The Permaculture Principles

Summary

This video covers the Permaculture Decision Making Matrix, focusing on David Holmgren's 12 Permaculture principles. These principles guide sustainable design, from observing natural forces to using renewable resources and minimizing waste. The speaker emphasizes the importance of obtaining yields, integrating systems, and using small, slow solutions. Other key principles include valuing diversity, using edges, and creatively responding to change. Practical examples like managing water flow, fostering ecosystems, and cultivating long-term resilience are highlighted to show how these principles work in harmony to create sustainable, productive environments.

Takeaways

• 📚 The speaker introduces two main sources of permaculture principles: Bill Mollison's 'Permaculture Designer’s Manual' and David Holmgren's 'Permaculture Principles and Pathways beyond sustainability.'
• 👁️ Principle 1: 'Observe and Interact' emphasizes understanding the environment, including factors like climate, topography, water, and wildlife.
• 🔋 Principle 2: 'Catch and Store Energy' advocates for capturing and storing various forms of energy, not just electricity, but also water, biomass, and natural resources.
• 🌾 Principle 3: 'Obtain a Yield' stresses the importance of self-reliance by ensuring that permaculture systems provide food, materials, and other yields.
• ♻️ Principle 4: 'Apply Self-Regulation and Accept Feedback' encourages limiting consumption and learning from both successes and mistakes.
• 🌳 Principle 5: 'Use and Value Renewable Resources' promotes sustainable practices and responsible resource management for long-term benefits.
• 🚯 Principle 6: 'Produce No Waste' focuses on recycling and repurposing within the system to eliminate waste and maximize efficiency.
• 🗺️ Principle 7: 'Design From Patterns to Details' suggests starting with the big picture of environmental systems before refining specific design elements.
• 🤝 Principle 8: 'Integrate Rather Than Segregate' highlights the value of building relationships between elements in a system, both environmentally and socially.
• 🐢 Principle 9: 'Use Small and Slow Solutions' recommends playing the long game by planning for sustainable and gradual growth over time.
• 🌈 Principle 10: 'Use and Value Diversity' underlines the importance of biodiversity for resilience and productivity in permaculture systems.
• 🌿 Principle 11: 'Use Edges and Value the Marginal' suggests that edges and marginal areas can be used for increased productivity and habitat diversity.
• 🔄 Principle 12: 'Creatively Use and Respond to Change' encourages adaptability and creative problem-solving when unexpected changes occur in the system.

Q & A

What is the first principle of permaculture according to David Holmgren?

The first principle is 'Observe and Interact.' It involves understanding the environment, observing the forces at play, such as climate, topography, water, and other natural elements, and interacting with them when designing systems.

How does the principle 'Catch and Store Energy' apply beyond electricity?

This principle refers to capturing and storing various forms of energy, such as water for irrigation, biomass as building materials, and renewable energy from wind, sun, and water. It encourages creating surpluses that can support future use.

What is meant by 'Obtain a Yield' in permaculture?

'Obtain a Yield' means ensuring that the permaculture system produces something valuable, like food, building materials, or fuel. It promotes self-reliance by prioritizing systems that provide tangible benefits and yields.

Why is 'Apply Self-Regulation and Accept Feedback' important in permaculture?

This principle encourages individuals to limit their consumption and emissions while learning from both successes and failures. It promotes responsibility and adapting systems based on feedback to improve future outcomes.

How does the principle 'Use and Value Renewable Resources' impact resource management?

It stresses the importance of using resources that regenerate naturally and sustainably, such as responsible forestry or fishing practices, and benefiting from natural systems like nutrient and water drift from forests.

What is the significance of the principle 'Produce No Waste'?

This principle focuses on making every part of a system useful, turning waste from one process into inputs for another. It promotes practices like composting, recycling, and reusing materials to avoid waste and inefficiency.

How does 'Design From Patterns to Details' guide permaculture design?

It means that broad patterns, such as climate and watershed systems, should be studied first. These inform the design details, like road placement or water harvesting, ensuring that the smaller elements align with the overall landscape.

What does 'Integrate Rather Than Segregate' emphasize in system design?

This principle highlights the importance of creating strong interrelationships between parts of a system. Integration increases productivity and resilience, whether in ecosystems or human communities, by encouraging cooperation and diversity.

What is the principle of 'Use Small and Slow Solutions,' and how is it applied?

'Use Small and Slow Solutions' advocates for gradual, long-term solutions. For example, replacing harvested trees with slow-growing, productive nut trees ensures sustainability, while inoculating mushrooms into stumps creates a system that benefits over time.

Why is 'Use and Value Diversity' crucial for a resilient permaculture system?

Diversity strengthens systems by ensuring that if one element fails, others can thrive. A diverse system, rich with various species and resources, is more adaptable and sustainable in the long run, both ecologically and in human habitats.

How can edges and marginal areas be used effectively in permaculture design?

The principle 'Use Edges and Value the Marginal' suggests that edges and marginal areas, like hedgerows or road edges, are often overlooked but can be productive. These spaces can support additional species or habitat zones, increasing overall system productivity.

What does 'Creatively Use and Respond to Change' mean in the context of permaculture?

This principle promotes flexibility in design. For instance, unexpected changes like soil conditions or water flow can be creatively used to benefit the system, such as transforming a marshy area into a wetland for growing edible plants.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Introduction to Permaculture Principles

The video introduces the final element of the Permaculture Decision Making Matrix—the design principles of permaculture. The narrator references two key books: Bill Mollison’s 'Permaculture Designer’s Manual' and David Holmgren’s 'Permaculture Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability.' Holmgren consolidated these principles into 12, which the speaker will present in this video. The focus is on observing and understanding the forces and elements in the environment, such as climate, topography, water, and wildlife.

05:05

🔋 Principle 2: Catch and Store Energy

This principle emphasizes the importance of capturing and storing different forms of energy. It's not just limited to electricity—water storage, forest biomass, and alternative energy systems like wind and solar are also vital forms of energy that permaculture systems can use. The idea is to grow surpluses in the system, ensuring resources are available for future use.

🌾 Principle 3: Obtain a Yield

The third principle promotes self-reliance by encouraging the production of yields within the permaculture system. Yields can be food, building materials, fuel, or nectar for honey. The principle stresses the importance of ensuring plenty of food and resources are available, focusing on sustainability and security by choosing productive plants and trees.

🛠️ Principle 4: Apply Self-Regulation and Accept Feedback

This principle highlights the need for self-regulation in consumption and lifestyle choices. It advises living simply and consciously to limit overconsumption, as well as learning from successes and mistakes. Accepting feedback is crucial in improving decision-making over time, making the system more efficient and responsible toward the environment and people.

🌱 Principle 5: Use and Value Renewable Resources

Renewable resources are those that replenish naturally with moderate use. This principle encourages sustainable practices, such as forestry and fishing, and advises designing systems that take advantage of natural flows, like planting orchards downslope from forests. Responsible management of these resources ensures they remain available for future generations.

♻️ Principle 6: Produce No Waste

The sixth principle focuses on creating systems where the waste of one part becomes the food for another. It encourages practices like composting, recycling, and repurposing broken tools. This principle also extends to human resources, suggesting that people should not be wasted on meaningless or hazardous tasks, emphasizing efficiency and sustainability.

🌍 Principle 7: Design From Patterns to Details

Designing from patterns to details means starting with the broader context, such as climate, topography, and ecology, and then working down to specifics. For example, road placement should align with water flow patterns to optimize the system’s efficiency. This principle encourages a holistic approach to design, ensuring that decisions are informed by the larger environmental context.

👥 Principle 8: Integrate Rather Than Segregate

Integration in permaculture strengthens systems by fostering relationships between different elements, making them more resilient and productive. This principle applies to both ecological systems and communities. By working together, whether in cooperative communities or interconnected systems, more can be accomplished than by working in isolation.

🐢 Principle 9: Use Small and Slow Solutions

This principle encourages taking a long-term, gradual approach to design. It highlights examples such as harvesting trees for fence posts, planting long-living nut trees, and inoculating mushrooms, all of which require time but provide enduring benefits. The key message is that small, incremental changes can lead to significant long-term rewards.

🌾 Principle 10: Use and Value Diversity

Diversity in permaculture is vital for resilience and productivity. The narrator emphasizes having multiple systems in place, such as housing, gardens, energy, and animal grazing, to ensure that if one element fails, others can thrive. Promoting biodiversity helps conserve habitats and ensures that human systems are rich with productive elements.

🌳 Principle 11: Use Edges and Value the Marginal

Edges and marginal areas in a permaculture system are often the most productive zones. The narrator describes adding hedgerows and bamboo in these areas to increase productivity. By utilizing these edges effectively, they can create more layers of productivity and habitat diversity, enhancing the overall system's output.

🔄 Principle 12: Creatively Use and Respond to Change

The final principle encourages adapting to changes that occur in the system. In the example given, the narrator turns an unexpected marshy area into a productive wetland by creatively adjusting the design. The principle highlights the importance of flexibility and innovation in making the most out of unforeseen changes in the landscape.

Keywords

💡Permaculture

Permaculture is a design philosophy focused on creating sustainable and self-sufficient ecosystems by mimicking patterns found in nature. In the video, it is discussed as a holistic approach to decision-making, using natural principles to cultivate food, manage resources, and live harmoniously with the environment.

💡Design Principles

The design principles are a set of guidelines for implementing permaculture in practical ways. The video mentions Bill Mollison’s comprehensive principles and David Holmgren's 12 simplified principles, which guide sustainable practices like water management, energy conservation, and biodiversity.

💡Observe and Interact

This is the first principle of permaculture. It emphasizes careful observation of natural and human-made systems before intervening. In the video, it’s related to understanding site-specific factors like climate, water, and vegetation to make informed design choices.

💡Catch and Store Energy

This principle refers to capturing natural energy sources like sunlight, water, or biomass to be stored for later use. The video highlights how stored water can be used for irrigation and how forests store energy in the form of building materials and nutrients.

💡Obtain a Yield

Obtain a Yield encourages ensuring that every element in the system produces something beneficial. In the video, it’s shown as a directive to prioritize planting trees that provide diverse yields such as food, fuel, or building materials over ornamental plants.

💡Apply Self-Regulation and Accept Feedback

This principle advocates for controlling consumption and adapting based on feedback from the system. The video stresses the importance of reducing waste and learning from both successes and failures in order to improve and evolve a permaculture system.

💡Renewable Resources

Renewable resources are those that replenish over time with responsible use, such as forests or wind energy. The video uses examples like sustainable forestry and water cycling to show how renewable resources can provide continuous support for permaculture systems.

💡Produce No Waste

Produce No Waste calls for making sure that every output in a system becomes an input for another process. In the video, this principle is illustrated through practices like composting and recycling, ensuring that waste is repurposed to support the system’s sustainability.

💡Diversity

Diversity in permaculture refers to having multiple species and functions within a system to increase resilience. The video explains how diversity in plants, animals, and energy sources strengthens the system and ensures that if one element fails, others can still thrive.

💡Edges and Margins

Edges and Margins are areas where different ecosystems meet, often resulting in greater productivity. In the video, hedgerows and bamboo are used as examples of maximizing the productivity of edge spaces, which can provide more diverse yields and habitats.

Highlights

Permaculture design principles are essential for effective decision-making in permaculture projects.

The concept of 'Observe and Interact' involves understanding forces like climate, topography, water, soils, and vegetation on the site.

'Catch and Store Energy' emphasizes capturing surplus resources such as water, biomass, and renewable energy.

'Obtain a Yield' focuses on promoting self-reliance by reaping various types of yields, including food, building materials, and fuel.

'Apply Self-Regulation and Accept Feedback' encourages mindful consumption and learning from both successes and mistakes.

'Use and Value Renewable Resources' involves responsible use of replenishable resources like sustainable forestry and nutrient flow.

'Produce No Waste' promotes recycling and repurposing waste materials and resources, including people’s efforts.

'Design from Patterns to Details' emphasizes starting with the big picture—such as water flow—and making detailed design decisions accordingly.

'Integrate Rather Than Segregate' encourages building stronger systems by fostering relationships between parts of a community or system.

'Use Small and Slow Solutions' advocates for long-term planning, such as using trees for future yields and mushrooms for sustainable growth.

'Use and Value Diversity' highlights the importance of creating resilience through the incorporation of diverse productive elements.

'Use Edges and Value the Marginal' promotes the productive use of often overlooked areas like hedgerows and marshy areas.

'Creatively Use and Respond to Change' encourages adapting to evolving conditions by turning challenges like marshy land into opportunities for productivity.

Permaculture principles aim to enhance ecosystem resilience by applying sustainable and regenerative design strategies.

Diverse systems are inherently more resilient as different elements can thrive when others fail, ensuring continuous productivity.

Transcripts

Music

We’re arrived at the final element of the Permaculture Decision Making Matrix, the Permaculture

design principles. Here are my two favorite books, which are the source of the principles.

Bill Mollison included a comprehensive list of principles in the Permaculture Designer’s

Manual, and later on David Holmgren consolidated and repackaged the principles into 12 in his

book, “Permaculture Principles and Pathways beyond sustainability.” So for simplicity’s

sake, I’ll present to you Holmgren’s 12 principles.

Principle 1 is “Observe and Interact,” and this is essentially what we’ve been

talking about for this entire course thus far. Where am I? What are the forces present

on my site that I need to design for? Climate, topography, water, soils, vegetation, wildlife,

wind, fire, people, these are some of the elements that are part of our observations.

Principle 2 is “Catch and Store Energy.” Energy is not just electricity, but stored

water represents potential energy in the form of irrigation water for future crops. The

biomass of a forest represents a living storage of building materials, fuel, nutrients and

water. Alternative energy systems can turn wind, sun, and flowing water into electrical

energy. So this principle gives us the directive to capture and grow surpluses in our system.

Principle 3 is “Obtain a Yield.” This principle promotes self-reliance and gives

us the directive to reap a harvest from our Permaculture system, because you can’t work

on an empty stomach. This principle is relevant when making a choice about which tree to plant

in a location. Always choose the one with greater and more diverse yields over an ornamental

plant. Yields are not just food. Yields can be building materials, fuel wood, nectar for

honey. But plenty of food growing all around you is true security.

Principle 4 is “Apply Self-Regulation and Accept Feedback.” This principle directs us to live simply and

consciously, limit our own consumption, because no one else is going to do that for us. We

need to keep our own consumption and emissions in check because that is our responsibility

when we care for Earth and care for people. Accepting feedback means that learning from

our successes and mistakes is an imperative, and should lead to better choices as we learn

what works and what doesn’t.

Principle 5 is “Use and Value Renewable Resources.” Renewable resources are those,

which replenish with modest use. This could be sustainable forestry or fishing practices.

This could mean planting an orchard downslope from a forest to take advantage of the nutrient

and water drift that continually moves down the hill. This is the wind, this is the fact

that plants and animals breed and if we are responsible and careful, many of these resources

can provide in perpetuity.

Principle 6 is “Produce No Waste.” This is where we make the waste of one part of

our system the food for another. This means we compost, clean and recycle greywater, repair

and repurpose broken tools and equipment. Reduce, reuse, repair, recycle. This also

means we don’t waste people by having them do hazardous and meaningless work.

Principle 7 is “Design From Patterns to Details.” This is one of my personal favorites.

It means that first we study the climate, topography, watershed, ecology, and we get

a big picture vision of how we can interact with the land and community in a regenerative

way, and then our design decisions are based on that. So this road I just drew in is placed

in a way where it harvests the water for this pond. The detail of road placement was based

on the overall pattern of water flow in the landscape.

Principle 8 is “Integrate Rather Than Segregate.” This principle says that the more relationships

between parts of your systems, the stronger, more productive and more resilient your system

becomes. This has to do with community as well. I drew a cluster of dwellings where

a cooperative community can get much more done than an individual. Many hands make light

work.

Principle 9 is “Use Small and Slow Solutions.” I’ve gone ahead and harvested some of the

trees on the forest edge to use for fence posts and replaced them with nut trees that

will start bearing in about 10-12 years, and will then live for hundreds of years. I’ve

planted new trees over here, which will be new fence posts when these ones rot. I’ve

also inoculated edible mushrooms into the stumps of the trees I cut, which will produce

for years and then spread to others with the fallen wood. These are all examples of playing

the long game, using the small and slow design principle.

Principle 10 is “Use and Value Diversity.” You can see we’ve got housing, gardens,

wind power, water storage, composting, greywater, forestry, orchards, and now I’ve added in

rotational grazing of animals, both here and in the orchard. I’ve also added more trees

and gardens around the homestead, and fish to the pond. Diversity is one of the key aspects

of Permaculture. We want to conserve diverse native habitats, and make our human habitats

rich with an abundance of many productive elements. Diversity is also resilience: if

one part of our system fails, there are others that will thrive.

Principle 11 is “Use Edges and Value the Marginal.” I’ve added edible hedgerows

around the animal paddocks, and along the road. I’ve also added bamboo down below

the pond, which will be sub-irrigated by water that seeps down. The edges and margins are

great locations to add more productive species or habitat zones. And I can use them to create

further layers of productivity.

Principle 12 is “Creatively Use and Respond to Change.” I noticed that with the orchards

and hedgerows growing in, the forest soils growing spongier from mushroom inoculation,

and the soils building from the animal rotation, water has begun to move much more slowly down

the hillside. So much so, that this area at the bottom of the hill is becoming somewhat

of a marsh. Well, that wasn’t what I planned, but I’m going to creatively use that change,

and I’m going to carve out some low areas that’ll stay really wet, which I can use

to grow edible wetland plants, and then simultaneously build up these peninsulas, full of edge to

grow productive trees which will get their roots down in this water table. Wow, I didn’t

even see that yield coming, but there you have it. The Permaculture principles in action!