Permaculture Ethics

Permaculture is based on some pretty sound and well-proven foundations. Those foundations are found in the ethics and principles of permaculture.

First ethic of permaculture is
Care of Earth
this is where it all begin for permaculture, rebuilding the natural capital.
Soil building
Increasing organic matter in the soil
Keeping water in the soil
Protecting the soil
Treating soil as a valuable resource
Not degrading it
Not spraying it with chemicals
Not concreting over the top of everything
It extends to care of the landscape and care of the environment.

One of the most interesting things I noticed after I did my Permaculture Design Course (PDC) was the way I viewed the landscape. I could see where to place a swale, where to put a turkey nest dam, prevailing wind directions, how air and water moved across its surface and evidence of what was happening below the surface.

My PDC allowed me to see the landscape through permaculture eyes. It taught me how to read it like a book.

Caring for the soil, the Earth, the environment is crucial. But we all know that, it's just not many of us actually live it.

Next up we have
Care of people
Starting with self, kin and then community.
This reminds us to care for ourselves. Not in some greedy selfish way, but in a way that we honour ourselves as a resource. So many people in permaculture burn out. Volunteerism is rife and often little value is placed on education and teaching. Caring for ourselves means we renew our energies, we take care, we ensure we are resilent and strong for the things that lie ahead for all of us (climate change and peak oil). Then we care for our nearest and dearest, then that spread out into our community. We make connections, we network, we support others. We build community just as we build soil.

Third and final ethic has many names
Fair Share
Reduce consumption
Fair distribution
Redistribution of surplus
It all says the thing - take your fair share, but consider others (see ethics 1 and 2 for clarification on this one!).
We all know how unfairly the world's resources and finances are distributed. We live in a highly inequitable world. A cruel world that uses the poor to support the rich. Ensuring you take responsibility for what you consume and that you take as little as you need ensures you are doing what you can to right this wrong.