12 Permaculture Principles of Design

The term “permaculture” is most widely used in talking about sustainable agriculture, designing landscapes after the patterns in nature to yield an abundance of food. The idea is to create an environment that requires little to no human input - grouping together complementary crops and greenery, integrating animals as a source of fertilizer and pesk/weed deterrent, and using renewable energies as much as possible.  

What it really boils down to, is observing natural behavior and creating a complex system that optimizes production of a certain output. These twelve principles by David Holmgren can be extended to design other types of things like products, cities, organizations, communities, and so forth in a sustainable and ethical way. 

  1. Observe and interact: By taking time to engage with nature we can design solutions that suit our particular situation. 
  2. Catch and store energy: By developing systems that collect resources at peak abundance, we can use them in times of need. 
  3. Obtain a yield: Ensure that you are getting truly useful rewards as part of the work that you are doing. 
  4. Apply self-regulation and accept feedback: We need to discourage inappropriate activity to ensure that systems can continue to function well. 
  5. Use and value renewable resources and services: Make the best use of nature’s abundance to reduce our consumptive behavior and dependence on non-renewable resources. 
  6. Produce no waste: By valuing and making use of all the resources that are available to us, nothing goes to waste. 
  7. Design from patterns to details: By stepping back, we can observe patterns in nature and society. These can form the backbone of our designs, with the details filled in as we go. 
  8. Integrate rather than segregate: By putting the right things in the right place, relationships develop between those things and they work together to support each other. 
  9. Use small and slow solutions: Small and slow systems are easier to maintain than big ones, making better use of local resources and producing more sustainable outcomes. 
  10. Use and value diversity: Diversity reduces vulnerability to a variety of threats and takes advantage of the unique nature of the environment in which it resides. 
  11. Use edges and value the marginal: The interface between things is where the most interesting events take place. These are often the most valuable, diverse and productive elements in the system. 
  12. Creatively use and respond to change: We can have a positive impact on inevitable change by carefully observing, and then intervening at the right time.

I spent some time living and working on a permaculture farm in Costa Rica, but Hayes Valley Farm is an excellent organization that adheres to permaculture principles. I’m super excited about their event this weekend!