Many a time looking at the plant growth in soil, one question arises in mind that can this kind of growth we can observe in uneven or barren land? The answer is “Yes”. We can even do the farming in that kind of soil, which is not ideal, but we can get best output and good yield as well. One of the best method for this type of farming is “Permaculture Farming”.
Permaculture is actually an old term, and it is in use from many years a back, but it is not a famous method. So, let’s see the details of permaculture and let’s know about it.
What is Permaculture Farming?
“Permaculture may be defined as the self-sufficiency and sustainability of agricultural ecosystems. This type of agriculture draws inspiration from nature to create synergistic agricultural systems based on crop diversity, resilience, natural production, and sustainability.” It is also said as, “it is a land management and settlement planning technique that mimics the configurations found in healthy natural ecosystems.”
It entails mixed farming, the use of animal manure, the use of no artificial pesticides, crop rotation, and much more.
Agriculture, water harvesting and hydrology, energy, natural construction, forestry, waste management, animal systems, aquaculture, suitable technology, economics, and community development are all part of the toolkit of permaculture.
Permaculture design is a method of arranging intellectual, material, and strategic components in a pattern that benefits all forms of life.
Who actually coined this term?
Permaculture was derived from the phrase "permanent agriculture," but it was eventually expanded to include "permanent culture," which included social dimensions. Bill Mollison and David Holmgren created the phrase in 1978 in contrast to Western industrialized practices and in agreement with Indigenous or traditional knowledge.
Requirement of Permaculture:-
Permaculture depends on non-fixed forms of design that are adaptive to the areas of application, based on accurate observation of how ecosystems operate. As a result, an approach based on universal principles called as "permaculture design" has emerged.
The permaculture design is based on three fundamental ethical requirements:
· Willingness to form a community for individual and communal well-being.
· Resource sharing and equitable transfer of excesses.
· Environmental and biodiversity preservation.
The technique is mainly founded on:
A broad awareness of topics and processes; involvement of newcomers to permaculture in the process; the application of solutions gained from operating and proven systems to inadequate systems; the examination of the modes of connectivity between the constituents of a system.
The study of natural ecosystems in order to identify and remedy faults in the implementation of human activities, as well as to prepare for optimal integration.
Many solutions influenced by scientific ecology(observation of environment), self-assembling, and empirical methods acquired over time by traditional civilizations are implemented in permaculture design.
Permaculture Practices and Examples :-
· Habitats, for example, are buildings built of biodegradable local materials that are energy-efficient and have a low ecological imprint.
· Another example, is the economy, the creation of community groups such as SEL (Local Exchange System) generates short circuits, social linkages, solidarity, and community cohesiveness.
· Last but one of the important, no-till techniques in agriculture, preserve soil equilibrium and long-term fertility.
Why Permaculture is important? How it is sustainable ?
Permaculture is important because it is the only food production design system that has the potential to be more than sustainable. Sustainability is the basic minimum for humanity's long-term survival. It is the net-zero condition (i.e. after doing all this stuff, at the end of the day you have gained nothing, but have lost nothing either).
For mankind to exist in the long run, our food production methods must produce a net positive outcome, or the population must decline to the point where the equation becomes balanced.
Plants work well in diverse systems – the same is true of people too. Planting poly cultures (growth of plants which work together) is just one example of how this principle works in the real world, and that’s what exactly we do in permaculture and that increases the importance of this system.
Permaculture is sustainable because the energy required to set up and maintain the system is less than the energy taken from it during its lifespan. This is accomplished through a variety of approaches, including "closing the loop" on waste products by utilizing highly networked systems.
When we say sustainable, it means that, it is something we attain as a group — via teamwork and cooperation – not as individuals.
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