agricoles néo-paysannes. Le récit d'installation d'un agriculteur dans l'Ouest de la France été discuté lors d'un atelier collectif. L'analyse du matériel collecté montre comment la permaculture peut être appliquée à une installation agricole et participer à une dynamique territoriale. Le design en permaculture s'est traduit dans la conception d'un agroécosystème diversifié où l'autonomie joue un rôle majeur. Il s'est construit à l'aide d'interactions avec différents acteurs et a participé à stimuler une dynamique de développement local qui conforte les choix faits sur la ferme. L'importance de la flexibilité dans le design de systèmes agroécologiques fortement ancrés localement est à prendre en compte dans les outils d'accompagnement et de soutien.
Jagung merupakan sumber pangan terpenting setelah padi yang mudah dikembangkan pada pertanian di perkotaan (urban farming). Kendala yang sering dijumpai dalam pertanian di perkotaan adalah serangan tikus. Penggunaan pestisida kimia untuk mengendalikan tikus masih menjadi cara yang paling banyak digunakan tetapi menjadi penyebab pencemaran lingkungan dan kesehatan. Permakultur merupakan konsep pertanian yang inovatif dan sinergis berdasarkan keanekaragaman tanaman, ketahanan, produktivitas alami, dan berkelanjutan yang dapat diterapkan sebagai upaya pengelolaan hama terpadu. Keunggulan lain dari permakultur adalah menghasilkan berbagai jenis hasil pangan tanpa memerlukan lahan yang luas, sehingga konsep ini dapat menjadi solusi untuk keterbatasan lahan dan upaya pemenuhan pangan di perkotaan. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa konsep permakultur dapat diterapkan pada pertanaman urban farming yang mampu mencegah serangan tikus khususnya pada jagung manis. Serangan tikus pada jagung manis di pertanaman monokultur dimulai pada 21 HST dan mencapai 53% pada pengamatan 49 HST sedangkan pada pertanaman permakultur tidak terdapat serangan tikus (0%). Gejala serangan yang ditunjukkan berupa adanya bekas gigitan pada pangkal bawah batang jagung yang menyebabkan tanaman jagung manis patah, roboh, dan akhirnya mati. Corn is the most important food crops after rice which is easy to grow in urban farming. Obstacles encountered in urban farming are rat attacks. The use of chemical pesticides to control rats is still the most widely used method, but it becomes environmental and health pollution. Permaculture is an innovative and synergistic agricultural concept based on plant diversity, resilience, natural productivity and sustainability which can be applied as an integrated pest management effort. Another advantage of permaculture is that it produces various types of food without requiring large areas of land, so this concept can be a solution for limited land and efforts to fulfill food needs in urban areas. The results showed that the concept of permaculture can be applied to urban farming which is able to prevent rat attacks, especially on sweet corn. Rat attacks on sweet corn in monoculture plantings started at 21 DAP and reached 53% at 49 DAP observations, while there was no rat attack on permaculture plantations (0%). Symptoms of the attack are shown in the form of bite marks on the lower base of the corn stalks which cause the sweet corn plants to break, collapse, and eventually die.
As the adverse consequences of the industrial/modern agricultural framework, which encompasses high-input agrarian production and intensive cultivation, are increasing, an alternative is essential. Permaculture is a bunch of sustainable practices that incorporate an assortment of components and promote comprehensive and multi-polycultures including perennial plants, high degrees of biodiversity, crop-animal integration, whole watershed management, and self-sustaining on-site energy production, all of which straightforwardly affect the sustainable
approach and promote ecological parameters. This case study attempts to better comprehend the local knowledge in terms of planning and fostering a permaculture system that considers their
work, culture, and environmental concerns. In particular, this research focuses on the combined ideology, actual practices, and co-opting nature of three Nepalese permaculturists. The current
study employs the notion of imaginaries to comprehend how permaculture may supplant the present agricultural system. Therefore, the study promotes and urges agricultural actioners to
create profound and emotional associations with the planet, as well as their creativity and imagination, to impact good natural change.
Die Folgen des Klimawandels lassen Ungewissheit über die zukünftigen Lebensbedingen auf der Erde entstehen. Vor diesem Hintergrund greift der folgende Beitrag das Konzept der Konsumkorridore auf. Er liefert zunächst einen Einblick in die soziologische Biographieforschung, um ein Verständnis für biographische Ereignisse und Wendepunkte herzuleiten, die das Denken und Handeln zugunsten nachhaltigen Konsums verändern. Daran schließt die Einordnung von „Permakultur“ als Form nachhaltigen Konsums an, denn diese sozial-ökologische und international verbreitete Bewegung greift eine Vielzahl nachhaltiger Konsumpraktiken auf. Entlang der Frage nach biographischen Wendepunkten zeigt der Beitrag, wie neue Gelegenheitsfenster für nachhaltigen Konsum entstehen. Einen Schwerpunkt bildet die Berücksichtigung von sozialer Ungleichheit in der Permakultur-Bewegung durch eine intersektionale Perspektive. Diskutiert wird die Anschlussfähigkeit des Intersektionalitätansatzes an die Aushandlungsprozesse der Konsumkorridore.
This article charts the contiguity of farming and film, blending permaculture and cinema to advance a modality of sustainable film theory and practice we call “permacinema.” As an alternative approach to looking and labour, permaculture exhibits a suite of cinematic concerns, and offers a model for cinematic creativity that is environmentally accountable and sensitive to multispecies entanglements. Through the peaceable gestures of cultivation and restraint, permacinema proposes an ecologically attentive philosophy of moving images in accordance with permaculture’s three ethics: care of earth, care of people, and fair share. We focus on work by Indigenous artists in which plants are encountered not only as raw material or as aesthetic resource but as ingenious agents and insightful teachers whose pedagogical and creative inputs are welcomed into the filmmaking process. By integrating Indigenous epistemologies and cosmologies we hope to situate permacinema in the wider project of cinema’s decolonization and rewilding.
With the growing importance of sustainable construction in the world, cordwood is gaining additional interest as a building material for load-bearing structures. The number of studies on cordwood is limited; there is a lack of information on cordwood design methods, including in the case of fire exposure. The design methods for axially compressed load-carrying cordwood members, including in the case of fire action, are described and supplied by the numerical examples. Numerical and laboratory experiments are carried out to clarify the behaviour of cordwood under pressure with different types of binder. For the analysis of cordwood’s load-bearing capacity, the equivalent composite material (rubble masonry) calculation method is proposed. The analytical method for designing cordwood in the case of fire action is based on a combination of the reduced cross-section method and the 500 isotherm method. It is stated that the use of low- or medium-high-strength mortar (up to 10 MPa) for cordwood is the most rational and economical. Additionally, it is shown that 40 cm thick cordwood could be used as a material for load-carrying walls for two-storey buildings and provide very high fire resistance—R180, in the case of a double-sided fire action.
This chapter introduces to sustainable agriculture (SA), which is seen as a necessary way to feed and maintain/improve the quality of life of a growing world population without exacerbating environmental degradation. It starts by recalling the general importance of agriculture and showing the diversity and heterogeneity of agriculture forms around the world along with their disparities and problems faced. It then underlines the core of SA, and demonstrates several possible pathways toward SA, including organic farming, integrated farming, ecological and sustainable intensification, conservation, climate-smart and precision agriculture, permaculture and vertical farming. By the end of the chapter, the challenges for the main actors involved in building sustainability of agriculture, that is, science, education, policy-makers, and farmers, were summarized.
The multifunctionality of the livestock sector and its interdependence with ecological health and human wellbeing require a close consideration of the different types of livestock systems. From animal feeding operations, to cage farming, ranching, integrated crop-livestock, free range, organic, grassfed, biodynamic, permaculture, holistic planned grazing, silvopastoral and pastoral systems, different levels of external input use entail different contributions to food, livelihoods, health, and ecosystem services. This chapter suggests that we need to move from managing anonymous livestock supply chains toward building harmonious regenerative value networks.
Agricultural producers, academics and policy‐makers are increasingly interested in multifunctional tree crop systems as a solution for maintaining ecosystem services and producing food. The US Midwest is emerging as a hotbed of such systems in the temperate North in the form of farm‐scale woody perennial polyculture enterprises, but they are currently only a tiny fraction of the landscape. Understanding how such approaches might be scaled up, thus, requires learning from the farmers that are at the forefront of the transition of land to woody perennial polyculture to answer a range of questions: What unique management knowledge is being implemented by farmers to manage complexity on multiple scales? What key challenges have farmers faced? And what values and motivations underpin these fledgling efforts?
From 13 interviews with 18 midwestern perennial polyculture farmers, we found that they largely used a small portion of their farm's land for their perennial enterprises, and did not earn a large portion of their income from them, though this was projected to increase as trees matured. Through experimentation, innovation and farmer networks, the farmers had amassed unique adaptive management expertise for balancing diverse crops and livestock within multifunctional tree crop systems over time and space, an area largely absent from mainstream agricultural science and policy. The barriers these farmers report facing are largely economic rather than biophysical, involving access to capital, insurance, mid‐sized markets and regional processing infrastructure, as well as government programmes mismatched with perenniality.
Cross‐cutting these topics, farmers sought to fulfil values anchored in their relationships to land, to the community or to both. The values of long‐termism, learning and sharing, diversity, stewardship and care of farmland, connection to nature and wildlife, self‐sustenance, other‐sustenance and eudaimonia were embodied and expressed in farmer decisions from the practical to the personal.
Economic and agrarian policy, as well as programme development for multifunctional tree crop systems, should (a) be designed to align with farmer's values and motivations and (b) take advantage of their expert management and systems knowledge to drive appropriate and successful transitions to sustainable environments and livelihoods.
A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.
Governments, civil society organisations and companies have expressed an interest in contributing to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, but incorporating these goals into their strategies and activities is not an easy task. This study aims to provide information on the role of circular economy as a tool to boost progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals to assist these different stakeholders in their quest to attain the goals. Using heuristic methodology, a review of the existing literature was conducted to explore the relationship between the two terms. Specific attention was paid to the development goals with the highest interdependence with circular economy: Sustainable Development Goal 6 (Clean Water), 8 (Decent work), 12 (Responsible consumption and production) and 15 (Life on land). Having identified the reciprocal relationships between the two variables, the results of the literature review were then analysed to explore their possible self-sufficiency. The findings of the study are intended to assist stakeholders in incorporating the SDGs into their corporate sustainability strategies.
Permaculture in the world and Turkey is increasing day by day the importance of implementation of economic, social, cultural, and environmental dimensions has an impact. Sustainability is the primary criterion in all of these dimensions. Sustainability is at the core of permaculture practices. Permaculture studies aim to create systems that support natural life with the least possible resources from a comprehensive perspective that brings together different disciplines related to plants, animals, buildings, and infrastructure studies. For this purpose, combining the characteristics of land and structures with the natural characteristics of plants and animals creates sustainable, ecologically healthy, and economically viable systems in the long term. In this study, the concept of permaculture has been discussed from different aspects by analyzing the academic studies in the literature with the content analysis method. The importance of permaculture and its impact on sustainable development are emphasized.
Tourism has become an industry with an increasingly significant impact on economic, social, cultural, and environmental aspects in the world and in Turkey. Sustainability is the primary criterion in all of these dimensions. In the continuation of tourism activities, sustainable tourism practices come to the forefront in increasing the positive effects and minimizing the negative effects. The issue of sustainable tourism has attracted attention in recent years for all stakeholders in the field of tourism and in the academic field. In this study, the concept of Sustainable Tourism has been discussed from different aspects by analyzing the academic studies in the literature with the content analysis method. The importance of sustainable tourism, its impact on sustainable development, and the driving power of existing tourism activities are emphasized. It was pointed out that the sustainability feature sought in all areas of life should be at the center of tourism.
The solutions-based design framework of permaculture exhibits transformative potential, working to holistically integrate natural and human systems toward a more just society. The term can be defined and applied in a breadth of ways, contributing to both strengths and weaknesses for its capacity toward change. To explore the tension of breadth as strength and weakness, we interviewed 25 prominent permaculture teachers and practitioners across the United States (US) regarding how they define permaculture as a concept and perceive the term’s utility. We find that permaculture casts a wide net that participants grapple with in their own work. They engaged in a negotiation process of how they associate or disassociate themselves with the term, recognizing that it can be both unifying and polarizing. Further, there was noted concern of permaculture’s failure to cite and acknowledge its rootedness in Indigenous knowledge, as well as distinguish itself from Indigenous alternatives. We contextualize these findings within the resounding call for a decolonization of modern ways of living and the science of sustainability, of which permaculture can be critically part of. We conclude with recommended best practices for how to continuously (re-)define permaculture in an embodied and dynamic way to work toward these goals.
The persistent exploitation of natural resources and the consequent use of consumption are driving global food demand with the result that agricultural activity is becoming less and less environmentally friendly. The circular economy (CE) can become a valid alternative, inserting the economic-agricultural system into the harmonic process of material circulation. The corporate social responsibility (CSR) model is particularly interesting not only because of the ethical dimension of the company but also as a factor of strategic business improvement that combines the concepts of CSR and CE as possible solutions for developing sustainable business processes. The objective of the work is to highlight a detailed framework of how the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) of the Italian agri-food industry can provide an adequate level of communication, circular strategies and social responsibility practices. The research methodology is based on a qualitative multiple study conducted on a sample of nine companies in the Italian territory. The study highlights the attention of companies on the issues of the CE for the achievement of the set sustainable objectives and the attention to CSR and CE practices. The work has several implications. It provides a further understanding of CSR and CE policies as enabling factors for the development of sustainable organizational performance in agriculture. Moreover, it better investigates the relationship between CSR and the CE. Finally, it analyses the SMEs state of the art in the CE field and strengthens the concept of CE by analysing corporate practices consistent with sustainability reports.
The permaculture community is a grassroots initiative that challenges current mainstream practices. Such grassroots initiatives are seen as promising incubators of learning processes that can guide transformations. However, there is ambivalence between the wish of grassroots initiatives to reach people and reoccurring claims of insularity. We use the concept of Communities of Practice to answer important questions concerning community dynamics and learning processes: How are individual perspectives turned into a joint endeavour? How do the community and its respective relation to its members affect the interactions with external actors? Drawing on qualitative data from twelve semi-structured interviews with teachers from Germany's biggest education body on permaculture, the Permakultur Akademie, our goal was to gain insights into the community's self-organisation and learning interfaces. Findings suggest that the German permaculture community displays key characteristics of a Community of Practice with developed shared values as well as education and organisational structures, while being embedded in an international community. At the time of the research, internal challenges were the absence of a common strategy that effectively linked individuals to coordinated activities. The results led to implications for a more diverse use of the concept to inform actions and several questions for future research.
This document presents in French a global synthesis of Kevin Morel's PhD dissertation (INRA, AgroParisTech, Université Paris-Saclay) on the viability of organic market-gardening microfarms. It is oriented toward practitioners, teachers, advisors, current and future farmers.
Modern industrial agriculture is largely responsible for environmental problems, such as biodiversity loss, soil degradation, and alteration of biogeochemical cycles or greenhouse gas emission. Agroecology, as a scientific discipline as well as an agricultural practice and movement, emerged as a response to these problems, with the goal to create a more sustainable agriculture. Another response was the emergence of permaculture, a design system based on design principles, as well as a framework for the methods of ecosystem mimicry and complex system optimization. Its emphasis, being on a conscious design of agroecosystems, is the major difference to other alternative agricultural approaches. Agroecology has been a scientific discipline for a few decades already, but only recently have design principles for the reorganization of faming systems been formulated, whereas permaculture practitioners have long been using design principles without them ever being scrutinized. Here, we review the scientific literature to evaluate the scientific basis for the design principles proposed by permaculture co-originator, David Holmgren. Scientific evidence for all twelve principles will be presented. Even though permaculture principles describing the structure of favorable agroecosystems were quite similar to the agroecological approach, permaculture in addition provides principles to guide the design, implementation, and maintenance of resilient agroecological systems.
Permaculture-based social movements proliferate as a response to environmental challenges, a way to pursue the ‘good life’, and a vision of a more harmonious way to be in and belong to the world. Ecovillages, bioregionalisation, and the Transition (Town) movement all apply permaculture principles in designing social systems. Core to permaculture is designing based on, and in harmony with, patterns identified in nature. Yet, as is often highlighted, identifying, using, and thinking through ‘natural’ patterns are problematic. This article takes canonical geographical work on the social reception and (re)production of nature as its starting point. It then outlines permaculture, and particularly their most prominent expression, the Transition (Town) movement, as an ecosophical movement–an attempt to reorientate collective subjectivities as ecological entities. While discussion of Transition (with or without their permaculture heritage) abounds in Geography, paying attention to the ecosophical, and ethical, character of such movements is crucial to grasp their full significance.
In the context of the environmental and social challenges of the Anthropocene, microfarms are organic market gardens which are questioning the principles of agricultural modernisation. They are characterised by a high level of crop diversity on small acreages, low motorisation, holistic ecological approach and marketing through short supply chains. My PhD work examined the viability of these atypical farming systems which are raising an increasing interest in industrialised countries. It was based on the study of 20 cases in rural Northern France and 10 cases in the urban context of London. An inductive approach was carried out combining qualitative analysis of interviews with farmers and quantitative modelling based on field data. A conceptual framework was developed to analyse farmers’ strategic choices in the light of their life project embracing various aspirations where ethics and subjectivity played a central role. The fulfilment of these aspirations is determinant for the viability of these fams. A stochastic simulation model of income and workload was created to explore the chances of economic viability of contrasted microfarms scenarios integrating technical, commercial and investment strategies. Simulations were run for the French and London context and were discussed with stakeholders. Although viability chances vary among scenarios, this work shows that microfarms can be viable.
Permaculture is an international grassroots movement with a focus on diversified farming systems (DFS). We visited 36 self-identified permaculture farms in the continental United States and gathered multidimensional data on the distribution of labor and income across enterprises and seasons, along with sociodemographic information and farm characteristics. Using this data we assessed livelihood diversity and performed a cluster analysis to develop a preliminary typology of U.S. permaculture farms. Farms were pre- dominantly small in scale, with a high proportion of young farmers, new farmers, and new farms, when compared with national figures. Diversity of farm-based income was high for enterprises and across seasons. Cluster analysis based on sources of income produced a preliminary typology with five categories: small mixed annual and perennial cropping (N = 10), integrated production (perennial and animal crops, N = 5), a mix of production and services (N = 9), animal base (N = 5), and service base (cultural services and material products and services, N = 5). Our research suggests that perma- culture farms fit well within the emerging framework of DFS, and are using a familiar set of strategies, including non-production enterprises, in order to develop and maintain diversified agroecosystems.
Grassroots networks and social movements are increasingly regarded as agents of change that can help respond to environmental degradation both by generating novel solutions to existing problems and influencing institutions toward more substantive responses. We examine permaculture, an international movement that, despite its broad international distribution and relatively high public profile, has received little systematic scrutiny in the scientific literature. We attempt to remedy that gap by conducting a broad international (though English-only) survey of 731 permaculture participants, and assessing the socio-demographic characteristics of the movement. The survey examined self-identified roles of permaculture participants and explored the relationships between those roles and socio-demographic factors race, gender, and socioeconomic status. The influence of structural factors on participant roles was examined by including multidimensional national indices development, inequality, and ecosystem vitality, for the 45 countries in the sample. Results showed the participation of women at or above parity (53%), while participation by race showed a white supermajority (96%). Multivariate regression demonstrated that race, gender, and socioeconomic status are shaping participation in distinct ways and that each interact with structural factors. The effects of gender on social roles varied with ecosystem vitality, with women scoring higher than men in countries with high levels of ecosystem vitality, and the reverse where ecosystem vitality was low. The observed effect of race on practice varied with national inequality, such that the scores of respondents of color were equivalent to white respondents in countries with the least inequality, but descended as inequality increased, while whites were unaffected. Different indicators of socioeconomic status depressed and amplified different dimensions of participation. Results point toward a theoretical framework that identifies multiple levels and sites through which socio-demographic factors shape participation in grassroots environmental action, and the outlines of such a framework are discussed.
In industrialized countries, innovative farmers inspired by permaculture holistic principles claim to design market gardens only based on manual labor. We carried out a case study on one of these farms to assess in which extent this approach could make it possible for a commercial organic market garden to be viable without motorization. Our work showed that these market gardeners implemented a wide range of strategies embracing ecological, technical and commercial dimensions to increase their production on a small cultivated area and the added value of such production. On a cultivated acreage of 1061m2, they were able to create a monthly net income between 882€ and 2058€ depending on sales and investment levels. Theses incomes were generated with an average workload of 43h per week. Such economic performances demonstrated that these initiatives can be viable. However, the studied approach excluded growing manually conservation crops such as potatoes. Further investigation should be carried out about the way manual and motorized market gardeners can collaborate to build together a satisfying commercial offer.
To address the challenges of biodiversity conservation and commodity production,
a framework has been proposed that distinguishes between the integration
(“land sharing”) and separation (“land sparing”) of conservation and production.
Controversy has arisen around this framework partly because many
scholars have focused specifically on food production rather than more encompassing
notions such as land scarcity or food security. Controversy further
surrounds the practical value of partial trade-off analyses, the ways in
which biodiversity should be quantified, and a series of scale effects that are
not readily accounted for.We see key priorities for the future in (1) addressing
these issues when using the existing framework, and (2) developing alternative,
holistic ways to conceptualise challenges related to food, biodiversity, and
land scarcity.
Agroecology is a promising alternative to industrial agriculture, with the potential to avoid the negative social and ecological consequences of input-intensive production. Transitioning to agroecological production is, however, a complex project that requires diverse contributions from the outside of scientific institutions. Agroecologists therefore collaborate with traditional producers and agroecological movements. Permaculture is one such agroecological movement, with a broad international distribution and a unique approach to system design. Despite a high public profile, permaculture has remained relatively isolated from scientific research. Though the potential contribution of permaculture to agroecological transition is great, it is limited by this isolation from science, as well as from oversimplifying claims, and the lack of a clear definition. Here, we review scientific and popular permaculture literature. A systematic review discusses quantitative bibliometric data, including keyword analysis. A qualitative review identifies and assesses major themes, proposals, and claims. The manuscript follows a stratified definition of permaculture as design system, best practice framework, worldview, and movement. The major points of our analysis are as follows: (1) Principles and topics largely complement and even extend principles and topics found in the agroecological literature. (2) Distinctive approaches to perennial polyculture, water management, and the importance of agroecosystem configuration exceed what is documented in the scientific literature and thus suggest promising avenues of inquiry. (3) Discussions of practice consistently underplay the complexity, challenges, and risks that producers face in developing diversified and integrated production systems. (4) The movement is mobilizing diverse forms of social support for sustainability, in geographically diverse locations. (5) And scholarship in permaculture has always been a diverse marginal sector, but is growing.
Rising demands for agricultural products will increase pressure to further intensify crop production, while negative environmental impacts have to be minimized. Ecological intensification entails the environmentally friendly replacement of anthropogenic inputs and/or enhancement of crop productivity, by including regulating and supporting ecosystem services management in agricultural practices. Effective ecological intensification requires an understanding of the relations between land use at different scales and the community composition of ecosystem service-providing organisms above and below ground, and the flow, stability, contribution to yield, and management costs of the multiple services delivered by these organisms. Research efforts and investments are particularly needed to reduce existing yield gaps by integrating context-appropriate bundles of ecosystem services into crop production systems.
Using a variety of theoretical rubrics, recent work in ecological and environmental anthropology has revealed that human–environment interactions within the context of global capitalism are complex and have increasingly unjust and unsustainable outcomes. As globalization proceeds and associated socio-environmental problems become clear, it is important that ecological and environmental anthropologists use empirical research to develop both theoretical and practical approaches to addressing the sustainability challenge. We suggest that an anthropological engagement with permaculture represents an especially timely opportunity for anthropologists to move toward sustainability in ways that complement and enable us to extend our traditional areas of theoretical and practical expertise. Permaculture is a development strategy that has a history of grassroots application, but it has been largely ignored by mainstream development practitioners and anthropologists alike. We argue that permaculture deserves a closer look. In this article, we trace the historical development of permaculture, provide examples of permaculture in practice in an ecovillage context, identify compatible areas of research within environmental anthropology, and make suggestions for engagement.
The status of integrated agriculture-aquaculture (IAA) in Asia is reviewed, with an emphasis on rural small-scale systems. Existing IAA systems within mixed farming systems are characterised and the economic and ecological role of aquaculture described. The importance of nutrient recycling of otherwise unused waste materials as an important element and a benefit of integration is emphasised. Approaches for new entrants to explore and plan integration on their farms are presented. In comparison to other enterprises, the pond offers relatively greater potential for integration on farms and for flows of nutrients to and from the new enterprise. Opportunities for integration are classified based on nutrient source and system. The role of IAA systems in rural livelihoods and the considerations for IAA under the specific conditions of nutrient-deficient smallholder farms are outlined. The present state of experience in dissemination, uptake and system evolution of IAA farms is reviewed as well as the achieved impacts in Asia, both on the poor and on commercial developments, based on examples from Bangladesh, China, India and Thailand. It is concluded that considerable potential exists for further aquaculture integration in Asia, with notable improvements in the livelihoods of rural small-scale farmers.
Homegardens represent land use systems involving deliberate management of multipurpose trees and shrubs in intimate association with annual and perennial agricultural crops and, invariably, livestock, within the compounds of individual houses, the whole crop-tree-animal unit being intensively managed by family labour. Known by different names in various places, these agroforestry systems are common in all ecological regions of the tropics and subtropics, especially in humid lowlands with high population density.
Ecological engineering is defined as “the design of sustainable ecosystems that integrate human society with its natural environment for the benefit of both.” It involves the restoration of ecosystems that have been substantially disturbed by human activities such as environmental pollution or land disturbance; and the development of new sustainable ecosystems that have both human and ecological value. While there was some early discussion of ecological engineering in the 1960s, its development was spawned later by several factors, including loss of confidence in the view that all pollution problems can be solved through technological means and the realization that with technological means, pollutants are just being moved from one form to another. Conventional approaches require massive amounts of resources to solve these problems, and that in turn perpetuates carbon and nitrogen cycle problems, for example. The development of ecological engineering was given strong impetus in the last decade with a textbook, the journal Ecological Engineering and two professional ecological engineering societies. Five principles about ecological engineering are: (1) It is based on the self-designing capacity of ecosystems; (2) It can be the acid test of ecological theories; (3) It relies on system approaches; (4) It conserves non-renewable energy sources; and (5) It supports biological conservation. Ecology as a science is not routinely integrated into engineering curricula, even in environmental engineering programs, while shortcoming, ecologists, environmental scientists, and managers miss important training in their profession—problem solving. These two problems could be solved in the integrated field of ecological engineering.
Permaculture: Design for living an interview with Bill Mollison
- A Atkisson
AtKisson A (1991) Permaculture: Design for living an interview with Bill Mollison. In Context 28. (spring 1991), 50.
We are farmers: Agriculture, food security, and adaptive capacity among the permaculture and conventional farmers in central Malawi. Doctoral dissertation
- A Conrad
Conrad A (2014) We are farmers: Agriculture, food security, and adaptive capacity among the permaculture and conventional farmers in central Malawi. Doctoral dissertation,
American University. http://pri-kenya.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Conrad-FINAL-Dissertation-We-are-farmers-Copy.pdf.
Permaculture: Principles and pathways beyond sustainability
- D Holmgren
Holmgren D (2002) Permaculture: Principles and pathways beyond sustainability. Hepburn, Vic: Holmgren Design Services.
Permaculture one: A perennial agriculture for human settlements
- B Mollison
- D Holmgren
Mollison B and Holmgren D (1978) Permaculture one: A perennial agriculture for human settlements. Tyalgum: Tagari.
Permaculture: A designers' manual., Édition: 2nd edn
- B Mollison
Mollison, B., 1988. Permaculture: A designers' manual., Édition: 2nd edn. Tagari Publications, Tyalgum.
Earth User's guide to permaculture
- R Morrow
Morrow R (2010) Earth User's guide to permaculture, 2nd edn. East Mean: Permanent Publications.
The shallow and the deep, long ranged ecology movement
- A Naes
Naes A (1973) The shallow and the deep, long ranged ecology movement. Inquiry 16(1): 95-100.
East Mean: Permanent Publications. Naes A (1973) The shallow and the deep, long ranged ecology movement
- R Morrow
Morrow R (2010) Earth User's guide to permaculture, 2nd edn. East Mean: Permanent Publications.
Naes A (1973) The shallow and the deep, long ranged ecology movement. Inquiry 16(1): 95-100.