Creating a Sustainable Sunshine Coast - Nambour to Mooloolah

What is Permaculture?

When you tell someone that you are a Permaculturist how do you answer the inevitable question “what is Permaculture?” Permaculture means many things to many people and trying to pin down a universal definition can be a challenge, but here goes.

One of my favourite published definitions is…
Permaculture is a practical concept applicable from the balcony to the farm, from the city to the wilderness. It enables people to establish productive environments, providing for food, energy, shelter, material and non-material needs, as well as the social and economic infrastructure that support them. Permaculture means thinking carefully about our environment, our use of resources and how we supply our needs. It aims to create systems that will sustain not only for the present, but for future generations. [Author unknown].

Bill Mollison explains Permaculture as…
Permaculture is about designing sustainable human settlements. It is a philosophy and an approach to land use which weaves together microclimate, annual and perennial plants, animals, soils, water management, and human needs into intricately connected, productive communities.

David Holmgren explains Permaculture as…
Permaculture is the use of systems thinking and design principles that provide the organising framework for implementing the vision of “consciously designed landscapes which mimic the patterns and relationships found in nature, while yielding an abundance of food, fibre and energy for provision of local needs.”

My understanding of Permaculture is…
I see Permaculture as a web of ideas, observations, lessons, designs, principles, knowledge, experience and patterns that we can tap into and which can be applied to any and every area of our lives; our personal selves, our homes, our gardens, our food and energy use, the street we live on, our community, our State and our planet to create a more sustainable world, one that is in touch with and respectful of Nature and one that embodies the ethics of; care of Earth, care of all people and only taking our fair share. Permaculture has taught me that we need only look to Nature to find the answers.