Permaculture (permanent agriculture) was originally coined in Australia in the late seventies by David Holmgren and Bill Mollison. Bill Mollison defines it as “a philosophy of working with, rather than against nature; of protracted and thoughtful observation rather than protracted and thoughtless labor; and of looking at plants and animals in all their functions, rather than treating any area as a single-product system.”

To understand the very basics of permaculture, it’s important to recognize that all decisions are rooted in three ethics: earth care, people care, and fair share.

Permaculture is a complete shift in lifestyle– a change of approach that ensures that our habits and practices are working in cooperation with, and benefit to, the planet rather than merely taking from and polluting it. It’s a rigid system in terms of ethics, but it’s surprisingly open in its approach. Whatever works well for taking care of people and our planet has a place within the practice. This makes it ideal to introduce to all the home villages of our students.