Permaculture: Ethics and Principles

1. Midwest Permaculture
& Wayne Weiseman
Fundamentals of
Permaculture
Webinar Series
Webinar 2
Ethics & Principles
All Slides and Audio Files
©Wayne Weiseman &
Midwest Permaculture

2. PERMA (permanent) CULTURE
 “Permaculture is about relationships that we can
create between minerals, plants animals and humans
by the way we place them in the landscape. The aim
is to create systems that are ecologically sound and
economically viable, which provide for their own
needs, do not exploit or pollute and are therefore
sustainable in the long term.” (Bill Mollison)
 (Permanent- Latin: per- throughout + manere- to remain; Culture- Middle English: cultivation,
tillage; from Old French; from Latin: cultura, from cultus- cultivation, from Germanic: skel- to
cut)

3. Th e Pri me Direct ive o f
Permac ul tu re
The only ethical decision is to take
responsibility for our own existence and that
of our children

6. The Ethics of Permaculture
Permaculture is unique among “alternative” farming systems (e.g. organic, sustainable, eco-agriculture,
biodynamic) in that it works with a set of ethics that suggest we think and act responsibly in relation to each
other and the earth.
The ethics of Permaculture provide a sense of place in the larger scheme of things, and serve as a
guidepost to right Livelihood in concert with the global community and the environment, rather than
individualism and indifference.
Care of the Earth
…includes all living and non-living things- plants, animals, land, water, air.
Care of People
…promotes self-reliance and community responsibility- access to resources necessary for existence.
Setting Limits to Population and Consumption
…gives away surplus- contribution of surplus time, labor, money, information, and energy to achieve the
aims of earth and people care.
Permaculture also acknowledges a basic life ethic, which recognizes the intrinsic worth of every living thing.
A tree has value in itself. Even if it presents no commercial value to humans. That the tree is alive and
functioning is worthwhile.
It is doing its part in nature: recycling litter, producing oxygen, sequestering carbon dioxide, sheltering
animals, building soils and so on.

7. The Principles of Permaculture Design
Whereas permaculture ethics are more akin to broad moral values and codes of
behavior, the principles of Permaculture provide a set of universally applicable
guidelines which can be used in designing sustainable habitats. Distilled from
multiple disciplines- ecology, energy conservation, landscape design, and
environmental science- these principles are inherent in any Permaculture design,
in any climate, and at any scale.
Relative location
Each element performs multiple functions
Each function is supported by many elements
Energy efficient planning
Using biological resources
Energy cycling
Small-scale intensive systems
Natural plant succession and stacking
Polyculture and diversity of species
Increasing “edge” within a system
Observe and replicate natural patterns
Pay attention to scale
Attitude

8. Permaculture Competencies
 Primitive living skills  Aquaculture
 Settlement, village life-ways and folkways  Planning the homestead
 Map building and modeling  “Green” structures, ecological building practices
 Permaculture principles  Craftwork and chores
 Concepts and themes in design  Equipment, tools, bio-fuels and vehicles
 The local ecosystem  Renewable energy, system design and
 Forms of eco-gardening and farming implementation
 Broad scale, bioregional site design  Energy conservation
 The application of specific methods, laws and  Biological waste management and recycling
principles to design  Strategies for different climates
 Pattern understanding and observation skills  Urban and suburban strategies
 Climatic factors  Small farm and garden management and
 Plants and trees and their energy interactions marketing
 Water: collection, storage, purification  Strategies of an alternative global nation
 Soils  Political, social, economic issues and solutions
 Earth-working and earth resources  Designing public policy
 Zone and sector analysis  Land and forest restoration
 Food forests and small animal husbandry  Human settlement and local ecology
 Cropping and large animal husbandry  Site selection, mapping and modeling
 Harvest and utility forests  Dividing, distributing, apportioning land
 Natural forests  Practical work on design

9. Yield
System Yield is the sum total of surplus energy produced, stored,
conserved, reused, or converted by the design. Energy is in surplus
once the system itself has available all its needs for growth,
reproduction, and maintenance. Unused surplus results in pollution
and more work.
The only ethical decision is to take responsibility for our own
existence and that of our children.
Cooperation, not competition, is the very basis of future survival
and of existing life systems.