Permaculture Ethics

care of the earth | care of people | fair share

The ethics earth care, people care and fair share form the foundation for permaculture design and are also found in most traditional societies. Ethics are culturally evolved mechanisms that regulate self-interest, giving us a better understanding of good and bad outcomes. The greater the power of humans, the more critical ethics become for long-term cultural and biological survival.

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Permaculture Principles

Abridged version of permaculture principles from permacultureprinciples.com, visit their website for more in-depth information.

Principle 1—observe and interact: By taking time to engage with nature we can design solutions that suit our particular situation.

Principle 2—catch and store energy: By developing systems that collect resources at peak abundance, we can use them in times of need.

Principle 3—obtain a yield: Ensure that you are getting truly useful rewards as part of the work that you are doing.

Principle 4—apply self-regulation and accept feedback: We need to discourage inappropriate activity to ensure that systems can continue to function well.

Principle 5—use and value renewable resources and services: Make the best use of nature’s abundance to reduce our consumptive behaviour and dependence on non-renewable resources.

Principle 6—produce no waste: By valuing and making use of all the resources that are available to us, nothing goes to waste.

Principle 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.

Principle 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.

Principle 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.

Principle 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.

Principle 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.

Principle 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.