Health, Hope & Happiness
Learn the ins and outs of permaculture design.
When Bill Mollison and David Holmgren were envisioning Permaculture, they worked out some very important and useful design principles. They wanted to give students and practitioners of Permaculture all the tools they would need to design systems that work with nature. Continue reading “What are Permaculture Principles, and how do I use them?”
You won’t spend too much time in the company of permaculturists before you hear the word ‘swale’. It is a permaculture mainstay for some, and a point of contention for others.
For me, a swale is another useful tool in the permaculture tool box. So what is a swale? Read on, and I’ll give you a little introduction. Continue reading “What is a swale? An introduction to permaculture water harvesting swales”
Most people think of life skills as learning to do your taxes, boil an egg, or change a tire. While these things can come in handy, if you’re into that sort of thing, my idea of life skills is a little different. This self-sufficiency skills list contains just the very basic things that a person needs to live. Continue reading “Self-sufficiency skills list: 11 basic life skills you need to survive”
I had the last property I lived on completely and brilliantly designed…in my head. I could see every pond and food forest and garden bed laid out just where I wanted. I had the chickens and gardens beautifully integrated; and swales and fish-growing ponds all mapped out. Continue reading “Permaculture design: integrating systems and implementing designs”
I have been asked what the difference is between a conventional garden and a permaculture garden. So I thought I would try to answer that question in this article. There are a lot of moving parts to a permaculture garden, so let’s go through them one at a time. Continue reading “What is a permaculture garden?”
A food forest is the Holy Grail of permaculture. It’s what so many of us aspire to when we think of the ultimate home food system. It is a system that not only feeds humans and animals, but it can provide for other needs as well, such as crafting and building. It is a stable and long-term system that provides a wide variety of foods, with a minimum of input. Continue reading “What is a permaculture food forest, and how do I get one?”
So far on this site I have concentrated on the gardening aspect of permaculture. But there really is so much more to it. Permaculture is a term that encompasses the designing of entire human habitations, whether they be city lots, small homesteads, large farms, or whole communities. Continue reading “What is permaculture design, and how can I use it?”
Permaculture design advocates doing an analysis of each element of a design to understand its inputs and outputs – aka, its needs and its offerings; aka, energy in vs. energy out.
This will enable you to place each element in the right place within the design, connecting elements in a permaculture design. These are the first pieces of the puzzle. Continue reading “Connecting elements in a permaculture design”
Each element in a permaculture garden serves a purpose – at least one purpose – and as permaculture gardeners it is up to us to learn to recognize that purpose and put it to its best use. Continue reading “Design a permaculture garden: a look at all the elements”
In the world we live in now, space can be at a premium. Cities around the world are more and more crowded. Apartment dwellers want to ‘do’ permaculture, but feel their hands are tied. Continue reading “Permaculture: Doing what you can, where you are, with what you have”
