What is Permaculture?
Permaculture is a system that aims to design human settlements according to the principles found in nature and the idea of sustainability.
First of all, Australian Bill Mollison and David Holmgren developed this system in 1974 and named it permaculture by combining the words permanent agriculture. Permaculture is a system that includes many disciplines such as botany, biology, agriculture, horticulture, geography, anthropology, architecture, economy, finance and energy.
The aim is to create long-term sustainable, ecologically healthy and economically viable systems that meet the needs of cities and villages, do not exploit and pollute the environment. It combines the characteristics of the land and structures with the natural features of plants and animals, using even the smallest possible area.
Permaculture is simply the philosophy of working with nature, not against it. It considers all the functions of plants and animals through long thoughtful observation.
Permaculture adopts an ethical approach consisting of 3 parts:
1. Taking care of the world;care for all living and non-living things. This idea includes harmless and curative activities, active protection, thrifty use of resources, and proper livelihood.
2. To care for people;Thus, the need for food and shelter, education, work and pleasant human relations is met. If we can meet our basic needs, we don't need to take destructive actions that harm the world.
3. To dedicate the surplus;To use excess time, money and energy for these purposes.
Permaculture ethics encompasses all aspects of environmental, community, economic and societal systems. What we should prefer is cooperation, not competition.
How can we apply the ethic of caring for the world in our own lives?
-Make your plans sustainable. Consider the long-term consequences of actions.
- If possible, use native species or natural species known to be beneficial in your area.
-Cultivate the smallest possible piece of land.
-Grow different crops together in a field.
-Increase the total product return.
-Use low-energy and environmental (solar, wind, water) and biological (plant, animal) systems to store and convert energy.
-Restart food farming in cities.
-Encourage people in self-sufficiency and community responsibility.
-Restore soil fertility by reforestation.
-Use everything enough and recycle all the waste.
-See solutions, not problems.