Permaculture as a Basis for a Sustainable Future

Permaculture as a Basis for a Sustainable Future “Permaculture” is a word created by its founder, Bill Mollison and is a fusion of “permanent agriculture.” According to the International Labor Office, agriculture is any type of activity that involves the production and marketing of crops and animals. Agriculture does not follow a set of principles nor does it follow a set of ethics and is therefore ineffective when it comes to the advancement of society. Although agriculture has been an effective way to produce yields in the past, the design concepts of permaculture allow for a beneficial impact on both the environment and society. Permaculture defined is “a sustainable design system stressing the harmonious interrelation of humans, plants, animals, and the Earth.” It is a way of working with nature and placing the right elements together so they can support each other. Unlike agriculture, permaculture is a system that “arranges what was already there in a different way, so that it works to conserve energy or to generate more energy than it consumes” (Mollison 1988). Systems are constantly organizing and creating complex energy storage in order to use them for further use. As a design system, permaculture creates sustainable environments that provide for themselves and recycle their own waste through the interaction of their components so they can produce more energy and yields. According to Mollison, these systems require cooperation and must have “practical design considerations” when being constructed and conserved. In permaculture, “the systems we construct should last as long as possible, and take the least maintenance.“ This could mean the incorporation of chickens in order to provide food, fertilization, and the ability to till soil or the incorporation of trees to maintain clean air quality, provide shelter, shade, and food for the betterment of the system. Typical production practices in agriculture are that of tillage, pest control, water