What is : Permaculture

Many people have heard of permaculture but are unsure of exactly what that it is all about.

Permaculture is a 'whole person philosophy', which combines the use of ethics (heart), positive attitudes (head) and active principles (hands). Spirit is met through the integration of these for the good of all.

The ethics are: Earth care - care for the planet and all living organisms; people care - care for every person and meeting all our needs; and fair shares - limiting our consumption and re-investing our surplus into the other two ethics, so balance is achieved. As Gandhi said: "There is enough in the world for everyone's need, but not for everyone's greed."

The strength of permaculture lies in its diversity, and there are an estimated 300 projects in Britain, ranging from community woodlands to sensory gardens for people with learning difficulties, from large scale agroforestry farms to regeneration of urban brownfield sites, from green architecture to Local Exchange Trading Systems (LETS), from organic cafes to edible roof gardens. In addition, thousands of people have begun to implement permaculture in their own homes and gardens.

Monkton Wyld Court, just over the border in Dorset, is an example of where permaculture is helping residents of this holistic education centre integrate the management of their land and running their business.

They have recently taken on board permaculture as a guiding principle for their community and are hosting a permaculture course in January. Participants will be able to learn in their beautiful rectory and explore their grounds, as well as designing for their 11 acres of land, and eating home-cooked food.

Bryn Thomas, an experienced permaculture teacher, considers that "permaculture encourages us to use our individual skills, knowledge and interests, whilst drawing on traditional wisdom, science and our innate ability to observe and learn from the world around us."

This is all blended together into the permaculture design courses where you can learn how to use the principles to affect positive change within yourself.



For details of the course at Monkton Wyld, call Louise Macnamara on 01460 30141 or email loumacnamara@hotmail.com.

For details of other permaculture courses, contact the association on 0845 458 1805, or visit www.permaculture.org.uk.