Evergreen: Permaculture 101
Putting the capital G in Green living
By John and Gwen Wages, MS Greens, Jim Barton, NC Greens, and Mike Henkel, Florida Greens

It's no coincidence that the home of the world's first Green Party is also the birthplace of permaculture. In 1974, Bill Mollison, an ecologist at the University of Tasmania who has received awards for his innovations, and his student David Holmgren put together design principles based on natural systems.

A grasp of permaculture is helpful for the effective Green activist, as well as for a successful Green Party. The ethical principles of permaculture offer a coherent ideological basis for the Green experiment: care for the earth, care for people. The Greek inventor Archimedes said he could move the world if only he had a long enough lever and a place to put it. For Greens, the principles of permaculture are our lever.

Named after "permanent agriculture," it envisions a cropping system based largely on perennials and tree crops to supplant the erosive tillage agriculture of the last 10,000 years. It also emphasizes multi-use of plants, sheet mulching, trellising and integration of animals to recycle and graze weeds.

Permaculture is also "permanent culture." It focuses on following patterns found in nature and applying them to social and economic relationships. Even though permaculture design is most often applied to homesteads, its 12 design principles are broadly applicable to human village and town planning, water management, transportation, education and just about every area of human endeavor.

Architecture has been especially influenced by permaculture, such as in technical trends toward biological materials like straw and clay. Yet a universal lament is that permaculture's promise remains unfulfilled, especially in the US where it is most needed, but millions have never even heard of it.

Permaculture recognizes that humans are a part of nature and integrates us into natural processes. Most of us want to live sustainably, but all too often, we are sustainable only in our own minds. Our approach seems to be a jumble of organic carrots, rechargeable batteries, and recycling containers by the curb.

The permaculture design principles provide a logistical framework and a clear path to sustainability. For example, the principle "Use Small and Slow Solutions" invokes EF Schumacher's "Small is Beautiful" axiom. Nothing is as demoralizing as investing a huge amount of time and energy (possibly money also) that comes to nothing. A simple application of this design principle is to test the waters: risk only a toe at first, then a foot, before finally plunging in. Small solutions are also effective public policy and a useful tool for elected Greens to move forward.

"Creatively Use and Respond to Change" is the challenge currently before the Green Party of the United States. Standing at the edge of the precipice (whether ecosystem collapse, Peak Oil, economic disaster, or something we least expect), we have a platform, but we need a plan ordinary people can relate to. Permaculturists have bridged this divide through the idea of sustainability.

The Permaculture Activist ( www.permacultureactivist.net ) is a clearinghouse of information and contacts. 

For information on permaculture courses for Greens, contact the authors at greenculture@gmail.com. 

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