Thoughtful Observation...
"Permaculture is 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..." ~ Bill Mollison, founder of Permaculture
Ethics
Care of Earth
...regenerating, not just sustaining... |
It all starts with the Mother, Mother Earth. She birthed us and nurtured us and provided for us, all of us … for millennia.
All our anxieties, hostilities, our suffering and cruelty can be traced back to our violence and greed against earth. We were at one with nature, she provided everything for us in balance and harmony. Then we gained intellectual knowledge and with it, the arrogance to think we knew better than nature how to run things. Pretty soon, we developed crippling anxieties about morality and governance, how to control others and eventually, sought to gain complete dominance over nature and her carefully balanced resources. Extractive habits that are based in colonial and capitalistic economic perspectives have driven our ceaseless attack on earth’s regenerative capabilities. Our only hope for survival, and the reason “Care of Earth” is the first ethic, is to give nature the chance to catch her breath, to complete her cycles, and, ultimately, to provide for us and our brethren species. The Earthius grounds are one such place, where Mother Earth can catch her breath, where as many people as possible will be able to see what she can provide, just given the chance. |
Care of People
... building community, not just prepping... |
Once we have learned to prioritize earth and her uncanny ability to heal, not just herself, but all living things, we can utilize the new paradigm to create true community. I define community, or care of people, as the way humans have learned to regenerate. Being able to trust and depend on others is not only efficient, but truly regenerative.
One of the insidious convictions of a monetary culture is that “time is money.” It isn’t our inputs that we value financially, it is the time invested in producing the product or service. Unfortunately, as a culture, we have expanded this monetization of our time to our social and personal time. A monetized culture has a hard time recognizing the non-monetary payments we receive from social connections. How much is dependability worth? How much is trust worth? How much is companionship worth? How much is cooperation or teamwork worth? These all have a value we can only measure in our own well-being. For, those who have strong relationships, have the happiest and healthiest lives. The Earthius Project is designed to bring together people who are looking to step out of a monetized culture (where security is defined by monetary wealth), and transition to a communal culture, where security is in the diversity of pooled resources, such as skills, services, products, for which no money is charged, but which are instead “spent” on each other to further the Ethic. |
Share the Surplus (or Fair Share)
...reinvesting in ever-widening circles, not hoarding wealth... |
It follows that if Ethic 1 and Ethic 2 are practiced, Ethic 3 will be easily realized. “Feeding on the periphery” is a dark and destructive force that has been accepted light-heartedly by capitalism and its consumers for centuries.
It is a disturbing fact that western cultures are built on the sweat, toil, blood, torture, suffering of the “periphery.” It is even more disturbing, that capitalism requires its evil cousin, colonialism, to perpetrate the crimes necessary to dominate the periphery and extract its resources for the gain of the core. And make no mistake, colonialism is alive and well. It is just disguised in various ways. It may be the sweat shop that extracts the resource of labor, or a multi-national corporation like Nestle, laying claim to clean water, then making the local villagers stand in line and pay for the water they have just extracted from under their feet. Or perhaps colonialism is wearing a mask that looks like an oil conglomerate that claims easement on Native American land so that it can build its pipeline far away from the predominantly white town a few miles west. The Earthius Project seeks to use responsibly sourced inputs, from the amendments brought in to improve the initial soil, to the water that is harvested and distributed on site; from the kitchen scraps and weeds that feed the chickens, to the chicken manure that fertilizes the compost; in permaculture, the goal is simple: produce a valuable surplus of produce and knowledge, then share it with those who need and want it. |
Principles
Besides the three ethics of permaculture, there are 12 principles that can guide our lifestyle changes and decision-making as we transition into a regenerative future.
Although these principles are obviously useful in food production, they are also a valuable way of looking at other areas in life: education, social change, political processes, regulations and legislation, investments, and so on.
For example, recognizing that earth, by herself, without a great deal of input, manipulation, thievery, or exploitation from us, can provide us with all our essential needs. Beyond the basic comforts of a sustainably built shelter, organically and regeneratively grown local food, ethically and locally produced clothing, our wants become luxuries that cost not just money, but resources that are not ours for the taking. And just as importantly, they become waste that can never truly be made to “go away.”
Although these principles are obviously useful in food production, they are also a valuable way of looking at other areas in life: education, social change, political processes, regulations and legislation, investments, and so on.
For example, recognizing that earth, by herself, without a great deal of input, manipulation, thievery, or exploitation from us, can provide us with all our essential needs. Beyond the basic comforts of a sustainably built shelter, organically and regeneratively grown local food, ethically and locally produced clothing, our wants become luxuries that cost not just money, but resources that are not ours for the taking. And just as importantly, they become waste that can never truly be made to “go away.”
1. Observe & Interact
...patience, not procrastination... |
At The Earthius Project, we have observed and interacted with this land. We have watched the lashing rain pour down on the meadow, gather here and there, make deep rifts in the dirt road, and wash gravel and sand down the drive to the lake. We have taken note of the shadows in winter and again in summer. We have recorded temperatures during the unpredictable North Carolina springs. We have worked out the elevations from the lake shore to the top of the hill. We know from which direction the fiercest winds blow and which critters we need to maintain to control unwanted pests (like the beautiful brown water snake that was caught in our berry net one morning because she came to feast on the voles and toads).
We made many decisions the first year that keen observation and attention are proving wrong. Nature teaches us that patience is most definitely a virtue. Especially when it comes to allowing her to fix problems much more efficiently than we, as humans, ever could. |
2. Catch & Store Energy
...capture, redirect, & recycle... |
One of the observations that we have made is how the energies move across this property. The most pressing of these is water. The first year, we contemplated spending hundreds of dollars to put in a drain pipe that would carry run-off across the drive, where it was washing a gully into the gravel that was deep enough to expose the bedrock. Instead, we created a miniature ditch and berm that runs on the upper side of the drive and redirects the meadow’s run-off back into the meadow… and directly into a system of connected swales. I have had to water the orchard (which is now on that hill) only 4 times this summer. And the road no longer gets washed out!
Another observation was that spring in NC is very erratic and that gathering heat and sunlight during the day could keep seedlings at a steady temperature during this unpredictable time. So up went the greenhouse! The seedlings loved it and we had plants in the ground the day after the last frost, way before anyone else we know. Three more sources of energy have already been identified and we address those in the near future: water barrels to collect roof rain, a small turbine to generate electricity in the water fall behind the dam, and a small wind turbine to generate power from the rather steady south-easterly winds that come up the hill. |
3. Obtain a Yield
...intrinsic value, not monetary worth... |
It is not our intention at Earthius to sell produce for profit. It is our intention to produce a yield of knowledge that can be passed on to others.
Much like many permaculture endeavors, Earthius is a place that supplies the know-how, hands-on, communal opportunities that are so lacking in this high-speed, high-tech, anti-social society. The goal at Earthius is to produce enthusiasm and awakening in as many people as possible. Empowerment Through Permaculture! |
4. Self-Regulation & Accept Feedback
...seek to create self-balancing systems... |
At Earthius, we have had feedback from Mother Nature since 2015. Feedback includes the way the water percolates into the heavy clay soil through our swales, how plants react to different amendments made to the soil (potatoes don’t like manure in the soil), and how the pest populations respond to neem oil applications or the introduction of predatory insects.
The swales in the orchard are much more productive than the aesthetically arranged garden put in previously beside the house, where runoff just by-passes the planting beds and heads down to the lake. The addition of a small pond has improved the general health of the raised bed garden, where amphibians now eat most of the pests and make a beautiful concert each evening. |
5. Use & Value Renewable Resources
...syntropy, not entropy... |
Again, water tops the list here. When we have a week or more of no rains and 100 degree temperatures, the watering needs become huge. And while we are on a well, it does take electricity to pump the water from the well. When the rain does come, it is usually in a torrent. So, capturing this water in a system of swales and ponds makes sense. These earthworks were completed in the first year.
Secondly, we have free wood chips delivered frequently. These are used not just as mulch, but to fill the swales and ditches. By placing wood chips in the swales, significantly less rain water is lost due to evaporation and the soil is kept cooler. They also make great walkways now. When we installed the pond in the annual garden to store the run-off that collects there, we added plants from the lake, instead of buying plants. This not only saved money, but ensured that we were placing native plants that are suited to this climate and location. The amphibian life has exploded! Some composite wood that was flung onto the abandoned property next door by a tornado a few years ago was used to make a deck on which the little green house now stands. And while that is not a “renewable” resource, it is better to make use of it, than to let it molder away under leaf-mulch or add to the landfill! |
6. Produce No Waste
...reuse and say "no"... |
One thing that frustrates me to no end is the amount of packaging that I deal with daily. Whether it’s the plastic casing on a new tool or the bags that soil amendments come in, it is a CONSTANT influx!
Buying things in bulk is one option. These days we load up the truck bed with soil, wood chips, or a recycled chicken coop and circumvent the packaging. Of course, the ultimate no-waste policy at Earthius is food and garden waste… we let the chickens compost everything and use coffee grounds to eliminate snails on the strawberries. The rotational chicken run is the best thing since sliced bread! While waste produced by the Earthius Project is minimal, we have a long way to go till we approach zero-waste. |
7. Design from Pattern to Detail
...nature's designs are the most efficient... |
One of the most useful design methods is to take patterns observed in nature and adapt these to man-made projects. There is not a single pattern that nature has created, used, and matured, that is not highly efficient and productive. Patterns in nature are symbiotic to such a degree that it is hard to spot them.
Whenever we are trying to solve a problem or design a new system at Earthius, we look to how nature handles this problem. Then we apply the general pattern, working out the details as we go along. For example, many of us are familiar with companion planting. One species likes another nearby, for some beneficial reason, like pest control or nitrogen access. But have you ever seen just two species intermingle in a large area in nature? The earth fills every nook and cranny with anything that is happy in that particular spot. When planting a fruit tree for instance, we can use guilds. We see the pattern of vertical hierarchy and the vying for sunlight and rain in the wild. We can mimic this whenever we plant something. |
8. Integrate Rather Than Segregate
...symbiosis, not compartmentalization... |
We live in a compartmentalized world. There is a unit called “the work day,” there is a unit called “after-work,” and there is a time frame called “relaxation.” Compartmentalizing, in and of itself, is not a bad thing. However, during the techno-revolution we have experienced over the past 30 years, we are infringing one compartment with the tasks of another more and more frequently anyway. We check work email during “relaxation.” We carpool kids while still officially in the “work day” compartment. We call it multitasking and we're proud of it.
However, all this compartmentalizing and multitasking has us stressed out. Why? Because we insist on continuing the compartmentalized lifestyle, despite the fact that we know everything we do in one unit affects another. It’s the same with all natural systems. And if we take gardening as an example, we can look at how it used to be done hundreds of years ago and how we are trying to do it now. The cottage garden was a messy myriad of useful plants that provided all but the most exotic staples. It did not need much watering and was not vulnerable to pests. What do our gardens look like now, if we even have one? Neat rows of prize tomatoes all grouped in one bed, soil beneath bare, strawberries surrounded by “weed preventing” plastic or cloth, or perhaps neatly clipped and treated lawns that require artificial fertilizers and herbicides abutting our beds? Symbiosis happens when a variety of species that enjoy or even need each other intermingle. Are those tomatoes, grouped together in bare soil, draining the soil of nutrients and water too quickly? Put garden beans in between! They will contribute nitrogen and shade the ground. Having trouble with low fertility? Plant wildflowers in the middle and around the edge of the tomato bed, too, to encourage pollinators to join the party! Everyone withers from loneliness. |
9. Use Small & Slow Solutions
...creativity, not impulsivity... |
Have you ever started a project and half-way along, you increased your scope? Then the new scope uncovered new problems to solve and you expanded the scope yet again? We do it all the time. Unfortunately, there are some projects that take a while to pan out. Like gardening. Or healthcare decisions. Or investments.
A very important part of the permaculture way is to use our “protracted observations” to take “thoughtful actions.” Since it still does not guarantee that our decisions will yield the desired result, it is best to step back and allow our projects to grow over time. This is where zones come in handy. Permaculture zones are areas of the property that require different amounts of energy and are visited at different frequencies. We suggest you always start in Zone 1, areas around the main dwelling that you are able to easily visit multiple times a day. Build those out first, then move outward to Zone 2. While it is not always possible to be linear in this approach (like needing to plant fruit trees the first year in the orchard, to get them growing), it is useful to always keep in mind. Don’t worry about a bee hive for zone 2, until you have a successful and abundant kitchen garden just outside your door! |
10. Use & Value Diversity
...there is strength in difference and interdependence... |
Looking at undisturbed natural ecosystems, you will never find a field of only grain or corn, and devoid of trees and shrubs, at that. You would never find a forest of nothing but Douglas Firs with no understory or brush plants. Why?
Yet the first thing we as humans do when we want nature to be productive is to clear out everything down to the bare earth and replant patches or large swathes of single-species plants! It’s like commissioning an artist to paint another masterpiece, then taking their tools, paints, and canvas away. Are you really expecting the artist to be able or willing to produce a comparable masterpiece? No. You would not be surprised to witness the artist first go about collecting new art supplies, so he can do the job! Not to mention, you’ve probably pissed them off. Likewise with nature. She has certain goal and an arsenal of tools to create abundance. If we want that abundance to be edible, we are better off learning what she needs to do the job, rather than stripping her of all her tools. And knowing her goal is to heal and interlace and cover at all times, it is foolish to think she will abstain from plopping in pioneer plants (weeds) the minute you’ve stripped the ground bare. It’s her purpose... Poisoning her because she is doing what she is meant to do is heinous. All systems thrive and are more secure and stable through diversity. Always find multiple sources to accomplish a task (capture rain from the roof AND have swales and dams) and each resource should have multiple functions (mulch the swales for a footpath, put the rain barrel in the greenhouse to keep it cool in summer). And pick plants not just because you like to eat them, but also because they pull nitrogen from the air and put it in the soil, shade the strawberry patch, or provide nectar for beneficial and predatory insects. Don’t rip out the dandelion. Leave it to break of the ground and to use in salad! Even the flowers are edible! |
11. Use Edges & Value the Marginal
...life happens where worlds collide... |
Ever notice how alive and active the edge of a pond or lake is? Our lake has thousands of tadpoles, grasses, toads, snakes, beavers, fish, water lilies, ferns, and other plants interacting at the shore. I love just sitting down at the edge with my feet in the water, waiting patiently for the life to reveal itself.
This is no accident. The edge between one ecosystem and another is far more diverse and integrated than any other places on earth. The exchanges that take place between a forest habitat and a perennial meadow far surpass anything that happens in the center of the forest or in the middle of the meadow. The exchange of food, water, nutrients and oxygen that happens where a body of water meets the shore is incalculable. But we don’t have to go in search of these edges, though I would encourage you to do so. You can create your own! At Earthius, we have created a pond in the garden, where amphibians, tadpoles, water-plants, birds, and insects have brought to life the diverse and protective qualities that make the gardens more resilient. At the edge of the woods, the blackberry and raspberry brambles bask in the protectiveness of the lower trees, their thorns providing shelter and protection for rabbits, squirrels, fawns, and birds. Without these safe areas, there would be fewer birds to eat the slugs and caterpillars feasting on the strawberries. |
12. Creatively Use & Respond to Change
...change is certain, accept it and participate in it... |
Few people like change. Some of us fight it with all we’ve got. Others have learned to go with the flow so much that things get out of hand. But in permaculture, change is the norm, as it is in nature. Trying to keep things static requires effort, energy, and time.
For example, when you put in a lawn, you have created a “prairie state” according to nature. Since nature is never going to accept leaving it at that, she is constantly trying to move that lawn from prairie state to savanna or brush, intermediate succession stages to a full forest. Viewing the perennial grasses and brush as a sign that nature is doing her job, we can look creatively at how we define “beautiful.” Is a meadow of perennial grasses, dandelions, and wildflowers really less beautiful than a wide expanse of turf that is sterilized of life and requires a ton of time and water, resources that are NOT renewable? “Weeds” are just change, they represent progression. It is up to us how we judge this change: either a nuisance necessitating forced control and wasting of resources, or a new source of salad greens and nature’s willingness to improve the soil... for FREE. |
To see how these principles can be applied to non-food production decisions, take a look at this essay!