The ethics and principles of permaculture have guided every bit of learning and working here. They are the values that can guide land use, human interactions, and basically every aspect of tangible and intangible life, and can be translated to reform any structure, phyiscal or not. Whole cultures can be remodeled using the permaculture movement.

I truly do feel that if everyone thought and acted with these ideals in mind, we would be living in a state of global harmony.

3 main ethics:

• People care

• Earth care

• Fair share

12 main principles:

• Observe and interact

• Catch and store energy

• Obtain a yield

• Apply self-regulation and accept feedback

• Use and value renewable resources

• Produce no waste

• Design from patterns to details

• Integrate rather than segregate

• Use small and slow solutions

• Use and value diversity

• Use edges and value the marginal

• Creatively use and respond to change

We spent a lot of time brainstorming how each of the principles can be incorporated into different meanings, and then talked about our own personal definitions of permaculture. There is no right or wrong answer to what permaculture is, and every soul that choses to study it is entitled to their own interpretation

What permaculture means to me :

Permaculture is a way of life in which we channel our energy into creating a more positively charged, interconnected planet. It is humans using the language of ecology and indigenous wisdom to develop productive systems for all of earths inhabitants. It is common sense that just isn’t so common anymore. It’s a mentality, a way of thinking through patterns, working with what we have, and intertwining all elements in a system to create unity and beneficial interactions. It is a courageous endeavor to live with integrity and be an activist for what you believe in. It creates a permanent culture of happy, healthy systems that nurture and nourish everyone.

It is a movement, and not a set idea, everyone who interacts with permaculture is continuing to write it’s story in a new way.

It isn’t about making life sustainable, it’s about regenerating life. Working towards living sustainably implies that we don’t wish to harm the earth, but we’re not actively making it better. Regeneration is 100 times more powerful, for it encompasses working to leave everything you touch better than when you found it, and can help unravel some of the damage that’s gone on for thousands of years.

.(The first sentence is what I wrote on my sticky note, and the following is my current understanding of it as it’s evolved)