“The whole history of our presence on earth could be gleaned from the witness and actions of hands.” John O’Donohue, Eternal Echoes

I’m not interested in defending permaculture, nor defining it; not in an encompassing way at least. It is certainly not a silver bullet and it certainly has its flaws. It will not save the world. A cursory glance will lead you to both productive (Making Permaculture Stronger and Liberation Permaculture) and unproductive critiques of permaculture. I will spare you the latter. 

What I am sharing here is why I believe permaculture and specifically permaculture education is useful in this complicated world. I am writing this article to move you closer to action, to change, to crossing some threshold where you trust your hands and their impact.

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The Confusion

It must be acknowledged that permaculture is commonly, and unfortunately, incorrectly portrayed and defined. Too often it is seen as a collection of gardening and land management practices. Moreover, it is sometimes accused of “stealing” these practices from indigenous cultures. While permaculture, and all of us involved, must be diligent about giving credit and supporting all who have come before us, I would like to make it clear that permaculture is, at its core, a design process. That is to say it is not a collection of techniques, nor is it a gardening practice.

The power of it is in the applied process. Our Permaculture Design Certification course (PDC) is centered on this process.

Becoming Useful

I use this phrase because it describes my own journey, how I came to be a student of plants. I had a great desire to be useful in my community, especially after the standard US education system I thrived in. I believe this resonates with many of our students. 

Often I notice two main patterns in our students. On the one side we find individuals deep in spiritual practices or exploring personal growth, but they have lost sight of the very practical matters of living on this planet: food, governance, water, shelter, and such. 

On the other hand, I see other students, who have been fighting the fight of the activist for years; working to dismantle this broken system we live in; yet in this fight, they have forgotten what they want the world to look like. They only see what needs to be replaced, leaving a void; without the capacity or curiosity to envision this new world. They burn out.

Permaculture provides a beautiful bridge that balances these worlds. It does so by specifically requesting that we take unique and concrete actions and in return it offers us something we rarely receive.

What Does Permaculture Ask of Us?

Responsibility: Permaculture asks that we participate in a culture of personal responsibility. David Holmgren, one of the co-originators of permaculture, shares how responsibility engenders feedback, and feedback encourages personal responsibility. Said differently, if you don’t decide to be responsible for your food (growing or sourcing it ethically) some other entity will happily do that for you and, almost assuredly, at great cost to you, workers and the planet.

Participation: My favorite part: we must participate. There is no waiting for systems larger than us; such as governments and corporations, to change. As it has been said many times before, one must have one’s own house in order first. Are you composting and fermenting in your home? Have you embraced voluntary frugality? Do you find ways to volunteer time in your community? Creating the world you want will only happen by being directly involved. Permaculture requires participation. 

Place Making: What happens when we stay in one place? Permaculture asks of us to slow down and observe what surrounds us. The constant movement and seeking, one of the great patterns in our culture of nowhere, is strong. At some point, every one of us needs to settle and become part of a place. Global communities have their space, and their power is dwarfed by the neighborhood and bioregional interdependence that permaculture design demands.

What Does Permaculture Give to Us?

In return for the above commitments we are given a chance to have a direct impact on the world . Though not unique to permaculture in any sense, the below gifts, I find, are common, direct results of permaculture education.

Intuition: Though practicing permaculture may require deep study, an investment in tools (physical and otherwise), and ample patience, it is at its core an intuitive process. Good permaculture education brings us back to this intuition, back to trusting our own senses and our ability to read and know the landscape. This intuition is usually buried behind the logical mind or the disconnected body. Permaculture, at its best, brings us into stillness and from there, very often, the best ideas emerge. 

Permission: Permaculture is a decentralized methodology and community. No one has a say over how you use its tools. This can be scary at first. We are used to waiting for the confidence and experience of the expert before starting. Permaculture gives us the permission to start no matter where we are on our journey of becoming useful. There is no more excuse to literally plant a seed, to volunteer at a community farm, to cycle your greywater, and so forth. You have these tools now.

Curiosity: In permaculture it is often said that “a designer is only limited by their creativity.” As one explores the world of permaculture, you will be astounded by the creativity of human ingenuity to address their needs. This is the gift of possibilities. There will no longer be a “right” way to grow your vegetables; you will instead find that the methodologies are endless. Curiosity becomes a trait that you can practice and cultivate. A wide-eyed appreciation of all of the means to harvest water, shelter ourselves, organize as communities, design our lives, and such, becomes yours.

Why Permaculture Education?

I reference “good” permaculture education above. An inexact word to be sure. What I can say confidently is that students respond incredibly to the intensive two week experience that is a Permaculture Design Course. The act of being present for two weeks, with others, in a place dedicated and designed specifically to inspire, quite often results in life changing experiences for students. As a facilitator in these courses, I am always inspired by students and convinced of the power of permaculture, especially if we are able to commit to what it asks of us and open ourselves to its gifts.

This course does not mean that you will become a professional designer or a full time farmer. This course, the community it fosters, is alive for everyone. We are attempting to create a new culture, a new pattern language as we say in permaculture. You are invited to participate.

If you are interested in learning about permaculture courses, syntropic farming workshops and other opportunities, follow the link to our workshop page.