PDC Handouts

Designed Visions
Permaculture Design Course

Handouts
July 2011
Contents
ii
Contents
An Introduction to Permaculture
A Beginners Guide to Permaculture1

Mind Maps of Permaculture3
Ethics and Philosophies4
An Introduction to Systems5
Problems and Spirals of Erosion7
Permaculture and Sustainability9
Some definitions of permaculture (pick your favourite):10
Pattern Understanding and Applications 11

Natures Food Webs13
Keeping an Observation Diary14
Nine ways of observing15

Phenological diary16
Personal phenological diary17
Where You At?18
Approaches to Design
Themes in Design1
Principles of Ecology2
Principles of Natural Sustainable Systems3
Guiding Principles of Permaculture Design5
The Golden Rules of Edible Landscaping7
Methods and Approaches to Design8
Needs and Yields Analysis9
The Permaculture chicken9
A Permaculture cup of tea9
Energy cycling for a house and garden system10
Limiting factors11
McHargs exclusion method12

Spiral of intervention12
Microclimate13
Energy Efficient Planning15
Elevation profile16
Zones and sectors - a case study17
More design tools19
Web of connections19
Random assembly19
Fukuokas four principles of natural farming20
Yeomans Keyline scale of permanence20
SWOC / PNI ~ comparing best options20
David Holmgrens Principles21
Climate and Landform
Designing in non-native environments1
Soil
The Basics1
Estimating Soil Texture3
Soil Texture Triangle3
Identifying Texture by Feel4
Identifying Soil Texture by Measurement (Jar Test)4
Soil Texture by Feel Flowcharts5
Designed Visions ~ permaculture design course handouts
www.designedvisions.com
Contents
iii
Biological Monitoring7
Transect mapping 7
Biological and Soil Monitoring Chart8
Indicator Plants9
Soil Conservation and Improvement13
Nutrient Management for Plant Growth18
Mulching19
Liquid Manure22
Compost Making23
Dynamic (Mineral) Accumulators25
Fertile Relationships27
Green Manures30
Worm Composting31
Jean Pain Method33
Nutrient availability by pH34
Water
Water facts1
Water in the Landscape3

Water Management4
Water Use at Home6
Rainwater Harvesting7
Water, Toilets and Solutions8
Humanure dry composting toilets9

Using Biological processes to filter and clean polluted water11
Determining Freshwater Quality Using the Ladder of Organisms12
Pond Design for Wildlife13

Wetland Eco-system Treatment (WET) Systems15
Trees
Ten Reasons why Trees are Important1

The Metabolism of the tree2
Not Seeing the Forest for the Trees3

Agroforestry7
Choice of Species Organiser8
Orchards and Fruit Trees9

Top Working10
Forest Gardening11
Robert Harts seven layers11
Robert Harts garden plan13
Robert Harts garden layering14
Planting Fruit Trees15

Multipurpose Windbreak Design19
Willows22
Cultivated Ecology
Horticulture techniques1
Kitchen Gardening2
Polyculture Vegetable Gardens3
15 food rules for ecological public health5
Chemicals in Agriculture - A Comparison6
Integrated Pest Management (IPM)7
Seed Saving12
Contents
iv
Community Supported Agriculture15

Natural Farming17
The Land Institute18
Holistic Management21
Keyline Planning23
Energy, Buildings and Structures
Energy and Permaculture1
Four possible future scenarios7
Ecological Footprinting8
How to Save Energy in the Home9
Cool climate house design10
Appropriate Energy Technology11

Appropriate Technology In Development13
Invisible Structures
Bioregionalism1
Transition Culture3
Real Wealth and Wiser Money5
Support local producers and retailers6
People Care
Permaculture in personal and societal change1

Meetings techniques5
Groupwork7
Listening Skills8
Vision support groups (aka action learning guilds)9
Parallel (six hat) thinking10
Facilitation and Conflict Resolution11

Working with multiple clients or community groups15
Accelerated Learning
The Guiding Principles of Accelerated Learning1
Accelerated learning mindmaps2

Competence cycle4
Maslows hierarchy of needs4
Multiple Intelligences5
Learning Styles 7
Mind mapping9
Permaculture for Children11
Example childrens garden14
Design Process Overview
Design Activity ~ Hints on the Process1

SADIMET design process3
Simple Surveying Tools4

Permaculture Designers Checklist5
Drawing Plans8
What Next?
The Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design1

Gaia University4
Resources
Recommended reading1
Recommended viewing2
Websites
Chapter 1~ Introduction to permaculture
Page 1
An Introduction to Permaculture
A Beginners Guide to Permaculture
Chapter 1 ~ Introduction to permaculture
Page 2
Page 3
Mind Maps of
Permaculture
Page 4
Ethics and Philosophies

Why ethics?
Ethics provide us with guidance & inspiration; they give direction to our path and
underlie our objectives, regardless of occupation. If we state our ethics, we can
make connections with other people with similar views.
Care of the Earth
Includes all living and non-living things (such as

animals, plants, air, water, land). Make provision for all life systems to continue and multiply.
It emphasises the intrinsic value of all things,
(not just those that are useful to us, that we can
exploit or sell or that we can understand) - all
life is connected.
Law of necessitous use - leave an otherwise
natural system alone unless we have to enter it;
if we do, then:
Law of conservative use - use the least possible
amount of land to meet our needs - (setting
voluntary limits to consumption) - reduce waste
and hence pollution - do environmental impact
analysis of our actions & design to buffer against
adverse effects - do energy accounting of our
actions & replace at least as much as is used.
Care of People
Ensure that all people have access to those resources necessary to their existence. This
infers a need for a self-determined, equitable and sustainable society. Society needs
to be ecologically sound and economically viable to protect and promote peoples
health - for the world to be socially just and humane we need clean air, clean water,
food and shelter. This original definition of people care has now been expanded
to also include satisfying employment, meaningful human contact - self-reliance,
interdependence and community responsibility.
Fair Shares Choose Limits to Consumption & Give Away Surplus
Frugal and equitable use of resources. The reinvestment of surpluses to further the
above aims - this includes money, land, labour, information, etc. Needs not wants.
At the same time, we must remember permaculture is also about creating an abundance of resources for us all to enjoy, so it doesnt always mean having less.
Take Responsibility (the prime directive of permaculture)
Take responsibility for our own existence and for that of our children - attitude shift:
change is not something external to ourselves - not Someone else ought to do it,
but Im responsible. Take responsibility for change. Instead of being an observer,
powerless outside the current system, gain self-reliance through achievable practical
solutions - direct action. Thoughtful action after protracted observation.
Co-Operation, Not Competition
Is the very basis of existing natural systems and of future survival. Create harmony
not competition - build self-managing systems - things not forced into a function but
doing what they would do naturally - harmony is the integration of chosen natural
functions to the supply of essential needs. Permaculture is about interconnections.
Source: adapted by Aranya from an original by Patsy Garrard and George Sobol. Image by Chris Dixon
Page 5
An Introduction to Systems
A basic understanding of the way systems behave is important to good design.
There is a whole inter-disciplinary theory called Systems Theory dedicated to this,
which studies the way complex systems behave in nature, society and science. Its
an important piece of the permaculture puzzle and Howard T. Odum, a proponent
of Systems Ecology clearly influenced David Holmgrens early thinking. So when
we put specific things (elements) together (into systems), how do they behave
(function)? Well to consider this, lets choose an example close to home; our own
digestive system (systems are often named after their primary function). Now, while
weve all at one time or another been aware of how it feels when it struggles with
our food choices, some of us are more familiar than others with the finer details of
its functioning. So what elements make up our digestive system? Well, it depends
upon whom you ask.
Have a look in a several different medical textbooks
or do an image search on the Internet and youll see
a variety of answers. Some diagrams show only our
abdominal organs, while others include the mouth etc.
too. This discrepancy comes from the fact that while the
human body as a whole has a clearly defined edge1, the
sub-systems (of which this is one) do not. I chose the
diagram shown here as it includes the tongue, though I
would also have added teeth and the nose, because our
sense of smell is an important component of taste. This
sense in turn ensures that the materials we place into
our mouth are suitable for digestion, thus acting as an
important filter for not just the digestive system, but the
body as a whole.
So its actually quite difficult to define exactly what constitutes the digestive system, as we can see that the edge
between it and the other sub-systems of the body with
which it interacts is rather subjective. We could also make
the same observation about the respiratory system, the
circulatory system, the reproductive system and so on.
This is because elements (or sub-systems2) within systems
are often multi-functional, each performing important,
sometimes vital, functions across sub-systems and ultimately supporting the whole, while at the same time being supported by the whole.
Remove the digestive system from the body and it would quickly perish, as would
the rest of the body left behind. So as observers, its important for us to remember
that even small elements within systems could be performing functions vital to the
health and stability of the overall system and also be totally dependent upon it.
So while it can be useful sometimes to sub-divide systems conceptually to make
their interactions easier to consider, we mustnt lose sight of the fact that no part of
a system ever exists totally in isolation. For this reason, as permaculture designers
we always aim to make small changes, first observing the effects that these have
and ensuring that they are beneficial, before going further.
1 This is of course an illusion. We are in constant exchange with our environment.
2 While we will often talk about elements within a system, those elements are often systems in themselves made up of yet
smaller elements. Thus most elements are actually sub-systems within larger systems, though on the scale we are considering, it
simplifies matters to consider them as single elements.
Page 6
Compare this to modern corporate-driven practices that expose us all to rapid

changes in our environment such as significantly raised levels of electromagnetic
radiation from computers and mobile phones etc. Weve not had enough time
to observe the possible side-effects of fields that simply dont exist in nature. This
occurs because someone wants to make a quick buck before their competitors get
in on the market. Because of the complexity of systems, we often find it difficult to
see the whole picture of what is going on. So another key thing we should know
is that systems can sometimes behave very unpredictably (look at how unreliable
weather forecasts can be, even with all the computing power now available to
meteorologists). While the elements that make up a system may all act in one direction, the combination of them all may act in a completely different way.
Its also important to notice whereabouts we find elements within systems. All nonhuman life makes everything using locally sourced resources and expertise ~ and
that doesnt mean food from within a 50 mile radius (try walking or even cycling
that on a regular basis). No, we find species thriving only where nature provides
for their needs and where their waste products can be reused. If we relocate any
species elsewhere, we risk creating an imbalance in the local ecology. In the same
way, if we move or remove an element from any other system, we may throw it
out of balance or stop it functioning completely. Imagine if your teeth were moved
to between your stomach and your intestines. We might find that our digestion
performed a little less well. Remove our teeth completely and, well some of us
already know how that is. At least we can still manage to some degree without
teeth, but lose our liver function and were in real trouble...
Systems also always have functions3. Observing a system over time allows us to
determine what those functions are (and in human-designed systems, such as financial institutions and corporations, its not always what they purport to be!). For
most systems, one of the key functions is to ensure its own perpetuation. Hence
in permaculture we aim to produce a yield and also a surplus for reinvestment.
The overall functions of systems are determined not just by the functions of the
elements or sub-systems that they are composed of, but also the interconnections
between them. All the elements in a system can be replaced (e.g. cells in the human
body, people in a university), but if the interconnections remain the same, then the
system will continue to function in the same way.
These interconnections are what makes any system strong (like a web), but also
more complex. This makes sense of our desire to simplify things as much as possible, so we have less to think about (monoculture farming is a perfect example of
this). However, simpler systems are far less resilient and more vulnerable to outside
changes, like a reduction in the availability of one or more important inputs, such
as oil. In contrast, a web or interconnected system can have over half its threads
break and still be able to successfully harvest resources.
The other key principle of systems is that these interconnections often create loops
that feed back on themselves, either opposing or supporting any change. The first
kind of feedback keeps a system in balance and these of course abound in Nature.
They keep everything vital to life, such as temperature, oxygen levels etc. consistently
at the right levels. They work by creating an opposing reaction when something
goes out of balance. One example being how we continually adjust our posture, in
order to stay upright as we walk or ride a bike, especially on a windy day.
3 In systems theory, non-human systems have functions and human-designed ones have purposes.
Source: Aranya ~ from Permaculture Design - a step-by-step guide to the process

Page 7
Problems and Spirals of Erosion

The other kind of feedback is a reinforcing process, where a movement away from
a point of balance stimulates a further movement away. Crossing your hands over
on the handlebars of a bike demonstrates this very effectively, though speaking
from personal experience, I wouldnt recommend it! An epidemic is another such
scenario ~ the more infectious people there are, the quicker a disease spreads.
After birth, a feedback mechanism is set in motion whereby we grow to the size
determined by our environment to be ideal, and then at puberty the release of
hormones creates feedback that keeps us at this ideal size. Balancing loops keep
systems at a steady state and reinforcing ones move them from one steady state to
another. While at first, reinforcing feedback processes may not seem as common as
balancing ones, we can actually find plenty of examples of them around us, many
as a result of our human actions. Much of the work we have to do to repair ecosystems involves identifying and reversing destructive, reinforcing feedback loops
that our relatively recent human activities have set into motion.
Anything that we value, but that is being progressively lost; from soil to silence,
from biodiversity to darkness, from trees to a sense of purpose, can be studied to
help us identify the root causes of these problems. I like to use the rather ironic
example of a hole in the road, to compare permaculture with current thinking.
Whereas we tend these days to think only about filling in the hole, a permaculture
approach would lead us on a journey of discovery; to also find out what caused the
hole to be there in the first place. Of course, the latter approach involves extra time
and effort, which is more than necessary to councils and governments who only
have a few years to convince us they are worth voting for again. So each successive
regime patches up the mess the last lot left behind, as cheaply as possible and with
no thought for the longer-term future. Not a recipe for success.
So its up to us as individuals to see the folly in this thinking and come up with
something better. Which brings us back to evaluating why any given thing doesnt
work and where we can make different choices. Take for example, using a rotavator
to clear weeds from an allotment plot. In the short term it does what is intended,
but chops perennial weed roots, propagating them in the process and also brings
dormant weed seeds to the surface.
This ultimately means more weeds,
Exercise: Start thinking about some of these
which leads to more rotavating.
loops yourself. Pick something familiar that you
Until that is, the oil runs out
see being eroded; local community, food growing
knowledge, darkness, letter writing etc. and see if
you can draw the spiral thats causing the problem.
What interventions could you make to turn the
problem around? Identifying the root causes of
what we might also refer to as resource or energy
leaks, provides us with one or more points at which
we can begin to address them.
Well come back to this later when were figuring
out the functions of our design.
Now this is a very simple reinforcing loop (which spirals more and
more out of control) ~ weeds
stimulate rotavating, which in turn
leads to more weeds, then more
rotavating and so on. An obvious
point of intervention here would
be to choose a different method of
control. However, many loops are
a little more complex than this and
require a bit more consideration.

Page 8
Consider a time when humans lived in balance with nature, perhaps a time when
we first began to settle in one place and make gardens. Any fruits we ate at the
time would get a head start as many of their seeds would pass through us and get
a fertility boost as a result. So these gardens may even have started themselves and
we then spent more time there - a beneficial reinforcing feedback loop. This gave us
more free time and enabled us to increase our population, putting more demand on
nature to feed us. This may have led to migrations to the cooler temperate zones,
where we developed an increasing dependance on sun-loving carbohydrates. The
grow these we had to cut down trees and so the following spiral started:
The end game of this spiral is responsible for

rural depopulation all over the world and is
playing out right now in countries like Nepal.
Some current spirals:

* Forest destruction, soil erosion, fertility (biomass) / fuel shortage, dung for fuel, lost
fertility, more land clearance, forest destruction.
* Debt traps: external inputs, loans, export natural/unprocessed products for , cash
crops, loss of domestic resources, more external inputs.
* Loss of genetic diversity/reliance on HYVs, increased external inputs, pest resistance, more inputs, loss of soil life, more inputs.
* Poor education, no access to resources (mainly land/money), children grow up and
continue cycle.
* Public transport: increased private, increased prices and reduced service of public.
* Lack of employment in rural areas, urban migration, skills, labour etc lost, no
industry or investment, no employment.
Problems are all around, in many different forms. The root is often loss of self
dependance and self respect, inability to motivate, distance from decision-making
and solution building, and inappropriate scale. Permaculture is all about breaking
these spirals and re-humanising the scale of systems.
Source: Aranya / Chris Evans
Page 9
Permaculture and Sustainability

So what exactly is design and how can permaculture help?
Design is the conscious assembly of concepts, materials, techniques and strategies

for a particular purpose, though often taking little account of the environment in
which the designed system must function. Permaculture reminds us that when we
design to meet our needs, we must do so in a way that also supports the ecosystem
as a whole, without which we are as doomed as that digestive system placed in
isolation. Of course, permaculture is not a specific recipe, nor an end point. Rather
it is an ongoing process of harmonious adaptation to natures changing conditions.
The design process can help us each to find and stay on our own path.
With the growing concern about living more sustainably, theres now no shortage
of green options for us to choose from. Were given the impression that as long
as we behave in certain ways and buy the right products, were doing the best we
can, but design is about much more than just choosing the right things, its also
about how we connect them together. Nature abounds with examples of beneficial relationships, showing us the importance of this strategy for long-term sustainability. So as permaculture designers, our role is to place components in the best
places relative to each other, to create self-sustaining systems that also meet our
needs. However, such relationships are often site-related, so we need to be able to
consciously design, not just follow a recipe.
In his Designers manual, Bill Mollison suggests that:
* The systems we construct should last as long as possible, and take least
maintenance.
* These systems, fuelled by the sun, should produce not only for their own needs,
but the needs of the people creating or controlling them. Thus, they are sustainable, as they sustain both themselves and those who construct them.
* We can use energy to construct these systems, providing that in their lifetime, they
store or conserve more energy than we use to construct them or maintain them.
These practical design considerations provide us with clear criteria for

how a permaculture design should
perform. If we can design systems
within these guidelines that meet our
human needs, and at the same time
support the eco-system as a whole,
then we will be well on our way to a
sustainable human society. We should
invest most time and energy in the
establishment a good design, so inputs
decrease as time goes on. Conversely,
yields may start off small but should
increase as time progresses.
At a certain point, the total energy yielded from the site exceeds the total amount
invested and the system goes into profit.
Page 10
Some definitions of permaculture (pick your favourite):

* PERMACULTURE DESIGN is a system of assembling conceptual, material, and
strategic components in a pattern which functions to benefit life in all its forms.
* PERMACULTURE is a design system for creating sustainable human habitats. The
aim is to create systems that are ecologically sound and economically viable;
which provide for their own needs, do not exploit or pollute, and are therefore
sustainable in the long term while rapidly being able to regenerate degraded
systems.
* PERMACULTURE uses the inherent qualities of plants and animals combined with
natural characteristics of landscapes and structures to produce a life-supporting
system for city and country, using the least possible area.
* PERMACULTURE (permanent agriculture) is the conscious design and maintenance
of agriculturally productive ecosystems which have the diversity, stability, and
resilience of natural systems. It is the harmonious integration of landscape and
people, providing their food, energy, shelter, and other material and non-material
needs in a sustainable way.1
* PERMACULTURE is taking natural eco-systems as the model for our own habitats.
Careful thought followed by minimum action rather than hasty action followed
by long term regrets.2
* PERMACULTURE is not a set of rules; its a process of design based around
principles found in the natural world, of cooperation and mutually beneficial
relationships, and translating this into action.3
* PERMACULTURE is an integrated evolving system of perennial or self-perpetuating
plant and animal species useful to man.4
* PERMACULTURE is the radical design of information-rich, multi-storey polyculture
systems.5
* PERMACULTURE is the use of systems thinking and design principles that provide
the organising framework for implementing a permanent culture.6
* PERMACULTURE is the conscious design of cultivated ecosystems that have the
diversity, stability, & resilience of natural ecosystems. It is a harmonious
integration of people into the landscape in such a way that the land grows in
richness, productivity, and aesthetic beauty.7
* PERMACULTURE is a design method which abandons the linear sectoral
organization of human support systems (such as agriculture, energy & water
management, architecture, urban planning, education, recreation, administration,
etc.) in order to create linkages between the various elements needed for each
specific task. Thus each element enhances the function of all others - similar to the
way in which highly developed organisms work. The results are often stunning.
Both in urban & rural settings, Permaculture examples demonstrate how the optimization of the overall yield saves work (i.e., time & energy) & creates beauty,
flexibility, & responsiveness. Applied on a larger scale, we could create abundance
everywhere in the world. All we need is human intelligence, courage, & insight.8
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Graham Bell from The Permaculture Way, also attributed to Dan Hemenway
Patrick Whitefield
Andy Goldring
Bill Mollison and David Holmgren from Permaculture One
Bill Mollison and Rene Mia Slay
David Holmgren
Peter Bane
Declan Kennedy
Page 11
Pattern Understanding and Applications

Key understandings:
* We are all already experts at pattern
recognition using all our senses,
theyre vital survival tools for us.
To understand nature better, we
We need to be able to recognise
first need to recognise the roles of
friends from enemies, nutritious
its basic patterns
food from poisonous etc.
Michael S.Schneider
* The patterns we see around us in
nature are simply the forms of the
Straight lines are axiomatically selfboundaries between different media
contradictory and self-cancelling
(the edge between them).
hypothetical ventures
* Because life thrives on co-operative
Buckminster Fuller
relationships (our own bodies being
perfect examples) increasing the
surface area between systems facilitates more efficient exchange between them.
* In nature, resources and energy like to stay on the move. Life is always doing
something useful, so theres never a hurry to get somewhere else. Nature lives
in the NOW & this comes from her cyclic processes, as opposed to our human
linear (A to B) thinking.
* Certain forms appear in many places & at different scales (this is what makes them
patterns). We see them so often because they happen to be the most efficient way
for Life to achieve particular (often exchange related) functions. Patterns have
beauty, but also function.
* As things fall apart (e.g. weathering) more surface area (edge) is created, which in
turn creates more habitats. Far from being something to fear, entropy increases
the opportunities for life!
* By identifying natures most effective patterns, we can design human systems
making use of natures 3.5 billion years of research & development.
* Patterns occur both in space & time, but we can apply what we learn from nature
in both realms. Alas, that hasnt always been the case; take the 9 to 5 model of
working for instance, which we stick to year-round while the rest of life adapts to
the changing seasons.
* The principles of ecology we are so familiar with in permaculture are simply
applied patterning, as are more specific techniques like Forest gardening.
* The strength of a web comes in part from its many anchor points. Transition uses
this pattern to map resources & create local resilience. Whenever we plant seeds
based on the advice on the back of the packet, we make use of tried & tested
patterning. Sewage systems take advantage of the abundant edge in gravel
beds (where the effective bacteria live) to utilise the available fertility & clean
water. Hydro-electric turbines use the shell pattern to focus & accelerate water in
towards the turbine, making it a more efficient generator.
* Biomimicry applies natures successful patterns to creating new harmonious
technologies to replace less sustainable ones.
Source: Aranya
Page 12
Source: Permaculture Activist #39, p19
Page 13
Natures Food Webs

Natures resilience comes from the abundance of beneficial relationships that exist
between species. Each of these species is connected to many others as part of a great
food web and it is this multiplicity of connections that make this web so strong.
Diversity ultimately leads to a stronger web, though only through an increase in
possible relationships. In nature nothing of course is
ever wasted; wherever such materials become available, a different species appears to make use of them. The Yellowstone Wolves
Everything finds its own niche, where it can thrive
For nearly 70 years the Wolves
using such locally available resources and expertise.
that inhabited this great nature
Even where individuals of a species are being eaten
by another, that species benefits from the removing
of the weaker members, leaving a strong gene bank.
These webs can also be considered as a kind of hierarchy - a trophic pyramid where a few top predators
are supported by increasing numbers of lower level
consumers, such as in the diagram below.
And of course, each of these multi-cellular organisms
is an excellent example of what is possible when the
principle of co-operation is applied. Theres about
two trillion cells in the human body, so thats quite a
community to organise!
reserve were missing - hunted

down and killed by humans,
afraid of their kind and protective of their livestock. Over
that 70 year period the Elk
increased
in number and
because they werent being
chased around became lazy
and sickly beasts. Because of
the increased Elk numbers,
young trees were being grazed
off and failing to replace the
old. The forests were dying.
In 1985, a controversial move
was made. Ecologists who were
concerned about the situation
released 31 wolves back into
the park. To begin with there
was concern as the Wolves
were killing Coyote (who had
become the top predator in the
Wolves absence). It seems these
Coyote were taking big risks
trying to get in on the Wolves
kills and they were paying the
price. After a while the Coyote
learned not to and a balance
began to recur. In the 25 years
since the release, Elk numbers
have dropped. returning to
former levels. The herds are
fitter now because they move
around much more and the
forests are growing back.
Beavers
have
returned
too - they rely on a good
growth of willow at the
waters edge, which the
Elk were eating. In turn the
dams they make have slowed
river flow, reducing the loss
of soil through run off and
lowering the risk of downstream flooding. All of this
happened because of the
Wolves.
Source: Aranya
Page 14
Keeping an Observation Diary

Its best if we can observe a site for a full cycle before making any hard-to-reverse
decisions. Of course, for any land-based design that means a whole year and most
of us are far too impatient to wait that long before starting. However, by making
only small changes in the first year (e.g. growing annual vegetables) while at the
same time continuing to observe the site, we can enjoy some progress and yet
reduce the risk of making any really stupid mistakes. We can even make some early
plantings part of our observations. If for instance we wish to plant an orchard in a
years time, but are still uncertain about the best site to choose, we could buy some
trees and plant a few of them in each of the sites we are considering. That way, the
trees themselves can report back to us about how happy they are in each place.
It doesnt really matter how we record our observations, as long as we do something. As long as we keep our handwriting legible, any record is better than relying
on memory, something Ive discovered the hard way when examining unlabeled
packets of seed each spring! Yet theres no point in setting yourself up to
document lots of information every day if it soon feels like a chore. Just record
what interests you (presumably what youre designing) and make it easy to do or
you wont bother. A simple diary format might consist of a grid of boxes into which
we record physical conditions like temperature, rainfall, perhaps even river levels
etc.; any factors that relate to designing on your site. I keep a simple weather log,
which has columns for three years worth of observations, allowing me to notice any
long-term patterns. And because its a simple format, I rarely fail to fill it in.
Photos are a great way of recording visual information, especially
now digital cameras are so common.
Recording shade patterns across a
garden through the seasons is particularly well suited to this technique.
Make a note on your calendar to take
a photograph from say an upstairs
window early morning, noon and
evening at the beginning of each month
(when the sun is out of course). The
resulting photos will be very revealing
about microclimates through the year.
Alternatively, you might choose instead to write about or draw, paint or photograph what you see in nature on any given day, like Janet Marsh and Helen Moore
have done so beautifully. This kind of diary will be more detailed, but have less
raw data to work with later. Another useful record to keep is a phenological diary.
Phenology is the study of plant and animal life cycles and is useful because it allows
us to identify climate change by observing natures responses to it, for instance the
timings of the appearance of buds, flowers and fruit and the migrations of birds
and animals. While such a diary can be a useful observation tool for our own
site, there is now a whole network of observers across Britain that allows the UK
Phenology Network to build up a countrywide picture of these patterns. Your own
observations are a valuable contribution to this and its very simple to sign up on
the Natures Calendar website (www.naturescalendar.org.uk).
Page 15
Nine ways of observing
Source: Starhawk ~ The Earth Path

Page 16
Phenological diary
Source: Patsy Garrard and George Sobol.
Personal patterns~ phenological diary
Curtains?
Hours?
Dreams?
Undisturbed?
Out of 10 ?
Weather
Sleep
Energy level?
Physical?
Mental?
Etc.
Out of 10 ?
Morning Activities
Energy level?
Out of 10 ?
Physical?
Mental?
Etc.
Energy level?
Afternoon Activities
What?
Quantity
Quality
Physical?
Mental?
Etc.
What?
Quantity
Quality
Relaxation?
Healing?
Bathing?
Evening meal
Evening Activities
Exercise (during day)
Self care (during day)
Mental
Physical (afternoon)
Emotional
What?
Quantity
Quality
Lunch
Mental
Physical (morning)
Emotional
What?
Quantity
Quality
Breakfast
Mental
Physical (first thing)
Emotional
am:
pm:
Day:
Personal phenological diary
Additional:
Corridor lights?
Clunking doors?
Wi-fi / DECT nearby?

Room dowsed?
Source: Aranya

Page 17
Page 18
Where You At?
Source: Patsy Garrard and George Sobol.

Chapter 2~ Approaches to design
Page 1
Approaches to Design
Themes in Design
Yield
The sum total of surplus energy produced by, stored, conserved, reused or converted
by the design. Energy is in surplus once the system itself has available all its needs
for growth, reproduction & maintenance (and thus the extra is available for export,
use or trade).
Resource
Energy storage to assist yield.
Categories of resources;
1 Those which increase with modest use e.g.
coppice, information;
2 Those unaffected by use e.g. sunlight, water
through mill, view;
3 Those which disappear or degrade if not used,
e.g veggies (overcome by weeds, etc), bees;
4 Those that are reduced by use. e.g. oil, clay
deposits;
5 Those that pollute or destroy other resources if
used. e.g. nuclear power, concrete.
Leaky barrel
needs big inputs
to match losses
Tight barrel
circulates resources
internally
1 to 3 are commonly produced in natural systems & rural living situations & are the
only sustainabie basis of society.
4 & 5 are as a result of urban & industrial development.
(maximise number of useful energy storages).
Entropy
Dissipated energy - no longer in a form usable by the system - bound or dissipated
energy; energy unavailable for work, or not useful to the system (1+1=1.5 ....minimise entropy).
Synergy
Organisms are energy transformers. They survive by using this energy and their
survival is a function of their ability to use it. Energy produced by elements in
harmonious cooperation with each other is GREATER THAN THE SUM OF- ITS
PARTS (1+1=3 ....maximise synergetic connections).
Guild
Assemblies of plants & animals of different species, occurring together over their
range. Guilds act to assist our health, aid our management (work) and to buffer
against adverse environmental effects.
Microclimate
The summation of environmental conditions at a particular site, as affected by local
factors rather than climatic ones.
Chapter 2 ~ Approaches to design
Page 2
Principles of Ecology
Biological Resources
Nature runs on current
sunlight
Patterns nature fits form to
function
Succession of natural
systems
Nature produces no waste
Co-operation is what binds
nature together
Relative Location
Multiple Functions for each
element
Multiple Elements for each
important function
Local resources
Everything Gardens
Diversity & Beneficial
Relationships
Appropriate Scale
Microclimates
Stacking
Edge Effect
Living things, including people, are the most effective

intervening systems to capture resources on this planet
and to produce a yield.
Every other species is able to meet all their needs using
no more than the suns ongoing supply of clean energy.
The common patterns that we see around us in nature
are the ones that have evolved to be the most efficient
at fulfilling important functions such as respiration,
feeding and procreation.
Nature shows a tendency towards greater diversity
and complexity, making mature eco-systems far more
productive than young ones.
Nothing is ever wasted in nature, what is waste for
one species is food for another. Every cycle creates an
opportunity for a new yield.
Co-operative relationships make multi-cellular life
possible. This same pattern of co-operation between
species also supports life as a whole and ensures future
survival.
Nature puts everything where it works best; close
to the resources it needs and in the most favourable
environment.
Everything in nature performs multiple functions,
maximising the overall efficiency of natural systems.
Nature provides for important basic needs such as
water, food, and energy in many ways.
Nature creates everything from locally sourced materials and expertise.
Every living thing is shaping its environment to further
benefit itself.
Nature banks on diversity, though its importance is not
so much about the number of elements in a system, but
the number of beneficial relationships between them.
Successful life forms develop to a size that makes the
best sustainable use of resources available in their
environment.
These are areas where the overall climate is modified
by the local topography. These can be as large as a
moorland, or as small as under a stone. This creates a
multitude of niches for different life forms to inhabit.
Nature fills every available niche, making the most of
both vertical space and every opportunity in time.
Productivity increases at the boundary between two
eco-systems because the resources from both systems
are available for use.
Source: Aranya ~ in part inspired by Janine Benyus (Biomimcry)
Page 3
Principles of Natural Sustainable Systems

A comparison of modern practice with natural sustainable practices.
* We need to learn the basic principles of sustainable systems.
* We need a long-term vision of directions for improvement.
* We have a duty to leave the world in a better state than we found it.
Principle
Current Modern Practice
Sustainable Practice
Work with nature, not

against.
Attempt to control nature.

Heavy inputs of fertilizers.
Try to eradicate pests, use of
pesticides / poisons.
Manipulation of natural order / use
of GMOs.
Create man made environment.
Clear all plants except crop.
Crop usually single type i.e.
monoculture.
Work with abundance of nature.

Use of leguminous plants.
Use of natural balance.
Natural selection.
Observation of nature.
Everythings connected. Reductionist / separated, so forest

separated from agriculture.
Integration.
Homeostasis self
regulation. Feedback
systems.
Living soil.
Man controlled / centralised.

Plans / programmes implemented.
Energy efficiency.
High use of energy and external

inputs entropy e.g. single annual
crop. Increased use of fertiliser.
Ploughing.
Energy efficiency.
Maximum income e.g.

Coconut / mango on degraded
land.
Energy efficiency.
Single act - single function.

Remove weeds from crop.
Soil medium for plant roots feed

plant nutrient.
Use nature as a model e.g. never

bare soil, succession of plants from
grass / weeds / roots / shrubs /
pioneer trees / climax forest.
Using different layers / stacking
and diversity.
Holistic, make connections.
Natural Farm = agric + forest
+ health + village industry.
Everything gardens, part of cycle
of life.
Natural farm = traditional agric
+ appropriate improvement.
Make beneficial connections /
co-operation.
Natural balance, self-regulated /
decentralised. Use feedback loops.
Plan, consult, modify, test, apply.
Conserve. Feed and improve soil
and organisms. Healthy soil =
healthy food. Invest in soil.
Use biological systems, then
mechanical, last chemical.
Minimum use of external inputs.
Synergy.
Maximum use of natural forces /
local resources.
Include diverse perennial plants.
Less use of fertilisers. Use plants to
improve soil e.g. green manures.
Reduce tillage - encourage
earthworms.
Right crop on right land. Grow
what comes naturally / easily
e.g. Tamarind / Ber (Zizyphus) on
dryland.
Single act - multiple functions.
Mulching = less weeds, improved
water availability + improved soil
fertility.
Source: Chris Evans
Page 4
Principles of Natural Sustainable Systems

Principle
Current Modern Practice
Cyclical nature. Turn

waste into wealth.
Linear thinking. Increased inputs

Increased outputs. Attempt max.
single yield / profit.
Use of finite resources for max. profitability - e.g. fossil fuel, fertiliser,
groundwater exploitation.
(contd)
Sustainable Practice
Recycling resources increase the

potential yields.
Inputs provided within the system
or = work. Outputs all used within
the system or = pollution.
Use renewable resources - create,
conserve and only finally use.
Harness resources passing through
system. e.g. rainwater harvest,
sunlight, wind energy.
Grow hybrid and high response
Increase diversity by crop
Diversity = stability.
variety seed. Same crop repeated on rotation, ally cropping, mix crops.
same land for many years = build
Mix variety e.g. Perennial plants,
up of pests and depletion of same
seasonal crops. Livestock and
nutrients.
poultry and aquatic life.
Maximum risk, specialisation,
Spread income, risk and labour.
Minimum risk.
unstable.
Stability. Have fail safe / back up,
resilience. Native seeds, (landraces)
composite seed.
Maximise only single yield
All parts of crop have value / uses
Multiple functions for
e.g.
High
yield
wheat
variety
e.g. Wheat = grain + straw
every element.
- more grain but less fodder
- for fodder, thatch, ropes, craft
and lower quality of fodder
and compost.
and grain. Maximum cash value.
Yields limited only by our understanding. Maximum use value.
Rely on and improve local
Local resources to meet Encourage external resources.
Needs
met
by
money.
resources not depend perpetually
local needs.
on others resources.
Straight lines.
Work with natural patterns
Patterns & Edge.
- maximise edge.
Monoculture maintained.
Accept and plan for change.
Succession. Change.
Impose order.
Profitability, solely financial
Reproduce system in the long term
Self-replication.
criteria.
and produce a surplus.
Unequal distribution.
Equitable distribution and access.
Distribution of
resources.
Ethics.
Benefits trickle down.

Use resources to maximise profits.
Value only species of commercial
use to people / owner.
Short-term profitability.
Competition makes for efficiency.
Hierarchy and alienation.
Self interest.
Upliftment of poorest first.

Frugal / equitable use to meet basic
needs.
Intrinsic value inherent in all
species.
Long term trusteeship for future
generations.
Co-operation and harmony makes
for better quality of life.
Enpowerment and transparency.
Care of people and Earth.
Create, conserve and finally use.
Source: Chris Evans
Page 5
Guiding Principles of Permaculture Design

Why? = understanding - stimulating, empowering - limiting factors / building blocks.
How? = techniques, steps to action - creating designs / systems.
1. Beneficial, functional relationships (Relative location)

* Cooperation, not competition, is the very basis of existing systems and of future
survival.
* Every element is placed in relationship to another so that they assist each other,
reduce work & pollution, aid our management, assist health and buffer against
adverse environmental effects.
* Concept of guilds, synergy. Design to maximise beneficial relationships.
* Based on observation, e.g. Doug Fir needs myccorhizal fungus - spread by Red Tree
Vole. Clear cutting, spraying destroyed the voles habitat, thus DF grew poorly
because a key component of its guild was taken out.
* Tribal groups often understand these connections better than anyone.
2. Multiple functions for single elements (for efficiency)

3. Multiple elements for single functions (for security)
4. Energy use & (re) cycling
* Energy inputs should decrease over time & distance. PC systems are self-managing
as an objective.
* Select elements first that generate, then conserve & finally consume energy to
perform functions (e.g house heating - greenhouse; insulation; woodbumer).
* Keep energy in the system for as long as possible (reduce entropy) e.g. water,
nutrients; also money (invest locally), information. Create web (of relationships)
to catch these resources and utilise their value in the system. If they leak out, we
have to work to supply. Cycles increase the opportunity to take a yield.
5. Biological systems
* Living things are the best way to intercept natural energies - invest in them.
* Living things, including people, are the only effective intervening systems to
capture resources on this planet & produce a yield. Thus, it is the sum & capacity
of life forms that decides the total system yield & surplus.
e.g. use legumes instead of nitrogen fertilizer; chickens & companion planting instead
of pesticides.
6. Energy efficient planning (Zones, sectors & elevation)

Zones - for internal management of systems / resources - elements placed according
to (a) how often we need to use and (b) how often we need to service them (i.e. how
often they need us to visit them. e.g. chick house / firewood / nursery / kitchen garden
- every day, therefore zone 1; apple tree - once for pruning, once for harvest, maybe for
irrigation, compost - therefore zone3; etc.
Sectors - for efficient management of energy entering the site (sun, wind, water, fire,
etc.). What others can you think of?
Elevation planning - design according to the relative elevation of elements, to facilitate efficient and sensible energy flow.
Page 6
7. Appropriate technology
Something is appropriate if it can be appropriated Often made of non-renewable
resources, but can be justified (a) if they store / conserve / generate useful energy over
their lives, or (b) are part of establishment or transition to sustainable ends.
8. Natural succession / stacking

Open site-to-shrubs-to small trees-to climax forest. We work to keep things at ground
layer; we can imitate this natural pattern and substitute with more useful spp. Maturity
erradicates immaturity. Can put all stages in at same time; use different needs, characteristics to stack non-competitive plants close by - use vertical and horizontal (3-D), + time
(4-D), + relationships (synergy - 5-D).
9. Diversity
In any durable system there must be 3 different classes of life: autotrophs (auts. - use
sunlight to synthesize organic molecules); heterotrophs (hets. - which dont - they steal
their food from other auts.- we are hets.), and decomposers (decs) - all the organisms that break down org. molecules to make them palatable again to auts & hets.
Without decs, there would be nothing for auts & hets to eat, and biomass would accumulate indefinitely.
Diversity = stability Strategies to increase diversity: agroforestry, alley cropping, use of
livestock, cooperative shares, increasing edge, work sharing, uneven aged crops.
Edge - interface between 2 ecosystems = 3rd ecosystem, complex, containing elements of
the 2 + own unique elements. More nutrients, light; nutrients; settlement patterns;
10. Patterns
* Nature abhors straight lines, identical incidents, bare soil and monocultures (yet
agriculture strives for all 4).
* Observe sequence of events; perception that patterns already exist (and how they
function).
* Imposition of pattern onto site to achieve specific needs (solve problems, work to
produce a local resource).
* Natural way of utilising space and increasing the number of niches and cycles in
space & time (& therefore produce yield).
11. Appropriate scale

In crisis response, those working towards ethical and sustainable ends need a scale at
which people can connect themselves with their problems, and thus the solutions, and
how they affect their lives; when the forces of government are still recognizable and
comprehendible and still intimate with other people; where the effects of ones actions
are visible. This scale is optimised at the BR level. i.e. a scale at which human potential
can match ecological reality.
12. Attitude
*
*
*
*
The problem is the solution; turn liabilities into assets.

The opposite is always true; everything works both ways.
PC is information & imagination intensive (not energy or capital intensive).
Yield is not limited by site, but by how we can utilise that niche,
i.e. by the information & imagination of the designer.
* You dont have to be a farmer to be a designer.
* Every little helps.
The Golden Rules of

Edible Landscaping
Source: Robert Kourik ~ Designing & Maintaining your Edible Landscape Naturally
Page 7
Page 8
Methods and Approaches to Design
Source: Chris Evans
Page 9
Needs and Yields Analysis

The Permaculture chicken
The classic example from the Permaculture Designers Manual used to demonstrate
the method of meeting needs and making use of products locally to minimise work
and maximise functions. Performing a needs and yields analysis for all elements in
the system allows beneficial connections to be made. Intrinisc characteristics help us
to choose the most suitable breed / variety / type to perform the required functions.
Image: Andrew Jeeves
A Permaculture cup of tea

Connecting outputs to inputs to create local cycles...
Image: Aranya
Page 10
Energy cycling for a house and garden system
Source: Mike Feingold ~ Permaculture Teachers Guide p91 Permaculture Association / WWF UK
Page 11
Limiting factors
These factors ultimately decide our strategies in design. The physical / visible are
reasonably easy to observe, though some may be seasonal. The invisible can be
more challenging to notice, especially those like legislation that might change in
the unknown future.
Limits are the foundation of creativity
Source: Chris Evans

Page 12
McHargs exclusion method

This is a useful tool to help us place
our most important elements, any fussy
ones needing particular inputs, or those
adversely affected by multiple factors.
By systematically eliminating areas or
sectors not best suited to our chosen
element, we can quickly narrow down
options and simplify identifying an
ideal site. Sometimes there are so many
no-go areas that were left with only
one option.
This was the case when I sought to
identify the best place to plant apple
trees on an Irish mountainside; once
Id ruled out the areas that were too
wet, too windy and potentially frosty,
Id only one area left. Of course you
may be looking to place an element
thats adversely affected only by frost,
or waterlogged soil, or cold winds, or
by some combination of these. This is
where our overlays are really useful
in making decisions, as we can choose
to place only those with the relevant
information over our base map. If this
initial process still leaves us with more
than one choice, we can then consider
how our systems and elements could
integrate together. This allows us to eliminate areas unsuited to any systems and
elements that we wish to integrate with zone 0. For example, if we would prefer to
have a spring feeding water under gravity into our home, then we can also discount
any area of the site above the level of the spring for the build.
Spiral of intervention
This tool (sometimes also referred to as a cascade), gives us a hierarchy of options
for action starting with the least harmful strategies. Permaculture guides us to work
with nature; so the simplest intervention is to do nothing and let nature redress any
imbalance. Sometimes this involves the removal of limiting factors that are preventing natural succession, such as the fencing out of grazing animals (wild or domesticated) or stopping the use of machinery or chemicals. Remember the Yellowstone
Wolves? They were natures control on overgrazing of young trees by Elk.
Should there be a need to accelerate succession, the next safest level of intervention
we can make is biological. This means enlisting the help of plants, insects, birds,
animals etc. as part of an Integrated Pest Management strategy. Should we run out
of options there, we could move on to using mechanical means, which nature will
still be able to repair, though over a longer period of time.
Only when weve exhausted all options at that level should we consider the least
safe option: chemical intervention. In theory, a skilled designer should never need
to resort to the latter.
Page 13
MICROCLIMATE
Microclimate
The summation of environmental conditions at a particular

site as affected by local factors rather than climatic ones.
local factors = topography, soil, vegetation, water masses, structures, etc.
These factors overlay the climatic conditions to give local environmental conditions
as measured by:
temperature & its range
relative humidity & its range
wind speed,range, direction & regularity
frost, rain, dew, snow
Microclimate variations can be very great locally - usually due to varied nature of
surfaces underlying the air layer near the ground.
dark = warm
run off
light = cool
store heat
shelter
windbreak
clay = wet, cold
sand = dry, warm
type
rocks
altitude
slope
Topography
aspect
heat
colour
Soil
ground cover
reflects sun
colour
shade
Vegetation
drip line
indicators
reflects sun
Factors
Water
Animals
fertility
Buildings
reflect sun
shade
cools air
stores heat
windbreak
Conventional systems look to ignore m/c potential, to make it insignificant and land
uniform in order to receive the capital inputs demanded by the system - required
to support the structure of agricultural investment (and more).
Applications
Note limiting factors and use microclimates to increase species diversity, lengthen
or advance/delay yielding time, protect against limiting effects of climate, etc.
Permacuture systems include great diversity of useful plants & animals favouring
many different environments. Plants themselves create microclimates (e.g. a maturing forest)
Observation of a place
- add time to see seasonal/extreme situations
- can build polytunnel big m/climate
- how can we do it for free?
Source: Chris Evans
Page 14
Microclimate is the effect of
rocks
store
heat
structures
plants
animals
soil
vegetation
topography
water
trees
make
shade
on
water
stores
heat
dark
surfaces
heat up
quicker
& get
warmer
trees
stop
wind
hotter in
the greenhouse
temperature & its range

relative humidity & its range
wind speed, range, direction & regularity
frost, rain, dew, snow
resulting in the place being
pale
surfaces
reflect
light &
stay
cooler
water
reflects
light
warmer
cooler
sunnier
shadier
drier
wetter
sheltered
windy
more/less fertile
animals
produce
heat
that allows
more niches
greater spp diversity
longer growing season
better use of space
optimum productivity
cool on
the north
side of
the house
clay soil
stays
wet &
cooler
cold air
sinks to
the
bottom
Source: Chris Evans
Page 15
Energy Efficient Planning

Permaculture design takes into
account:
*
*
*
*
Zones
Sectors
Slope/Elevation
Orientation/Aspect
depends on the
degree of intensity of inputs,
the frequency of visits and
the amount of maintenance
required.
A property can be considered
as a series of zones, starting
with the home centre and
working out to areas of less
intensive input requirements.
Energy efficiency/furthest away/most difficult to get to - least attention.
Placement of the elements in a system depends on importance, priorities, number
of visits required. Species, elements and strategies vary in each zone. Those needing
most energy input are concentrated nearest the centre.
Zone 00 - Self, individual, community and their relationships, needs & obligations.
Zone 0 - Home or centre of activity.
Zone 1 - The home garden - highly intensive. Includes herbs and vegetable garden.
All things that need daily attention. Totally mulched. Start at back door and work
outwards. Zones 1 & 2 are used for domestic sufficiency.
Zone 2 - Intensively cultivated, spot-mulched, well-maintained, selected and grafted
species. Intensive dense planting - small animals like chickens, quail, pigeon and
duck. Stacking. Forest Garden.
Zones 1 & 2. e.g. fruit trees for later grafting/selection. Self-forage systems for chickens, cattle, sheep, bees etc. Hardier bush and tree species, windbreaks and firebreaks, spot and rough mulching. Hedgerows.
Zone 3 - Zones 3 & 4 are the zones for commercial production. Not on every site.
Less intensive than Zones 1 & 2.
Zone 4 Managed woodland. Long-term development. Coppice and/or standard
trees. Timber, fuel and forage.
Zone 5 - Unmanaged wilderness area. Our learning ground about natural systems.
Rarely if ever visited. Yields may be harvested - seasonal hunter-gathering. Turfed
roofs in cities. Leave corridors for wildlife in ALL the zones.
Zoning
Sector planning deals with the energies that pass through a site. Good design moder-
ates these energies. Too little water is a drought. Too much water is a flood. We
need to capitalise on shortages and ameliorate excesses. See microclimates.
These energies include: Winter and Summer sun sectors. Wind sector. Cold air. Fire,
Water/Flood, Frost, Pollution, Good & bad views!
What other sectors might there be on a site?
Source: adapted by Aranya from original sheets by Patsy Garrard & George Sobol. Image unknown.
* Use gravity to max effect - water and storages.

* Flows of cold air and frost downhill, warm air rising.
* Movement of nutrients down slope - nutrient traps.
Source: Chris Evans
Elevation profile
Page 16
Page 17
Zones and sectors - a case study

Here are a series of overlays I created for my former mobile home design. They
serve as useful examples of how to map zones and of the different kinds of sectors
and how best to group them to save on paper.
Zones focus around the main
areas of use, such as buildings, but also around desire
lines where people move
slowly enough to notice
whats going on around
them. The ideal is to gather
those things that we give the
most attention to, around
those focuses (zone 0s) and
desire lines to minimise the
work and time involved in
maintaining them. This is the
zoning map I created for the
garden; the primary desire
line being the direct route in
and out of the meadow and
the secondary one via the
shed where I kept my bike.
Sectors are all about energy coming onto the site from outside. We often call these
wild energies as they tend to be beyond our control to do much about beyond the
site boundaries. Given enough overlay / tracing paper, I would always use at least
two sheets, maybe more to map these. The reason for this is that later on when we
do our analysis, we may be considering different combinations of these influences
during the placement of each element. For one element we may need to consider
the influences of wind and flooding, whereas for another it may be sun and water
availability that are our concerns. So ideally use a sheet for each sector, but Id
suggest that if you are to combine sectors onto overlays to save paper, to group
them like this:
* Those sectors that are directional and vary little across the site (e.g. sun, wind etc.)
* Those sectors that are topographical: mapped onto specific areas of the site
(e.g. frost, flooding etc.)
Directional sectors
The main examples of these are:

* The midwinter and midsummer sun sectors.
* The directions of both the prevailing and the coldest, most
damaging winds. Consider average and gusting speeds, plus changes in moisture
content and temperature too.
Essentially, anything that has a considerable effect over a long distance fits into this
category. If you are on a coastal site, warm ocean currents could be considered a
directional sector. Winds might also bring industrial pollution from far away.
Whilst these energies can all be influenced by on-site elements, which may throw
shade or slow the winds, directional sectors come on to the site at essentially the
same angles regardless of where you are standing. They can be so consistent that,
right across Britain, the prevailing wind is considered to come from between southwest and the west. The suns path is also fairly consistent over a wide area.
Page 18
A great tool called the Sun compass

shows the changing angles at which the
sun rises and sets through the year. Its
calibrated to 50 North (e.g. London),
but the instructions show you how
to recalculate these angles for different latitudes. If youve enough time
(seasons) to observe the site, you could
create a shade map, showing how this
changes across the site from morning
to evening and month-by-month. You
can place the focus of directional sector
overlays anywhere on your base map;
align them to north and they will tell
you what you need to know in relation to your point of interest. Conveniently, once youve made a sun sector overlay
like this, you can use it for any other design sited at approximately the same latitude.
Topographical sectors
The main examples of these are:

* Areas prone to flooding.
* Areas prone to frost / freezing.
Water and cold damp air reliably flow downhill and collect in pockets or behind
obstructions like buildings, hedges, or walls. Ice can build up on access routes where
a slope sheds water onto a road or path. The levels of flooding rivers rise up on
contour. As a result, these sectors are definable, though their extent can vary with
the severity of any weather. While most directional sectors are represented as slices
of pie coming into our point of focus, topographical sectors can be any shape as
theyre created by the landscape or the structures within it.
Combined sectors
Many sectors we might want to consider though are neither purely directional nor
topographical, but a combination of the two. They are formed where a directional
sector interacts with a specific feature on the site. Often these lead to microclimates
that give us the variety of niches we appreciate as designers.
Some examples include:
* Wind funnels and sheltered areas.
* Rain shadows of trees, hedges,
walls or buildings.
* Shade (remember shadows move
through the day and their lengths
change through the seasons).
* Nighttime light pollution between
buildings / trees etc.
* Any good or bad views.
* Privacy.
* Any neighbouring fire risks
(often seasonally inflammable
materials upwind of the site).
Page 19
More design tools

Web of connections
Draw a large circle and write the names of potential elements around the outside.
Choosing each in turn, go around the circle and identify where you can make
connections with the other potential elements. As you find them, draw a line
joining them together. In this simple example below, Ive used a selection of colours
to highlight the different kinds of connections; e.g. daily, weekly, seasonal, need
to be supervised etc. You might even
include another colour for elements
to keep apart!
This example has only eight elements
around the outside so its easy to see;
yours will probably have a lot more.
In such a web, the most-connected
elements tend to stand out as having
more lines than the others. However,
the most value is gained from going
through the process, rather than
looking at the final diagram. If you
notice any really good connections,
make a special note to remind yourself later. How elements connect will of course
vary, depending upon how each system is intended to function. Here children are
involved, perhaps supervised, with the gardens activities. In other circumstances,
they might be kept completely away from the greenhouse or the pond.
One other thing to remember here is that some of these elements are mobile and
that others are fixed in place. Chickens are very mobile, a chicken shed probably
wont be; unless you determine that it would be an advantage. In order to make
effective connections between less mobile elements, they will need to be placed at
least in close proximity to each other, if not physically connected together.
Random assembly
This is a design tool that Ive seen used in several forms since it was introduced
in Permaculture: A Designers Manual. Heres my favourite way of using it. Write
down each of the elements (or systems) that you have on your shortlist onto pieces
of paper or card. Stack them into a pile, turn it face down, shuffle them and divide
into two piles. Turn over the top card from each pile and see if you can think of any
connections between the two systems / elements. Dont hurry, as this process can
help you to identify connections a quick consideration might not identify.
While many combinations wont elicit
useful connections, this process is very
good at occasionally inspiring innovative solutions to problems, the kind
that others will remember as great
ideas. A recent example of this was
when nut trees came up with pond,
a little consideration brought up the
idea of planting the trees on an island,
to help stop squirrels reaching the nuts.
They can swim, but dont like being at
ground level where they are vulnerable to predators. Again, you should
make a note of any particularly good
connections, or any elements that you
Random assembly: element picture cards and a connections
prompt sheet used to identify possible beneficial interactions
think you need to keep well apart!
Page 20
Fukuokas four principles of natural farming

When growing plants we might also consider some or all of:
* No cultivation ~ no ploughing or turning the soil. The earth cultivates itself.
* No chemical fertilizer or prepared compost ~ these practices drain the soil of
its essential nutrients.
* No weeding by tillage or herbicides ~ weeds are an important part of building
soil fertility and in balancing the biological community. As a fundamental principle weeds should be controlled, not eliminated.
* No dependence on chemicals ~ weak plants develop as a result of ploughing
and fertilising, increasing their vulnerability to disease and insects.
Yeomans Keyline scale of permanence

If working on a broadscale site, its worth remembering this scale that reminds
us of the relative permanence of these main elements. The most permanent
(unchangable) are placed at the top of the list. Bill Mollison and David Holmgren
suggest an adaptation for planning permacultural systems:
1. Climate, 2. Landform, 3. Water supply, 4. Farm roads, 5. Plant systems,
6. Microclimates, 7. Permanent buildings, 8. Subdivisional fences, 9. Soil.
In essence this means putting water systems in first and improving soil at the end.
SWOC / PNI ~ comparing best options

There will be other times when a choice has to be made between two or more
elements, perhaps because of a lack of space. In which case we can use a couple
of simple thinking tools to help us: SWOC (adapted from the more familiar
SWOT) and PNI. These provide us with frameworks to help us make comparisons. Having applied either of these tools to our different options, we should end
up with a shortlist of those offering the most potential.
SWOC stands for:
*
*
*
*
Strengths - what are the good things about choosing this?

Weaknesses what are the not so good things?
Opportunities what will this also allow me to do?
Constraints what negative effects will this choice place on the things around it?
For instance, we might decide that for a windbreak, a hedge would offer us a
solution that gets more effective over time (S), but takes a while to establish (W),
it could offer additional outputs like wildlife habitats and food / fodder (O), but
create shade and competition for other plants growing on the shady side of it (C). A
wooden fence might provide a fairly instant barrier (S), but need more maintaining
(W), provide a good vertical structure for climbing plants (O), but involve damaging those climbers when maintenance takes place and also throw shade to one side
of it (C). Basically, the SW is about the thing itself & the OC the effect it has upon
the things around it. Call it COWS if that makes it easier for you to remember!
Or you could use a simpler version of this, another of Edward de Bonos thinking
tools ~ PNI, which stands for:
* Positives what are the good things about this?
* Negatives what are the not so good things?
* Interesting things what else might be relevant, even though they may be neither
good nor bad?
Page 21
David Holmgrens Principles

Observe and interact
* Icon: Can be seen as different things: a tree with a hole, a person
with their head in the clouds, a peep hole though which one sees
the solution.
* Observation of nature gives us first hand experience, as opposed
to books, teachers, internet etc which are 2nd / 3rd hand sources.
* We need to observe, recognise patterns and appreciate details which
may often be small, slow, subtle, cyclical or episodic. Observation
and listening to the land and the client are very important skills in
permaculture.
* Interaction is vital unless we get out there and open our eyes and use our
hands and our hearts, all the ideas in the world will not save us (Holmgren)
* Proverb: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder ~ everything can be viewed
differently by different people.
Related principles;
* THE PROBLEM IS THE SOLUTION / TURN LIABILITIES INTO ASSESTS: Just as
the icon can be viewed in different ways so can the situation we find ourselves in.
When viewed in a positive light we can find how the situation can be used to our
benefit. E.g if we have boggy land instead of thinking how do we change it, we
can find plants that enjoy that habitat.
Catch and store energy

* Icon: Sun in a bottle: can refer to a passive solar house, or preserving
seasonal surpluses.
* We need to be building long term assets for future generations of water,
living soil, trees and seed.
* Household storages of energy are preserves, seed and firewood.
* Proverb: Make hay while the sun shines ~ a reminder that there
is limited time to catch and store energy before seasonal abundance
dissipates.
Related principle;
* HARVESTING IS MAINTENANCE: harvesting is catching and storing
energy which also maintains the system.
Obtain a yield
* Icon: Edible yields are a measure of success. There are also
many others attempting to obtain a yield.
* We need to measure our work for returns (realistically,
not with farm subsidies). Designs need to be maximum
yield for ourselves, our communities and the Earth.
* Like a child, more input is needed at the beginning: then inputs
should decrease over time while outputs increase.
* Proverb: You cant work on an empty stomach ~ meeting
short term needs is essential.
Page 22
Related principles;
* MINIMUM EFFORT MAXIMUM EFFECT; getting the most out for least put in.
* YIELD IS ONLY LIMITED BY THE IMAGINATION: there are an infinite number of
yields that we can get from any system, some of them not being measurable.
Apply self regulation and accept feedback

* Icon: Gaia; largest self regulating system.
* Whole society has a dependance on large scale remote systems,
we are acting like a teenager wanting it all - now without
consequences.
* We need the right scale systems so we can get feedback on
the consequences of our actions.
* Proverb; The sins of our father are visited unto the 7th
generation ~ not only do we reap what we sow but it has
effects on future generations as well.
* By changing ourselves we can change the world.
* Accepting personal responsibility and shifting from dependent
consumers using unsustainable products, to responsible producers of
appropriate wealth and value, will empower ourselves and create
a more harmonious and balanced world capable of sustaining life
for longer.
Use and value renewable resources and services

* Icon: A horse has non consuming uses/services e.g to pull a
cart, plough, provide manure etc.
* Renewable means using our income, non-renewable is using our
capital/savings.
* Proverb; Let nature take its course
Related principles;
* WORK WITH NATURE; Sustainable systems will emerge when working with
nature not divorced for it.
* EVERYTHING GARDENS; all creatures are contributing to the landscape. E.g.
chicken tractor will make use of the nature of chickens to provide us with the
services of scratching up the ground and pest management.
Produce no waste
* Icon: Earthworm, the ultimate efficient recycler, aerating the
soil and producing casts as a fertiliser benefiting microbes.
* As well as reduce, reuse and recycle we have repair, refuse,
re-educate and re-gift.
* Proverb: Waste not, want not and a stitch in time saves
nine ~ timely maintenance can significantly reduce waste.
Related principle:
* ENERGY CYCLING when energy and resources are reused
within a system there is less waste e.g. re-using grey water for irrigation.
Page 23
Design from patterns to details

* Icon: Spiders web: every spiders web is unique, but the pattern
is universal.
* The same is true of sites, no two are the same, so work with
templates / patterns and then work out the details.
* Proverb: Cant see the wood for the trees ~ we cant see
the bigger picture if we are concentrating on the details.
Integrate rather than segregate

* Icon: Integrated system composed of interlocking parts: people
linking arms.
* Synergy: the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. 1 + 1 = 3
* Connecting systems reduces inputs from the outside, and uses
outputs within the systems.
* Unmet needs / inputs = work.
* Unused outputs = pollution.
* Proverb: Many hands make light work
Related principles:
* BENEFICIAL RELATIONSHIPS; the connections between elements in a system are
as important as the elements themselves.
* RELATIVE LOCATION; where elements are placed in relation to each other allows
for connections to be made.
Use small and slow solutions

* Icon: Snail carrying spiral home on back
* The spiral is capable of incremental growth bit by bit.
* We need long term thinking in permaculture design,
putting the effort and time in the planning stages will get
you further in the long run.
* Proverb: Slow and steady wins the race and The
bigger they are, the harder they fall.
Related principles:
* USE OF HUMAN/ APPROPRIATE SCALE
* WORK OUT FROM WELL MANAGED AREAS as capacity allows, success in small
areas encourages us to continue.
* MINIMUM EFFORT, MAXIMUM EFFECT, e.g. perennial crops may take longer to
yield but in the long term they will yield more for less effort.
Use and value diversity

* Icon: Humming bird sipping nectar from a flower.
* Illustrates natures biodiversity allowing many species to
fill different niches within the same habitat. By having a wide
diversity ourselves we can create more abundance without needing
more land.
Page 24
* Proverb: Dont put all your eggs in one basket ~ emphasises the dangers of
not having a diversity of yields e.g. if a pest or disease hits a monoculture than we
can lose everything.
Related principle:
* MULTIPLE ELEMENTS FOR IMPORTANT FUNCTIONS; by having at least three
elements for each important function we are safeguarding ourselves from losing
everything. E.g. if we have three sources of income then we are better protected.
Use edges and value the marginal

* Icon: Shows a world defined by edges, day and night
(sunset or sunrise) land and sky, natural and built, soil and
water.
* The interface between two ecosystems i.e. the edge, is
usually the most active and productive space and in
permaculture designs we try to maximise the edge to
increase productivity.
* Proverb: Dont think you are on the right track just
because it is a well beaten path ~ illustrates how the
most obvious is not always the most important or correct.
Creatively use and respond to change

* Icon: Butterfly, change is inevitable for us just as for the
butterfly.
* Change is often beyond our control, influence and even
comprehension. We need to be flexible and adapt to change.
* To change the world we need to change ourselves, many
people come to permaculture to change environments e.g.
their garden but soon realise that they also need to change
themselves. This leads to a more holistic approach.
* In top-down thinking there is a tendency to change too much, too quickly. The
Japanese farmer Fukuoka had a donothing philosophy. Before changing
anything, observe first and think hard this links the principles back to the first
one observe and interact.
* Proverb: Vision is not seeing things as they are but as they will be ~
impresses upon us the importance of a good imagination and the ability to anticipate successional processes.
Related principle:
* SUCCESSION: the ecological process of change of an ecosystem, we can accelerate
succession in our designs to produce a climax ecosystem more quickly, e.g. the use
of pioneering plants to break up the ground and increase fertility.
Source: Looby Macnamara from David Holmgrens materials

Chapter 3~ Climate and landform
Page 1
Climate and Landform

Designing in non-native environments
Permaculture design is an approach that can work anywhere in the world, because
it takes account of local conditions during the process of design. That said, it can
be helpful to become familiar in advance with any new environment in which you
might find yourself working - to first learn the basic patterns.
Most of our courses take place in cool temperate environments (in particular, Britain)
and most of our students also live in such places, so our focus is naturally given to
designing in this climate. For those who do intend to work overseas in warmer (or
really cold) climes, plenty has already been written to help learn these patterns in
Permaculture; a Designers Manual by Bill Mollison.
By way of a quick overview, the key differences that a designer will encounter in an
unfamiliar environment boil down to climate and landform. Flora and fauna that
you find will have evolved in those specific conditions, as will any cultural practices
in human societies there.
Most ecosystems you might find yourself in can be categorised as either:
* Temperate
* Tropical
* or Deserts.
Within those categories, we may also be able to describe them as either humid,
arid, islands, coastal, wetlands, or estuaries.
Each of these environments has its own resource base that native societies derive
a livelihood from and their own limiting factors. It is within these factors that we
have to design sustainable systems and the techniques we draw on may be very
different from those we use in our native environment.
Key factors include:

Climate
* Availability of water / humidity / rainfall levels and any seasonal distribution
* Temperature range / seasonality
* Winds (and salt levels)
* Light availability through the year
Landform
* Geology
* Watersheds / bioregions
* Altitude
* Aspect
* Slope
* Soil
These in turn determine the Flora and fauna
* Ecosystem services
* Forests
* Local trophic pyramid
* Availability of food sources / seasonality
* Seasonal plagues / migrations
Chapter 3 ~ Climate and landform
Page 2
Addressing limiting factors

Many strategies will be to address key limiting factors, such as excessive heat or
cold, wet or dry, light or darkness. For instance:
Drylands
In places where the rate of evaporation exceeds the rate of precipitation, a strong
focus will be placed on water harvesting and conservation. Many environments
(e.g. Australia) arent so much dry, as the rain comes seasonally and is often not
stored. Tank storages are expensive for long term drought, so techniques should
include building soil storages to replenish wells by use of swales or Keyline design
techniques. Biomass storages can be increased by the planting of trees around such
schemes and these in turn allow rainfall to move inland through the pumping effect
of large areas of forest.1
Conventional irrigation often salinates soils when water evaporates from the hot
surface leaving behind dissolved salts. Done for long enough, nothing will be able
to grow there. Permaculture strategies address the reduction of evaporation using
mulch and focussed use of water using targeted drip irrigation. Nitrogen-fixing trees
can be planted to begin the repair of
damaged soils. Strategies will also focus
around directing whatever rainfall that
occurs where it is needed, such as into
basins planted up with hardy trees and
shrubs (see diagram2).
Another technique is to use an
imprinter which is pulled by a tractor
over a landscape, creating many indentations where water, debris and seeds
can all accumulate. This is a shallower
and more mechanical version of net
and pan, a more labour-intensive
strategy which uses the same pattern.
1
2
Permaculture: a Designers Manual ~ Bill Mollison p144-5

From Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond vol 1 ~ Brad Lancaster
Chapter 4~ Soil
Page 1
Soil
The Basics
Soil is the uppermost surface of the earth, which has been slowly transformed by
decomposition due to the effects of weather, vegetation and human activities. The
parent material from which soil is formed
can be the underlying rock, deposits from
rivers and seas (alluvial soils) or the wind
(aeolian soils), or volcanic ash.
Soils is composed of:
*
*
*
*
mineral particles
air
water
organic matter
Soil texture and structure are of special importance for soil fertility and plant growth:
* Solid particles are classified by size into gravel and stones, sand, silt and clay.
* Soil texture refers to the relative proportions of sand, silt and clay in the soil.
Depending on the soils texture, it is described as sand, sandy loam, loam, clay
loam, clay, etc. Soil can also be characterized as light, medium or heavy based on
its workability.
* Soil structure refers to the aggregation of the finer soil particles into crumbs or
larger sizes.
Soil supports plants by providing a permeable layer for their roots. It stores plant
nutrients and water. Depending on their composition, soils differ in their ability to
supply plant nutrients.
Factors determining soil fertility

The main factors that determine soil fertility are:
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
soil organic matter (including microbial biomass)

soil texture / structure
soil depth
nutrient content
water holding capacity
drainage
soil pH
absence of toxic elements
Contrary to what is widely believed, the colour of the soil reveals very little about
its fertility.
How does soil hold nutrients and release them?
Decomposing rock material forms soils and releases plant nutrients. The original
mineral content of this material - and the nature and intensity of the decomposition
process - determine the kind and amount of nutrients released. Clay and organic
matter retain nutrients in a plant-available form, that is, the nutrients are attached
to the soil constituents.
Soils ability to retain a certain amount of nutrients determines its natural fertility.
Chapter 4 ~ Soil
Page 2
Nutrients, which carry positive and negative charges (cations an anions), are
attracted by the clay and organic matter in the same way that metal filings are
attracted by a magnet.
Soil water containing the nutrients in dissolved plant-available form is called the
soil solution. Nutrients can only be taken up by roots in dissolved form. Therefore, they have to be released from the storing complex into the soil solution to be
plant-available.
Organic matter can absorb more nutrients than a comparable amount of clay. It is
therefore important to build up the organic matter, especially in degraded tropical
soils with less ability to absorb the mineral component.
Soil organisms increase soil fertility

The activities of soil organisms are indispensable for high soil fertility and good crop
production. Most of these activities are beneficial for the farmer. Soil organisms
decompose organic matter to produce humus; aggregate soil particles to provide
better structure; protect roots from diseases and parasites; retain nitrogen and other
nutrients; produce hormones that help plants grow; and can convert pollutants that
find their way into the soil.
The Soil food web

Soil organisms form the basis of a complex food web, of which we are a part.
The species that form these webs are of course very specific to each environment.
Bacteria and fungi, the bottom of the food chain are ultimately eaten by us all and
critical to a healthy system. They feed on decomposing organic matter and a small
amount can make a big difference to soil fertility.
Source: USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

Chapter 4~ Soil
Page 3
Estimating Soil Texture

Sand, Silt and Clay
Texture refers to the size of the particles that make up
the soil. The terms sand, silt, and clay refer to relative
sizes of the soil particles. Sand, being the larger size
of particles, feels gritty. Clay, being the smaller size of
particles, feels sticky. It takes 12,000 clay particles lined
up to measure one inch. Silt, being moderate in size,
has a smooth or floury texture.
Particle name
Particle diameter
Very coarse sand

Coarse sand
Medium sand
Fine sand
Very fine sand
Silt
2.0 to 1.0 millimeters

0.5 to .25 millimeters
0.05 to 0.002
millimeters
below 0.002 millimeters
Clay
Soil Texture Triangle

The soil texture triangle gives names
associated with various combinations of
sand, silt and clay. A coarse-textured
or sandy soil is one comprised primarily of medium to coarse size
sand particles. A fine-textured
or clayey soil is one dominated by tiny clay particles.
Due to the strong physical properties of clay,
a soil with only 20%
clay particles behaves as
sticky, gummy clayey soil.
The term loam refers to a
soil with a combination
of sand, silt, and clay
sized particles.
For
example, a soil with
30% clay, 50%
sand, and 20%
silt is called
a sandy clay
loam.
Chapter 4 ~ Soil
Page 4
Identifying Texture by Feel

Feel test Rub some moist soil between fingers
* Sand feels gritty

* Silt feels smooth
* Clays feel sticky
Ball squeeze test Squeeze a moistened ball of soil in the hand
* Coarse textures (sand or sandy loam) soils break with slight pressure
* Sandy loams and silt loams stay together but change shape easily
* Fine textured (clayey or clayey loam) soils resist breaking
Ribbon test Squeeze a moistened ball of soil out between thumb and fingers
*
*
*
*
Sandy or sandy soils wont ribbon

Loam, silt, silty clay loam or clay loam soil ribbons less than 1 inch
Sandy clay loam, silty clay loam or clay loam ribbons 1 to 2 inches
Sandy clay, silty clay, or clay soil ribbons more than 2 inches
Note: A soil with as little as 20% clay may behave as a heavy clayey soil. A soil
needs 45% to over 60% sand to behave as a sandy soil.
Identifying Soil Texture by Measurement (Jar Test)

1 Spread soil on a newspaper to dry. Remove all rocks, trash, roots, etc. Crush
lumps and clods.
2 Finely pulverize the soil.
3 Fill a tall, slender jar (like a quart jar) full of soil.
4 Add water until the jar is full.
5 Add a teaspoon of powdered, non-foaming dishwasher detergent.
6 Put on a tight fitting lid and shake hard for 10 to 15 minutes. This shaking breaks
apart the soil aggregates and separates the soil into individual mineral particles.
7 Set the jar where it will not be disturbed for 2-3 days.
8 Soil particles will settle out according to size. After 1 minute, mark on the jar the
depth of the sand.
9 After 2 hours, mark on the jar the depth of the silt
10 When the water clears mark on the jar the clay level. This typically takes 1 to 3
days, but with some soils it may take weeks.
11 Measure the thickness of the
sand, silt, and clay layers.
a. Thickness of sand deposit ____
b. Thickness of silt deposit ____
c. Thickness of clay deposit ____
d. Thickness of total deposit ____
12 Calculate the percentage of
sand, silt, and clay.
13 Turn to the soil texture
triangle and look up the soil

texture class.
Source: Colorado State University website

Chapter 4~ Soil
Page 5
Soil Texture by Feel Flowcharts
Source: Colorado State University website
Chapter 4 ~ Soil
How to test Soil Texture
Page 6
How to test soil texture
Source: Patrick Whitefield ~ The Earth Care Manual

Designed
Visions
permaculture
design
course
handouts
Source:
The ~
Earth
Care Manual,
Patrick
Whitefield,
Permanent Publications
Chapter 4~ Soil
Page 7
Biological Monitoring
When surveying an area of ground, in addition to noting the species we see it is also
useful to record the relative abundance. For this we use the DAFOR scale:
D = Dominant; A = Abundant, F = Frequent, O = Occasional, R = Rare.
If a species seems intermediate between two categories and you are unsure which
to assign to it, choose the lower category, e.g. if you are unsure if something was
occasional or frequent, choose occasional.
D for Dominant
In practice you will rarely, if ever use this. To score D, a species would have to be
the most common plant by far, in well over three quarters of the area.
A for Abundant
Only use A if the plant was really very common in many parts of the area. For
most species this would mean that there were thousands of individual plants
present. In most squares, few species will score as highly as A and in quite a few
squares there will be no species that score that highly.
F for Frequent
Use F if you found the plant in several places in the area and there was usually
more than just a few individuals in each of these places.
O for Occasional
Use O for species that occur in several places in the square, but whose populations
are usually not very big. You would also use O for species that are very common
in one bit of habitat within the square that occupied just a small area.
R for Rare
Use R for any species that occur as a small number of individuals in the square.
This small number of individuals may be located in one place in the square, or
scattered over several different locations within the square.
Transect mapping
This is a tool used to describe
the location and distribution of
resources, the landscape and main
land uses. It further allows participants to identify constraints and
opportunities with specific reference
to locations or particular ecosystems
situated along the transect.
Once completed, transect maps
depict geographic features (e.g.
infrastructure, local markets, schools)
as well as land use and vegetation
zones, problems and opportunities
observed or perceived along a transect line. Activities involve walking and mapping
transects with the aim to cover as many of the agro-ecological, production and
social groups along the defined route as possible.
Transect maps are useful for stimulating and informing internal community
discussions related to broad-level land-use patterns, resource distribution, conflicts,
problems and planning. They can also be used to analyze linkages, transitions,
patterns and interrelationships of land use and different ecological zones along the
transect. While this method is useful for engaging non-experts at a low cost, it is
not as useful when locational accuracy is important, and it only provides a limited
perspective of the landscape.
Source: IAPAD community mapping
Page 8
Biological and Soil Monitoring Chart
Source: Robina McCurdy ~ Earthcare Education Aotearoa
Chapter 4 ~ Soil
Chapter 4~ Soil
Page 9
Indicator Plants
Chapter 4 ~ Soil
Page 10
Chapter 4~ Soil
Page 11
Source: Patrick Whitefield ~ The Earth Care Manual

Chapter 4 ~ Soil
Page 12
Source: Patrick Whitefield ~ The Living Landscape

Chapter 4~ Soil
Page 13
S
il Conservation
Co sand
r atImprovement
n & Improvement
Imp o e
t
Soil
Soil Conservation
Soil is like our Mother Earth's skin. All plant life needs soil to germinate, grow and
live its life. If the soil and soil management is good, farm production will also be good.
The condition of our environment, society and economy all depend on the health of the
soil. If the soil can be kept fertile, production increases, the local economy is strong,
and society is safe.
Just like skin covers our bodies, so soil covers the Earth. Just like our bodies are
damaged if our skin is broken, or wounded, so the Earth is harmed, and production decreases if the soil is damaged or washed away. If the soil is damaged, the farming community also suffers great harm. So we need to understand the needs of soil, and what
can damage it. This handout also gives information on how soil can be sustainably protected and improved.
Different climates have different types of soils . Often, one type of climate will
also have many different types of soil. But whatever the soil, they all have similar ingredients in them. Such as :
i
a p
tc
mineral
particles
- these forms the main part of soil
air
o u e (water)
(
e
moisture
ma life
fe (visible and microscopic)
animal
organic
r a i matter
a e (dead plants and animals that are in the process of being broken down)
t off living
v n plants
p
roots
r a i
organic
t r
matter
n rg d
enlarged
en
la
rg
ed
root
o h
hairr
ke up
p
(this takes
u
t and
d water
nutrients
w ter
o the plant)
p t)
for
i
air
r
mineral
r
particle
roott
E erythi else
se iss soill water,
w
i r Inn th
Everything
orr moisture.
the
water
are manyy nutrients,
ts, and
an countless
o n es micromc
w
o c organisms
o
i
sso
o ac
ve in thiss water.
e
scopic
are also
active
The ingredients listed above are found in all soils in a
greater or lesser amount. When they are in the right
amount, the soil is naturally fertile. Different climatesmay
have different soil types, and the same climate may also
have different soil types. According to the soil type, these
different elements are present in different amounts. For
example,we can compare sandy and clay soils (pto).
Chris Evans 2004 Permaculture Design Course
Chapter 4 ~ Soil
Sandy Soil
mineral particles are large
air spaces between the mineral particles are large
lots of air in the soil
As a result of this : soil is light and well aerated
the soil doesn't hold water, and dries out faster
nutrients are washed out quickly
Clay Soil
mineral particles are small
space between the particles is small
less air in the soil
As a result of this : the soil is heavy
as soon as it rains, the soil is saturated and stays wet for
a long time. But when it dries, the soil is very hard
nutrients are held in the soil but if there is less air in the
soil, plants can't get the nutrients so easily
Needs of the soil

What is needed to protect and maintain fertility in the soil ?
The contents of the soil descibed above - air, minerals,
organic matter, living roots, moisture and living organisms are all essential in the right quantities for healthy soil. When
they are all present, soil is naturally self-fertile. Adding the
right quantities as needed also maintains the quality of the
soil. But if any one ingredient is present in a lesser or greater
amount than normal, the quality of the soil can be harmed, or
it can also be improved.
All the different ingredients in the soil work together to
help plants to grow. But more important than these minerals,
living roots, organic matter, etc. are the living organisms in the
soil. In particular, the tiny, invisible organisms, such as
bacteria,and fungi play a huge role in maintaining and increasing
soil fertility. These are collectively called micro-organisms
micro-organisms.
Page 14
Testing Soil
Put a handful of
soil in a jar of
water and shake
well. Leave it to
settle for 4-5
days. The different types of
mineral particles
will settle into
separate layers
1
2
3
4
1. Organic matter
2. Clay particles
3. Loam particles
4. Sand particles
Soil life and micro-organisms

Actually, micro-organisms are probably the most important life on our planet. Living in one teaspoon of fertile forest soil there are 2 billion micro-organisms. Larger
organisms, and many types of fungi are also responsible for breaking down dead plants
and animals. This forms organic matter
matter. Then, the smaller micro-organisms - mainly
bacteria and fungi - take the organic matter and change it so plant roots (the root
hairs) can absorb the nutrients, as we cook bread from flour. Even if there is plenty of
organic matter in the soil, without the work of micro-organisms, this cannot be taken up
by the roots of living plants until it is "cooked".
Chapter 4~ Soil
Page 15
Leaves and branches, dead animals, etc. fall on the soil and are broken down. Microorganisms eat them. Then, it is their waste in the soil which plant roots absorb as nutrients. This allows the plants to grow and continue the cycle of life.
Cycle of nutrients
and the work of
micro-organisms
Plants take the

nutrients and grow
Soil
Soil
fertility
fertility
micro-organisms
eat the nutrients and
excrete them as
waste
Soil organisms
break down
organic matter
organic matter is
made into nutrients
Needs of the microorganisms (MOs)

For MOs to do this essential work, we have to understand - and provide - their
needs. Then they will work themselves. Actually all they need are food and a place to
work. But they need the right food - biomass to break down, and the right conditions, in
terms of temperature, moisture, aeration and lack of disturbance. Then tey will work
for free! They are generally most happy (and productive) in natural conditions. It is
usually human activities which disturb and destroy them.
How soil is damaged

When soil is left bare, it can be damaged very easily. Many things can damage bare
soil, such as : Sun :- strong sun will dry out the soil. Dry soil hardens and cracks the soil. Microorganisms will die in dry, hard soil.
Water :- when it rains on bare soil, the top layer will set hard. On slopes, the topsoil
is washed away downhill.
Wind :- wind will dry out all the moisture from bare soil, and can actually blow the
top soil away.
Chemical fertilizers :- these harm the soil micro-organisms and so cause the soil
structure and nutrient uptake to be damaged.
Artificial poisons :- as well as killing pests, these kill many beneficial insects and
organisms which work in the soil.
Big, heavy machinery :- big machines such as tractors compress the soil so that
there is less air space. They destroy the structure of the soil, as well as damaging
soil organisms.
Large livestock :- on wet soil, the feet of large livestock such as cows and buffaloes
also compress the soil and damage soil structure.
Chapter 4 ~ Soil
Page 16
Chapter 4~ Soil
Page 17
The main thing to consider in soil conservation and improvement :We need to understand what benefits the soil as well as what that
damages the soil, and plan our work according to this.
There are 3 main strategies :1. We need to feed the soil micro-organisms, and allow a good habitat for them to live
and work in.
2. The soil should not be bare. We need to keep it covered as much as possible. Especially,
take care to cover and protect the soil when there is strong sun, rain and wind.
3. Stop water from running off down a slope for any distance - it runs faster, and carries
off much soil and nutrients with it.
Methods of soil conservation and improvement
1. For the micro-organisms :- mulching, good compost, liquid manure, green manures,
agroforestry, afforestation.
2. To cover the soil :- mulching, green manures (when land is fallow), agroforestry,
afforestation, etc.
3. To stop water running off :- mulching, green manures, agroforestry, afforestation,
use A-frame to make contour ditches, terrace maintenance.
livestock compost
compost made of sweepings from the house and yard
legumes to fix nitrogen
earthworms
silt from ponds, streams, etc.
silt and dust collected from the run-off of the first
rains
deep-rooting trees to cycle fertility
mulch using leaf litter to cover the soil
dead insects, birds, etc

soil and leaves blown in by the wind
human excrement
laying turf
green manures
rotation cropping
keeping land fallow
no-tillage, to allow natural soil fertility
The soil is our life.

Protect it and be happy !!!

Designed
Visions ~ permaculture design course handouts
Chapter 4 ~ Soil
Page 18
Nutrient Management for Plant Growth

Nutrient management for plant growth
Symptoms of lack of certain nutrients
Symptoms seen on mature leaves
lack of
Leaves yellow, starting from tips
nitrogen
Leaves die from the edges
potassium
Leaves yellow between the veins
magnesium
Grey/white spots on fruit and grain
manganese
Leaves and stems turn red colour
phosphate
Symptoms seen on young leaves
lack of
Yellow spots on leaves & veins yellow
sulphur
Yellow spots on leaves & veins green
iron
Grey spots on seed, pods and fruit
manganese
Newest leaves die back or have white tips
copper
So, what to do if nutrient deficiencies are recognised by these symptoms ? The

chart below gives examples of plants which accumulate greater amounts than usual of
certain nutrients. These can be used in mulch, compost or liquid manure so those
nutrients which are lacking can be added to the soil. They are called dynamic
accumulators.
plant
contains lots of
mustard
phosphate, nitrogen, iron
buckwheat
phosphate
carrot (leaf) potassium, magnesium
References
comfrey
nitrogen, potassium, magnesium, iron
legumes
nitrogen
marigold
phosphate
nettle
nitrogen, potassium, iron, sulphur, copper
amaranth
nitrogen, phosphate, potassium, manganese
Secrets of the Soil.....
Source: Chris Evans ~ The Farmers Handbook
Chapter 4~ Soil
Mulching
Page 19
Mulching
For farmer and gardners, the foundation of our wealth is the soil. If soil is washed
away or becomes poor, how can we grow food to eat ? We farmers, who work and play
with the soil, must also learn to love the soil. One method of loving, caring for and
respecting the soil is called mulching.
Mulching is a method of using cut leaves, straw, leaf litter etc. to cover the bare
soil while still farming and growing crops on it.
The main objective of mulching is to keep the soil covered while farming it.
There are many types of mulch but they all share this objective. Mulch is usually
made from biomass (leaves, straw, etc.) but where spare vegetation is uncommon,
stones covering the soil have the same benefit.
There are various problems if soil is left bare. Rain will
wash soil away, and the sun will dry it out. Wind will dry out and
blow away the soil. The beneficial organisms living in the top
soil will also be lost. All these reasons cause soil loss and
damage, and to remake the fertility in the soil then takes
extra work. So mulching is an important technique to prevent these problems happening from the start.
There are 2 main types of mulching :1. Temporary mulch
2. Permanent mulch
Fresh green
or dry leaves,
any straw,
stones, cardboard, etc.
are all useful
to use as
mulch
1. Temporary Mulch
With temporary mulching, the ground is kept covered for some time only.
Mulch made of green or dried leaf litter, straw, etc. can be put on the soil during
the fallow period, or mixed with compost and ploughed in. After crops have been
planted they can also be mulched. Potatoes, garlic, onions and various vegetables
benefit from a mulch after planting. The mulch will rot as the crops ripen. Mix the
mulch with the soil by ploughing or digging in, after the crop has been harvested.
2. Permanent Mulch
For a permanent
mulch, layers of well
rotted compost, semi
decomposed biomass,
and a thick layer of
fresh biomass are put
on the soil, and seed
and seedlings planted
into this. In this
method, after establishment new mulch
(green biomass) is
added only twice a
year, and the soil
never needs to be
dug.
An inside view of a mulch bed

thickest
layer of
green
biomass
seedling
planted
in hole
thick layer of
semi-rotted/
dry biomass
thin layer
of rotted
compost
seedling
hole is half
filled with soil
Mulching
hole
made
Chapter 4 ~ Soil
Page 20
Making a Permanent Mulch

a. Preparing the mulch
If necessary, dig or plough the soil one last time. If the soil is soft and fertile,
this should not be necessary.
Cover the soil with a thin layer of well rotted compost.
On top of this put a 6 inch layer of dried or semi decomposed biomass, such as
straw, leaf litter, etc. After putting down each layer soak with water if possible.
On top of this put 6 inches of fresh, green biomass e.g. from weeding the field
or trimming the hedge. Soak with water again.
Now we can plant in the mulch bed
b. Planting Seed and Seedlings
Using a sharp stick make a hole down through the mulch until the ground is
reached. Move the stick to make the hole larger.
Fill the hole half full with fertile soil.
In this soil, plant seed or seedlings.
Water the seedlings well.
Best time to mulch

At the start of the rainy
season the soil becomes wet and
often heats up, causing the soil to
let off steam. If a thick mulch
is applied at this time
the soil cannot breath
Mulch
properly and steam
cannot escape. This can
cause many types of pest and
disease to occur. But if the mulch
is put down and well watered 2-3
months before the rainy season,
the soil and the mulch become
balanced and these problems do
not occur.
Water
Sun
Air
Mulch
Micro-organisms
The best time to start a mulch is near the end of the rainy season. By this
time the steam in the earth has escaped but there is still moisture in the soil to
help the mulch break down into the soil. This moisture will be conserved by the
mulch, and be usefull for the crops for many weeks or even months.
Maintenance of the Mulch

water as necessary
put on new green biomass about twice a year
plant companion plants like lemon grass, comfrey, marigold, basil, wormwood, etc.
around the bed
having agroforestry or edge trees nearby makes it quicker to cut the new mulch
Mulching
Chapter 4~ Soil
Page 21
The Benefits of Mulching

1.
Mulching stops the sun drying out the soil;
2.
Mulching keeps the moisture in the soil so reduces the need to irrigate;
3.
Mulching improves as well as protects the soil;
4.
Mulching prevents weeds growing so reduces the need to weed;
5.
Mulching keeps a balanced temperature in the soil. "Balanced" means not too
hot nor too cold, and regular. This is good for plants' roots;
6.
Mulching helps to prevent spread of pests and diseases. If water splashes on

the soil, it can carry naturally occuring diseases in the soil onto the underside
of leaves, where the diseases can cause damage;
7.
Mulching feeds and protects the organisms in the soil (earthworms, bacteria, etc.);
8.
Mulching also fertilises the soil;
9.
Mulching prevents root crops such as potatoes, radishes, etc. from turning green;
10. Mulching makes use of waste resources such as banana leaves, uprooted
weeds, etc. by recycling them;
11. Mulching reduces the need to dig and plough;
12. Mulching works with the principles of nature and ecology;
13. Mulching is beneficial for later crops in a rotation;
14. Mulching saves time because digging, weeding and irrigation are reduced or not needed.
mulch from
off-farm
mulch from
agro-forestry
mulch from
the edge
water
Mulching
Chapter 4 ~ Soil
Page 22
Liquid Manure
How to make
Liquid
Manure
Ingredients
Drum (anything from 20 litres upwards, plastic or metal)

Range of nutritious, aromatic plant
leaves such
as neem,
bakaino
(Melia
azadirach), wormwood, comfrey,
tobacco, marigold, nettle, and legume
leaves such as Ipil Ipil, etc.
Water
Ash
Livestock urine (especially cow and
rabbit)
About two kilos per twenty litres of
water of fresh cow dung, wrapped in
a jute sacking and suspended in the
brew.
Liquid manure is a concoction

made from local resources to
provide pest control as well as
nutrients for the garden and
field. The liquid can be used
as a foliar or root food for
plants, and as a pest repellant against a wide
range of sucking and leaf/fruit eating pests.
How to make Liquid manure

Chop up biomas into roughly 2 inch
lengths.
Prepare
enough to half/two
thirds fill the container.
Fill up the container
with water.
Add ash, urine, etc.
tie the cow dung in
sacking and place in
the container
Cover and leave in a sunny spot, stirring
once a day.
How to Use Liquid manure

Within a week the brew can be used.
Take out the liquid according to need
and dilute 1:12 water, and spray onto
the leaves, or run onto the soil/mulch
for irrigation. Top-up the drum
with water after taking out liquid.
Next time you use it it will be diluted, so only use 1:8 ratio, and the next
time 1:4,
and so on.
After up
to a
month
of use,
remove the biomas (for mulch or compost heap) and start a new drum load.
Be careful not to use the liquid as a

pesticide or repellent when beneficial
insects are visiting the
plants you wish to protect. These are mainly
insects after pollen or nectar on
the flowers (which may also
parasitise
pests
eggs).
So early morning and evening are
good times (but use your own observations).

Liquid Manure
Chapter 4~ Soil
Compost Making
Page 23
Compost
m o t Making
ng
ng
T
g to
o consider
on
a i
m s
Things
when making
compost
it is possible to produce compost quickly

compost should be well-rotted and crumbly
unrotted compost can cause pests and disease for crops
it's easier to carry well rotted compost
more benefits can be gained from smaller amounts of well-rotted compost
To improve the method of compost making, first it's necessary to understand how
compost is made and what things it needs to make it.
Materials needed to rot animal manure and plant materials (biomass) : things to decompose :- leaf litter, grass, animal manure, etc.;
decomposing agent :- micro-organisms break down biomass,
manure, etc. These micro-organisms are present in rotted compost and fertile soil;
moisture :- micro-organisms need the correct moisture to work;
air :- micro-organisms also need air to work;
right temperature :- it shouldn't be too hot.
Quick rotting
compost needs
good management
of the microorganisms
Ho
w to make
ake Compost
Compo st ?
How
When making a compost heap first put a layer of thin sticks and
branches on the ground
Then put a layer of the material to be

rotted - manure and
biomass from the livestock pens, leaves, etc.
Then put a thin (2 inch) layer of soil or fine, well
rotted compost. This layer
should completely cover the
one beneath so you can't
see it.
Now bury a pole upright in the
heap, and without removing
it, continue to add layers
as before. On each 1215inch layer of manure,
biomass, etc., add a
thin layer of soil or
compost.
Chapter 4 ~ Soil
Page 24
From time to time move the pole from

side to side to keep the hole open
layer of fresh manure,
straw, leaf litter, etc.
layer of soil or
rotted compost
layer of thin sticks or branches

By doing this, the numbers of micro-organisms in the compost will increase. Then,
they can decompose the manure and biomass quickly. There are most micro-organisms
in the soil and rotted compost, so this does the same work as "seed" to help make
more micro-organisms to rot the compost.
The thin branches and the pole allow air into the heap.
S
m t m
s of poorly
p r y rotting
t i compost
m
p s
Symptoms
ms
mp
If there is anything lacking in management of the compost heap, it will rot slowly
or badly. But how to recognise what is wrong ?
If there is white fungus on the pole when taken out, perhaps there is not enough
water in the heap. Pouring a little water from time to time will solve this problem.
If your hand is burned when you bury it in the heap, this is a bad sign. Too much
heat will also kill the micro-organisms. This will slow the decomposition process.
This is probably due to not enough air circulation. Make more holes in the heap to
solve this.
If there is a bad small from the heap, and lots of flies, add more straw or leaf
litter. This can also be due to lack of micro-organisms and without them, the manure etc. will not rot down well. For this, add more soil or well rotted compost to
increase micro-organisms.
If you can't make a heap with layers and it is
all stacked in one place, you don't have to do anything else but make holes in the heap with the
poles. Move these sticks around from time to time.
Just doing this will improve the compost.
Source:
Evans
The FarmersDesign
Handbook
ChrisChris
Evans
2004~Permaculture
Course
When
W n all these
a
t
e needs
n e s are
e t compost
co o w
met,
willl rot
q
ck y and
a d y
u will
l have
h
quickly,
you
b
t r compost
co
o go onto
t
better
to
t
n or fields
eld
the
garden
Composting
Chapter 4~ Soil
Page 25
Dynamic (Mineral) Accumulators
Source: Robert Kourik ~ Designing & Maintaining Your Edible Landscape Naturally
Chapter 4 ~ Soil
Page 26
Dynamic (Mineral) Accumulators (contd)
Source: Robert Kourik ~ Designing & Maintaining Your Edible Landscape Naturally
Chapter 4~ Soil
Page 27
Fertile Relationships
FERTILE
RELATIONSHIPS
Beneficial Fungi in the Organic Garden

Alzena Wilmot and Rik Humphreys describe a low-tech
way of growing healthy vegetables on poor soil.
he organic gardens at Sunseed

Desert Technology are at the
heart of our community and
produce a range of organic vegetables
and fruit throughout the year. People
come here to learn about sustainable
living and low-tech methods of reducing
our impact on the environment. Most
visitors to the project spend time both
in the gardens and in the kitchens
transforming the gardens produce into
delicious meals that we all share and enjoy.
The area that we live in is classified
as semi-arid. The Andalucian region of
Spain has one of the lowest rainfalls in
Europe. This presents particular problems
when trying to live sustainably. The soil
is very poor and without using a large
quantity of water it is very hard to get
anything other than the local hardy

shrubs to grow. Aromatic plants such
as thyme and rosemary grow very well
here but the more delicate plants that we
prefer to eat need a little more care.
At Sunseed we have been looking at
the problem from the bottom up, starting
with the roots. Since the ancestors of
modern plants first emerged from the
sea and started out on land they have
had an underground ally. This ally is a
type of fungus invisible to the naked
eye that forms a symbiotic association
with plant roots. The relationship is
called mycorrhiza (myco = fungi;
rhiza=root). The fine mesh formed by
the fungal hyphae functions as an
extension of the plants roots, supplementing its uptake of essential nutrients,
www.permaculture.co.uk
particularly phosphorus. In return, the

plant provides the fungus with carbon in
the form of sugars from photosynthesis.
The fungus is totally dependent on the
plant. This relationship is the rule
rather than the exception and has been
found all over the world. It has been
estimated that it occurs in over 80%
of land plants.
The main focus of our research has
been on developing a low-tech, lowcost method of multiplying beneficial
fungi from normal soil in order to
make a mixed mycorrhizal inoculum
(see methods box at end of article).
This has primarily been used in revegetation trials of degraded arid areas
on our trial sites in Spain and Tanzania
(see www.sunseed.org.uk for details).
But recently at Sunseed, the boundary
between research and the gardens has
started to merge. Rik Humphreys, our
organic grower, has been using the onsite produced inoculum in his gardens.
This summer Rik set up a simple
comparative test with a late planting
of tomatoes. Twenty-eight plants in
a more or less equal state of growth
and health were selected for the trial.
These were a local variety, raised from
seed in our greenhouse in modules made
from cardboard toilet roll middles.
Instead of applying the inoculum to
the soil where the seedlings were to be
planted, the rootball of each plant was
soaked in water and then coated with
the inoculum before planting in the
usual way. The seedlings were planted
into two beds in traditional double
rows, fourteen plants in each bed. One
row in each bed was treated with the
mycorrhizal inoculum, the other was not.
During the ensuing weeks, the young
plants in both beds were treated with
equal care, watered and sideshooted
as necessary.
Then one evening, about a month
after planting out I went to check on
the plants, and was staggered by what I
saw. In both beds, the inoculated plants
showed a clear advantage in growth
and general health over the others. I
recall a feeling of sheer wonder, that
a simple dusting with very ordinary
looking soil could produce such a
dramatic result. If I didnt know better
Id say it was magic!
Above: Rik Humphreys, Sunseeds
organic grower inspects a tomato
grown by the inoculum method.
No. 42
Permaculture Magazine
11
Chapter 4 ~ Soil
Page 28
Above: Experimental rows of tomatoes

those on the right row have been
inoculated and those on the left row
have not.
Below: Multiplying mycorrhiza in
plastic lined trap troughs.
12
HEALTHY PLANTS
In our area of Spain, growing tomatoes
organically is something of a challenge,
as plants are invariably affected by a
mysterious disease, possibly viral in
nature, which distorts leaves, stunts
growth and eventually can ruin the
fruit. But in our test, though all the
plants inevitably show symptoms of
the disease, the inoculated plants seem
more capable of resisting its effects.
Indeed, some of the plants that were
not inoculated have completely succumbed, and will yield no fruit; there
are no such plants in the inoculated
lines. As this article goes to press, the
tomatoes are still cropping but the yeilds
so far have been recorded as follows:
Tomatoes from the mycorrhizal plants:
3.125kg (6.9lb). Tomatoes from the
control plants: 1.400kg (3.1lb).
Rik comments, Im sufficiently
impressed by the performance of the
mycorrhizal inoculum cultivated here
at Sunseed to use it again in future
No. 42
plantings and sowings. I suppose what

excites me most about it is that both
the cultivation of the inoculum and its
application are simple techniques which
any grower in any part of the world could
use to their advantage, with no need for
specialized knowledge or equipment.
As we have seen in the gardens and
in our other trials there can be a noticeable increase in plant growth and health.
The inoculated tomato plants also started
to fruit earlier than those with no
inoculum and at the time of writing
we are still enjoying fresh tomatoes in
our salads from the experimental plants.
We have tried this technique on maize
grown on our field trial site and found
that plant growth was significantly
increased on the inoculated plots.
In Tanzania many farmers are now
incorporating the mycorrhizal technique
into their growing practises and the
word is spreading. Mycorrhizal plants
tend to cope better with stresses such
as dry conditions and disease than nonwww.permaculture.co.uk
Chapter 4~ Soil
Page 29
mycorrhizal plants. There are other

benefits that mycorrhiza can bring to
the soil. Its fine structure helps stabilize
the soil structure, slowing erosion.
Under the soil, invisible from above, a
network of fungal hyphae will start to
spread from your plant, gradually
colonizing other plants and in effect
starting to rebuild a healthy ecosystem.
This method complements organic
growing and in particular no-till systems.
The plants then act as fertility islands,
with increased organic matter, better
soil nutrient levels and with increased
nutrient cycling.
HELP WITH THE RESEARCH
To further this research we want more
people to try this simple method out
and let us know if it works for them.
To know if this technique is viable
we need to know in what conditions
it works and if the gain is worth the
extra input. There is a potential wealth
of experience out there that we would
like to tap into.
The method for inoculating plants
is very easy to set up and we would
love to know if it works for you in your
garden, so why not have a go? In the box
below right, are step-by-step instructions
on how to make an inoculum from
your local soil for absolutely no cost
using only reclaimed materials. They
are also posted on our website in full.
You too could participate by setting up
a trial and sending us information on
how your plants are getting on. All this
information can be downloaded from
our website or contact us and we can
mail it to you. So get involved and be
part of this investigation
Sunseed Desert Technology aims to
develop, demonstrate and communicate accessible, low-tech methods of
living sustainably in a semi arid environment. Our website explains more about
our work and about volunteering on
the project.
Contact: Sunseed Desert Technology,
APDO 9, 04270 Sorbas, Almera, Spain.
Tel: +34 950 525 770
Email: sunseedspain@arrakis.es
Web: www.sunseed.org.uk
Top right: Delicious healthy tomatoes
growing on an inoculated plant at
Sunseeds test site.
PRODUCING YOUR OWN INOCULUM OF BENEFICIAL FUNGI

The method shown in the diagram
and described below is for multiplying any mycorrhiza present in
soil from your local area. It takes an
hour or less to set up and is very
simple to maintain.
Setting Up A Trap Pot
(1) Soil is collected from under an
area of undisturbed vegetation, or
land that has not been cultivated for a
number of seasons. Soil is collected up
to a depth of about 15-20cm (6-8in),
and is then placed in a container.
This can either be a plastic container,
e.g. a large plant pot or washing-up
bowl or a hole dug into the ground
lined with plastic bags (approximately 50 x 30 x 25cm (20 x12 x 10in) deep).
In this soil a mixture of a cereal and a legume are grown together (2). These
are known as bait plants, as the mycorrhizal fungi cant survive on their
own they need to infect the roots of these plants in order to multiply.
The trap pot is kept for three months. At the end of this period the bait
plants are cut at the base and all watering stops (3). This effectively kills
the plant, and tricks the mycorrhiza that has infected its roots into quickly
releasing spores. After one further week the roots of the bait plants are
pulled up and roughly chopped into 1cm (0.4in) long strips (4). This soil
and root mixture becomes your inoculum. A small layer of inoculum 1-2cm
(0.4-0.8in) deep is then added to the soil when planting seedlings (5),
infecting the roots when they pass through the inoculum.
www.permaculture.co.uk
No. 42
13
Chapter 4 ~ Soil
Page 30
Green Manures
One of the most under-used methods of soil improvement is the use of green
manures, plants grown specifically to be dug back into the soil to improve it. In
principle this sounds pretty easy just sprinkle some seed on the ground after the
main crop has been harvested and then dig the plants in after a few weeks. But in
practice theres a lot more to it. The charity Garden Organic recently found that
growing green manure can reduce the loss of the key nutrient nitrogen in the soil
by up to 97 percent compared to soil left bare. So green manures seem to be the
perfect solution.
Green manures work by drawing goodness out of the soil and storing it in the
plants cells and root nodules. When the plants are then dug back into the soil they
rot down and gradually release these nutrients to the next crop in a more readilyavailable form. Regular use of green manures improves the soil structure, breaking
down hard soils and adding organic matter to light soils. Green manures can have
other benefits as well. Many of them provide good soil cover, suppressing weed
growth and preventing erosion. Others attract beneficial insects to the garden such
as bees and hoverflies which prey on pests like aphids.
So how do you choose a green manure to sow? The following are readily available:
* Legumes, such as winter field beans (like fava beans), lupins and fenugreek which
fix nitrogen into the roots (as long as they are dug in before flowering when the
nitrogen is lost). Other peas and beans, such as sweet peas, can also be used.
Winter field beans are a good late green manure since they will even grow when
temperatures are starting to take a dive during mid-autumn.
* Clovers, red or crimson clover being the best as it dies down, also legumes.
* Winter tares, also known as vetches, are also winter-hardy but like rye they can be
difficult to dig in. Again, part of the legume family so they fix nitrogen.
* Rye, such as Hungarian grazing rye, will grow well at low temperatures but can be
difficult to dig in and get rid of.
* Mustards, can be very effective but, as they are part of the brassica family, they can
interfere with your crop rotation.
* Buckwheat and Phacelia are both excellent at attracting beneficial insects and are
easily dug in.
* Winter-hardy salad crops, such as corn salad and miners salad (Claytonia) are
easily dug in once used and can provide some extra salad leaves while growing.
* Others which are not normally regarded as green manures can also do a great job.
Poached-egg plant (Limnanthes Douglassii) is a great example bright flowers,
grows well over winter and digs in easily. I regularly plant this in my garden and
leave a few to flower to attract hoverflies.
[The above list includes most of the available green manures in the UK]
Whilst this looks like a wide variety of options, there are some important factors
to consider. Firstly, many green manures are great for farmers with machinery to
dig in the plants but are not half as easy for gardeners who have to do it by hand.
Well-known author Bob Flowerdew recommends that you avoid ryes, tares and
vetches, fodder radish, and many clovers for exactly this reason. Secondly, not
all green manures grow well on all soils. Tares dont do well on dry or acid soils,
clovers prefer light soils and beans prefer heavier ground.
If I was asked to name my top three green manures they would be phacelia,
poached-egg plant and winter field beans. Im still on the lookout for other good
green manures though, so please do share your experiences below.
Edited from an article by Jeremy Dore
Page 31
Worm Composting
Source: Betsy Reid ~ HDRA News #147
Chapter 4~ Soil
Chapter 4 ~ Soil
Page 32
Source: Permaculture Magazine #8 p25

Chapter 4~ Soil
Page 33
Jean Pain Method

DESCRIPTION
Jean Pain (19301981) was a French innovator who developed a compost based
bioenergy system that produced 100% of his energy needs. He heated water to 60
degrees celsius at a rate of 4 litres a minute which he used for washing and heating.
He also distilled enough methane to run an electricity generator, cooking elements,
and power his truck. This method of creating usable energy from composting materials has come to be known as Jean Pain Composting, or the Jean Pain Method.
The process is an amazingly simple and incredibly inexpensive system of extracting
both energy and fertilizer from plant life. It is a boon for rural people since it goes
a long way in overcoming the shortage of fuel, especially in hilly areas.
CONSTRUCTION
This centre of this power plant is a 80 cubic metre mound of chipped brushwood
pieces (3 metres high and 6 across). This compost mound is made of tree limbs and
pulverized underbrush, a fire-risk in the area in which he lived. In the middle of the 50
ton compost heap is a steel tank with a capacity of 4 cubic metres. It is three quarters
full of the same compost, which
has first been steeped in water for
2 months. The tank is hemetically
sealed, but is connected by tubing
to 24 truck tyre inner tubes,
stacked nearby as a reservoir for
the methane gas produced as the
compost ferments.
WORKING
Once the gas is distilled it is washed
through small stones in water and
compressed, it is used for cooking
food and producing electricity. (It
can even fuel a truck as 10 kilos
of brushwood supply the gas
equivalent of a litre of petrol). It
takes about 90 days to produce
500 cubic metres of gas - enough
to keep two ovens and three
burner stoves going for a year.
The methane-fuelled combustion
engine, that turns a generator,
produces 100 watts of electricity
every hour. This charges an accumulative battery which stores the
current, providing all the light
needed for the household.
A 200 metre long plastic tube,
wound around the tank, provides hot water at around 70 degrees centigrade for
18 months due to the heat-giving fermentation process. Once inside, the hot water
circulates through radiators and heats the house during winters. Once the fermentation is over, the fermented compost provides 50 tonnes of nitrogen-rich manure or
natural fertilizer.
Source: Ida Et Jean Pain Les Terepliers, 83930 Ville Croze, France
Jean Pains book that describes this process in detail: Another Kind of Garden
Chapter 4 ~ Soil
Page 34
Nutrient availability by pH
Chapter 5~ Water
Page 1
Water
Water facts
97% of the earths water is ocean salt water. The
remaining 3% is fresh water but two thirds of this fresh
water is frozen in the polar ice caps leaving only 1%
available for human consumption.
There is the same amount of water on earth as there
was when the earth was formed billions of years ago.
The water that you are using today could contain
molecules that the Neanderthals drank. At about 150
gallons per person daily, the United States uses more
water than any other country in the world. Europeans
The Pacific ocean
use about 53 gallons per day and Africans only about
6 gallons per day.
Over a typical 100 year span, a water molecule spends 98 years in the ocean, 20
months locked in ice, about 2 weeks in lakes and rivers, and less than a week in our
atmosphere.
It can take a whole lifetime for groundwater to travel just one mile.
Water regulates the earths temperature.
Frozen water (ice) is 9% lighter than water (this is why ice floats on water).
A gallon of water weighs about 8.33 pounds.
Water is considered saline (salt water) and undrinkable after as little as one part
salt is added to one thousand parts of fresh water. If the entire worlds water were
able to fit into a one gallon bucket, the fresh water available for us to use would
equal only about one tablespoon.
One cubic mile of water equals over 1.1 Trillion gallons. The earth contains about
344,000,000 cubic miles of water and exists as follows:
* 315,000,000 cubic miles
salt water in the ocean
* 9,000,000 cubic miles groundwater in aquifers
* 7,000,000 cubic miles frozen in polar ice caps
* 53,000 cubic miles of water is
passing through lakes and streams
* 4,000 cubic miles of water is
atmospheric moisture
* And 3,400 cubic miles of
water are locked within living
things.
For example:
66% of the human body is water (about 10 gallons). 75% of our brain is water.
25% of the bone in our body is water. 83% of the blood in our body is water. 75%
of a chicken is water. 80% of a pineapple is water. 95% of a tomato is water. 70%
of an elephant is water.
Over 90% of the worlds supply of fresh water is located in Antarctica.
Chapter 5 ~ Water
Page 2
Each day the sun evaporates a trillion tons of water.

A single average size tree will give lose 70 gallons of water per day to evaporation.
An acre of corn will lose 4,000 gallons of water per day to evaporation.
A small drip from a faucet can waste as much as 20 gallons of water a day.
A person can live about a month without food, but only about a week without
water.
A person must consume the equivalent of about five and one half 12 ounce
bottles of water daily to live healthily - an average of 20,000 gallons of water
during their life.
More than 2 billion people on earth do not have a safe supply of fresh water.
Water leaves the stomach five minutes after consumption.
Two thirds of the water used in a home is
used in the bathroom.
To flush a toilet we use 2 to 7 gallons of our
fresh drinking water - the single greatest water
user inside our home.
A five-minute shower uses 25 to 50 gallons
of water. Contrary to what you may think, a
bath uses less water than a typical shower.
Brushing your teeth uses about 2 gallons of
water.
An automatic dishwasher uses 9 to 12 gallons
of water.
A washing machine will use 20 to 50 gallons
of water for each load of clothes.
At least 400 million people live in regions with severe water shortages and the
number is growing exponentially. Most of the worlds people must walk at least 3
hours to fetch their fresh water.
Freshwater animals are disappearing five times faster than land animals.
It takes 1 gallon of water to process one bottle of beer.
It takes 120 gallons of water to produce one egg.
It takes 132 gallons of water to grow one orange.
Processing one chicken requires 11.6 gallons of water.
Processing one can of fruit or vegetables requires 9.3 gallons of water.
The amount of water required to grow just one days food for a typical family
of four is about 6,800 gallons.
It takes 1,850 gallons of water to refine one barrel of crude oil.
The average size car required 39,000 gallons of water to manufacture.
It took 2,072 gallons of water to make the four tires on your car.
Source: http://www.smartwaterconcepts.com
Chapter 5~ Water
Page 3
Water in the Landscape

Where does water come from ? How much can we use ? What can we use it for ?
PC ethic: use water as many times as possible (cycles/recycles)
Uses of water:
* to pro-create life (in living organisms)
* to develop productive water systems (aquaculture)
* to develop hydraulic systems for Energy production
PC directives:
1 Hold water on the land (increase surface storages; reduce run off; decrease
evaporation)
2 Tackle "problems" as near to their source as possible
3 Slow down overland flow
4 All water leaving system should be non-polluting
Sources of water: rain, run off, dew, snow, grey water, etc.(also biomass)
Methods
* Soil storage (including rehabilitation) - swales, bunds, mulch, dams, ponds, tanks,
terraces, net 'n' pan, trees & vegetation, keyline
* Mulching, ground cover, windbreaks .... trees !
* Roof tops
In tropics/sub-tropics - emphasis of biomass as water store

Keyline systems:
* to provide a means of conserving all precipitation that falls of the site

* ensure water is stored in the soil itself, retards its evaporation and to use conserved
moisture for rapid production of soil fertility over large & small areas of land.
Swales:
* prevent uncontrolled run-off and allows infiltration to reduce water stress
Dams:
* saddle, keyline, contour, ridge
Grey water:
* where used?
* how cleaned?
PC Principles involved: entropy; recycling; multi-function; multi-element; biological

systems; appropriate technology; energy efficient planning
On our design site,
* how can we protect against damaging effects of water?
* how can we maximise water storage?
* how can we best recycle water?
Chapter 5 ~ Water
Page 4
Water Management
Key points:
* Slow down overland flow. This helps to deal with both sides of water holding
on to it when it is scarce and mitigating its destructive side when it is fast moving.
* Catch and store water - this can be increasing soil water storage, creating ponds,
rainwater catchment etc.
* Use it as many times as possible recycle water wherever possible.
* Design for your situation and landscape. Where does water go on your site?
What happens when it rains for days? What happens when there is a drought?
Can you spot any clues in the vegetation as to where might be wetter/drier?
Methods:
Swales
A swale is a broad, shallow furrow that runs
exactly along the contour of the land. It
is designed to catch moving surface water
and allow it to infiltrate into the soil to
stop water moving and allow it to sink
in to the soil. This water is then stored
in the soil where it can be used by plants,
and is protected from evaporation.
Inclined swales
These are swales with a very slight incline (the secrets in the name!) This means
that in dry times, it will act as a swale and increase soil storage of water. However,
in times of very heavy rainfall, the incline will allow the water to flow along the
swale which means the water can either be stored in a pond or directed off-site.
This means that inclined swales can be used in areas that experience periods of
heavy rainfall as well as periods of drought.
Fascines
Fascines are six feet long bundles of thin

poles and brash about 1 foot in diameter, bound in the middle and at each end.
Fascines are an easy way of dealing with
brash created from pruning or woodland
management, and can be used to create
simple causeways and wetlands, and also
to slow surface runoff over a site.
To create a causeway place the bundles
across the stream, with the long end
pointing in the direction on water flow.
The aim is not to stop the water; it is to
slow it down. Keep adding fascines until
a walkway has emerged. This approach will help protect the stream banks and
surrounding areas from the damaging effects of fast moving water during a flood.
It will also create a mini wetland upstream of the fascines, which will also slow
down water movement, increase soil storage and increase the biodiversity of the
land.
Contoured paths
Paths that are placed along the contour of the land can slow water down as it travels
down the slope, decreasing the damaging effects of surface water and helping to
Chapter 5~ Water
Page 5
increase soil absorption. Conversely, paths or tracks that go straight down a slope
will speed water up and tend to create gulleys that can lead to soil erosion.
Terracing
If you have a steeply sloping site, you may want to consider terracing the site.
Terracing will turn a steep slope, which is vulnerable to water run-off and erosion,
into a series of flat areas. This will mean that instead of rushing down the slope,
water will be held on the terraces.
Trees and vegetation
Planting trees can dramatically increase water storage in the soil, and slow down
surface run-off.
* Their litter, stems and trunks slow down surface runoff;
* Their roots create macropores (large conduits) in the soil that increase infiltration
of water;
* They contribute to terrestrial evaporation and reduce soil moisture via
transpiration;
* Their litter and other organic residue change soil properties that increase soil water
storage.
As a result, the presence or absence of trees can change the quantity of water on
the surface, in the soil or groundwater. By planting trees or hedgerows along the
contour of the land, you can reduce the damaging effects of surface run-off.
Windbreaks
When dry winds blow over plants, water that has been drawn up from the soil into
the plant leaves evaporates into the wind. This means that plants need a lot more
water than usual. By reducing wind speeds, windbreaks can help retain water in the
soil and protect plants from drought stress by lessening the effects of transpiration.
Windbreaks will significantly reduce wind speed and so reduce crop transpiration
rates and the unnecessary loss of soil water.
Mulching
By covering the surface of the soil with organic matter, mulching helps to retain
moisture in the soil by protecting it from evaporation by the sun or wind.
Rooftop water catchment
Roofs can be used to catch and store water by channeling rainwater that falls on to
them into storage containers or water butts. This water can then be used to irrigate
crops. If the water butts are elevated above the level of the crops, gravity can be
used to deliver the water to the point it is needed.
Greywater
Water that has been used once for washing etc from residences or buildings can be
recycled and used again once it has been cleaned. One method for purifying the
water is running it through a series of reed beds. The nutrients in the water are
taken up by reeds and other plants and organisms, thus cleaning the water. Water
that has passed through the reed beds can then be collected in a pond and used for
irrigation etc.
Ponds
Ponds can be a valuable way of catching and storing water on site, as well as increasing the diversity of habitats for plants and animals. Ponds also store heat and reflect
light, so can create favorable warm microclimates for more tender plants. Important considerations when designing a pond are water catchment and methods of
retaining the water (either using a pond liner or puddling if you have clay soil).
Page 6
Water Use at Home
Source: Graham Burnett ~ A Beginners Guide to Permaculture
Chapter 5 ~ Water
Chapter 5~ Water
Page 7
Rainwater Harvesting
The rain water that falls on our roofs is a free gift from nature. If you think about
it youll realise that all that rain is actually stored solar energy and we should make
the most of it when it comes - especially if we live in drylands. In order to do this
we need to know how big a tank or pond were going to need to store it in and
we can work this out using a fairly simple calculation. First of all we need to know
our catchment area and thats the area of the roof - not the area of tiles etc. but the
floor area it covers. This is because the rainfall measurements in expressed as depth.
To do this we just need to calculate the floor area, which in a rectangular building
is simply the product of the two sides, e.g. for a 6 metre x 10 metre building:
6m x 10m = 60m2
Then to determine the volume of water harvested per year by the roof we need the
annual rainfall figure (this will be in mm). Say the local figure is 1000mm, which is
exactly 1metre:
60m2 x 1m = 60m3
Now not all this water will be collected; in heavy rain splashing will create losses, as
will evaporation of light rain from warm roofs in the spring and summer. So well
multiply this figure by a fudge factor to account for these losses:
60m3 x 0.8 = 48m3 = 48,000 litres
Now we wont need to store all this at once as well be using it as we go, but it
would be wise to have a tank big enough to accommodate enough water use
during the longest expected period of drought. Lets say two months in our case:
Tank size = 2months/12 months = 1/6 x 48m3 = 8m3 = 8,000 litres
Now thats quite a big tank and one best placed in the ground, though that will
then require a pump to lift it again for use when required.
Chapter 5 ~ Water
Page 8
Water, Toilets and Solutions
Chapter 5~ Water
Page 9
Humanure dry composting toilets

The problem
The problem of how we deal with our sewage is one of the most basic issues
humanity has had to deal with but one which we have still spectacularly failed
to come to grips with. As soon as we mix our excrement with the 7 litres of fresh
drinking water the average toilet uses to flush it away we have 7 litres of highly
polluted water to deal with. In towns this is either very expensively treated with
chemicals and large energy inputs, or, for those towns 'lucky' enough to be by the
coast, pumped straight out into the sea. In rural areas the usual approach is a septic
tank, which often crack and can contaminate groundwater.
The Solution
The ideal solution is to keep the water and the solids apart from each other in the
first place. Although there are systems for treating 'black' water (the liquid from
your toilet) using reed beds, which are very effective, they could be seen as a bit of
a 'using a sledgehammer to crack a walnut' - they can be expensive and are a lot of
work to install.
The approach to dry composting that most
inspired us is the 'Humanure' method, pioneered
by John Jeavons in his book 'The Humanure
Handbook' (available from Walnut Books - see
below). The basics of the approach are this;
your toilet is a bucket inside a wooden box,
with a toilet seat on top. Every time you use the
toilet you cover your 'deposit' with a handful
of sawdust, which effectively prevents problems
with flies and odours, and, if you can get some
nice fresh pine sawdust, acts as an air freshener
too! When the bucket is nearly full you empty
it onto your compost heap, constructed in such
a way, with layers of alternating 'dry' materials
(straw, bracken), kitchen waste, garden waste,
leaves, animal manures. A compost heap structured in such a way should, so the theory runs,
get so hot in the middle that all the pathogens in the humanure are killed (indeed,
Jeavons asserts that aside from the use of some very unpleasant chemicals, such
composting is the only way to kill them off). Once the composting is complete the
fine, crumbly, sweet smelling compost is completely safe to use on your vegetable and
fruit garden. For an excellent guide for how to build a humanure sawdust toilet go to:
www.rdrop.com/users/krishna/sawdust.htm
Our Experience
When we arrived at The Hollies, it had no running water, no septic tanks, no toilets.
The old house had only an old hand pump and no water in the house at all. When
we built the new wooden house we wanted a low-impact toilet system which was
easy and quick to install. We therefore chose humanure systems for both buildings.
The toilet system itself was easy enough to put together using left over bits of wood
from building the house. The main expense was the toilet seat and lid. One good
tip here, particularly if you have young male children, is to fit some kind of rim
around the inside of the toilet seat which fits inside the bucket, thereby preventing
any misdirected wees going over the top of the bucket. Jeavons doesnt mention
this in his book (maybe he doesnt have young children!), but it is suggested on the
website mentioned above, where they recommend buying two buckets the same
size and cutting the rim off one, and affixing it to the bottom of the lid so that it
fits snugly into the bucket.
Chapter 5 ~ Water
Page 10
The next tip is the sawdust. The kinds of sawdust you can get make all the difference between a smelly toilet and a smell-free one. Very dry very fine sawdust isnt
much good, the best stuff we have had so far is fresh macrocarpa (a kind of cedar)
sawdust, which is still a bit damp and has a lovely perfume to it. Leaves are ok but
you need a lot to be effective and the loo fills up very fast, requiring emptying
more often. We also tried moss, which was alright but gave the bathroom a sort of
damp forest smell which I didnt really like. It seems like a sawdust which is already
a bit moist is somehow more absorbent than one which is dry.
We have had (providing we have decent sawdust) no problem with smells or flies,
and our children have got into the habit of putting a handful of sawdust in after
they have finished
Im not sure if, when we build our proper house, I would have our toilet so close
to the bath. It would perhaps be more suited to a room on its own. It certainly
doesnt need to be kept in an outhouse though; given even half decent sawdust
there is no smell problem.
We are now onto our second compost
heap. The first one is now covered and
after only 3 months or so is already half
the size it was when we stopped filling
it. The question is how can you know
that your heap has got hot enough to
be completely safe for garden use? Some
people say that if you are in any doubt
use it one your fruit bushes and trees,
but I dont want to, I want to use it
on my vegetables! What I intend to do
when the first heap has finished is to get
it tested for particular pathogens, and I
am also going to get a thermometer so
that I can monitor the temperature in
the current heap.
Conclusions
When I first heard about this system I was cynical, it must be smelly, it must have
lots of flies all over it. It isnt, it doesnt. It, for me, is the Rolls Royce of toilets. It
is simple, it is humble, it is effective. There is something very affirming and grounding about carrying the bucket to the compost heap once a week, you feel like you
are actually taking responsibility for your waste, becoming part of an ancient cycle
with Nature.
Relevant Web Sites
Joseph Jenkins, the man who is responsible for all this has his own website at www.
jenkinspublishing.com
The Compost Resource page can be found at www.oldgrowth.org/compost
The Earth Star Primal Habitat Projects experiences of humanure can be found at
www.geocities.com/-newliberty/earthstar/intro.htm
There is a good bit as well on a homeschoolers website called www.angelfire.com/
mo/sasschool/compost.html
The City Farmer people, who are doing brilliant work promoting urban agriculture,
have a bit on humanure, at www.cityfarmer.org/comptoilet64.html#toilet
Theres plenty of other stuff out there Im sure, let us know if you find anything
good.
Source: www.theholliesonline.com
Chapter 5~ Water
Page 11
Using Biological processes to filter and clean polluted water
Chapter 5 ~ Water
Page 12
Determining quality of freshwater using the ladder of organisms
Determining Freshwater Quality Using the Ladder of Organisms

Scientists consider water to be a freshwater source if it has a salinity (saltwater content) of less
than .005%. Freshwater habitats can be ponds, lakes, bogs, rivers, streams, creeks, marshes, and
swamps. Even a puddle or a drainage ditch can be a source of freshwater. A reservoir is an
example of an artificial freshwater resource.
Anything around a freshwater habitat could influence the life found there, such as farms,
manicured lawns (which may contain chemicals), asphalt, trees, or other bodies of freshwater. We
can learn about the health of a freshwater habitat by studying the organisms living within it.
Scientists have determined that certain organisms can tolerate a polluted freshwater environment,
while others can only live in a healthy freshwater environment.
A macroinvertebrate is an animal without a backbone living in one stage of its life cycle, usually
the nymph or larval stage. Macroinvertebrates can spend a few years living in this stage in a
freshwater habitat and can be seen without a microscope. Many macroinvertebrates are benthic
organisms, or bottom dwellers.
Scientists look at the number and type of organisms present in a freshwater habitat to determine
its health. The water quality of a freshwater habitat is good when it is rich in oxygen and capable
of supporting a variety of organisms. Water quality is fair when it contains less oxygen and low
concentrations of pollutants, and poor water quality habitats suffer from high levels of pollutants.
Some organisms can only be found in healthy freshwater habitats with good water quality, while
others can tolerate fair water quality, but are unable to survive in a poor water quality habitat.
And some organisms are able to live just about anywhere.
A pollutant is something introduced to an environment that is not native to it: for example, warm
water introduced to a stream is called a thermal pollutant and can harm the organisms adapted to
live in the cool water, environmental pollutants taint freshwater habitats, and human and animal
waste products contain bacteria such as fecal coliform that pollute freshwater.
You can use the list of organisms below to determine the quality of water their presence
indicates. The larvae of a stonefly, for example, is a macroinvertebrate that is very sensitive to
chemical and physical changes in water, and its presence indicates good water quality. Clams and
crayfish are able to survive in fair water quality areas, but not in poor water quality areas.
Blackfly larvae and leeches can be found in any type of water, and their presence alone suggests a
poorer quality of water.
Good Water Quality
Fair Water Quality
Poor Water Quality
Mayfly larvae
Crayfish
Aquatic worms
Stonefly larvae
Scud
Leech
Caddisfly larvae
Dragonfly nymph
Pouch snail
Dobsonfly larvae
(Hellgrammite)
Cranefly larvae
Midge fly larvae
Water penny
Clam
Blackfly larvae
Riffle beetle
Damselfly larvae
Carp
Trout
Sow bug
Catfish
Chapter 5~ Water
Page 13
Pond Design for

Wildlife
Chapter 5 ~ Water
Page 14
Source: Patsy Garrard and George Sobol
Chapter 5~ Water
Page 15
Wetland Eco-system Treatment (WET) Systems

The water on our planet; the most abundant and the most abused, is yet the most
accommodating of our natural resources. We take for granted the capacity of water
to be renewed and purified, largely by natural means. Water distils itself through
the sun powered hydrological cycle in which it passes from rain to river, from river
to the ocean, ocean to cloud, cloud to rain and rain back to the river again.
Rainfall is filtered as it passes through the soil and subsoil - on its way to wells and
springs. It supports a community of animals, plants and micro-organisms which act as
a biological purification system. This closely integrated community of living things,
together with the physical properties of its environment, constitute an ecosystem.
This ecosystem is based upon the photosynthetic abilities of plants to absorb solar
energy and the power of the microbial population to absorb chemical nutrients
from soil and water redistributing them to many diverse life forms.
Wetland Ecosystem Treatment, or WET Systems, function by harnessing this innate
ability to absorb and transform the organic nutrients found in wastewater, converting these into plant biomass and soil.
Within the WET System the natural productivity of wetlands is harnessed creating a
purification process which uses the wastewater as a resource, converting waste into
yield. As wetlands are the most productive and species diverse ecosystems to have
evolved, the potential for a high biomass yield from the system is great.
Our WET Systems are not simple
Reedbed Treatment Systems or
conventional
Facultative
Pond
Systems, although they do contain
reeds, as well as a range of aquatic
and marginal plants and a variety
of willow types and wetland tree
species.
The WET System comprises specially
designed and constructed earth banks
and ponds. As the wastewater flows
through the WET System, which is
densely planted with wetland trees
and marginal plants, it is both purified by microbiological action and transpired by growing plants. Up to 40 different
wetland species are used in and around the lagoons, ponds and reed beds. Several
species of willow and many of reed, rush, sedge and other marginals are used
depending on the type of wastewater to be purified.
Wastewater storage and treatment are combined in these constructed ecosystems
which are designed with a large volume and holding capacity. The total hydraulic
load is lowered by the evapotranspiration of the trees and the growing biomass
absorbs the organic load. Coppicing the willow on the system keeps it at the peak
growth rate enabling the maximum absorption of organic matter, as well as producing a useful harvest of willow each year.
The aims of a WET System design are to purify wastewater, create a rich, multi-species
ecosystem and produce a useful and varied yield. The main difference between
conventional Reedbed Treatment and a WET System is that unlike a conventional
reedbed, no gravel is used in the construction of a WET System - soil in the rootzone is the filtration medium.
The basis of the purification process is, as with conventional treatment processes,
microbiological; it relies on the biochemical transformations provided by the
Chapter 5 ~ Water
Page 16
plethora of micro-organisms found in the soil. In WET Systems the bacteria and
fungi which transform the waste are in a symbiotic, mutually beneficial, relationship
with the roots of the wetland plants and trees. Within this symbiosis the plant roots
provide oxygen, sugars and attachment points for the microbes, whilst the microbes
mineralise the organic matter found in the wastewater making this available to the
growing plants.
When coppiced the trees can be
managed to produce timber or pole
wood as well as willow wands which,
depending on the varieties planted and
the coppice cycle, can be used a source
of osier whips for basketry and poles
for hurdle making. Pole wood can also
be produced for use in creating living
willow sculptures and other structures;
over a four or five year coppice cycle it
can be harvested and seasoned for use
as firewood.
WET Systems become more efficient at
purifying the wastewater entering them the longer they are established. This is in
distinct contrast to mechanical systems which over time can break down due to
mechanical faults and wear on components. The plug flow kinetics of the system
give a robust process which is able to cope with shock loading. The purification
processes occur in the soil/root zone and each year as new soil is created by the
growing plants shedding their leaves and the system matures - the root zone expands
and the purification potential increases.
Whilst the number of wetland habitats in the landscape has diminished, WET Systems
provide a refuge for frogs, toads and newts, and shelter for birds, as well as a large
variety of insects and pond life.
Depending on the type of wetland ecology which is required and what yields are
preferred the final polishing ponds can sometimes be stocked with several species
of fish which area further yield and also act as a biological indicator that the process
is functioning well.
WET Systems are designed for domestic wastewater and many types of agricultural
and agro-industrial effluent, including dairy farm yard and parlour washings, silage
liquor runoff, cider mill wastes and pig slurry. When dealing with high strength
wastewater the WET System can be preceded by an anaerobic digestion pre-treatment option. This traps the potentially damaging the greenhouse gas - methane,
allowing this fuel gas to become a significant potential source of energy for the site.
In domestic applications the WET System can be designed and planted as a garden
feature including an ornamental or wildlife pond and bog garden. WET Systems
can be used to treat sewage from individual dwellings of any size, or for treating
the wastewater from farms, villages and
hamlets instead of using conventional,
mechanical, treatment processes.
Biomass type willow can also be planted
and used to fuel a combined heat and
power boiler and so contribute to the
energy needs of the farm, community or
dwelling generating the wastewater which
feeds the WET System.
Source: Jay Abrahams ~ Biologic Design
Chapter 6~ Trees
Page 1
Trees
Ten Reasons why Trees are Important
Trees are important, valuable and necessary to our very existence. Its not too hard
to believe that, without trees we humans would not exist on this beautiful planet.
Trees are the ground troops on an environmental frontline. Our existing forest and
the trees we plant work in tandem to make a better world.
1. Trees Produce Oxygen ~ Lets face it, we could not exist as we do if there were
no trees. A mature leafy tree produces as much oxygen in a season as 10 people
inhale in a year. What many dont realize is the forest also acts as a giant filter that
cleans the air we breath.
2. Trees Clean the Soil ~ Trees absorb pollutants that have entered the soil. Trees
can either store harmful pollutants or actually change the pollutant into less harmful
forms. Trees filter sewage and farm chemicals, reduce the effects of animal wastes,
clean roadside spills and clean water runoff into streams.
3. Trees Control Noise Pollution ~ Trees muffle urban noise almost as effectively as
stone walls. Trees, planted at strategic points in a neighborhood, can abate major
noises from roads and airports.
4. Trees Slow Storm Water Runoff ~ Flash flooding can be dramatically reduced by
a forest or by planting trees. One Colorado blue spruce, either planted or growing
wild, can intercept more than 1000 gallons of water annually when fully grown.
Underground water-holding aquifers are recharged with this slowing down of water
runoff.
5. Trees Are Carbon Sinks ~ To produce its food, a tree absorbs and locks away
carbon dioxide in its wood, roots and leaves. Carbon dioxide is a global warming
suspect. A forest is a carbon storage area or a sink that can lock up as much
carbon as it produces. This locking-up process stores carbon as wood and not as
an available greenhouse gas.
6. Trees Clean the Air ~ Trees help cleanse the air by intercepting airborne particles,
reducing heat, and absorbing such pollutants as carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide,
and nitrogen dioxide. Trees remove this air pollution by lowering air temperature,
through respiration, and by retaining particulates.
7. Trees Shade and Cool ~ Shade resulting in cooling is what a tree is best known
for. Shade from trees reduces the need for air conditioning in summer. In winter,
trees break the force of winter winds, lowering heating costs. Studies have shown
that parts of cities without cooling shade from trees can literally be heat islands
with temperatures as much as 12 degrees Fahrenheit higher than surrounding areas.
8. Trees Act as Windbreaks ~ During windy and cold seasons, trees located on the
windward side act as windbreaks. A windbreak can lower home heating bills up to
30% and have a significant effect on reducing snow drifts. A reduction in wind can
also reduce the drying effect on soil and vegetation behind the windbreak and help
keep precious topsoil in place.
9. Trees Fight Soil Erosion ~ Erosion control has always started with tree and grass
planting projects. Tree roots bind the soil and their leaves break the force of wind
and rain on soil. Trees fight soil erosion, conserve rainwater and reduce water
runoff and sediment deposit after storms.
10. Trees Pump Water and Minerals from Deep Underground ~ Ultimately making
them available (when they shed their leaves and annual roots each year) to all the
other plants around them and in turn to the animals that feed on them.
Source: Adapted from an article by Steve Nix
Chapter 6 ~ Trees
Page 2
The Metabolism of the tree
Source: Alick Bartholomew ~ Hidden Nature
Chapter 6~ Trees
Page 3
Not
Seeing for
the Forest
for the Trees
Not Seeing the
Forest
the
Trees
by Chris Evans
In (re)afforestation work we usually talk about the planting of trees. Lots of em. But
theres a fundamental limitation in this ethic that planting trees is what we need to save
the planet. We should be rather talking about planting forests. Until our planting site has
in it the components of the Mother of all plantations - the climax forest system - the
trees we plant will always be weak and prone to exposure, disease and drought. Could
this be why in America the U.S. Department of Agriculture accepts an 85% mortality rate
in its plantations on clear fell sites over 100 Ha ?
Guilds and Diversity
This is illustrated by a tale of connections in
the North American Pacific Coast Forests, between Douglas fir(Pseudotsuga mensezii), soil
mycorrhizae and a certain Red Tree Vole. The
vole was found to transport spores of the
mycorrhizae, needed by the fir for its uptake
of soil nutrients within the soil of these forests. On clearfell sites, the habitat of the
vole was destroyed and thus it would disappear. As a result, survival of fir seedlings was
severely reduced. These components survive
together and benefit each other in a symbiotic association known in Permaculture circles
as guilds. In design, we work to create guilds,
or rather to place the right species in such a
way that they can create themselves. This
illustrates the importance of diversity in our
plantations.
Soil life
Thus we are not just looking at planting trees,
but accommodating the soil life which is the
foundation of healthy biological systems, be
they forests, wetlands or prairie grasslands.
In one gramme of undisturbed forest soil
there may be 1000 million bacteria. These
are the life, the very creators of the soil and
thus everything that grows upon it. They give
the productive capacity of our soil. Roots
of plants growing in undisturbed soils form
associations with the soil microorganisms - the
latter make nutrients available for the former,
and the microorganisms gain carbon in particular. Up to 80% of Carbon fixed in photosynthesis goes into below ground processes.
While this carbon is lost to the plant, it is
not lost to the system, of which the plant is
only a part. The soil organisms improve plant
growth through effects on nutrient cycling,
pathogens, soil aeration and water holding capacity. Giving priority to feeding and supporting the life in the soil makes caring for plants
growing there a much easier task.
Succession
A further lesson from Nature we would be
wise to apply is the principle of succession the re-development of the climax system
following disturbance. In forests, this may
occur naturally in landslides or the toppling
of aged trees, creating clearings in the forests. The human causes are well known clearfell, livestock pressure, etc. In either
situation, if allowed, Nature will re-colonise
sites using biological systems specifically
adapted to the situation. If soil is poor and
soil moisture low, She will establish plants
which can survive. These can be called pioneer ground covers, followed by pioneer
shrubs and trees. Often they are nitrogenfixing legumes, able to synthesize nutrients
from the air when theyre not available in the
soil. Such plants have the chief purpose of
preparing the ground for the next stage covering and protecting the soil, giving natural water and nutrient cycles a jump-start,
and thus giving species which would not otherwise have survived a suitable niche in which
to thrive. This process continues, each stage
leading to a more fertile one, where the ability for a greater range and diversity of species to thrive increases until the climax state
is reached once more. Throughout this process the annidated nature of the system becomes evident, with multi-storey stacking
producing crops and system yields in a vertical plane as well as the conventional horizontal system (as with mono-crops).
Chapter 6 ~ Trees
Page 4
Limiting Factors
For vital growth of biological systems, such
processes and conditions are dependent on a
few crucial factors mainly in the soil surface
areas - moisture, air (oxygen), organic matter, temperature, the presence of symbiotic
relationships (Friends), etc. When any one of
these factors is sub-optimal or missing, growth
is impaired even if other needs are in abundance. All the irrigation in the world will not
produce an orchard if there is no fertility in
the soil, and vice-versa.
Total Yield
Medicinal herbs, spices, dyes, fibre plants, bee
forage plants, root crops and wildlife habitat
are all part of the total yield. In forestry often these Non-Timber Forest Products
(NTFPs - thankfully theyre not called minor
forest products anymore) are ignored - especially when were not treating our planting site
as a complete ecological system.
Implication for design - in imitation of nature
So the simple planting of trees is thus changed
to creating, or allowing, complex interactions
based on what happens naturally. We design to
imitate this because its efficient - nature does
it using only sunlight - and successful. Design is
also about reducing the limiting factors for optimum productivity.
Permaculture is the direct application of the principles of

ecology (Nature) in the design
of sustainable human habitats.
Our designs need to incorporate as many as
possible of the above principles when looking
at forest plantations. We have a series of
design options, for which we need to understand factors such as:
* natural characteristics of the plant species
* niches in time & space the plant occupies is it a pioneer, shade loving, drought tolerant, fast to establish, light demanding, frost
tolerant, etc
* size of the plant above and below ground
(wide canopy, deep tap root, etc)
* companions to the plant - birds, insects,
other plants, etc.
* human-used products of the plant
When we have an idea of such criteria, we
select and place the elements to work together, satisfying human and ecological needs
of the site.
The following design pattern illustrates how
we can make optimum use of these characteristics and relationships.
10-12m
high canopy climax
mid canopy
low canopy
shrub
Chapter 6~ Trees
Page 5
Planting
distance
Plants
per Ha.
10-12m
65-100
Fruit
m/p*
5-6m
Fruit
225-300
m/p*
2.5-3m
Fruit
800-1200
m/p*
1-1.5m
3400-8400
Fruit
m/p*
0.5-0.75m 13-30,000
Fruit
m/p*
Sub-tropical
examples
Temperate
examples
Time to
Production
mango, jackfruit, avocado,

Chiuri, carob
Artocarpus, Terminalia, neem
walnut, chestnut
6-12 ys
oak, ash, Honey locust
30-100ys
citrus, guava, star fruit,

peach, pear, lapsi
alder, teak, pine, sisso,
Sesbania grandiflora
apple, peach, apricot, cherry

plum, pear, persimmon, damson
H.locust, Melia, Robinia
dwarf of apple, etc, hazel,
3-5 ys
banana, papaya, citrus,

mullberry, sapota, coffee
Acacia (khayer), Albizzia,
Cassia fistula, alder
Sea buckthorn, mullberry,
8-25ys
2-5ys
tree lucerne, hazel (coppice)

alder, willow, elder, tagasaste
cardamon, papaya, banana,

kumquat
Lucaena, Gliricidia, Cassia
Flemengia, Calliandra, Sesbania
blackcurrant, gooseberry, etc.

S.buckthorn
Caragana, tree lupin
1-2ys
Fruit, pineapple, sugar cane

Sesbania, crotalaria, taro,
tumeric, Cassia siamea
raspberry
Tagetes, lupin, bush clover
6-12mo
3-6mo
1-2ys
*m/p = multi-function
We can then fit additional functions in and around our plantation with the following examples:
Function
Sub-tropical types
Temperate types
Ground covers Mucuna, Setaria, vetiva, lemon grass, citronella

clover, comfrey, alfalfa, lupin,wild garlic,
grass, lab-lab, Artemisia, Tagetes, mints
perennial grasses, Artemisia, Tagetes, mints
Climbers
grape, passion fruit, jasmine, betel nut, black

pepper, Bauhinia (malu)
kiwi (hardy), grape, passion flower
Thorny fences
Agave, Berberis, citrus, wild pear

(mel), Zanthoxylum (timur)
S.buckthorn, H.locust, Berberis ,

hawthorn, gorse
The conventional method of mono-crop

planting at 2.5m spacing ignores all the opportunities of working with the diversity,
succession and stacking principles of natural systems. Similarly, to plant climax-type
trees at such spacing can be a waste when
theyll need selecting anyway. The above
design template allows for diversity, succession, stacking, rapid covering of the
ground and quick production too. The latter is important for example when farmers are foregoing grazing needs by protecting the site - but within three to six months
fodder can be harvested from the developing understorey. We certainly dont need
to be afraid of over planting. Research
shows that Gliricidia sepum can reach densities of up to forty thousand trees per
Hectare (i.e. 50cm distance between
plants) before biomass production is reduced.
Practical Planting
Experiments in Britain, North America and
Nepal have illustrated the principle of
needing to plant the system, not just the
tree. Plantations where a couple of
handsfull of forest soil (especially when
from a mature tree of the same species)
were placed in the pit in the root zone have
showed over 50% better survival than
those with no inoculant.
Options
This design is only used to illustrate the
principles, however. There are countless
ways of adapting the design according to
needs of the site and user group.
Where sites are very poor or if the right
planting materials, time, or labour is in
short supply, then the establishment does
not have to happen at the same time. We
can start by broadcasting the pioneers,
such as Artemisia, Sesbania, Crotalaria,
Chapter 6 ~ Trees
Page 6
Cassia, etc. and next year, following cut-and-mulching of these, establish the next layer. Eventually,
the most valuable, long lasting climax species (which
youve been growing yourselves in a local nursery
in the meantime, of course) can be added.
Any tree species planted as seedlings will benefit
from a nurse crop of pioneer/green manure/legume-type plants sown close around. We have used
Sesbania, Crotalaria, and Cassia to do this - they
grow quick (and will self-seed), so providing shelter on exposed sites (or a sun trap if planted in
an arc open to the sun-side where sunlight is in
short supply), as well as fixing nitrogen, and
bump-starting the soil life processes.
1-1.5m
The design can vary in terms of products over

horizontal and vertical planes, for example layers of fruit at all levels (vertically), or clumps of
fruit at mid-canopy level, fodder at ground level,
timber trees at upper canopy level, etc. We
can play with succession by cutting (thinning) to maintain clearings at ground level,
thus a high degree of edge diversity around
the clearing. So design varies as succession continues.
Agroforestry
Contour planting on bunds within cultivated
fields (e.g. LEISA - low external input sustainable agriculture ; SALT - sloping agricultural land technology) are not excluded
from such applications. The design is
rather squashed into contour lines, horizontal planting distances can be reduced
to leave up/down slope space for annual
cropping systems.
Complexity, not Complications
So if you think this is getting complicated,
imagine varying all these dimensions (horizontal, vertical, time and relationships) at
once ! This is the traditional way of forest
farming - the Cavite (Philippines), Chagga
(Tanzania), the Western Ghats (Goa, India) are living examples. In Western Nepal, the Raute (meaning Lords of the jungle), nomadic hunter-gatherers on the
verge of extinction take it a step further
- they just wander through natural forests,
gathering what they need and not returning for up to nine years. They dont even
have to plant !
Which just leaves one option, to merely

protect a site and allow nature to do the
rest. However, the above design principles allow us to create intensely productive systems for humans, thus taking the
pressure off damaged forest areas, allowing them to exist for their own intrinsic
value, and for the health of the Earth.
Teaching method
The principles and variations of plantation and
agroforestry design are limited when taught in two
dimensions. A fun way is to use an earth pile, and
sticks of different length and thickness, from tall,
thick sticks (climax trees) to short pieces of straw
(ground cover layer). Students can mould landscapes
according to their own situations.
References
Hart, Robert (1991) Forest Gardening Green Books
Perry, D. A. and Amaramthus, M. P . (1987)
The Use of Mycorrhizal Fungi and Associated
Organisms in Forest Restoration, in Restoring
the Earth
Chris Evans, Appropriate Technology Asia
Kathmandu, NEPAL.
cevans@gn.apc.org
Page 7
Agroforestry
Source: Chris Evans
Chapter 6~ Trees
Page 8
Choice of Species Organiser
Chapter 6 ~ Trees
Chapter 6~ Trees
Page 9
taste
storage
time of harvest
market value
etc.
size
Orchards and Fruit Trees

root stock
grafting
budding
top working
air layering
cuttings
etc.
your needs &

preferences
characteristics
yields
seed
vegetative
season
needs
varieties
nurseries
a to
propagation
cultivated
site
i e selection/
sse
e e t on
on
a e e t
placement
p
Spp.
selection
l c i
wild
Orchards
r ha
&
u t Trees
T e
Fruit
ess
diversity
m/function
m/element
stacking
cycling
edge
m/climates
etc.
o i
i
pollination
t
to
integration
protection
pest management
fertility
water
pruning
harvesting
products
time
mkt demand
Agroforestry
soil consn/keylining
shelterbelts
access
beekeeping
livestock
etc.
planting
storage
integration
care
p i i e
principles
production
harvesting
scion
l m n /S st
Element/System
n ly s
Analysis
shelter &
protection
access
fertility
water
pollination
pruning
weeding
S e References
r
e
Some
Baker, H. (1980) Growing Fruit. RHS
Brickell, C. (1979) Pruning. RHS
Flowerdew, R. (2000) The Complete Fruit Book.
Kyle Cathie
Garner, R.J., (1993) The Grafters Handbook.
Cassel
Kourik, R. Designing & Maintaining Your Edible
Landscape
Chapter 6 ~ Trees
Page 10
How
e
k
a
to m
Top Working
Top Working is a method of grafting improved fruiting varieties onto wild root stock
without needing the complications of a nursery. Its cheap and easy to carry out, uses
local resources, and your dont even need a nursery to produce good quality fruit trees
What is Top Working ?
Top Working is the union of an improved (or
superior local) scion onto a wild root stock,
usually done in situ on established seedlings or
trees growing in garden, field, forest or
hedgerow. You can graft apple onto wild (crab)
apple; peach & plum onto blackthorn, etc.
Method
1. Selection of scion & rootstock.
Both scion & rootstock should be from healthy,
disease free and compatible stock. Scion is from
a tree with characteristics you wish to grow
(taste, fruiting time, storability, etc.). Rootstock
should be sturdy & suited to local conditions.
2. Preparing root stock.
3. Preparing scion
Cut the root stock anywhere between

2 inches to 5 feet from ground level.
A stem anywhere between half to 12
inch diamter is suitable. The cut
should be level & clean.
5. Binding
After joining, the graft(s)
need to be bound as tight as
possible to facilitate the join,
while not allowing water into
the cut areas.
The important
task is to join the
cambium of root
stock and scion.
The cambium is a
green layer of
growth cells
between the bark
and the wood.
Whip &
Tongue
graft a
tongue
is cut to
secure the graft
6. Aftercare
This as important as the graft itself.
The graft should not be disturbed or
the join will separate. After 3-4
months (next summer)
the plastic should be
carefully removed and
the graft allowed to
grow. Any sprouts
coming from below
the graft should
be cleanly
removed. Water
deeply and mulch
for the first
few months.
The scion should be prepared

from last years wood. Pencil
thickness is suitable, with 3-4
buds. The top end is cut near
the uppermost bud. The
bottom end is cut to produce a
slanting wound about 1" long as
in the diagramme.
4. Joining scion & root stock

stock.
Three methods areshown
here:
cambiums
in contact
Cleft graft (here the scion is

cut on both sides to a point)
Rind graft
cut through the bark
& insert scion from
above
The time for top grafting is during or towards the end of the winter
dormant season. As sap starts to rise in the spring, a good graft will allow
passage from the rootstock to the scion, which will sprout a fruiting branch.
Around the tree
plant companion
species such as
lemon
grass,
comfrey, nasturtium, balm, basil,
onion, garlic, mint,
marigold. As the
tree grows, add
compost
and
mulch under the
drip line - not
near the stem
Top Working
Chapter 6~ Trees
Page 11
Forest Gardening
Robert Harts seven layers
Source: The Garden magazine ~ June 2002
Chapter 6 ~ Trees
Page 12
Robert Harts seven layers (contd)
Source: The Garden magazine ~ June 2002
Chapter 6~ Trees
Page 13
Source: Robert Hart ~ Forest Gardening
Robert Harts
garden plan
Page 14
Source: Robert Hart ~

Forest Gardening
Robert Harts
garden layering
Chapter 6 ~ Trees
Chapter 6~ Trees
Page 15
Planting Fruit Trees

Planting Fruit Trees
Fruit is a store of goodness. It is juicy, tasty and nutritious, and it holds vitamins essential for our health and well being. All over the world people have planted
fruit trees since early times. Even if people have only a small piece of land they show
interest in planting fruit trees. But if you don't have the skills and knowledge to plant
and care for fruit trees they can die, or at best be less productive. So all the effort
that went into acquiring and planting fruit trees goes to waste.
In this paper we can learn about how to plant and maintain fruit trees to get the
best production using local resources and with minimum work.
There are many types of benefit from fruit, for example:
it is tasty and nutritious;

if you eat fruit after a meal the food is easier for the body to digest;
fruit is like wealth which you can sell or exchange;
after you plant a fruit tree it only requires a small amount of maintenance, and
will last for many years (it is perennial);
because they are perennial, fruit trees help to protect the soil and the environment.
fruit trees give nectar to bees, give firewood from pruning, habitat for birds
and wildlife, and many other benefits.
In order to get these benefits, the first important thing is to plant the fruit tree
well. Only then will fruit trees give their benefits to people and the community.
Choosing the right places to plant fruit trees
When selecting where to plant a fruit tree, you need to consider the following needs:
protection from animals

easy maintainance
shelter from the wind
enough room to grow

suitable good soil
Below are good places to
plant fruit trees:
in old pit latrines
on the edge of the house's
yard
terrace edges
on the edges of fields
Cross Section of
the Pit
soil
soil,, rotted
compost
Preparing the Pit

1 metre
half
-rotted
halfcompost and soil
soil
green biomas
1 metre
If you're planting the fruit

tree in an old pit latrine,
then your pit is already
prepared. If not, you need
to select a good place and
dig a pit. The pit should be
at least 3 feet deep (if you
have deep soil, then 4 feet
is even better). The pit
should be 3 feet wide.
Fruit Tree Planting
Chapter 6 ~ Trees
Page 16
In the bottom of the pit, put 6-8 inches of green biomass, then cover it with soil
that has been dug out of the pit. Then put a 12-18 inch layer of semi-decomposed
biomas mixed with un-rotted animal compost and soil. Then put in a layer of well
rotted compost mixed with soil. All the dug soil should be put back in the pit until it
is heaped above the pit, which is now ready for planting.
If you have a problem with ants or termites, mix oil seed cake (such as mustard)
with the soil. One part of cake should be mixed with 10 parts of soil.
Planting the Fruit Tree

When you plant the fruit tree in the prepared pit, first remove as much soil and
compost as is needed for the size of the roots. The roots should be open, and point
downwards. When the soil has been returned around the roots and filled in, tread on
the soil to press it down. Around the pit make a shallow trench to collect water.
Lastly, put down rotted compost covered with mulch. If you don't have enough biomass,
use rocks to cover the soil.
Companion Planting
Various plants can be planted around the fruit tree which help it to grow even
better and give more production. This is called companion planting.
Garlic, onion, marigold, basil, mint, lemon grass, nasturtium, comfrey, coriander,
fennel, dill, tansy and wormwood are some examples of companion plants. There are
many benefits of planting them with the fruit tree.
Companion planting helps the fruit tree,
but doesn't take much extra work
Chris Evans
2004
Permaculturedesign
Design course
Course handouts
Designed
Visions
~ permaculture
Fruitwww.designedvisions.com
Tree Planting
Chapter 6~ Trees
Page 17
Benefits of Companion Planting

Companion plants help to protect from harmful pests
They attract beneficial insects
They produce vegetables, herbs, nectar for bees, etc.
They can be cut and used as a mulch
They can be stacked densely in different layers
They help to balance the environment
They help to conserve soil moisture
They help to prevent weeds from growing
What the Fruit Tree needs :
Protection from damaging pests

Water
Fertility
Companion planting also helps to provide these three needs. However, extra
maintenance brings extra yields.
Compost
Compost:- It's good to provide compost once a year, in early Spring.
Water
Water:- If there's a rainy season, and if the fruit tree is dormant over winter, you
don't need water then. But if there is a dry season when the tree is growing and
fruiting, irrigation will make a big difference.
Where to put Water and Compost
Don't put water and compost right next to the stem of the tree, because the
roots that feed grow further away. So water and compost need to be put in a circle
away from the tree.
rotted
compost
Fruit Tree Planting
Chapter 6 ~ Trees
Page 18
Each year as the tree starts

to grow, put compost around
under the drip line.
Pruning the Fruit Tree

To keep your fruit tree
healthy and giving the best production, branches should be pruned
once a year when the tree is not
growing (it is dormant). Dead or diseased branches should be cut immediately. Any branch touching another, or competing for light and
space, should be cut. Use a sharp
tool for this. After cutting large
branches, cover the wound with
fresh cow dung.
This is how it looks

after unwanted
branches are
removed.
Cut out dead,

diseased and unwanted branches.
Big branches
should be cut
with a saw,
and small
branches
with a sharp
hook or
secateurs.
Cut at a
slant
Cut just
above a
healthy bud to
prevent too
much wood
dying.
Source: Chris Evans
Fruit Tree Planting
Chapter 6~ Trees
Page 19
Multipurpose Windbreak Design

Balancing Function and Yields
Windbreaks are rows of vegetation, usually trees, strategically placed to protect an
area from winds. Although planting windbreaks is an investment that takes some
land out of production, well-designed windbreaks have often been shown to protect
the health and productivity of crops enough to make the overall return positive.
Farmers in the tropics have looked at finding ways to increase the benefits further
by creating multipurpose windbreaks. A multipurpose windbreak is designed to
provide multiple functions and/or
products, in addition to wind protection. Multiple produces from a windbreak can
include yields such as fruit, timber, animal fodder, mulch, wildlife habitat, and other
economic or farm products.
Adding multiple functions or products to a windbreak plan can make the installation and management more satisfying and economically viable for the farmer. The
desire for additional yields must always be balanced by the need to maintain the
integrity of the wind protection.
Multipurpose windbreaks require special care in planning and management to
maintain the primary function of wind protection while maximizing secondary
yields. When planning a multipurpose windbreak, it is best to factor in all the
basic necessities for effective wind protection first. The basic design should include
the appropriate orientation, placement, length, height, profile, number of rows,
spacing, density, and continuity to provide
effective protection. There are a number of excellent publications available in books,
extension materials, and on the web that cover the specifics of form and position of
effective windbreak design (see Web Links below). Once the form and position are
carefully determined, then multiple functions or products can be added.
General guidelines for multipurpose windbreak design:
* The species used should be selected first for their wind tolerance and appropriateness for the site (climate, soils, etc); the products should be a secondary consideration in selecting species.
* Windbreaks designed for multiple products should comprise of multiple rows. This
affords some protection of the producing trees by the other trees in the windbreak. It also enables more flexibility in management and harvest of products
without compromising wind protection by creating gaps.
* Trees yielding products such as fruit, food, fodder, or mulch should ideally be
located in the interior or wind-sheltered rows of the windbreak, for maximum
protection.
* A diversity of species should be used to allow for greater flexibility in management
and for better resistance of the windbreak as a whole to damage from insects or
disease.
Fruit or nut production
Incorporating fruit or nut-bearing species into the windbreak can provide increased
family food or marketable produce. However, fruit trees battered by wind will
usually have reduced yields resulting from poorer pollination, wind damage to
flowers or young fruits, and reduced quality if the fruit falls to the ground or is
bruised. In very windy areas, therefore, fruit from windbreaks is generally used just
for family consumption.
To maintain the windbreaks primary function, wind-tolerant fruit tree species should
be used. These should be integrated with other wind-tolerant species to form an
Chapter 6 ~ Trees
Page 20
effective windbreak. Also, keep in mind that fruit trees in a windbreak should be
pruned only very sparingly, as pruning can greatly compromise wind resistance.
There are a number of things that can be done to maximize the secondary yield of
fruit or nuts:
* If strong winds are seasonal, choose species that flower and bear in calmest months
* Plant fruit trees in the more sheltered areas of windbreak to maximize fruit production and quality
* Select trees which bear fruit on main branches, trunk, or interior of tree, rather
than on outer branches (for example, fruits like jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) or jaboticaba (Myrciaria cauliflora).
* Know the cultural requirement of the fruit trees and care for them appropriately
* Irrigate if necessary
* Example species that have been used for this purpose: coconut palm (Cocos spp.),
dwarf Brazilian banana (Musa spp.), jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus), mango
(Mangifera indica), longan (Dimnocarpus longan), cashew (Anacardium occidentale), macadamia (Macadamia integrifolia), tamarind (tamarindus indica)
Timber trees
Since planting trees for a windbreak involves a long-term investment, the idea of
including trees that will be harvested for timber one day appeals to many farmers.
The main drawback of having timber as a secondary yield from a windbreak is that
wind stress or damage may compromise the timber trees form or produce timber
of poor quality. Also, since windbreak trees should be pruned only sparingly or not
at all, the lack of pruning may reduce timber yields on certain species that require a
lot of pruning for optimal timber production. Of all multipurpose uses of a windbreak, planning for timber harvest requires the most careful effort. Since entire trees
will be removed, the planting, harvesting, and replanting must be coordinated to
avoid creating gaps. Integrating timber trees with permanent rows of non-timber
windbreak trees will help maintain the effectiveness of the windbreak.
To maximize secondary yield of timber, plan to selectively harvest. Some farmers
plan to harvest entire rows on a rotational basis; others selectively harvest in a staggered pattern. Consultation with a professional forester is recommended.
Example species that have been used for this purpose: Eucalyptus dunnii (Dunns
white gum), Grevillea robusta (Silky oak), Pterocarpus indicus (Narra), and
Azadirachta indica (Neem).
Mulch or fodder from nitrogen-fixing trees
Some farmers like to integrate nitrogen-fixing trees (NFTs) in a multi-row windbreak, and prune the NFTs regularly to provide a nutrient-rich mulch for crops, or
a nutritious fodder to supplement the diet of farm animals. (For more on NFTs see
Overstory #4.)
Although pruning should be avoided for most windbreak trees, the practice of
cutting back NFTs and allowing them to resprout can be integrated with windbreak
management. Pruned NFTs are much more susceptible to wind damage if they are
allowed to regrow to a large size, but if they are cut regularly and the regrowth
kept small they will be effective as a short row. To maintain the windbreaks primary
function with this practice, it is essential to prune the NFTs regularly. Also, planting
these species on the most sheltered side of the windbreak will help prevent problems and improve productivity.
Example species that have been used for this purpose: Leucaena leucocephala K636
(Giant leucaena), Sesbania sesban, Calliandra calothyrsus, and Gliricidia sepium.
Chapter 6~ Trees
Page 21
Wildlife Habitat
The ability of windbreaks to provide wildlife habitat and corridors is one of the most
documented, both in tropical and temperate areas. Many farmers enjoy providing
important ecological benefits from their windbreak. Farmers that harbor wildlife
may also enjoy other benefits, such as economic returns from wildlife or a more
balanced pest/predator population in their crop area.
Keep in mind that providing wildlife habitat will harbor all kinds of animals, which
may include rodents or other animals that are a problem for crops.
To maximize wildlife habitat in a windbreak:
* Create long, contiguous windbreaks that function as wildlife corridors
* Connect windbreaks to larger forest, wood lot, or wild areas if possible
* Plant known food/pollen source for target species
* Use a wide diversity of species
* Create an understory (shrubs and herbaceous plants, for shelter and foraging)
* Allow deadfall/old logs/snags for habitat (if not a safety hazard)
* Create a diversity of other niches for habitat (mulch, large trees, shrubs, etc.)
References
* International Institute of Rural Reconstruction. Agroforestry Technology Information Kit, 1990. IIRR, Room 1270, 475 Riverside Dr., New York, NY 10115.To order
this book through our association with Amazon.com link to:
* http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0942717317/agroforestercom
* P. Ramachandran Nair, An Introduction to Agroforestry. 1993. Kluwer Academic
Publisher. This comprehensive textbook bridges the gap between theoretical and
practical knowledge in agroforestry. To order this book through our association
with Amazon.com link to:
* http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0792321359/agroforestercom
* D. Rockeleau, et al. Agroforestry in Dryland Africa. 1988. ICRAF, P.O. Box 30677,
Nairobi, Kenya.
* Agroforestry Information Service (AIS) for the Pacific Fact Sheet, "Windbreaks for
the Pacific Islands," FACT Net (Farm, Community, and Tree Network) Internet:
http://www.winrock.org/forestry/factnet.htm Email: forestry@msmail.winrock.
org
* Your book purchases through our association with Amazon.com give you their
discount prices and prompt service, while helping to support The Overstory. For
other titles you can search Amazon.com's wide selection at:
* http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect-home/agroforestercom
Web Links
* The USDA National Agroforestry Center has very informative brochures on windbreak design and usage http://www.unl.edu/nac/windbrks.htm
* PFRA Shelterbelt Centre presents extensive information on windbreaks for northern climates http://www.agr.ca/pfra/shbpub/shbpub.htm
* Windbreaks and wildlife http://www.ianr.unl.edu/pubs/Forestry/ec1771.htm
* Australian Organic Grower's perspective on windbreaks and pest management
* http://www.nor.com.au/community/organic/library/farmplan/windbrek.htm
* Information on the economics of shelterbelts http://www.agr.ca/pfra/soil/swork2.
htm#index
Source: Kim Wilkinson and Craig Elevitch ~ Multipurpose Windbreak Design: Balancing Function and Yields
Chapter 6 ~ Trees
Page 22
Willows
Source: Gina Cooper
Chapter 7~ Cultivated ecology
Page 1
Cultivated Ecology
Horticulture techniques
Favour:
* Perennial crops
* Self-seeding annuals
* Soil fertilisation by crop (green manures)
* Mulch and compost
* Maximum ground cover
* Companion planting
* Use of vertical (stacking) and horizontal (guilds / companions) planes
* Minimum / no tillage
* Crop rotations
* Salads and herbs - indigenous vs exotic
* Diversity
Observe and use:
* Microclimates
* Edges
* Sun sector
* Own seed / independent producers
* Natural conservation
Techniques:
* Terracing
* No-dig beds
* Raised beds
* Potato towers
* Herb spirals / circle gardens
* German (Hugel) beds
* Pot, tub and indoor growing
* Relay cropping
* Green manuring
* Greenhouse / polytunnels
Avoid:
* Bare earth
* Biocides
* Hybrid seeds
* Chemical fertilisers
Broadscale techniques:
* Pitting and simple earthworking
* Tree forage / alley cropping / relay cropping / mixed cropping
* Regenerative Agriculture (Keyline / holistic management / compost teas)
* Do-nothing farming / seed pelleting
* Foggage
Source: Chris Evans
principles
Agroforestry
soil consn/keylining
shelterbelts
wider access
beekeeping
livestock
special needs, etc.
crop care &

management
Kiitchen
tchen
Garden
reduce work
link needs to yields
minimise leaks
optimise space
no bare soil
does what you want
fun to be in
learn as you go
pollination
seed saving
harvesting
integration with
other needs
production
site/spp. selection
experience/find
out whats there
diversity
local resources
m/function
m/element
stacking
cycling
edge
m/climates, etc.
Kitchen Gardening
self-seed/volunteers
direct sowing of seed,
bulbs etc.
growing starts (seedlings)
from seed & transplanting
cuttings, layering, etc.
Source: Chris Evans
Beckett, K.A. (1992) Growing Under Glass. RHS

Biggs, T. (1979) Growing Vegetables. RHS
Brooks, A. & Halstead,A. (1980) Garden Pests & Diseases. RHS
Browse, P.M., (1999) Plant Propagation. RHS
Clevely, A. (1996) The Kitchen Garden Month-by-Month. David & Charles
Dobbs, E. (2001) Growing Your Own Vegetables. Which Books
Hessayon, Dr.D.G. (2001) The Vegetable & Herb Expert. Expert Books
Hessayon, Dr.D.G. (2002) The Pocket Vegetable Expert. Expert Books
Jeavons, J. How to Grow More Vegetables
Kourik, R. Designing & Maintaining Your Edible Landscape
Pears, P. & Strickland, S. (1999) Organic Gardening. RHS
Robinson,P. (1999) Drought Resistant Gardening. RHS
Salt, B. (1999) Gardening Under Plastic. B.T. Batsford Ltd.
Some References
water
fertility
shelter & protection/pest management
weeding
microclimate
access
propagation
your needs
taste
storage
time of harvest
market demand/value, etc.
Chapter 7 ~ Cultivated ecology

Page 2
Page 3
Polyculture
Polyculture Vegetable Gardens
Page 4
Page 5
Source: Permaculture Magazine #18 p9-11
15 food rules for ecological public health

*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Eat less but better

Eat simply
Eat no more than you expend in energy
Eat equitably; dont take food out of anothers mouth
Eat a plant-based diet with flesh sparingly, if at all
Celebrate variety; get biodiversity into the field and thence to your plate; e.g. try
aiming to eat 20-30 species per week;
Think fossil fuels; energy transporting food to you or you to food = oil
Eat seasonally, where possible
Eat according to the proximity principle, as locally as you can; support local
suppliers
Learn to cook quickly producing simple meals, leave fancy food for really special
occasions
Be prepared to pay the full externalised costs; if you do not, others will.
Drink water, not soft drinks
Be aware of the hidden ingredients; look at the label to locate the unnecessary salt
and sugars; if they are there, dont buy.
Educate your self without becoming neurotic!
Enjoy food in the short-term but think about its impact long-term; be confident.
Its your food now but your childrens environment in the future!
Source: Tim Lang & Michael Heasman ~ Food Wars: the global battle for mouths, minds and markets
Page 6
Chemicals in Agriculture - A Comparison

Disadvantages
1 decreases soil's natural fertility
2 damages soil structure and soil air
3 reduces soil capacity to hold water & increases the need for irrigation
4 overall reduces yields and increases costs of farming practices
5 damages predator and other useful insects
6 increases
resistance
and
populations of harmful organisms

7 the chemicals and the factories
that make them pollute the environment
Advantages
1 can give immediate & short
term increase in yields
2 makes money for agricultural
inputs coorporations
3 increases scientific approach
to farming
8 directly affects health by poisoning food

9 reduces genetic diversity of agriculture and environment
10 uses non-renewable resources
(fossil fiels) in production & use
11 results in emergence of new
weeds, pests etc.
12 requires use of large expensive
machinery, increasing farmers'
debt
So how useful are chemicals in farming?

Compare and decide for yourself.
Source: Chris Evans
Page 7
Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

Farmers are always concerned about their crops. After the hard work of farming, it's their worst nightmare to lose them again. There are many creatures which
can badly harm crop production, reducing the yield and productivity in the farm or
garden. A creature which does this is called a pe
est
st. Bacteria, insects, fungi, birds,
rats, weeds, etc. can all be harmful. Preventing, reducing or curing the harmful effects of pests can be done by management of the pest or the crop and its environment. To do this in a sustainable way often means using a range of methods together
to prevent and control pests. Because these methods are all linked, the term Integrated Management of the pest is used. So this chapter gives information about
Integrated Pest Management.
Why we use this approach?
Chemical which kill pests to reduce pest damage are widely used these days. But
there are many effects of doing this. For example:
Conventional chemical pest control leaves poisonous residues in the soil and on the
plants that we eat, often for a long time
By eating the plants that have been in contac t with poisons, people suffer from
many types of disease, such as headaches, paralysis, and even deformed births
If we don't know how to properly used the poisons - such as using masks, gloves,
etc., the poisons can get on our skin, clothes, in our water or food containers, etc.
Through incorrect use of poisons, up to 400,000 people die every year
Poisons are used for protection of crops from harmful pests, but often this also
kills beneficial plants and animals which are helpful in controlling pests, building
soil or pollinating plants.
Too much use of poisonsoften result in the pests becoming resistant to the effects. As a result, the resistant pest can increase. This means next time we have
to use a stronger dose of poisons, or use a new brand.
We use IPM methods to provide solutions to these problem. Other benefits are:
to get healthy food

to reduce farm production costs
to increase production
to protect the environment
to reduce the need of harmful chemicals
to prevent pests becoming resistant to chemicals
to make sustainable farming systems
I have a
right to
clean and
healthy
food
Integrated pest management can be divided into 2 main areas. Firstly, (a) how to
re pest damage
ontrol
ure
prrevent
event damage from pests, and secondly, (b) how to co
ntrol or cu
once it has already started to occur. In IPM we give priority to prevention rather
than cure so here there is more information on prevention.
Various techniques are described below. In integrated management one method
may not be enough to stop a pest, so it is important to use as many methods as possible.
Page 8
(a) How to Prevent Pests ?

Need
Methods used
1. Healthy Soil
compost, mulch, irrigation, rotations, green manures, etc.
2. Healthy plants
compost, irrigation, weeding, species selection, green manures, etc.
3. Fencing
living fences
4. Diversity
mixed cropping and rotations
5. Companion Planting
mix aromatic/smelly plants e.g. coriander, fennel, marigold,

lemon grass, basil, onion, garlic etc.
6. Decoy planting
providing alternative plants for pests to attack
7. Helping pest predators providing habitat and food for beneficial pest predators
8. Repelling pests
liquid manure, herbal controls
Beneficial
insects
Harmful
insects
Approaches to Prevent Pests ?

1. & 2. Healthy Soil and Healthy plants
Because the health of the soil and the plants growing in it are
so closely linked, we can look at both of these together.
Just like people are healthy with a nutritious and balanced
diet, the soil is also healthy with plenty of organic
matter, nutrients, micro-organisms, etc. It then supports healthy plants, which can resist disease.
Unrotted compost can cause pests and diseases in the
soil, so always use well rotted compost.
Water is essential for the soil and plants. Having the
right amount of water at the right time helps plants to
grow, stay healthy and resist pests and disease.
Crops attract certain types of pest and disease. Always planting the same crops in the same place causes those pests to increase
and damage the crops. This is why crop rotations are beneficial. For example,
potatoes and their relatives - tomato, aubergine, sweet pepper, etc. shouldn't be
planted in sequence on the same piece of land for up to 2 years. The rotation
Page 9
helps to break the pest and disease cycle so they will not harm the next crop.
After crops that attract many diseases are harvested, such as potatoes and
other vegetables, planting onions or garlic for a season helps to clean the soil of
the many pests and diseases attracted by the previous crop.
3.
Diversity
Continuous monoculture planting of the same crop will always suffer more from
pest attack. For example, if only cauliflower is planted, a fungus or insect which feeds
on cauliflower can destroy the whole crop in a very short time, and is difficult to control. This why it's good to plant a variety of crops together, called mixed cropping
cropping.
It's possible to plant many types of vegetable in the kitchen garden. For example,
cauliflower, Swiss chard, radish, carrot, peas, broad bean, lettuce, turnip, coriander,
fennel, dill, kohl rabi, spinach etc. can all be planted together. If any one of these is
attacked by a pest, there are all the others that will still give production. Find out
more by leaning about Mixed Vegetable Gardening or Polyveg systems.
4.
Fencing
Without a fence, many types of pest can get on to
the land and damage crops. So a fence is very important.
The most beneficial type of fence is a living or green fence
fence,
or hedge
hedge. This is not just a barrier, but can give other benefits as well. For example, a barrier of lemon grass around the
vegetable bed will help to protect against weeds and other
pests, and also can be cut as mulch to put on the bed. Similarly, carrot is affected by a root eating insect - the
carrot root fly - which flies at about knee height. So a
barrier of plants that are at least knee high around
the carrot bed can help to protect against this
pest, and give other benefits such as food,
mulch, nectar, etc.
Oy ! those vegetables
look tasty, but how can
we get to them ?
5.
Companion Planting
Plants give each other various types of support. For example, the scent of garlic
helps repel many types of pest. Marigold gives a chemical from its roots which helps
to repel soil nematodes which otherwise eat plant roots.
Page 10
The flowers of
marigold also give a
strong smell which
help to repel insect
pests. Some insects
recognise the smell
of the plants they
eat, so strong smelling repellent plants
help to protect
these vegetables.
Legumes such as
peas and beans help
to provide extra nitrogen to other
plants. Mixing these
plants with grains,
vegatables, fruits
or any type of crop
to help protect them is called companion planting
planting. Marigold, mint, basil, lemon grass,
wormwood, garlic, onion, coriander, fennel, dill, nasturtium, tansy, etc. are all companion plants and it is beneficial to mix them with and around other crops.
6.
Attracting Predator Insects and Animals
Ninety five percent of insects are useful, and only five percent cause
damage to crops. There are many insects and other animals which will
attack harmful pests. These are called predator insects or animals
animals.
Predator animals are farmers' friends. The more they are present on
farms, the more they can help controlling pests.
How to help predator animals ? If there is the right habitat, they
will arrive and stay themselves. Their food are the pests on the crops.
Many types of predator insects feed on nectar from flowers. They like
flowers of marigold, fennel, dill, coriander, basil, carrot, etc. If these
perches
are planted mixed with the crops, or in the fence, the predators will
come themselves and do their work. Also, if leaf litter and weeds
are piled on the edge of the cropland or beds, many predators
use this as habitat. Also rocks and stones are good habitat
for lizards, which eat insects. Frogs also eat lots of
insects. Frogs like ponds to live and breed in.
Bats also eat insects. By providing a perch
leaves
to sit on, birds of prey can catch rats
living and feeding in the crops.
flowers
rocks
weeds
pond
7.
Page 11
Decoy Planting
Harmful insect pests will eat other plants as well as

the crops farmers plant. So if these are added to fences
around the crops, or even mixed in with the plants, these
will be attacked instead of the crops. This is called decoy plantinng
g. For example, an insect that attacks cotton plants also eats the
castor oil plant. So by planting castor around the cotton plants,
the cotton can be saved. Like this, nettles will attract caterpillars,
which prevent them eating vegetable crops.
8.
astor
ca
stor
Liquid Medicine
Wormwood, neem, persian lilac, chilli,

garlic, onion skins, marigold leaves, cow
Artemisia
dung, ash, oil seed cake, Wrightia
indica
arborea, Adhatura vasica and
tobacco are examples of plants
wormwood
which can be used to make a
medicine which repels pests
and also acts as a fertilizer.
chilli
Adhatoda
vasica
marigold
Wrightia
arborea
neem or
Persian lilac
garlic
Don't spray liquid medicine when beneficial insects

are in the field or garden, or they will be harmed.
Otherwise, spray in the early morning or evening.
(b) What to do once pests start to attack ?

It may be that even after using all the techniques given above, pests still attack
the crops. Below are examples of methods used after problems have started :
Liquid Medicine
Cow's urine
Neem oil
Ashes
Oil seed cake

Tobacco juice
Observation
The most important work in integrated pest management is observation.
Which pests are harmful, to which crops, at what time ? Where do they
come from ? How do they breed ? What can be done to prevent them coming ?
By understanding these things, the life cycle of the pest can be understood
and so can be interrupted to prevent the pest becoming a pest. In this way
pests can be prevented early on from being harmful to our crops.
Source: Chris Evans
Page 12
Seed Saving
Although this paper mainly uses examples of vegetable seed production, the
principles it describes are relevant to any species whose seed we want to save.
Farmers need to have many skills to manage both the soil and the homestead.
Out of those skills, seed saving is probably one of the most important. By giving
more attention to seed saving, farmers can improve the quality of their seed each
year. This can then improve crop production. This can be done without having to
increase inputs of fertilizer, irrigation or cultivation. So with a little extra care in
seed production, farmers can easily increase their farm production.
Why save seed yourself, on your own land?
so the seed required is available at the right time;

to save the cost of buying seed;
to trust that the species or variety of seed is the one you need;
to produce seed that is adapted to the local climate, soil, etc.;
to increase income from local resources, and
to improve local varieties and conserve bio-diversity.
Things to pay attention to in seed saving
Choose healthy and disease-free plants to save seed from.
Select plants according to the qualities or characteristics you need.

For example :unction
Fu
nction
Qualities or characteristics needed
Timber
straight stems, strong, long lasting, etc
Fodder
dense foliage, nutritious, etc.
Vegetables
tasty, disease & drought resistant, etc.
Medicine
bitter, strong, stores well, etc
Seed producing plants are adapted to the local climate.
Select seeds from as many plants of one variety as possible. Save from
at least 10 plants, in order to maintain genetic diversity and strength.
Once a plant has been identified to save seed, don't

pick its leaves, flowers, etc. But if any part is damaged
or diseased, these should be removed and discarded.
Select plants for seed saving as early as possible,

and label them.
RADISH
Page 13
Give extra care to plants selected for seed saving. Provide water, nutrients, weed control, pest control, etc. according to the needs of the plant. Compost, liquid manure, ash, oil
seed cake etc. can be used for this.
As plants mature they may fall over, so staking may be

necessary.
Only allow the best plants to flower. For any variety,

poorer plants should not be allowed to flower so they don't
mix with the good plants, which will lower the quality of the
seed. Leaving the plants for seed saving, all others should be
pulled and eaten, composted or mulched before flowering.
10
Different species which cross pollinate should not be allowed to flower

at the same time. It is possible that some species will cross, so they should
not flower in the same place, at the same time. To prevent cross pollination
one of the following 2 methods should be used:
a. Plants that cross should be far apart, so that insects or wind will not
be able to cross pollinate;
b. Plants which cross should be planted to flower at different times. For
example, if a cauliflower grown for seed flowers in July, a cabbage also for
seed should flower in August. This way the flowering time will be separate,
and there is no danger of crossing.
Species which will cross pollinate
The species in the following families will cross pollinate

Cauliflower family : cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli,
sprout, kale, kohl rabi all cross.
Turnip family :
turnip, chinese cabbage and
chinese mustard all cross.
Chard family :
red and green chard will cross.
Pepper family :
chilli and sweet peppers will cross.
Pumpkin family :
zucchini, dwarf and climbing
pumpkins will cross.
When attention is paid to all these points, good quality, pure seed can be
produced. But if any one is ignored, then the quality of the seed cannot be guaranteed and the work and time can be wasted.
Source: Chris Evans
Page 14
Things to consider when picking

and storing seeds
Only pick seeds or pods when they are ripe.
Only collect good seed or pods.
Reject any seeds different in size, shape or colour from the

average good seed.
Dry the seeds well. Usually seeds are dried in the sun. Some types,
like lemon, orange, etc. should be dried in the shade, for example above the
fireplace.
If seed is sun dried, be sure to allow them to cool before packing.
If possible, pack seed in an airtight container, and try to fill the container
full, without leaving excess air space. Add ash or baked rice, which help to
keep seed dry.
Put fresh, cool ash or baked rice in the bottom of the container. This
absorbs water in the air, which helps to keep the seed dry. This can be
placed on top of seed also (see drawing, page 4).
Seed should be stored in a cool, dry, dark place.
It is very important to protect seed from disease, insects and fungus. There
are many local herbal remedies for doing this, for example mixing ash,
powdered neem leaves, neem oil, powdered oil seed cake or wormwood. Another
method is to store seeds of different sizes mixed together, such as wheat and
mustard, or corn and millet, This is a traditional practice in many places.
tight fitting lid

to stop air
Glass or plastic jar
top layer of
baked, cooled rice
to fill the container
stored radish
seed
bottom layer of
fresh, cooled ash
Check the
seed
regularly for
paper pest damage.
From time to
time take
the seed out
and dry in
the sun, or
add fresh
herbs.
paper
Page 15
Community Supported Agriculture

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is about taking responsibility for how our
food is produced and how it gets to the table. It is a direct relationship between a
farmer and the people who eat the food the farmer produces. The term Community Supported Agriculture was coined in America and encompasses a broad range
of partnerships between consumers and producers. Each of these CSA arrangements
is unique, tailored by the circumstances they develop out of.
We define CSA as:
A partnership between farmers and consumers where, at best, the
responsibilities and rewards of farming are shared.
As CSA farms are directly accountable to their consumer members they strive to
provide fresh, high-quality food and typically use organic or biodynamic farming
methods. Generally there are more people working on CSA farms than on conventional farms, and some CSAs encourage members to work on the farm in exchange
for a portion of their membership costs.
CSA is a shared commitment to building a more local and equitable agricultural
system, one that allows farmers to focus on good farming practices and still maintain productive and profitable farms.
1. Models of CSA
CSAs reflect the culture of the communities they serve, the capabilities of the CSA
land and the farmers who manage it. Therefore no two CSAs are likely to be the
same and tend to be dynamic as the communitys needs change over time. In
England alone there is a rich variety of initiatives such as: whole farm CSAs, customer
supported box schemes, conservation based initiatives, intentional communities,
rent or adopt schemes, urban food growing projects, community allotments and
charitable projects.
CSA therefore, does not describe an end product, CSA is more about how to
develop a new local food system. However CSAs can be categorised according to
who organises them or the motivation behind them. These are described below:
Farmer-driven
Organised by the farmer, to whom the members financially subscribe, with little
other involvement, but this obviously varies between schemes. This kind of CSA is
probably the most common in the United States. In the UK this is equivalent to a
producer-run vegetable box scheme often with activities bringing customers to the
farm.
Community/consumer-driven
Consumers participate in or may even run the scheme working closely with the
farmer who produces what they want. The degree of consumer involvement is
variable. It was this model of CSA that was first introduced into the USA. Stroud
Community agriculture and Camel CSA are good examples.
Farmer co-operative
Farmer-driven CSA where two or more farms co-operate to supply its members
with a greater variety of produce. This model allows individual farms to specialise
in the most appropriate farming for that holding (larger farms may concentrate on
field scale production, smaller farms on specialist crops and upland farms on rearing
livestock).
There are several examples of this in Japan and Germany.
Page 16
Farmer-consumer co-operative
As described above, farmers develop co-operative networks to access a variety

of products but there is greater commitment by the consumers. Consumers may
co-own land and other resources with the participating farmers and work together
to produce and distribute food. Stroud Food Hub is a pioneering model where the
co-op is jointly owned by both producer and consumer members.
2. Is it for you?
CSA is an opportunity to participate in the development of a special initiative

supporting your local food economy. But first ask yourself why do you want to be
involved in a CSA?
Do you simply wish to produce or eat local food? In which case there are other
options that might be more appropriate. Direct marketing methods such as box
schemes, farm shops, and farmers markets require less of a commitment than CSA.
Although these methods of distribution may also be employed by CSA, CSA is
also an understanding of mutual support between the farmer and members. For
example, consumer members may commit in advance,
in cash or kind, to buying their food (or a farm product) directly from the farm.
In return they have the opportunity to influence how the CSA is run. If you are a
farmer you may have to commit to supplying produce to the CSA members for a
full season.
In short, CSA:
* Is a relationship of mutual support.
* Requires commitment.
* Can be hard work for the organisers.
* Is about bringing local culture back into agriculture.
3. Farmers wanting to start a CSA
From a farmers point of view there are pros and cons to the CSA system:
Advantages:
* CSA can provide a secure (but modest) income
* shared responsibility means that if theres crop failure, the consumers share the loss.
* community engagement can be a real boost to morale CSA farmers talk about
how much direct positive feedback they get from the people who are eating the
food the farmers are growing.
* having more people on the farm can make it more sociable and enjoyable.
Disadvantages
* there is some loss of control when a community group starts to get involved in
planning how the CSA will work. This disadvantage can be minimised by some
careful planning in advance.
* having more people on the farm can be frustrating for farmers, even dangerous.
4. Finding a CSA to join if you dont want to start one
It is possible that there are CSAs trying to establish themselves in your locality and
looking for new members and growers. You can find out what is happening in your
region on the Soil Association website.
Source: The Soil Association ~ excerpted from A Share in the Harvest

Page 17
Natural Farming
Natural Farming is an approach established by Masanobu Fukuoka (19132008),
a Japanese farmer and philosopher. The system is based on the recognition of the
complexity of living organisms that shape an ecosystem and deliberately exploiting
it. Fukuoka saw farming not just as a means of producing food but as an aesthetic or
spiritual approach to life, the ultimate goal of which was the cultivation and perfection of human beings. He suggested that if farmers worked within such cycles, and
paid close attention to local conditions, they could remarkably benefit from them.
Its a closed system of farming, demanding no outside inputs, mimicking nature.
Fukuokas ideas challenged many common agricultural conventions and eschewed
dominant production values core to modern agro-industries, instead promoting an
ethical and environment approach that differs from simple organic farming which
he considered to be another modern technique used exclusively for human benefit.
Rejecting mechanization, the system is a most radical departure possible from
modern farming methods, however Fukuokas research suggests it prevents water
contamination, biodiversity loss and soil erosion while still providing lots of food.
The five principles of Natural Farming are that:
* human cultivation of soil, plowing or tilling are unnecessary, as is the use of
powered machines
* prepared fertilizers are unnecessary, as is the process of preparing compost
* weeding, either by cultivation or by herbicides, is unnecessary. Instead only
minimal weed suppression with minimal disturbance
* applications of pesticides or herbicides are unnecessary
* pruning of fruit trees is unnecessary
Principally, natural farming minimises human labour or disturbance and facilitates,

as closely as practical, nature's reproduction of foods such as rice, barley, daikon
or citrus mixed within biodiverse agricultural ecosystems. Without plowing, seeds
germinate well on the surface if natural conditions for each site meet the needs of
the seeds planted there. Considerable emphasis is put on sustaining diversity rather
than destroying it. He said that spiders residing in his annual crop fields provided a
key performance indicator of sustainability.
In the system, the ground always remains covered by weeds, white clover, alfalfa,
more herbaceous legumes, and sometimes additional deliberately sown herbaceous
plants. This is seen as part of the ecosystem of the grain or vegetables crops and
orchards. Chickens were also allow to run free through the orchards and ducks and
carp used in rice fields.
Periodically some ground layer plants including weeds may be cut low and allowed
to lie on the surface so that the nutrients they contain are returned to the soil whilst
shading and suppressing the growth of weeds. This also facilitates the option of
sowing more seeds in the same area.
In the summer-rice and winter-barley grain crops, ground cover naturally provides
nitrogen fixation from the atmosphere. In addition, straw from the previous crop
covers the topsoil as mulch. Each grain crop is sown before the previous one is
harvested by broadcasting the seed among the standing crop. The result is a denser
crop of smaller but highly productive and stronger plants.
Fukuoka's practice and philosophy emphasises small scale farming and challenged
the need of mechanised broad acre farming techniques for high productivity, efficiency and economies of scale. While his family's farm was larger than than the
average Japanese farm area, he used one field of established grain crops as an
example of small scale farming.
Source: Wikipaedia
Page 18
The Land Institute

Why Perennial Grain Crops? The necessity
and possibility of solving the 10,000-year-old
problem of agriculture
The world's farms, heavily reliant on non-renewable resources,
are turning out more food than ever in history. At the same
time, agriculture unintentionally but tragically worsens the
global ecological crisis. These two faces of agricultureproductivity and destructivenessdo not arise from the conscious decisions of fuel, fertilizer, or pesticide
salespeople, or of farmers, government officials or grocery shoppers. They are
inherent in the way humans have practiced agriculture for 10,000 years. Recently,
chemicals and other non-renewable resources have only exacerbated the problem.
The problem of agriculture rather than problems in agriculture
Since its very first days, agriculture has rested on a foundation of annual plants
grains and legumes supply over two-thirds of human food needs that are grown
from seed every year and harvested for their seed. That requires disturbance of
the soil resource, either by the ancient practice of tilling or by chemical treatment.
Tillage can be done without causing great harm when it's on a very small scale.
Nearly everywhere, civilizations that have practiced tillage beyond the level of the
kitchen garden have suffered, often catastrophically, from soil erosion.
Compounding the problem in recent decades is the widespread use of herbicides to
supplement or replace tillage. As a result, these herbicides are found in the tissues of
most of our nation's children.
Today, satellite images of the planet make for grim viewing, with vast swaths of
entire continents having been scoured of their deep-rooted, year-round perennial
vegetation, leaving the soil uncovered for months at a time, susceptible to erosion
from wind and water. Even during the growing season when the landscape is green,
shallow-rooted annual crops fail to manage water and nutrients as did their perennial predecessors. The destruction of deep, massive perennial root systems through
tillage has wrecked entire underground ecosystems, subtracting from the soil much
of what makes it soil.
It's a problem older than history. Agriculture has always depended largely on annual
grass and legume species that were domesticated by humans between 5,000 and
10,000 years ago. Today, we have the scientific knowledge, data and techniques
fruits of a civilization made possible by agriculturethat demonstrate not only the
damage done by annual cropping systems but more importantly, the opportunity
to correct the wrong turn our species took.
We can't go back to the crossroads where our ancestors took that wrong turn, or to
a Golden Age of folk agriculture that never existed. But through a wholly new way
of farming, we can accomplish something never before done: to make conservation
a consequence of, not an alternative to, food production. We can now envision an
agriculture in which we bring the ecological processes embodied within wild biodiversity to the farm, rather than forcing agriculture to relentlessly nick away wild
ecosystems.
Diverse perennial solutions
Since 1976, The Land Institute has been developing the big idea that humans can
make conservation a consequence of productionin any region on the planetif
we use as our standard the ecosystems that existed in that region before it was
utilized by humans. In doing so, we need not sacrifice the ability to feed ourselves.
Chris Field, National Academy of Sciences member, reported in Science (2001) that
Page 19
natural ecosystems (and on land, that almost always means mixtures of perennial
species) do better than agriculture and other human-managed systems in converting sunlight into living tissue. The plants that anchor those ecosystems have extensive, long-lived root systems with diverse architectures; they have a longer growing
season; and their species diversity protects against epidemics and the vagaries of
weather. As a result, they can produce, year in and year out, more biomass per acre
than agricultural systems without requiring a subsidy of fossil fuels and other inputs
and without degrading soil and water.
The goal of our research team is diverse perennial grain production systems that are
as ecologically sound as former prairies. The Land Institute's mission doesn't end at
the prairie boundaries of the Appalachians, the Rio Grande, or the Rockies. Food
worldwide can, indeed must, come to be produced by ecosystems that have the
efficiency and resilience of those natural ecosystems that were replaced by farms,
forest plantations and fisheries.
And The Land Institute's vision for agriculture extends far beyond the farm gate.
Concern is growing that human activity as a whole has become insupportable, the
entire planet having fallen into deficit spending, ecologically speaking. If our species
is to find a road leading to sustainability, an ecologically sound agriculture can
musttake the lead.
Why agriculture? Until now, a feature of agriculture has been to subdue or ignore
nature. Yet ecological processes have long track records of success in building and
conserving soil, holding and filtering water and supporting wildlife diversity. An agriculture taking advantage of its roots in those tried-and-true ecological processes can
function sustainably. Other spheres of human activity do not have that advantage.
It is in agriculture that we can and must begin relying on the sciences of ecology and
biology to help us produce food in properly functioning ecosystems. All visions of
a sustainable society rely on renewable resources, and those reside in agriculture,
broadly defined.
The annual reality and the perennial opportunity
Research in the Great Plains and the Midwest illustrates a worldwide reality. The
Midwest contains the best top soils in the world, top land grant institutions and
plenty of scientists. Yet a growing body of research demonstrates conclusively that
the cultivation of annual crops in the Midwest and Great Plains of the United States
is degrading soils, rendering water unfit to drink, rolling back biodiversity, spreading toxic chemicals, and even creating a hypoxic, or "dead" zone, hundreds of miles
downstream in the Gulf of Mexico.
Additional mountains of evidence show that re-establishing perennial vegetation
across the region would solve these problems. But we humans obtain two-thirds of
our total calories from grains and oilseed crops, none of them perennial. Existing
perennial species can produce only a small fraction of the total calories required for
direct consumption by a growing human population.
Environmentally conscious researchers and farmers are using the only perennial
plants available to them, attempting to put more hay and pasture on the landscape;
plant more trees and grass along rivers and streams to soak up the contaminants
that hemorrhage from cropland; and take more land out of grain production altogether, under the Conservation Reserve Program.
In other words, we are forced to treat grain cropping not as a source of life but as
a dangerous activity against which humans and nature must be protected. With no
perennial grains on the roster of food plants, we have no choice.
Perennial grains research
When The Land Institute and our allies succeed, a farm will no longer have to be
an ecological sacrifice zone; rather, it can provide food while at the same time it
Page 20
protects soils, water and biodiversity. We need the missing link: perennial grain
crops. And as those new crops are being developed, plant breeders, agro-ecologists
and farmers will be working out strategies for growing them in mixtures, to recapture the ecological soundness of pre-agricultural landscapes.
The genetic raw material is out there, ready to be put to use. Plants now in field
plots and on greenhouse benches at the Land Institute form the foundation of
breeding programs that will, given decades of work, turn out perennial grain crops.
Most of the current genetic and breeding effort is going into the following species
and species hybrids:
Wheat can be hybridized with several different perennial species to produce viable,
fertile offspring. We have produced thousands of such plants. Many rounds of crossing, testing and selection will produce perennial wheat varieties for use on the farm.
Intermediate wheatgrass (Thinopyrum intermedium) is one of those perennial relatives of wheat. It is also a potential grain crop on its own. We established genetically diverse populations and have begun selection for crop-like traits.
Grain sorghum is a drought-hardy feed grain in North America and a staple human
food in Asia and Africa, where it provides reliable harvests in places where hunger
is always a threat. It can be hybridized with perennial species Sorghum halepense.
We have produced large plant populations from hundreds of such hybrids.
Illinois bundleflower (Desmanthus illinoiensis) is a native prairie legume that fixes
atmospheric nitrogen and produces abundant protein-rich seed. It is one of our
strongest candidates for domestication as a crop. We have assembled a large collection of seed from a wide geographical area and have initiated a breeding program.
Sunflower is another annual crop we have hybridized with perennial species in its
genus, including Helianthus maximiliani, H. rigidus and H. tuberosus (commonly
known as Jerusalem artichoke). Breeding work is underway.
There is potential for many more perennial grain species, including maize, Eastern
gamagrass, rice, chickpea, millets, flax and a range of native plants. We are studying
these and other species but do not currently have staff to initiate breeding programs.
Ecological research
We need not wait until perennial grain crops are fully developed to begin studying the ecological context in which they will grow. We have established long-term
ecological plots of close analogs in which to compare methods of perennial crop
management. These perennial-grain prototypes, including intermediate wheatgrass
and bundleflower, are allowing us to initiate long-term ecological/ production
research in these plots. Eventually, true perennial grain crops will succeed them.
Additionally, ongoing studies of natural ecosystems, such as tallgrass prairie, provide
insight into the functioning of natural plant communities.
The road ahead
The Land Institute's plan for a new agriculture is clearly a Big Idea, but it's not piein-the-sky. We have laid out a clearly defined route to follow in breeding perennial
grains and developing the agro-ecosystems in which they will grow. That route is
sketched out in our research agenda and charts (available on request).
To foster research on perennial grains across the nation and planet, we will develop
and freely distribute germplasmseed of perennials and hybrids that other plant
breeders can use as parents in establishing or enhancing their own perennial grain
programs, or for basic research to answer fundamental questions. At the same time,
we will build a body of knowledge about perennial grain systems through publication in the scientific literature.
Source: The Land Institute
Page 21
Holistic Management
" In the end, all the information we have amassed in the past decades will serve
little purpose unless we make intelligent decisions about how it is to be used."
-Allan Savory
While the notion of thinking holistically has been around for a long time, Allan
Savory is one of the first to develop a step by step process for holistic decisionmaking. His method can be used by individuals, families, communities, organizations, businesses, government agencies -- anyone or any group that needs to make
a decision.
This method first helps the decision-makers identify all the important people and
resources relating to the issue at hand, especially those that are very often forgotten. The next step is to bring these elements together into a new "whole", represented by a short "statement of purpose". With this broad holistic goal in place,
the group has a benchmark by which they can measure their future decisions. A
subsequent testing phase reaches back to often ignored considerations to make
sure that none are being forgotten.
Summary
The following is a very basic summary of what the holistic management process
looks like.
Identify The Whole
1. A group of decision makers agree to use holistic management in their business,

community, family, government agency, etc.
2. They identify anyone else whose decisions will affect the entity that they are
managing and invite them to become part of the process. This includes owners,
administrative assistants, volunteers, laborers, agency heads, elected officials, and
so forth.
3. Next, they identify all the resources available to this group of decision-makers
including physical resources and financial assets. They identify as a resource,
anyone who will be affected by the decisions -- clients, suppliers, family
members, community organizations, homeowners, farmers, etc.
Define The Goal
1. The group produces a quality of life statement. This takes into account individual needs as well as group considerations. It takes into account what constitutes
economic well-being, what they want to achieve in relationships with others,
how they will find challenge and growth, and what they see as their particular
contribution to the community, family, workplace, etc.
2. They then create a list of what they will need to produce to meet each quality
of life need. Allan Savory gives an example from his book, Holistic Management (p. 74), "If one of your desires was 'to enjoy what we do everyday,' that
could be met in part by producing 'a balance between our work and personal
lives','sufficient time for strategic planning', or a host of other things."
3. Finally, the group takes the future resource base into consideration. This
includes the people, land, and community of the future which will sustain what
you have to produce to meet your quality of life need. This step can be framed
in terms of what you would like to be said about you in the future.
Page 22
The next step is to combine all of these elements into a short statement.
Here is a sample statement of purpose from Holistic Management:
"We want to be debt-free; we want to be excited and enthusiastic about
what we are doing and have to do on a daily basis; we want to leave this
world (when we are very, very old) with our family happy, knowing that we
led productive, happy lives, left the land in a better condition than we found
it, and be recognized for this achievement, we want Laurel and Jayson [their
children] to be happy and productive, and we want to be able to help them
reach their full potential."
Testing
Once the holistic goal is established, future decisions will be tested by whether
they are in line with the holistic goal.
These are some questions which can help with this step:
* Are we fixing the right problem?
* Are there other reasons why a problem might be occuring than the one we think
we're fixing?
* Will the solution address the most vulnerable piece of the whole?
* Are we getting the biggest bang for the buck?
* Are we weighing expediture of time and energy against output of money -- which
will best help us accomplish our holistic goal?
* Will the decision be beneficial to our resource base in the future?
* Will the decision help us meet the quality of life goals stated in our holistic goal?
Allan Savory has been primarily focusing this technique on land management and
has developed a variety of complementary tools for land managers. However, a
huge variety of groups have benefitted from this technique. Many of their stories
are told in the "online library" on Savory's website,
http://www.holisticmanagement.org.
Source: Debby Sugarman
Page 23
Keyline Planning
This technique lends itself to real cooperation between the farm and the landscape, and will free the farmer from economic pressure by lowering overhead costs.
Unique aspects of Keyline include the soil development methods and the water
conservation methods used.
KEYLINE IS A METHOD OF LAND DEVELOPMENT AND IMPROVEMENT. When
you are in the position of saving soil from erosion, you are already in retreat.
Yeomans (developer of the keyline appraoch) sought enhancement of fertility, with
soil and water conservation being natural products of that process.
KEYLINE METHODS CAN TRIPLE FERTILITY AND DEPTH IN 3 TO 5 YEARS.
KEYLINE IS A WAY OF SYSTEMATIC PLANNING FOR URBAN OR RURAL
ENVIRONMENTS based on the Yeomans Scale of Permanence:
1.Climate, 2.Landform, 3.Water, 4.Roads, 5.Trees,
6.Buildings, 7.Subdivisional fences, 8.Soil
Planning in this order helps one to deal with the most permanent and least changeable aspects of the landscape in the most appropriate fashion before dealing with
the changeable aspects. CLIMATE and LANDFORM are almost unchangeable
aspects of landscape. WATER conservation is a major part of keyline. ROADS
tend to divide the land into zones. TREES must be left in the right places for shade,
windbreak, nutrient cycling, catching and filtering water, etc. (Yeomans 1971 book,
The City Forest, discusses the uses of strips of forests in the right locations, as well
as many other things). BUILDINGS should be sited to overview the farm for safety,
joy, and planning. SUBDIVISION of the land (fences or otherwise) follows natural
configurations. The SOIL is improved in each zone through keyline methods.
The top of primary valleys are the steepest part of any landscape. Where short,
steep slopes change to flatter, shallower slopes is the KEYPOINT. The KEYLINE is
the contour line that runs through that point. This keyline is used to take water
from the valleys out toward the ridges by digging a furrow slightly off contour from
valley to ridge. The valleys are a small percentage of any landscape, while ridges
are a large percentage of any landscape. Valleys tend to have adequate water,
ridges tend to dry out, which reduces plant productivity. If we can make the ridges
as moist as the valleys, we can make the larger percentage of land more productive.
SIX TECHNIQUES TO INCREASE SOIL FERTILITY, DEPTH, AND WATER HOLDING
CAPACITY: ABSORPTION FERTILITY:
1. PATTERN CULTIVATION
2. USE OF DEEP ROOTED LEGUMES
3. MANAGEMENT FOR SOIL CLIMAXES
4. STRIP FORESTS
5. LOW MAINT. / LONG TERM USE OF RUNOFF WATER FOR IRRIGATION
6. CROP ROTATION AND INTERCROPPING
PATTERN CULTIVATION:
Follow keyline with a special chisel plow (the Yeomans Plow, of course) 1/4 to 1/2
below existing topsoil level, then parallel lines to that above and below keyline to
top and bottom of field. Chisel just before rains in autumn for three years, and
each year the topsoil depth will increase. Deepening and loosening the soil makes
it your biggest and cheapest water storage system, right where the plants need
it. Seeding, if needed, is done right after plowing via broadcasting and letting
rain wash seeds into chisel furrows. Drill planting would probably work without
disturbing the chisel furrows too much.
Page 24
LEGUMES:
Deep-rooted legumes help open up the soil as well as fixing atmospheric nitrogen
and helping feed grasses. These deep roots then become food for soil climaxes (see
below).
SOIL CLIMAXES:
Mulch under the ground by killing root structures. Just before flowering is when
there is the maximum amount of roots structure under the ground. If the plants are
harvested, either through mowing or quick and heavy grazing, a large percentage
of the roots die, creating an explosion of microbial activity. As the plants recover
and begin to grow, there is lots of food available for them to grow healthier and
bigger and deeper-- and the topsoil does the same. The more soil climaxes (microbial growth explosions) you can create in a year, the faster the fertility increases.
This is recommended to be done 3 years in a row, then skip two years, do it two
years, and so on.
CROP ROTATION
The ususal, except that one takes the best field and crops it, and takes the worst field
and puts it through the pattern cultivation method to improve fertility.
WATER CONTROL
The idea here is to build reservoirs to hold the excess rainwater which usually runs
off the land and save it for irrigation. This irrigation water is released down keyline
furrows at high volume flows so it flows fast and doesnt waterlog soils near the
irrigation channels before the water even reaches the downslope areas. One must
control the water over the whole area so that it is used effectively and large quantities of water are absorbed by the soil evenly across the area. The water should
cover the land for only a short time, or microbes get killed by lack of oxygen.
Ponds and dams are designed so that their total volume of storage is available
for irrigation. 12-16 pipe is used at the outlet to allow > 1/2 million gallons per
minute to flow out of the pond. Channels are structured a specific way to allow
for flood flow irrigation down the slope by gravity.
Irrigation allows more soil climaxes per season, thereby increasing the speed at
which fertility can be increased, and heightening the level of fertility obtainable.
Distance between swales
based on steepness of slope.
Grade
2% 1:50
5% 1:20
8% 1:12
10% 1:10
14% 1:7
16% 1:6
20% 1:5
25% 1:4
30% 1:3
35% 1:3
40% 1:2
45% 1:2
Distance
30m 98ft
28m 92
24m 78
20m 65
18m 59
16m 52
14m 45
12m 40
10m 33
8m 26
5m 20
4m 13
STRIP FORESTS
These allow for different microclimates in the landscape.
Trees are important for maintaining fertility and rainfall.
They are set on the keyline and on the steeper slopes
above it. Yeomans recomends using the chisel plow
down to 18-20, 2 -3 times before planting trees to
reduce the need for irrigation. Trees should be spaced
to allow pattern cultivation between strips and within
strips until they are established. On steeper lands the
cultivated strips between forest strips are narrower than
on shallower slopes. There is a formula for determining
this distance based on slope in Yeomans book Water
For Every Farm.
Source: P.A.Yeomans ~ Water for Every Farm

Chapter 8~ Energy, buildings and structures
Page 1
Energy, Buildings and Structures

Energy and Permaculture
The sustainability debate has shown a deep confusion about the processes and
systems which support life and humanity. The lack of conceptual tools to incorporate previously ignored environmental "givens" into calculations used by economists and decisionmakers is painfully obvious. There are no simple answers to the
complex question of costs, benefits, and sustainability. However, there is a natural
currency we can use to measure our interdependence on our environment and
assist us to make sensible decisions about current and future action.
That currency is energy.
Energy Laws
The energy laws governing all natural proceses are well understood and have not
been challenged by any of the revolutions in scientific thinking during the 20th
century. These laws are called the first and second laws of thermodynamics.
First Law: the law of conservation of energy. Energy is neither created or destroyed.
The energy entering the system must be accounted for either as being stored there
or as flowing out.
Second Law: the law of degradation of energy. In all processes some of the energy
loses its ability to do work and is degraded in quality. The tendency of potential
energy to be used up and degraded is described as entropy, which is a measure of
disorder which always increases in real processes.
These laws are taught in every science course, but, in a manner typical of our fragmented society and culture, are completely ignored in the way we conduct our
economic life and relationship to the natural world. The laws of thermodynamics
are widely seen as true, but not very useful theoretical ideas. The second law has
always represented a fundamental threat to the modern notion of progress. More
traditional and tribal views of the world are in keeping with the second law. For
example, the ancient Greek idea of the universe being used up by the passage of
time is very pessimistic to the modern mind.
Over the last 20 years work by ecologists and some economists has attempted to
apply the energy laws in more practical ways to understand the global environmental crisis and develop useful conceptual tools for creating a more viable and durable
basis for human life. The work of ecologist Howard Odum provided a theoretical framework and conceptual tool which was critical in the development of the
permaculture concept. In the 1970's there was a flurry of research in this field but it
declined along with oil prices in the 1980's. Odum was one of the leading ecologists
who developed a systems approach to the study of human/environment interactions. He uses energy as a currency to compare and quantify the whole spectrum of
natural and man-made elements and processes.
Odum's ecosystem approach:
* analyses ecosystem elements and processes in terms of energy flows, storages.
transformations. feedbacks, and sinks.
* incorporates non-living and living elements of the natural environment. and
* incorporates human systems and economies as an integral part of the natural
world.
Energy Quality And Embodied Energy
The second law of tbermodynamics is based on the concept of energy quality. Examination of tbe natural world from stellar processes through to living systems shows
Chapter 8 ~ Energy, buildings and structures
Page 2
differing forms of energy have varying potential to do work or drive processes. Since
all forms of energy can be converted into heat, energy can be defined as:a quantity
that flows through all processes, measured by the amount of heat it becomes (the
calorie is the unirtof measure of heat energy). Dispersed heat is the most dilute form
of energy; it is no longer capable of doing work.
All real processes involve a net degradation in energy quality. However, a proportion of the total energy flow can be upgraded into more concentrated forms of
energy capable of driving other processes. This creation of order produces remarkable results, most notably life, but includes such non-living phenomena as rare
mineral ores and human-created systems such as the built environment, culture, and
information. However this order is always at a cost of a net degradation of energy.
The whole evolution of the Gaia (the living earth) is a small expression of order
arising out of the massive energy degradation of the sun's thermonuclear process.
There are thermodynamically fixed relationships between four forms of energy
ranging from low- to high-quality. These and similar relationships between energies
of differing qualities are fundamental to a correct understanding of the energy basis
of nature and human existence. The efficiency of conversion of sunlight to wood
(via the processes of photosynthesis) is 8:8000 or 0.1 percent. The apparent inefficiency of this process is due to the very low quality of dilute sunligbt falling on
the earth's surface. However 3,800 million years of evolution have optimized this
energy harvesting process and any technological "improvement" is highly improbable despite frequent claims to the contrary.
Many kinds of high-quality energy are required for complex work. We tend to
think of the energy requirements of a process only as fuel, ignoring human work
and contribution of materials. These often involve more energy than the fuels.
In running a motor car, the fuel is about 60% of the total energy consumed. Odum
goes on to explain... "The energies involved in the long chain of converging works
supporting processes such as educational activities is very large. The total energy
required for a product is the embodied energy of that product... The embodied
energy of a book is very large compared with the heat energy that would be
obtained if the book were burned. For clarity in energy accounting, embodied
energy should be expressed as calories of one type of energy such as solar equivalents or coal equivalents."
Many energy studies done by apparently qualified persons and taken seriously by
policymakers fail to take account of the simple fact that a calorie of low-quality
energy cannot do the same work as a calorie of high quality energy. Consequently
completely erroneous conclusions are frequently reached. Such problems have
afflicted both high- and low-tech proposals. Nuclear power may be the greatest
example of an energy "source" which actually uses and/or degrades more humanly
usable energy than it produces. Solar, wind, and biofuel technologies, while appropriate for the use of already embodied energies will never sustain high-energy industrial culture without fossil fuel subsidy.
Computer technologies may similarly be appropriate to make use of manufacturing
and network capacity already in place but are in reality very energy expensive due
to the very large embodied energy.
Significance Of Odum's Work
Energy Basis for Man and Nature is an accessible text on Odum's work written for
high school and undergraduate students with only minimal matbs and science. It is
a very important book which should be read and understood by all permaculturists. Without that understanding it is very easy to be misled into developing and
proposing systems of land use, technology, and lifestyles which will consume rather
than produce energy storages useful in providing for current and future human
needs.
Page 3
It provides a way of integrating information about natural systems from the local
and global scale, technology, environmental impact, and social and economic
processes.
The energy accounting and systems diagrams provide a unique tool for understanding and decisionmaking more in tune with the rules of the natural world.
Odum's work shows exactly how and why it is impossible to avoid those rules in
any case without the need to resort to moral injunctions. High-energy industrial
society is revealed as a quite natural response to fossil fuel abundance but maladapted in every way to a low energy future.
Agriculture And Forestry
If there is a single most important insight for permaculture from Odum's work it is
that solar energy and its derivatives are our only sustainable source of life. Forestry
and agriculture are the primary (and potentially self-supporting) systems of solar
energy harvesting available. Technological development will not change this basic
fact.
It should be possible to design land use systems which approach the solar energy
harvesting capacities of natural systems while providing humanity with its needs.
This was the originai premise of the permaculture concept. While available solar
energy may represent some sort of ultimate limit to productivity it is other factors
which primarily limit it.
Maximum Power Principle
Along with the two established laws of thermodynamics, Odum's work is based on
a third principle, the Maximum power principle, which explains that the system
that gets the most energy and uses it most effectively survives in competition with
other systems.
Odum states, 'those systems that survive in competition among alternative choices
are those that develop more power (rate of energy flow) inflow and use it to meet
the needs of survival." They do this by-1. developing storages of high-quality energy
2. feeding back work from the storages to increase inflows
3. recycling materials as needed
4. organizing control mechanisms that keep the system adapted and stable
5. setting up exchanges with other systems to supply special energy needs, and
6. contributing useful work to the surrounding environmental systems that helps
maintain favorable conditions, e.g.. micro-organisms' contribution to global
climate regulation or mountain forests' contribution to rainfall.
The Maximum power principle is contentious and has led some to criticize Odum's
work as biophysical determinism" with no room for human values. While this
systems view is only one way of understanding the world, the last two characteristics of successful natural systems allow plenty of scope for co-operative approaches
and higher human values. The predictive power of Odum's methodology in assessing the chaotic changes in the world over the last 20 years suggest that it is a very
useful way of thinking. In permaculture we should use these points as a checklist for
sustainable systems.
Mollison
Within the permaculture movement, Odum's work has not been widely recognized
(and confused with the work of another American ecologist, Eugene Odum) even
though it confirms permaculture's concern with sustainable use of natural systems as
the foundation of any permanent culture.
Page 4
Mollison makes only passing reference to Odum in Permaculture: A Designers

Manual and goes on to suggest "the concept of entropy does not necessarily apply
to living, open earth systems with which we are involved and in which we are
immersed" This could be wrongly interpreted as meaning we can design our way
out of any problem and that natural systems can sustain the continuous free lunch
the affluent world is used to.
In the last few hundred years we have dug millions of years worth of sunlight (fossil
fuels) out of the ground to create global industrial culture and economy. The most
productive sustainable systems imaginable may be able to provide for the needs of
five or even 10 billion people. However they would never sustain large-scale cities,
a global economy, and Western material affluence even if all the conventional
energy conservation strategies were to be adopted. This is a bitter pill to swallow
for Westerners raised on the notion of material progress. This does not mean that
the energy conservation strategies promoted for years by Lovins and other energy
optimists, and progressively being adopted, are not incredibly important In fact
they are essential to make best use of what we have.
The transition from an unsustainable fossil fuel-based economy back to a solar-based
(agriculture and forestry) economy will involve the application of the embodied
energy that we inherit from industrial culture: This embodied energy is contained
within a vast array of things, infrastructure, cultural processes and ideas, mostly
inappropriately configured for the "solar" economy. It is the task of our age to
take this great wealth, reconfigure and apply it to the development of sustainable
systems.
Mollison almost in passing points to three guidelines we should observe in this task.
* The systems we construct should last as long as possible and take least
maintenance.
* These systems, fueled by the sun should produce not only for their own needs, but
the needs of the people creating and controlling them. Thus they are sustainable
as they sustain both themselves and those who construct them.
* We can use non-renewable energy to construct these systems providing that in
their lifetime, they store or conserve more energy than we use to construct or
maintain them.
These are very important points but how should be assess whether we are following them, particularly the thorny question of use of non-renewable energies, raw
and embodied.
I apply the following perspectives (derived from Odum) as a primary sustainability
test to all land use systems before considering any more detailed aspects of costs
and benefits.
All terrestrial ecosystems must work to slow the inexorable effects of gravity in
progressively degrading the physical and chemical energetic potential expressed in
uplifted catchment landscapes.
Eventually everything ends up in the oceans until the next uplift (with the few but
important exceptions of onshore winds, migrating fish, and birds). Water and nutrients are the key forms of chemical energetic potential while the landform itself is
the key expression of the physical energy potential. Soil humus and long-lived trees
are the key energy storages which terrestrial ecosystems use in the never-ending
fight with gravity.
Holmgren's Sustainability Test
Does the system work to catch and store water and nutrients for as long as possible
and as high as possible within its catchment landscape?
Page 5
How does it compare with the performance of pristine natural systems as well as
wild and naturally regenerated ones (weeds included)?
It is possible for managed productive landscapes to collect and store energy more
effectively than pristine systems by the careful use of external, often non-renewable
energies.
The use of bulldozers to build well-designed dams capable of lasting hundreds of
years in well-managed landscapes is an excellent example of appropriate use of nonrenewable energies. Even structures and processes which do not meet this condition
(possibly the windmills) can be justified because they save the use of greater quantity of non-renewable energies or because they make best use of already embodied
energy in existing plant and equipment.
Most of our managed rural landscapes, especially farms, fail miserably on the water
and nutrients test. Erosion, salinity, acidification, and stream and groundwater nutrient pollution are some of the symptoms. In addition, use of non-renewable energy
as an annual rather than development input is generally very high. (The embodied
energy of artificial fertilizers is extremely high).
Wild Productivity
On the other hand consider the amazing productivity happening right before our
eyes from with unmanaged systems. Many parts of rural Australia are supporting
far more kangaroos than sheep with less damage to the land. These herds could
provide a huge meat surplus even as they maintain healthy and wild populations.
Forests are even more efficient at catching and storing water and nutrients than
sustainable pastoral systems. In the high rainfall areas of coastal Australia regrowth
forests of native and (in some places exotic) species are developing future timber
resources at a greater rate than all the more deliberate efforts at reforestation
combined. Simple practices of thinning could greatly improve the future resource
value of these forests. Any systems which call improve soil and water values, and
require little or no fossil fuel energy to develop and maintain, and provide resource
yields largely by the application of human labor and skill. should be seen as our
greatest assets.
Urban Landscapes
Urban systems are dearly massive net losses in terms of energy and soil and water
values. In addition the bulk of the physical and information outputs of energy transformation processes in cities s further undermining the social and ecological basis of
any sustainable future (e.g.. advertising and consumer culture).
On the other hand, consider the vast suburban landscapes. much has been said
about the inappropriateness of existing suburbs in an energy-conserving future.
However, few urban planners have seriously considered how we might adapt cities
to a low (solar) energy as opposed to simply energy conserving future. Despite all
their disadvantages, the low-density nature of suburbs makes them incrementally
adaptable to a low-energy future. Passive solar retrofit of buildings for residential/commercial enterprise is relatively easy, while intensive garden agriculture and
urban forestry can make use of reticulated, runoff, and waste water to create our
most productive systems.
The Limits To Productivity
Mollison claims very high productivity from permaculture systems which are neither
labor- nor capital- (energy and materials) intensive. This productivity can be attributed to the information intensity of permaculture expressed through interactive
design processes and incorporation of genetic resources from access the globe. The
focus on human and biological information is in accord with a much wider mainstream recognition of the increasingly pivotal nature of information systems (even
Page 6
if the information in this case takes the form of a bioregional species collection and
a designer/gardener with a basket and secateurs).
Capital inputs to establish sustainable systems may be confined to a brief intense
development phase. Human effort is required over much longer periods, possibly
a lifetime before it declines (or more correctly evolves) into a careful and quiet
stewardship.
Much has been made by Mollison and others of the low labor requirements of
permaculture. This may be true compared to the labor required by traditional
sustainable systems (such as those in China) operating near the limits to human
carrying capacity. However, permaculture systems will never be highly productive
on very low levels of labor input (such as that required to maintain a well-designed
ornamental garden of local native plants). The search for systems which continually
reduce human effort is also a recipe for human alienation and the technological fix.
Whether the significant gains from the application of design skills and genetic
resources can continue to build productivity above that made possible by:
* inputs of non-renewable energies during establishment and
* the use of appropriate traditional (agri)cultural skills remains to be seen.
Odum suggests that all information systems have a high embodied energy cost. We
should assume that (at the material level at least) productivity of sustainable systems
will not be vastly different from traditional examples from the past This may be a
very uncomfortable realization for all of us raised on the mythology of material
progress and human invincibility.
Energy Scenarios
If net energy availability were to increase (through some optimistic/horrific realization of biotechnological dreams or some other current technological fantasy) then
She Maximum Power Principle suggests that nothing would stop humanity transforming itself beyond recognition. This would be necessary to absorb and use that
energy while pushing back the environmental debt yet again as has been done on
a much smaller scale in previous millennia. In such a case, permaculture would be
buried in the debris of history, while most existing human culture and values would
be swept aside by an avalanche of change.
On the other hand, if net energy is declining, as more people have come to realize
is the case, then attempts to maintain materialist culture based on growth economics are counterproductive, irrespective of any moral judgments. The permaculture
strategy of using existing storages of energy (materials, technology, and information) to build cultivated ecosystems which efficiently harvest solar energy is precisely
adaptive.
Conclusion
The critical issue of the last 20 years of environmentalism has been that of net
energy availability to humanity. Permaculture has always been predicated on the
assumption that net energy availability is declining after probably reaching a peak
sometime in the 1960's. Misjudgment of the timing and precise nature of energy
decline by Mollison and myself along with other environmentalists in the 1970's can
be attributed to the enormous energy already embodied in industrial systems and
culture. This embodied energy has fueled continuing rapid adaptation by industrial
society to new emerging conditions. The apparent capacity to do more with less
and other consequences of high embodied energy have lulled most observers into
a belief that humanity is largely independent of energy constraints.
The complexity and severity of environmental and economic crises make it more
imperative than ever before that we have a common currency for understanding
the changes around us and assessing the available options.
Page 7
To summarize...
* Reduce, Reuse, Recycle (in that order).
* Grow a garden and eat what it produces.
* Avoid imported resources where possible.
* Use labor and skill in preference to materials and technology.
* Design, build, and purchase for durability and repairability.
* Use resources for their greatest potential use (e.g. electricity for tools and lighting,
food scraps for animal feed).
* Use renewable resources wherever possible even if local environmental costs
appear higher (e.g. wood rather than electricity for fuel and timber rather than
steel for construction).
* Use non-renewable and embodied energies primarily to establish sustainable
systems (e.g. passive solar housing, food gardens, water storage, forests).
* When using high technology (e.g. computers) avoid using state of the art
equipment.
* Avoid debt and long-distance commuting.
* Reduce taxation by earning less.
* Develop a home-based lifestyle, be domestically responsible.
Source: David Holmgren ~ originally published in Permaculture Activist April 1994
Four possible future scenarios
Source: Wackernagel & Rees ~ Our Ecological Footprint
Page 8
Ecological Footprinting
Page 9
How to Save Energy in the Home
Source: from a lecture by Carolyne Haynes, Feb 1993, noted by Patrick Whitefield
Page 10
Cool climate house design
Source: Bill Mollison ~ Permaculture: a Designers Manual

Page 11
Appropriate Energy Technology

Energy cannot be lost or gained - so not a question of conservation of energy - it's
the type of energy available for work - how to keep that quality
Match sources and tasks and have less waste
Need to use laws to ask right question - not asking those questions-e.g What is
electricity good for ? What is quality of energy that gives its value (work )?
1/3rd of energy used is lost in transmition.
Thermodynamics is about properties of systems, not only of isolated things.
Link base of energy and tasks required for it to perform. e.g. electricity generation - space heating/cooling is inappropriate, better to provide circulation of
warm/cool air.
Estimated 6 years oil supply in USA left at present consumption 30-40 years left in
world - more expensive as time goes on
Need appropriate small scale systems
Create, Conserve and only lastly consider Use
Store, direct and conserve useful forms of energy. Divert harmful.
Appropriate Energy Conserving Technology

For further information, see "Energy Paper #1 " and "Energy Paper #2" by Bill Mollison,
available from the Permaculture Institude (Australia).
1. Domestic
Conservation of domestic energy may be achieved by a set of strategies applied in

combination and suited to specific sites and climates. Strategy sets are:
* Behavioural: active time of day, best use of natural daylight, and choice of clothing
for climate.
* House design: house must be designed for climate, utilizing energy-conserving
siting, use of plants, use of structures such as greenhouse, shadehouse, ponds, etc
* Technological: energy generation and choice of appliances.
Categories for technological strategies are :
* Climate control : space heating
* Washing and drying clothes
* Cooking and cook-stoves
* Refrigeration and cooling
* Hot water supplies
* Water conservation
* Electricity and lighting
A. Climate : space heating and cooling
* Radiant heat (heat solid objects: massive stoves - slow to heat and cool: burn fuel
at high temperatures: Use small sticks & short burning time)
* Convective heat (cast-iron stoves)
* Conducted heat (usually large under- floor systems using water pipes or electrical
wires connected to waste heat)
* Greenhouse; shadehouse
* Trellis; air vents
B. Cooking and cookstoves
* Wood-fueled (with hot water supply) * Solar cookers
* Haybox cooking (insulated container) * Bottled gas, kerosene
Page 12
C. Hot water supplies

* Bread -box collector
* Hose on roof
* Solid collectors
* Cylindrical collectors
* Trough collectors
* Solar ponds
* Flat-plate collectors
D. Electricity and lighting
* Hydro-electric power
* Photovoltaics
* Gas and kerosene lighting
* Wind power
* Energy-conserving lights
E. Washing and drying clothes
* Hand-operated pressure washers
* Coin-operated washing machines shared by community
* Drying: airy and roofed (preferably fiberglass) area
* Drying in insulated cupboard surrounding uninsulated hot water cylinder
F. Refrigeration and cooling, food drying
* Photovoltaics
* Sun chimneys
* Fans
* Gas and kerosene
G. Water conservation
* Water tank off roof, ideally located uphill from house
* Compost toilets
* Dual-flush toilets
* Hand-basin water to toilet
2. Hydraulic Systems
* Pumps and waterlifts
* Water turbines
* Hydro-pneumatics (air compression)
* Hydraulic rams and pumps
* Water wheels
* Harnessing tide or stream flow
3. Biothermal Systems
* Woodlots * Gasification
* Pyrolysis * Biogas
* Compost heat (the Jean Pain system) * Metabolic heat (body heat)
* Vegetable oils
4. Solar - Powered Devices
* Swimming pools
* Photovoltaic cells
* Solar ponds
* Solar chimneys
5. Wind - Powerse Devices
* Wind kettles
* Fan mills
* Savonious rotors
* Blade and propeller mills
Source: Chris Evans

Page 13
Appropriate Technology In Development

Aims:
Understanding of range of technologies & their part in the system.
Understanding criteria for what is appropriate.
Appropriate =

What people can appropriate for themselves.

What is relevent, culturally and real needs.
Produce/ harvest surplus, not exploit a resource.
Frugal and equitable use - diversity and self reliance.
Right tools at right timescale in Agriculture 200 million farmers.
Position of these farmers - poor, isolated etc.
Nature of agriculture - change and flexibility.
Essential Requirements For Successful Appropriate Technology

Wide, flexible, appropriateable- self teach,
Crucial factors and enthusiasm
1 Work towards solving felt needs
2 People must believe it is possible - achieveable, e. g. solution simple, cheap and percieved
to be within. own means, own resources.
3 People must believe programme personnel competent, genuine (i.e. are working for
villagers' benefit)
4 People identify with programme success- and involved in planning
5 Participate in work so that feel they have achieved success. Simple solutions to start.
Grow in ability to deal with other problems.
6 Freedom to set own goals
7 Freedom to be creative in their work
8 Working together in atmosphere of mutual support
9 Opportunity to keep learning about new subjects- especially solutions to felt needs.
10 Recognition, gratitude and positive feedback of villagers, leaders and staff.
11 Above all need EARLY RECOGNISABLE SUCCESS - readily observable, and desirable
according to own culture value system
Increasing Participation- The Path

Constructive participation - ensure respect local values - cheaper, appropriate
* orientated to felt needs- if participate then committed to success

* through own experience learn to plan, solve problems, teach others and organise.
sustainability
* developement is a process- people take charge of their own lives and solve their own problems. Paternalism opposite to developement.
Improve quality of constructive participation by :*

*
*
*
*
*
*
*
A gradual process - Instant democracies and participation rare.

Early recogniseable success- Create enthusiasm
Constant efforts to help people learn how to participate constructively.
Start small and simple - Be careful with the role of outsiders
Plan for the phase out of the outsiders and the programme itself
Teach farmers to conduct small scale trials - Don't flaunt the moneybags
Build a leadership pyramid with wide base
Don't try and meet all the participation No prescription - a process
Page 14
Essentials
* Technology that is appropriate - responds to felt needs, success, tried by local farmers
themselves
* Necessary supplies and equipment available- plentiful, inexpensive
* Local markets available - adequate and transport
* Desire to improve - not outsiders enticing economic development.
Know The Area Well:

1. HUMAN (a) economic checklist
*
*
*
*
*
*
Income -sources and levels, self consumption, Family needs- grains etc
Poorest - where are they, special characteristics, needs
How do people earn, save spend incomes- why
Economic interest in village - exploitation- sources of conflict
Economic pressures from outside, Respect for agricultural work
Economic trend getting better or worse ?
(b) Social - family structure

*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Marital and kin group patterns. Obligations and power relationships

Castes and social classes, groups and committees, conflicts/co-operation
Who are leaders - why ? What is their influence, what are they like
What are obligations of a friend
Seasonal migrations- why, where ?
Political - national govt, policies and priorities
Educational
2. PHYSICAL
The area - resources, topography etc, problems, situation agricultural - farm size and cropping
pattern, animals, markets, limiting factors
3. COLLECTING INFORMATION
*
*
*
*
Reading and observation

Formal surveys
Constant feedback from the villagers
Living amongst the villagers
* Conservation- open ended interviews

* Meetings
* Villagers as programme leaders
Choosing The Technology- The Criteria
* Recognised by the poorest as being successful--- meets felt need financially advantageous
(50- 150%) recogniseable success quickly fit local farming patterns total farm operation
* Does it deal with limiting factors
* Benefit the poor - Utilize resources have - few external inputs
Risk free - Culturally acceptable - Labour intensive not capital
Understandable - by fairly broad groups of people.
Use existing knowledge- New concepts biases to elites
Foster dialogue mutual search resembles technology already use, crops or animals already know
* Technology aimed at adequate market available to small farmers sufficiently stable for
increased production price
* Technology safe for area's ecology
* Technology be communicated efficiently
* Widely applicable - modifiable
Process good for small farmer- risk minimized
Learning- also control so that improvements clearly seen
Extensionist- more people can afford to try
Simple to teach and verify - by people themselves
Source: Chris Evans

Chapter 9~ Invisible structures
Page 1
Invisible Structures
Bioregionalism
Bioregion = Life-region- a part of the earth with similar patterns of plant/animal
life, usually dictated by climate & land forms;

Aims:
* Knowing the land * Developing the Potential

* Learning the lore
* Liberating the self
Bioregionalism is - simple because its components are already there;

- complicated because its at odds with convention.

restrictions/predators = greed + ignorance - fear
Bioregionalism emphasizes a scale at which human potential can match ecological
reality
Units of Scale:
Ecoregion (ER) > Georegion (GR) > Morphoregion (MR)

Determining the BR boundaries (and how seriously to take them) is ultimately the
task of the inhabitants of the area. Tribals were/are often good at doing this because
they are living off the land, and their styles of living varied according to the styles of
land, and they distributed themselves according to the carrying capacity of the BR.
All biotic life is divided into communities (also can be seen as guilds), the single basic
building block of the ecological world. [one acre of warm temp. forest contains:
50,000 vertebrates, 662,000 ants, 372000 spiders, 90,000 earthworms, 45,000
termites, 19000 snails, 89 million mites, 28 million collembola, 5000lbs of plant
life over 2000 species]
Constraints/limits on size & numbers:

1. Energy available.
2. Climatic factors & nutrient availability.
Thus the community is the observable reality of a place. Plants & animals are not
conscious of this, but their interaction and connectedness is real - its how they live.
Economy and Bioregionalism

BR economy seeks 1st - to maintain its environment, to conserve natural resources
and their connections (relationships); 2nd - to establish a stable means of produc-
tion and exchange.

* Thus the economy is based on ecology (Gr.oikos= household) - linked & compatible.
* and is based on minimum number of goods and minimum environmental disruption, with maximum use of renewable resources and maximum use of human labour
& ingenuity.
Components
* Energy
- solar, wind, biomass, water, thermal (Soft Energy Paths)
* Transport
- animal, energy efficient
* Agriculture - sustainable, perennial etc.
- producer/consumer involvement, barter etc
* Markets
* Industry
- non polluting, durable, local crafts & artisans.
Systems criteria
1. Based on practical resources (people, skill, appropriate technology, services,
biological products) essential to the functioning of a small region;

2. Assisting in the conservation of resources (to strengthen & enhance them) - especially the resource base feeding agriculture;
Chapter 9 ~ Invisible structures
Page 2
3. Regional cash flow - keep it small; keep it in the system; look at all (real) capital;
recycling = re-investment
BR economies are labour intensive rather than energy intensive, therefore more
jobs. They produce durable goods to reduce waste (quality over quantity), reduce
pollution and increase health, eliminate inflation
Goal - a steady State Economy
Reasons why BRs can gain in economic health
1 Economically stable - risk is reduced;
2 Rich [ref: Entropy of Money]
3 Currency control (because of its small scale);
4 Healthier
BRs emphasise cooperation. Permaculture designs the building blocks for coop-
eration to reduce work and pollution and to aid management. Goods are valued
for utility and beauty rather than cost; exchanged more on the basis of need than
of exchange value; labour is performed without constraint of wage return or individual benefit
BR development builds strength from within - based on its own resources, skills,
discoveries and learning. This begins with development that will satisfy basic needs,
as it will create new ones in doing so.
Thus BRs need a basic infrastructure - internal communication and transport to
connect BRs and strengthen them. Thus large cities will lose their over burdening
advantage, the economy can turn inward and discover new energies and innovations, and modernise from within.
The key to the redistribution of wealth and the equalisation of opportunity
will be found in the capacity of each region to create wealth
Kirkpatrick Sale
Questions for Communities

* Site Analysis - What is the physical/architectural design of your community ?
What is special/notable (use maps, drawings, diagram, photos)
* Social Structures - How are decisions made, how are disputes handled ?
How does leadership function ?
How would you characterise the general social interaction -group? Often?
* Biological Resources - How are plants and animals integrated into the culture/
agriculture ? Growing methods for food ?
* Energy, water & waste - How do you handle energy, water & waste ?
Which are the best and worst products, and why ?
* Local Economy - Do you have any site businesses ?
How are the land & buildings being paid for ?
What happens when someone leaves the community ?
Do you have an internal barter or monetary system, formal or informal ?
* Value systems - What values, concepts or approaches have helped unify the
community ? What ones have been a source of disagreement ?
* Culture - For recreation and celebration what cultural activities and practices have
you developed ? Music, dance, theatre, sports, etc.?
* Glue - What brought the group together, what is the glue for the group ?
Task - identify your bioregion and that of Crab Apple, and look at its resources on
a wider scale.
Source: Chris Evans

Page 3
Transition Culture
What exactly is a Transition Town?
A Transition Initiative (which could be a town, village, university or island etc) is

a community-led response to the pressures of climate change, fossil fuel depletion
and increasingly, economic contraction. There are thousands of initiatives around
the world starting their journey to answer this crucial question:
how can we make our community stronger and happier as we deal with
the impacts of peak oil and economic contraction while at the same time
urgently reducing CO2 emissions?
Heres how it all appears to be evolving...
It begins when a small group comes together with a shared concern: how can our
community respond to the challenges and opportunities of peak oil, climate change
and economic stagnation? They recognise that:
* living with less energy - imperative because of climate change and inevitable
because of fossil fuel depletion - is an opportunity if we plan for it, but a threat if
we wait for it to happen to us
* we were very clever and creative while using increasingly large amounts of energy
and well need to be just as clever and creative as we learn to live with decreasing
levels
* our communities currently lack the resilience to withstand some of the disruptions
thatll accompany climate change and unplanned energy descent
* we have to work together and we have to work now, rather than waiting for the
government or someone else
* this transition has to happen at an inner personal level as well as a community
level
* by unleashing the collective genius of the communities we live in, we can proactively design our own energy descent and build ways of living that are more
connected, more enriching and that recognise the ecological limits of our
biosphere
They begin by forming an initiating group and then adopt the Transition Model in
order to engage a significant proportion of the people in their community to help
find the answers to that the BIG question (above). They then:
* start awareness raising around peak oil, climate change and the need to undertake
a community lead process to rebuild resilience and reduce carbon
* connect with existing groups, including local government, in the community
* form groups to look at all the key areas of life (food, energy, transport, health,
heart & soul, economics & livelihoods, etc)
* kick off practical projects aimed at building peoples understanding of resilience
and carbon issues and community engagement
* engage in a community-wide visioning process to identify the future we want for
ourselves rather than waiting for someone else to create a future that we wont
like
* eventually launch a community defined, community implemented Energy Descent
Action Plan over a 15 to 20 year timescale
This co-ordinated initiative strives both to rebuild the resilience weve lost as a
result of cheap oil and also to drastically reduce the communitys carbon emissions.
Page 4
The different shapes of Transition
The transition model evolved in the UK, quickly moving to other english-speaking
countries such as Australia, New Zealand and the US. We often wondered whether
the model would be flexible enough for other cultures that face different challenges.
It seems, from a couple of recent notes from Brazil, that it might be:
In Brazil, climate change and peak oil arent issues with the same public
appeal of that in Europe. Other Brazilians working with TT probably will also
have other subjects of main concern, such as assuring education and health
for all, protecting biodiversity and enhancing authonomy of traditional
(indigenous or not) local communities.
... and another:
Just a brief message to say that we have enriching Transition processes going
on in Brazil right now. Some examples: in Sao Paulo, transition is happening in
Granja Viana, Vila Mariana & Brasilandia; theres a strong group in Joao Pessoa
and emerging initiatives in Salvador and Recife; Santa Teresa, Grajau in Rio.
We debate peak oil in the context of presal [Brazilian off-shore oil deposits] and as
you know Brazil has also been hit by climate change.
Were working hard to ensure that the very broad range of groups experimenting
with the transition model across the world are able to share successes and failures,
adding strength and momentum to the whole movement.
The three phases (roughly)
The community self-organises to respond in three phases.

1 First, the small initiating group starts a programme of awareness raising and
hooking up with existing groups. They articulate the rationale for adopting/adapting a transition approach and show the creative responses that the community might
embark upon.
2 Second, as the group becomes larger, it self-organises in groups in all the key areas
such as food, transport, energy, housing, education, textiles etc, and creates practical
projects in response to that big question (such as community supported agriculture,
car clubs, local currencies, neighbourhood carbon reduction clubs, urban orchards,
reskilling classes). Most Transition Initiatives are in this phase.
3 Third, they begin to look at Energy Descent planning and the need to rebuild
the local economic fabric by starting up local energy companies, social enterprises,
complementary currency systems. There are a number of initiatives in this phase.
Where it goes from here is a path as yet untrod.
Cheerful disclaimer!
Just in case you were under the impression that Transition is a process defined by
people who have all the answers, you need to be aware of a key fact.
We truly dont know if this will work. Transition is a social experiment on a massive
scale. What we are convinced of is this:
* if we wait for the governments, itll be too little, too late
* if we act as individuals, itll be too little
* but if we act as communities, it might just be enough, just in time.
Source: Transition Network website: www.transitionnetwork.org
Page 5
Real Wealth and Wiser Money
Source Patsy Garrard & George Sobol

Page 6
Support local producers and retailers

and keep money in the local economy...
Source Patsy Garrard & George Sobol
Chapter 10~ People care
Page 1
People Care
If peoples needs are met in compassionate and simple
ways, the environment surrounding them will prosper.
The icon of the two people together, represents the
need for companionship and collaborative efforts to
affect change. Care for people starts with ourselves,
but expands to include our families, neighbours, local
and wider communities. The challenge is to grow up
through self-reliance and personal responsibility.
Self-reliance becomes more possible when we focus on
non-material well-being, taking care of ourselves and
others without producing or consuming unnecessary
material resources. By accepting personal responsibility
for our situation as far as possible, rather than blaming
others, we empower ourselves. By recognising that the
wisdom lies within the group, we can work with others
to bring about the best outcomes for all involved.
The permaculture approach is to focus on the positives,
the opportunities that exist rather than the obstacles,
even in the most desperate situations.
Source: David Holmgren
Permaculture in personal and societal change

There is the perception in both experienced practitioners and beginners in Permaculture that it is mainly about land-based design. However, we need to do more
than just plant trees to address the problems surrounding us. If we are to truly turn
them around we need to deepen our understanding of the potentials of Permaculture. How can we think and act deeply to change our own behaviours; embrace
an abundance mentality; extend our connections with other people; strengthen
our communities; widen the systems of society to be inclusive, nurturing and nonpolluting; and ultimately to challenge the paradigms of fear, greed and scarcity
which currently govern the global situation? How can we grow as humans? These
are the questions we must find answers to in order to survive and thrive.
The principles of Permaculture are universal and can direct us to solutions: however,
it takes thought and practice to translate them beyond the garden. Luckily there are
limitless opportunities to apply them daily. Here are a few ideas to get you started.
* Whilst tidying we can identify 1 or 2 things we could move that would have the
biggest impact on our quest for spacious, clutter-free homes minimum effort,
maximum effect.
* Our projects will benefit when we harness our creative thoughts as they come
catch and store energy.
* At work our job satisfaction can increase when we think beyond our pay check to
other yields we can harvest, such as skill development, friends, exercise on the
walk to work obtain a yield.
Our thinking will naturally expand to using Permaculture principles in our relationships and community, and our horizons will grow to take in the bigger picture and
how this too can be transformed. Shifts in our thinking and behaviour will ripple
out. Using Permaculture to improve our personal lives and affecting positive change
in our relationships are all part of the peoplecare ethic. Peoplecare, Earthcare and
Fair Shares are intertwined at the core of Permaculture to guide us to a sustainable
and just future. We can go there if we travel together.
Source: Looby Macnamara
Page 2
Source Andy Goldring
Chapter 10 ~ People care
Page 3
Page 4
Page 5
Meetings techniques
Successful techniques to use
Derived from work by Andy Langford
Think & Listen
Work in pairs for a Think and Listen. For half the time one person is the thinker and
the other is the listener. The thinking turn is for the thinkers benefit. It is a time for
the thinker to collect and develop their thoughts at their own pace, in their own
way and using their own language if they choose. The listener makes no comments
and asks no questions, but does make encouraging sounds and movements to indicate that their attention to the listener is active.
Common time periods for a Think and listen are two to five minutes each. When
the thinker speaks about and how their thinking develops is confidential. When you
are the thinker remember: the time is for you and you do not need to appear bright
or knowledgeable. When you are the listener remember: to look at your partener
and be active in your listening, do not interupt or ask questions.
Go round
In a Go-round everyone gets to speak for a short, equal time, taking turns. In meetings the facilitator can offer topics or headings to guide contributions.
I statements
It is common for people in meetings to speak about themselves using "I Statements".
That is they may say something like "People won't make changes like that" when
they really mean "I would find it difficult to make changes like that myself" Watch
out for participants talking generally about "other people" or "someone" or saying
"you" or "one" instead of I.
Check-in
A facilitator will need to know how the participants at a meeting are doing. Is their
energy level OK? Do people need a break? Can people keep going for another 10
minutes so we can finish this item before lunch? Are people warm / cool enough.
Is there fresh air?
Contemplandas
Items in a meeting that are not presented for action or decision-making but rather
are presented for people to think about. First thoughts or responses may be shared
in the meeting with the understanding that the item requires more time for contemplation and will become an agenda at a later date.
Visible agendas
The agenda for a meeting should be visible at all times. For example, written up in
Mind Map form on a flip chart, sheet or a blackboard. Alterations to the agenda
can then be made in full view of all the participants.
Mind maps
Mind maps are freehand diagrams that start from a circle in the middle and have
arms radiating out at all angles. Mind maps give a visual representation of the whole
of a subject and allow the main points to be easily identified. They are a flexible
way of presenting information that allow for alteration and making connections
between topics much more easily than linear text.
Page 6
Open agendas
At the beginning of a meeting the facilitator draws up a mind map showing items
that the participants want on the agenda. If a pre-prepared agenda was issued
before a meeting it should be clearly marked as a draft to show that the agenda to
be worked with will be generated at the meeting. A Think and Listen can be used
to generate items. The facilitator guides the meeting to categorise each agenda as
requiring long, medium or short amounts of attention. Given the time available for
the meeting a rough calculation can be made that deduces for example that short is
5 mins, medium is 10 mins and long is 20 mins. The group is now ready to decide
which order to take the items in. Covering short and easy items first in the meeting
creates a sense of getting things done.
During the meeting the facilitator will draw participants attention to progress
against the plan. Adjustments can be made. For example an item that was allocated
a medium amount of time but now appears to need longer may gain some time
from items that have taken less than their allocated time or the group may decide
to give it the amount of time proposed and then move it on to the agenda for the
next meeting. Constructing an agenda at the meeting allows all participants to own
the content, order and general management of the meeting. The method allows
negotiations for time and space to be conducted in the open.
No one speaks twice until everyone has the opportunity to speak once
This method can be used to bring structure to discussions. It is particularly useful

when there is the possibility of arguments developing between two people or
where certain group members dominate the discussion. The facilitator is able to use
this method to encourage quiet people to contribute. Note that the system does
not mean that everyone has to speak on a certain point, but that they are offered
the opportunity to do so before others speak for the second time.
Beginnings & endings
Begin and end meetings and events with a simple Go-rounds. Beginnings can be as
short and simple as "say your name and one thing about yourself or as long and
detailed as you put aside time for. Beginnings can also include a question about why
participants have come to the meeting.
Endings are useful places to get feedback about how the meeting or event has gone
for participants; "say your name, something you have enjoyed about the meeting
and anything that you would have done differently".
Parallel (six hat) thinking
Six Thinking Hats is a simple, effective parallel thinking process that helps people
be more productive, focused, and mindfully involved. And once learned, the tools
can be applied immediately.
You and your team
members can learn how
to separate thinking into
six clear functions and
roles. Each thinking role is
identified with a coloured
symbolic thinking hat.
By mentally wearing and
switching hats, you can
easily focus or redirect
thoughts, the conversation, or the meeting.
Page 7
Groupwork
Source: Devin Ashwood

Page 8
Listening Skills
A good listener tries to understand thoroughly what the other person is saying.
In the end he may disagree sharply, but before he disagrees, he wants to know
exactly what it is (Kenneth A. Wells)
Listening is one of the most useful skills we can have. How well we listen has a
major impact on how we do our job, and on the quality of our relationships. Active
Listening intentionally focuses on who you are listening to, whether in a group or
one-on-one. As the listener, you should then be able to repeat back in your own
words what they have said to their satisfaction. This doesnt mean you agree with,
but rather understand, what they are saying. It is a way of listening and responding
to another person that improves mutual understanding. Often when people talk
to each other, they dont listen attentively. They are often distracted, half listening,
half thinking about something else.
For example: When people are engaged in a conflict, they are often busy formulating a response to what is being said. They assume that they have heard what their
opponent is saying many times before, so
rather than paying attention; they focus on
how they can respond to win the argument.
Are you a good listener? Think about your
relationships with the people in your life
your boss, colleagues, subordinates, best
friend, and spouse. If asked, what would
they say about how well you listened? Do
you often misunderstand assignments or only
vaguely remember what people have said to
you. If so, you may need to improve your
listening skills. The first step is to understand
how the listening process works.
Four Steps to Active Listening
* Hearing. At this stage, you simply pay attention to make sure you hear the
message.
* Interpretation. If you fail to interpret a speakers word correctly it may lead to a
misunderstanding.
* Evaluation. Decide what to do with the information you have received.
* Respond. This is a verbal or visual response that lets the speaker know whether
you have gotten the message and what your reaction is.
Active Listening Tips:
* Dont talk-listen. People like to have a chance to get their own ideas or opinions
across. A good listener lets them do it.
* Dont jump to conclusions. Many people will tune out a speaker when they think
they have the general idea of the conversation.
* Ask questions. Its perfectly acceptable to say, Do you mean.? or Did I understand you to say.?
* Overlook a speech problem, a twitch, or sexist language. Paying too much attention to these types of distractions can break your concentration.
* Keep an open mind. The point of listening it to gain new information.
* Listen to others points of view and ideas. It could turn out to be fascinating.
* Provide feedback. Make eye contact, nod your head and if appropriate, interject a
comment such as I see, etc.
Source: Silicon Beach Training
Page 9
Vision support groups (aka action learning guilds)
Source: Graham Burnett

Page 10
Parallel (six hat) thinking

The metaphor of 6 coloured hats is used to align the thinkers or members of
the discussion so that they are all looking in the same direction at any one time.
(De Bono, How to have a beautiful mind P91) Parallel thinking encourages everyone to think
fully and objectively. The hats can be used in any order.
Blue hat: blue for blue sky:
* Holds the overview
* The conductor of the orchestra
At the beginning
* Defines the focus
* What are we here for? What are we thinking about? What is our end goal?
Throughout * Facilitates the discussion

* Keeps people focussed on their hats
At the end * Puts together outcome/ summary/ conclusion/ design

* What have we achieved? If nothing WHY?
* Lays out next steps e.g. ways to get more information, areas that need more
thought.
White hat: white for paper
* Information
* What facts do we know?
* What do we need to know?
* What information is missing?
* What questions should we ask?
* How might we get the information that we need?
Red hat: red for fire
* Deals with emotions, feelings and intuition
* Can be expressed without having to justify or give reasons for your feelings
* Intuition can be based on experience
Yellow hat: yellow for sunshine
* Think positively
* Look for values, benefits and why something should work.
* Every thinker is challenged to find value.
Black hat: black for critical
* Most common thinking used in normal behaviour
* Critical thinking
* Dangers, faults, problems and weaknesses
* Does this fit our values, abilities, resources, strategies and objectives?
* Leads to contingency planning
Green hat: green for vegetation, growth and energy.
* Green hat is the productive and creative hat.
* Green hat asks for ideas, alternatives, possibilities and design
Source: Edward de Bono ~ How to have a Beautiful mind
Page 11
Facilitation and Conflict Resolution

Problem
Building sustainable communities has many implications. One of them is that people
need to be willing to set aside time to meet and to sort out issues without running
away from each other when things appear to be difficult. In every area of life
where people meet there is a need for good communication, for reaching agreement and taking viable decisions. The questions "who decides?" and "how will we
decide?" are crucial.
However, in reality where most groups, communities and their projects fail is on
the human level of communication: Individuals get frustrated with endless, unproductive meetings. Emotional issues between group members create misunderstandings and sabotage the group process. Groups fall apart because their members lack
essential skills which are, unfortunately, not generally taught in our societies, schools
and families.
Solutions
1. Training for Conflict Resolution
This involves a set of skills, the main ones being

* Active Listening, also known as empathic listening. It means listening with the heart
while putting our own thoughts, feelings and values on hold in order to give the
speaker full attention.
* Expressing Emotions in a clear and non-threatening way. This is particularly hard
for most people because our culture has a long history of neglecting, avoiding
and inhibiting expression of feelings - in public, but very often also in private.
* Giving I-Messages. An example: I feel (state the emotion, not an opinion!) when
you (state the other persons specific behaviour) because (state the effect the
behaviour has on you), and I would like (state what you would like to have
happen - something doable). I-messages are assertive, You-messages ("youre so
irresponsible", " youre always doing that") tend to be aggressive, make demands,
accuse, blame or judge. Marshall B. Rosenberg, the author of "Nonviolent
Communication - a Language of Compassion" distinguishes between life-alienating
and compassionate ways of interacting. For giving as well as receiving acts of
communication he recommends to keep 4 elements separate: observation - feelings - needs - requests. For example, instead of saying "you make me angry", you
would say something like: "when I see you using my tools without asking for
advice I feel worried that you might hurt yourself or damage my tools because I
am needing a sense of safety around me, so could you please ask me for instructions and permission to use them."
* Giving Feedback in a Non-Judgemental Way is another important skill that requires
considerable practice, because most of us have been brought up with judgements
day in, day out in families, schools and workplaces. Even positive feedback ("you
are so good") is potentially an unhelpful judgement if it isnt detailed enough to
allow a real connection between the communicating partners.
* Awareness of rank, roles and other factors of a group process. Arnold Mindell, the
author of "Sitting in the Fire" and "The Leader as Martial Artist" describes a very
comprehensive approach to conflict resolution through awareness of the process
in which communication unfolds. His insights are a main source of inspiration for
the workshops about communication, conflict resolution and group facilitation at
The Hollies.
Page 12
* Mediation is the skill of effective communication and problem solving with the
help of a neutral third party. It is based on openness and honesty, attempting to
equalise power between two parties. Mediators seek win-win solutions and are
willing to deal with underlying issues and emotions. They maintain neutrality and
confidentiality. In many native cultures across the globe people in conflict naturally resort to the help of a third person.
2. Effective Group Facilitation
* A good facilitator can save a group 50% of its time. A poor one can cost it as
much. Not using a facilitator is like trying to enter a harbour without a guide.
* The facilitator is a servant-leader, serving the group by providing leadership
regarding the groups decision-making process.
* The boss, administrator or other person in a position of power is never in a good
position of being an impartial facilitator.
* In situations of conflict the facilitator is to the group what a mediator is to two
individuals.
* Ideally, the facilitator has an opportunity to become familiar with the aims of
the group, some of its history and to see the venue of the meeting beforehand
(sometimes the venue itself makes good communication and a successful meeting
difficult).
3. Consensus Decision Making
Today more and more people are disillusioned with top-down structures in which
a powerful few make decisions for everyone. Even the democratic ideal of majority
rule is found wanting because it almost always results in a disempowered minority.
The consensus process is based on values such as co-operation, trust, honesty, creativity, equality and respect. According to Beatrice Briggs, member of Facilitation
and Consensus and resident of the ecovillage Huehuecoyotl/Mexico, the consensus process has 5 essential elements:
* willingness to share power - participants must be willing to give up hierarchical
roles and privileges and to function as equals.
* informed commitment to the consensus process - because consensus is radically
different from the way most of us have been conditioned to function, the process
needs to be carefully explained, and the fundamental principles reviewed from
time to time.
* common purpose - without an overarching purpose to unify and focus its efforts,
a group will spin its wheels endlessly, trapped in confusion, frustration and
ego-battles.
* strong agendas - the lack of an agenda, an agenda controlled exclusively by one
or two leaders, and poorly prepared agendas all undermine the consensus
process. They waste peoples time erode their trust and diminish a groups effectiveness. In contrast, a group which designates a few people to plan the agenda,
and which then collectively reviews the proposed agenda, revises it as necessary,
and formally adopts it by consensus, and then honours this agenda contract, is a
group committed to its own success.
* effective facilitation - see above. A facilitator is a guide, not a participant in the
discussion. He or she does not give answers, but rather continuously asks questions intended to equalise participation (are we hearing from everyone?, are
we ready to move on). To practise the art of facilitation, one needs patience,
stamina, the ability to remain calm in the face of conflict, a good memory, a sense
of humour and genuine love for the group which he or she is serving.
Page 13
Procedure
In consensus process, no votes are taken. Ideas or proposals are introduced, discussed,
and eventually arrive at the point of decision. In making a decision a participant has
three options:
* To block. This step prevents the decision from going forward, at least for
the time being. Blocking is a serious
matter, to be done only when one
truly believes that the pending
proposal, if adopted, would violate
the morals, ethics or safety of the
whole group.
* To stand aside. An individual stands
aside when he or she cannot
personally support a proposal, but
feels it would be all right for the rest
of the group to adopt it. If there are
more than a few stand asides on an
issue, consensus has not yet been
reached.
* To give consent. When everyone
in the group (except those standing aside) say yes to a proposal,
consensus is achieved. To give
ones consent does not necessarily
mean that one loves every aspect
of the proposal, but it does mean
that one is willing to support the decision and stand in solidarity with the group,
despite ones disagreements. Consensus decisions can only be changed by reaching
another consensus. A group which makes decisions in this way is unequalled in its
ability to be an effective agent of social transformation.
False Consensus
Like green and natural, consensus is becoming a buzz word, which means it
is being co-opted by those who want to appear inclusive, but who have no real
intention of giving up decision-making power. Look out for warning signs:
* Consensus building. This perversion of the consensus process occurs when policy
makers and their hired hands hold meetings designed to sell people on a plan that
has already been decided. Ask if the organisers are willing to put away their charts
and graphs and listen.
* Participation without implementation. Beware of public hearings, staff retreats,
volunteer meetings, etc., where much effort is made to get input without any
commitment to implementation. Ask what is going to be done with the ideas and
information generated.
* Inconvenient meeting times and locations. Ask whether those most affected by the
decisions to be made realistically can attend the meetings.
* Winning at any cost. When one or more of the participants views consensus as a
game to be won, rather than a process to be entered into, meetings will be the
same old decision-making hard ball. Ask whether any proposals other than those
of the leaders will receive fair consideration.
Page 14
* Passive-aggressive leadership. When leaders fail to provide information, clear

direction or good process, whether out of fear of appearing too controlling or
sheer incompetence, they sabotage consensus. Ask those in the know to share
their wisdom and experience - and then get out of the way so that others might
participate.
* Everyone decides everything. This unworkable and unnecessary strategy is a set
up for failure. Ask that decision-making power be delegated to smaller working
groups comprising those who will be most affected by the decisions. Ask that
organisation wide and strategic decisions be open to review and challenge by all
members.
* Anything goes. Groups that try to function without any structure, focus or clear
process guidelines are doomed to fail. The opposite of hierarchical control is
not undisciplined chaos. Ask that the group adopt some guidelines or basic
agreements.
* Compromise. When opponents in a discussion settle for an agreement shich everyone can support but which no one really likes, it is not a consensus decision - it
is a cop-out which will ultimately fail for lack of real commitment. Keep talking
until you find a solution which satisfies the interests of all parties and generates
enthusiasm, joy and a sense of solidarity.
Recommended reading:
* "Nonviolent Communication - A Language of
Compassion" by M. B.
Rosenberg.
* "The Giraffe Classroom"
by Nancy Sokol Green.
* "Sitting in the Fire", "
The Leader as Martial
Artist", "Working on
yourself alone" by
Arnold Mindell.
* "Waging Peace in our
Schools" by Linda
Lantieri and Janet Patti
.
* "Conflict Resolution in
the Middle School: A
Curriculum and Teaching Guide" by William
J. Kreidler.
* "Making Choices about
Conflict, Security, and
Peacemaking" by Carol
Miller Lieber.
* "Introduction to
Consensus" by Beatrice
Briggs.
Page 15
Working with multiple clients or community groups

When working with multiple client groups it is also important to ensure that
everyone involved feels heard. Ultimately, the success of a community project
depends heavily upon the degree of ownership a group feels over the end
product. Ive seen well-meant projects, such as community orchards, created
with little or no consultation with the local residents. Inevitably those projects
suffer vandalism, because those carrying out the damage have no connection to
this thing that just landed in their neighbourhood.
Heres a small selection of tools that have been developed to help groups successfully make decisions, any of which may prove useful in particular circumstances. If
you plan to work with groups of more than just a few clients, then I recommend
that you investigate at least one of the following methods in more detail than I
have room for here. I provide just a brief overview of each below, but each is
well documented either in books, on the Internet, or both.
When working with groups in this way, you might be offering a set of questions
for the group to go away and consider their answers to, or be stepping into the
role of an outside facilitator in their process. If you are considering taking on the
latter role, I would certainly suggest that you get some training first.
Small to medium size group processes

Open space technology (OST)
Created to enable groups to deal with complex issues in a short space of time,
OST has been successfully used by thousands of organisations in 134 countries.
It has been used to organise meetings for as little as 5 and up to 2,000 people.
Having noticed that the coffee breaks were the most productive part of one
conference, its originator Harrison Owen set out to recreate a whole process
around this.
The Open Space element is a large circle in which everything takes place. Participants can write up questions and post them on a bulletin board for
everyone else to consider. These issues are then placed on a space / time matrix,
becoming the agenda. There are four principles of OST; Whoever comes are the
right people, Whatever happens is the only thing that could have, Whenever it
starts is the right time, When its over its over. There is just one law; the Law of
two feet, which means people can move from table to table if at any time they
feel that they are no longer learning or contributing.
The World caf
Devised to host conversations that matter, the World Caf can be a useful
process for finding out what matters most to a group of people. Ideal for small or
larger communities, a space is laid out with caf style tables, each focussing on a
particular question. The whole process is guided by seven core principles; Set the
context, Create hospitable space, Explore questions that matter, Encourage everyone contribution, Connect diverse perspectives, Listen together for insights and
Share collective discoveries.
Similar to OST, people are free to move from table to table to share ideas and
this is where valuable cross-pollination emerges. Unlike OST, the theme for the
event is often chosen in advance rather than set by the group. Words, images and
colour are used to capture participants ideas and expressions on large sheets of
paper. These are posted on walls to enable all to see what is being discussed. This
documentation also later serves as the groups memory and enables subsequent
sharing with others.
Page 16
Wider community planning

Planning for real
This is a process for involving local people

in developing their own area. It focuses
around a table-sized model or plan, which is
ideally created by members of the community. The model is then taken around to
locations like shopping areas and community centres, and passers-by quizzed about
their ideas and opinions. People consider
their regular journeys, what they most like
and use, and what things they think might
improve the area. The information is gathered on to the model or plan as cards and
flags, with options for others to agree or
disagree with previous suggestions. Because
everybody focuses on the model, it helps
to avoid direct confrontation between individuals. Variables such as age group, gender
and home locations of participants are taken
to ensure equal involvement in the process.
As this is a trademarked concept though, to
use this method you will need to go on one
of the Neighbourhood Initiatives Foundations training courses.
Participatory rural appraisal
This is an approach that has emerged from

NGOs working in International development. It consists of a large toolbox of
participatory techniques, seeking to enable
people, especially the financially poor, to
take back much more control over their
lives. The techniques can be divided into
four categories: those to assist group dynamics, those for gathering information, those
based around discussion, and those more
imagination-based. One of the key ideas is
to avoid writing as far as possible. This is in
order to prevent anyone being excluded.
Instead, the use of pictures, symbols, and
physical objects are encouraged.
These are of course not the only ways we
can gather useful information and sometimes there isnt time for an organised event
anyway. The following case studies highlight
some more informal methods that have
also worked well in identifying the needs of
larger groups.
Source: Aranya ~ excerpted from Permaculture Design:

a step by step guide to the process
Case studies
Community space agreement:
Permaculture Association CEO Andy

Goldring was invited to help facilitate a
design process at a low-impact intentional
community. One point of contention was
the inability of the residents to agree on
the size of the proposed village green.
Andy took them outside and stood them
in a circle, posing the question Is this big
enough? Clearly nobody thought it was,
so he gave them each a stick and asked
them to walk outwards until they thought
it right. After a certain amount of negotiation, the sticks were planted in the ground
to define the boundary and an 18-month
process swiftly brought to completion.
Andy is a skilled facilitator, but tools like
this, along with the confidence to take
charge of the process can be a valuable,
timesaving skill.
Office
redesign: permaculture
designer Janey was put in charge of an
office redesign where she worked. Few
people were happy with the space as it
was, but there was reluctance from staff
to share their feelings in a formal way. By
simply chatting to everyone during coffee
breaks, Janey was able to learn about
nearly everyones preferences and grievances. In such a relaxed and less public
atmosphere, people are more likely to say
what they feel. The redesign was a great
success as she was able to meet most of
her fellow workers individual needs.
Martial arts club:
When learning Aikido a few years ago I set out to

create a design to maximise my learning
opportunities. It quickly became clear
to me that in order to do this, I had to
ensure that all my fellow students &
Senseis (teachers) needs were well met
too. Without anyone to teach me or
to train with, I couldnt learn. Having
made a list of questions for my fellow
club members, I gathered opinions on
a different subject each training evening
(twice weekly), again in an informal way.
Because we trained so often, I was able
to ask my colleagues about a wide range
of issues a little bit at a time, avoiding the
need to pin everyone down to a long
interview process.
Chapter 11~ Accelerated learning
Page 1
Accelerated Learning
Accelerated Learning unlocks much of our potential for learning that has been left
largely untapped by most conventional learning methods. It does this by actively
involving the whole person, using physical activity, creativity, music, images, colour,
and other methods designed to get people deeply involved in their own learning.
According to A.L., heres what people need for an optimal learning environment:
*
*
*
*
*
A Positive Learning Environment.

Total Learner Involvement.
Collaboration Among Learners.
Variety That Appeals To All Learning Styles.
Contextual Learning.
The Guiding Principles of Accelerated Learning

1 Learning Involves the Whole Mind and Body. Learning is not all merely head
learning (conscious, rational, left-brained, and verbal) but involves the whole
body/mind with all its emotions, senses, and receptors.
2 Learning is Creation, Not Consumption. Knowledge is not something a learner
absorbs, but something a learner creates. Learning happens when a learner integrates
new knowledge and skill into his or her existing structure of self. Learning is literally a
matter of creating new meanings, new neural networks, and new patterns of electro/
chemical interactions within ones total brain/body system.
3 Collaboration Aids Learning. All good learning has a social base. We often learn
more by interacting with peers than we learn by any other means. Competition
between learners slows learning. Cooperation among learners speeds it. A genuine
learning community is always better for learning than a collection of isolated
individuals.
4 Learning Takes Place on Many Levels Simultaneously. Learning is not a matter of
absorbing one little thing at a time in linear fashion, but absorbing many things at
once. Good learning engages people on many levels simultaneously (conscious and
paraconscious, mental and physical) and uses all the receptors and senses and paths
it can into a persons total brain/body system. The brain, after all, is not a sequential,
but a parallel processor and thrives when it is challenged to do many things at once.
5 Learning Comes From Doing the Work Itself (With Feedback). People learn best
in context. Things learned in isolation are hard to remember and quick to evaporate. We learn how to swim by swimming, how to manage by managing, how to
sing by singing, how to sell by selling, and how to care for customers by caring for
customers. The real and the concrete are far better teachers than the hypothetical and
the abstract - provided there is time for total immersion, feedback, reflection, and
reimmersion.
6 Positive Emotions Greatly Improve Learning. Feelings determine both the quality
and quantity of ones learning. Negative feelings inhibit learning. Positive feelings
accelerate it. Learning that is stressful, painful, and dreary cant hold a candle to
learning that is joyful, relaxed, and engaging.
7 The Image Brain Absorbs Information Instantly and Automatically. The human
nervous system is more of an image processor than a word processor. Concrete
images are much easier to grasp and retain than are verbal abstractions. Translating
verbal abstractions into concrete images of all kinds will make those verbal abstractions faster to learn and easier to remember.
Source: Dave Meier
Page 2
Accelerated learning mindmaps
Source: Skye & Robin Clayfield ~ Teaching Permaculture Creatively Manual
Chapter 11 ~ Accelerated learning
Page 3
Source: Skye & Robin Clayfield ~ Teaching Permaculture Creatively Manual
Maslows surce: Alan Chapman ~ www.businessballs.com
Page 4
Maslows hierarchy of needs
Competence cycle
Page 5
Multiple Intelligences
The Multiple Intelligences concepts and VAK learning styles models offer relatively
simple and accessible methods to understand and explain peoples preferred ways
to learn and develop. Howard Gardners Multiple Intelligence Theory was first
published in his book, Frames Of Mind (1983), and quickly became established as
a classical model by which to understand and teach many aspects of human intelligence, learning style, personality and behaviour - in both education and industry.
In the case of the Multiple Intelligences model, and arguably to greater extent VAK
(because VAK is such a simple model), remember that these concepts and tools are
aids to understanding overall personality, preferences and strengths - which will
almost always be a mixture in each individual person.
Source: Looby Macnamara

intelligence
type
Page 6
description
typical roles
related tasks,
activities or
tests
1 Linguistic
words and language,

written and spoken;
retention, interpretation
and explanation of ideas
and information via
language, understands
relationship between
communication and
meaning
writers, lawyers, journalists,

speakers, trainers, copy-writers,
english teachers, poets, editors,
linguists, translators, PR
consultants, media consultants,
TV and radio presenters, voiceover artistes
write a set of instrucwords and

tions; speak on a subject; language
edit a written piece or
work; write a speech;
commentate on an
event; apply positive or
negative spin to a story
2 LogicalMathematical
logical thinking, detecting patterns, scientific

reasoning and deduction; analyse problems,
perform mathematical
calculations, understands
cause and effect towards
a tangible outcome or
result
scientists, engineers, computer

experts, accountants, statisticians, researchers, analysts,
traders, bankers bookmakers,
insurance brokers, negotiators,
deal-makers, trouble-shooters,
directors
perform a mental arithmetic calculation; create

a process to measure
something difficult;
analyse how a machine
works; create a process;
devise a strategy to
achieve an aim; assess
the value of a business
or a proposition
numbers and
logic
3 Musical
musical ability, awareness, appreciation

and use of sound;
recognition of tonal
and rhythmic patterns,
understands relationship between sound and
feeling
musicians, singers, composers,

DJs, music producers, piano
tuners, acoustic engineers,
entertainers, party-planners,
environment and noise advisors, voice coaches
perform a musical piece;

sing a song; review a
musical work; coach
someone to play a
musical instrument;
specify mood music for
telephone systems and
receptions
music, sounds,
rhythm
4 BodilyKinesthetic
body movement
control, manual dexterity, physical agility and
balance; eye and body
coordination
dancers, demonstrators, actors,

athletes, divers, sports-people,
soldiers, fire-fighters, PTIs,
performance artistes; ergonomists, osteopaths, fishermen,
drivers, crafts-people; gardeners, chefs, acupuncturists,
healers, adventurers
juggle; demonstrate a
sports technique; flip a
beer-mat; create a mime
to explain something;
toss a pancake; fly a
kite; coach workplace
posture, assess workstation ergonomics
physical experience and movement, touch

and feel
5 SpatialVisual
visual and spatial

perception; interpretation and creation of
visual images; pictorial imagination and
expression; understands
images and meanings,
and between space and
effect
artists, designers, cartoonists,

story-boarders, architects,
photographers, sculptors,
town-planners, visionaries,
inventors, engineers, cosmetics
and beauty consultants
design a costume; interpret a painting; create

a room layout; create a
corporate logo; design a
building; pack a suitcase
or the boot of a car
pictures, shapes,
images, 3D
space
Interpersonal
perception of other
peoples feelings; ability
to relate to others;
interpretation of behaviour and communications; understands the
relationships between
people and their situations, including other
people
therapists, HR professionals,
mediators, leaders, counsellors,
politicians, eductors, salespeople, clergy, psychologists,
teachers, doctors, healers,
organisers, carers, advertising professionals, coaches
and mentors; (there is clear
association between this type
of intelligence and what is now
termed Emotional Intelligence
or EQ)
interpret moods from

facial expressions;
demonstrate feelings
through body language;
affect the feelings of
others in a planned way;
coach or counsel another
person
human contact,
communications, cooperation, teamwork
Intrapersonal
self-awareness, personal
cognisance, personal
objectivity, the capability to understand
oneself, ones relationship to others and the
world, and ones own
need for, and reaction
to change
arguably anyone (see note

below) who is self-aware and
involved in the process of
changing personal thoughts,
beliefs and behaviour in relation to their situation, other
people, their purpose and aims
- in this respect there is a similarity to Maslows Self-Actualisation level, and again there is
clear association between this
type of intelligence and what is
now termed Emotional Intelligence or EQ
consider and decide

self-reflection,
ones own aims and
self-discovery
personal changes
required to achieve them
(not necessarily reveal
this to others); consider
ones own Johari
Window, and decide
options for development; consider and
decide ones own position in relation to the
Emotional Intelligence
model
preferred
learning
style clues
Page 7
Learning Styles
Self-Assessment Questionnaire
Circle or tick the answer that most represents how you generally behave.
(Its best to complete the questionnaire before reading the accompanying explanation.)
1. When I operate new equipment I generally:
a)
read the instructions first
b)
listen to an explanation from someone who has used it before
c)
go ahead and have a go, I can figure it out as I use it
2. When I need directions for travelling I usually:
a)
look at a map
b)
ask for spoken directions
c)
follow my nose and maybe use a compass
3. When I cook a new dish, I like to:
a)
follow a written recipe
b)
call a friend for an explanation
c)
follow my instincts, testing as I cook
4. If I am teaching someone something new, I tend to:
a)
write instructions down for them
give them a verbal explanation
b)
demonstrate first and then let them have a go
c)
5. When I am learning a new skill, I am most comfortable:
a)
watching what the teacher is doing
b)
talking through with the teacher exactly what Im supposed to do
giving it a try myself and work it out as I go
c)
6. If I am choosing food off a menu, I tend to:
imagine what the food will look like
a)
talk through the options in my head or with my partner
b)
imagine what the food will taste like
c)
7. When I listen to a band, I cant help:
watching the band members and other people in the audience
a)
b)
listening to the lyrics and the beats
c)
moving in time with the music
8. When I concentrate, I most often:
a)
focus on the words or the pictures in front of me
b)
discuss the problem and the possible solutions in my head
c)
move around a lot, fiddle with pens and pencils and touch things
9. When I am anxious, I:
visualise the worst-case scenarios
a)
b)
talk over in my head what worries me most
c)
cant sit still, fiddle and move around constantly
10. If I am explaining to someone I tend to:
show them what I mean
a)
b)
explain to them in different ways until they understand
c)
encourage them to try and talk them through my idea as they do it
11. I really love:
watching films, photography, looking at art or people watching
a)
listening to music, the radio or talking to friends
b)
c)
taking part in sporting activities, eating fine foods and wines or dancing
12. If I am angry, I tend to:
a)
keep replaying in my mind what it is that has upset me
b)
raise my voice and tell people how I feel
c)
stamp about, slam doors and physically demonstrate my anger
Page 8
Now add up how many As, Bs and Cs you selected.

As = Bs = Cs =
If you chose mostly As you have a VISUAL learning style.
If you chose mostly Bs you have an AUDITORY learning style.
If you chose mostly Cs you have a KINAESTHETIC learning style.
Some people find that their learning style may be a blend of two or three styles, in this case read about
the styles that apply to you in the explanation below.
When you have identified your learning style(s), read the learning styles explanations and consider how
this might help you to identify learning and development that best meets your preference(s).
VAK Learning Styles Explanation

The VAK learning styles model suggests that most people can be divided into one of three preferred styles
of learning. These three styles are as follows, (and there is no right or wrong learning style):
* Someone with a Visual learning style has a preference for seen or observed things, including pictures,
diagrams, demonstrations, displays, handouts, films, flipchart, etc. These people will use phrases such as show
me, lets have a look at that and will be best able to
perform a new task after reading the instructions or
watching someone else do it first. These are the people
who will work from lists and written directions and
instructions.
* Someone with an Auditory learning style has a preference for the transfer of information through listening:
to the spoken word, of self or others, of sounds and
noises. These people will use phrases such as tell me,
lets talk it over and will be best able to perform a
new task after listening to instructions from an expert.
These are the people who are happy being given
spoken instructions over the telephone, and can remember all the words to songs that they hear!
* Someone with a Kinaesthetic learning style has a
preference for physical experience - touching, feeling,
holding, doing, practical hands-on experiences. These
people will use phrases such as let me try, how do
you feel? and will be best able to perform a new task
by going ahead and trying it out, learning as they go.
These are the people who like to experiment, hands-on, and never look at the instructions first!
People commonly have a main preferred learning style, but this will be part of a blend of all three. Some
people have a very strong preference; other people have a more even mixture of two or less commonly,
three styles.
When you know your preferred learning style(s) you understand the type of learning that best suits you.
This enables you to choose the types of learning that work best for you.
There is no right or wrong learning style. The point is that there are types of learning that are right for
your own preferred learning style.
Please note that this is not a scientifically validated testing instrument it is a simple assessment tool
designed to give a broad indication of preferred learning style(s).
Source: Victoria Chislett ~ www.businessballs.com
Page 9
Mind mapping
How to Make a Mind Map

1. Take a blank piece of paper, A4 or larger. Blank paper allows 360 of freedom
to express the full range of your cortical skills, whereas pre-drawn lines restrict the
natural flow of your thoughts.
2. Use the paper in landscape orientation. Words and images have more space in
the direction we write, so they dont bump into margins as quickly.
3. Start in the centre. Thoughts start in the centre of our mental world. The Mind
Map page reflects this!
4. Make a central image that represents the topic about which youre thinking:
* Use at least three colours.
* Keep the height and width of the central image to approx. 2 or 5 cm (for A4).
* Allow the image to create its own shape (do not use a frame).
A picture is worth a thousand words. It opens up associations, focuses the thoughts,

is fun and results in better recall:
* Colours stimulate the right cortical activity of imagination as well as capturing and
holding attention.
* This size gives plenty of space for the rest of your Mind Map, while making it large
enough to be the clear focus of the topic.
* The unique shape makes it more memorable and enjoyable. A frame makes the
centre a monotony of shape and disconnects the branches.
5. The main themes around the centre are like the chapter headings of a book:
* Print this word in CAPITALS or draw an image.
* Place on a line of the same length
* The central lines are thick, curved and organic i.e. like your arm joining your body,
or the branch of a tree to the trunk.
* Connect directly to the central image.
Page 10
The main themes, connected to the central image on the main branches, allow
their relative importance to be seen. These are the Basic Ordering Ideas (BOIs) and
aggregate and focus the rest of the Mind Map:
* Printing (versus cursive) allows the brain to photograph the image thus giving
easier reading and more immediate recall.
* Word length equals line length. An extra line disconnects thoughts, length accentuates the connection.
* Curved lines give visual rhythm and variety are easier to remember, more pleasant
to draw and less boring to look at. Thicker central lines show relative importance.
* Connected to the image because the brain works by association not separated,
disconnected lines.
6. Start to add a second level of thought. These words or images are linked to the
main branch that triggered them. Remember:
* Connecting lines are thinner.
* Words are still printed but may be lower case.
Your initial words and images stimulate associations. Attach whatever word or
image is triggered. Allow the random movement of your thought; you do not
have to finish one branch before moving on:
* Connected lines create relationships and a structure. They also demonstrate the
level of importance, as from a branch to a twig.
* The size and style of the letters provide additional data about the importance and
meaning of the word/image.
7. Add a third or fourth level of data as thoughts come to you:

* Use images as much as you can, instead of, or in addition to the words.
* Allow your thoughts to come freely, meaning you jump about the Mind Map as
the links and associations occur to you.
Your brain is like a multi-handed thought-ball catcher. The Mind Map allows you
to catch and keep whatever thought ball is thrown by your brain.
8. Add a new dimension to your Mind Map. Boxes add depth around the word or
image. To make some important points stand out.
9. Sometimes enclose branches of a Mind Map with outlines in colour:
* Enclose the shape of the branch and hug the shape tightly.
* Use different colours and styles.
The outlines will create unique shapes and will aid your memory:
* These provide immediate visual linking. They can also encourage follow-up and
remind you of action you need to take.
* They also show connection between branches by using the same colour outline.
10. Make each Mind Map a little more:

* BEAUTIFUL ~ ARTISTIC ~ COLOURFUL ~ IMAGINATIVE ~ DIMENSIONAL
Your eyes and brain will be attracted to your Mind Map:

*
It will be easier to remember & more attractive to you (and to others as well).
11. Have fun!

Add a little humour, exaggeration or absurdity wherever you can. Your brain will
delight in getting the maximum use and enjoyment from this process and will therefore learn faster, recall more effectively and think more clearly.
Source: Illumine Training ~ Mind Map is a registered trademarks of The Buzan Organisation
Page 11
Permaculture for Children
Page 12
Page 13
Source: Permaculture Magazine #32 p20-22

Page 14
Example childrens garden
Design: Alan Peacock & Julia Warin from Childrens gardening
Chapter 12~ Design process overview
Page 1
Design Process Overview

Design Activity ~ Hints on the Process
The main purpose of the design activity is to provide an opportunity for supported
practice & to show that you have achieved and are able to implement an understanding of the permaculture principles and their application using the design process.
Step One: Survey

Site analysis:
* Create a base map with existing boundaries, structures, land/vegetation types
(pasture, trees, etc.), water bodies, access routes, etc. You can also make a site
profile/transect to show slope/shape of land.
* List information on climate, soil, plant species (esp. those indicating types of site),
water/moisture, wind, microclimates, etc. Pay attention to those things that may
act as limiting factors and/or resources, and potential hazards e.g. flooding, fires.
Include historical information about the site.
* List areas/types of erosion (leaks) i.e. where resources are being lost from the site
e.g. soil, nutrients, water, money, skills, etc.
Client Analysis:
* Use client questionnaire handout as a basis for your client interview.
* List goals of client - their vision for the land, what they want to achieve.
* What is their timeframe for achieving these goals?
* List the resources they have, e.g. time, skills, money, etc.
* List their constraints/limiting factors, other relevant information.
Step Two: Analysis - Identify Functions/Areas of Production

* What functions are required to meet the needs of the client & land, prevent the
resource leaks etc? e.g. livestock, irrigation, income generation, soil conservation,
shelter, security, etc. Some of the "areas" can be sub-divided e.g. income generation into bees, vegetables, fruit, livestock, crafts, etc.
Step Three: Design

* What systems are needed to fulfill the functions required?
* List these & examine linkages/beneficial relationships that exist between the
systems. Examine the needs/outputs/characteristics of the different systems
(systems' analysis).
* Experiment with placement of systems (using a map) & examine if their productivity can be improved (or erosion reduced) by siting them in different places.
* Select and place elements to fulfil the functions identified as needed in the different
systems. Give an idea of species' composition of relevant systems e.g. windbreaks,
orchard, kitchen garden, etc.
* Integrate functions to satisfy needs with outputs i.e. allow the systems/elements to
do the work to decrease effort (work) & waste (pollution).
Feedback to client
Feedback the outcome so far & if the client has any changes/suggestions etc. Is the
design helping to achieve their goals while meeting the needs of the land? Are new
problems being created?
Chapter 12 ~ Design process overview
Page 2
Step Four: Implementation & Maintenance

* Detail the sequence of implementation - which systems/elements go in first (priority ranking). Give an idea of time needed to implement the different priorities.
* Give an idea of costs of implementation over time.
* Give an idea of outputs coming from the designed system, over time if possible.
* Detail how the design is maintained and/or added to over time (including the
priorities, sequence and costs of doing this).
* Detail how the design involves and/or benefits the community/region as a whole.
* Make a detailed map with systems & placement.
Step Five: Evaluate

* Feedback the design so far & if the client has any changes/suggestions etc. Is the
design helping to achieve their goals while meeting the needs of the client & land?
Are new problems being created? Is the design realistic/achievable? Are there any
unnecessary costs?
Step Six: Tweaking

* Modify as required.
Presentation
You will have 60 minutes for presentation of which approximately:
* 5 mins on introduction, summarising step one.
* 40 mins to present the design, including all the items in step four. Include information on process - how you came to reach the decisions/selections you made, what
other options had you considered?
* 5 minutes question/answers, clarification etc.
* 10 minutes feedback from client/tutors (dont allow feedback on this feedback!).
* Make sure all the group is involved in the presentation.
* You don't have to give details of every plant/animal in the design, but give representative samples e.g. structure of the windbreak, orchard, vegetable beds etc.
Source: Chris Evans
Page 3
SADIMET design process
Source: Chris Evans

Page 4
Simple Surveying Tools

A-frame
The A frame is a simple tool that acts as a support for either a spirit level, or in its
simpler form, a plumb line. Its beauty lies in the fact that the latter can be made
from easily gathered materials, such as coppice poles, some vine and a stone. An
accurately measured frame and level crossbar however allows the use of a spirit
level which has the advantage of not being vulnerable to the action of the wind,
After initial calibration (a one-off process for
a bolted together spirit level version), we
can go to work. After deciding where we
are starting (or finishing) from, we can walk
the A frame across the landscape, marking
points of equal altitude as we go. While a
plumb-based A frame can also be calibrated
for gradient, care has to be taken that each
step is continuing in the intended direction
(up or down hill) and not being reversed.
Bunyip water level

The water level, while requiring at least a minimal amount of clear plastic tubing,
does have a couple of advantages over the A frame. In its simplest form it can
be no more than a clear pipe containing a
convenient amount of water. When each end
is lifted up, the levels in each vertical section
will always be the same (see diagram), so it can
be used to determine relative levels of anything
above ground level. For instance, Ive used it to
ensure that I cut my house gutter downpipe at
the right height to fit a rainwater diverter and
fill a water butt 5 metres away.
If you wish to use it to measure out a contour, then the pipe will need to be attached
to a pair of poles, ideally each at least 2 metres high and marked out in centimetres.
On my own Bunyip Ive made the one metre mark the point I always fill up to with
water and use a small syringe to add the last few millilitres accurately. One thing
to be aware of is that if you use very cold water (say straight from a tap) and then
take it out on a warm day, it will expand, so check your levels against each other
every now and then. Also, if you decided like me that adding a used tea bag to the
water sounds like a good idea to make it easier to see the level, dont do as I did
and forget to empty it out before it stains the inside of the tubing.
Finally, back to those advantages... the water level isnt affected by the wind and you
can even damp the movement of the water by putting a thumb almost completely
over the end of the tube when you move it. It also goes around trees (something
the A frame cant do) and you can measure points at any distance apart up to the
length of the tubing between your poles. Its also well suited to measuring height
differences up or down a slope, allowing you to determine where to mark out
additional swales for instance. Just dont lie it down until youve finished with it.
Pacing
Its also worth mentioning that our own bodies are great for measuring things. In
particular, once we become familiar with our pace lengths over different terrains
and slopes, we can measure distance to between 90 and 95% accuracy - plenty
good enough in most cases.
Source: Aranya
Page 5
Permaculture Designers Checklist

Name[s] of Client[s];
Address;
Size of Property;
Number of People on site and Relationship:
Ages;
Special Needs;
Occupations / Skills;
Lifestyle:
Eating Habits;
Level of Food Self-sufficiency Required;
Clients Wants and Needs:
Financial Situation:
On-site Resources;
Security of Tenure;
Potential catastrophes; (e.g. fire, flood and frost);
Plans and Drawings;
Known Problems;
Privacy;
Priorities:
Water Catchment: (Quality and Size);
Water (General):
Sewage & Waste:
Soil (General);
Erosion:
Aspect:
Sacred Sites:
Archaeological Sites:
Addresses of like-minded local people;
Environmental Analysis
Historical land use:
Talk to locals, look at old maps, photos.
Recent site history:
Logging, cropping, spraying, crops, uses.
County structure plans:
Page 6
Topography:
Contour maps and Field survey.
Identify key areas.
Mark volleys and ridges.
Determine slope gradient.
Sector analysis:
Aspect (direction of slopes).

Sun Sectors (winter & summer sunrise to sunset).

Wind (wind rose for the area prevailing wind direction,
damaging winter winds).
Soils & geology:

Geological maps.
Types of soil and Analysis.
Soil tests:
Field Test Kits.
Drainage and Absorption.

Soil Depths, a and b levels.
Stability of site.
Vegetation:

Flora - mix, identification, health.

Forests - type, age, condition, value, density, exotic
species, ground cover, poisonous plants.
Fauna:

Grazing animals, waterfowl, native birds, introduced

animals, creatures of pain and fear.
Climate: Altitude.
Frost.

Hail - timing, frequency and directions.

Storms - timing, frequency and directions.
Average Rainfall.
Minimum and maximum temperatures.
Hydrology: Drainage patterns.
Springs.
Rivers and Streams.
Farm roads:
New roads required: Costs?
Page 7
Particular features:
Rock outcrops.
Landslides.
Waterfalls.
Caves.
Swimming holes.

Suitable windmill / hydraulic ram sites.
Views.
Local utilities:
Electricity.
Gas.
Mains water.
Telephone.
Mains Sewerage.
Shops.
Schools.
Public transport.
Hospitals.
Fire brigade.
Dump.
Council constraints: Planning permission.
Water extraction.
Easements.
What is happening upstream and over the fence?
Macro landuse:
Local resources:
Sawmill.
Factories.

Free plant and seed sources.
Biomass.
Quarry.
Livestock breeders.
Local skills/producers.
Noise:
Rail, air, road, industry.
Visual pollution:
Smells: Sewage works
Tannery
Source: Patsy Garrard & George Sobol
Page 8
Drawing Plans
Source: Steve Charter

Chapter 13 ~ What next?
Page 1
What Next?
The Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design
An Introductory 3-page Overview:
What is the Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design?

The Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design is internationally recognised as the
next step for people who have done a Permaculture Design Course.
In the UK, the accreditation of the Permaculture Diploma is managed and quality
assured by the Permaculture Association and the Awarding body is a partnership
between the Permaculture Association and the group of its members who hold
a current Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design. The Diploma Tutors are all
experienced Permaculture designers, who hold a Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design themselves, who have had additional tutor/mentor training and who
commit to an on-going process of continuous professional development.
The Diploma is not a taught course but a framework and support programme for
you to gain accreditation for your own self-directed learning and practice of permaculture design. It is based around projects and activities that you set yourself.
At the start of your Diploma you plan your own self-defined learning pathway.
This learning pathway maps out what you want to do, and when you might do it.
It can include tutorials, projects, design work, portfolio development, reviews and
time for reflection and new learning. You then document your progress in achieving this learning plan, you reflect, review and revise this at strategic points throughout your Diploma showing what you learn from the process of directing your own
learning as well as documenting and reflecting on your projects themselves.
Either way you have to have been actively practicing applied permaculture design
for a minimum of two years after completing your Permaculture Design Certificate
course before you can be considered for accreditation for the Diploma.
There are two possible Routes you can take to reach the point of applying for
assessment and accreditation.
The Supported Route:
You can register for the Supported Route Diploma as
soon as you have completed a Permaculture Design Certificate course or anytime
afterwards. There is no upper limit to how long you can take to complete your
Diploma, however there is a small annual fee to remain registered as an apprentice,
and you need to remain a member of the Association.
The Independent Route: This is for people who completed your Permaculture
Design course some time ago and you have been practicing applied permaculture
design since then. This route is a means for people to accredit prior work who have
been practicing applied permaculture design for a minimum of two years since they
completed their permaculture design course.
The number of Designs required for a completed portfolio is not specified as projects
vary enormously in time-span and scale. A single project may have many design
opportunities within it.
You need to have around ten completed designs in your portfolio by the time you
apply for Accreditation. The main criteria is that you clearly demonstrate you have
developed your proficiency in the Permaculture Design process through reflecting
on, learning from and building on your own practice over time. You designs will
be generated by the different projects and activities you get involved in.
Page 2
As examples, your designs might include:

* a design for your home
* a design for your garden (these two design projects are generally excellent places
to start if you havent done them already)
* designs for your smallholding, farm or other land-based project
* applying permaculture to your transition town initiative or community group
* designing aspects of your business operation, or planning a new business
* using permaculture to transform your workplace
* applying permaculture to setting up and running local events or convergences
* working on projects suggested by the Permaculture Association to assist network
development
* applying permaculture design to your own action learning pathway
Essentially you can do whatever you like whatever is needed, for people paying
you to design for them, perhaps, or for your own family, friends and community.
The Accreditation Criteria
The assessment of the Diploma is based on a set of Accreditation Criteria, the main
Essential Criteria for achieving the Diploma are:
* Demonstrating Design Skills
* Applying permaculture in your own life
* Applying permaculture to your work and projects
There are also complementary criteria and a broad range of areas of work that you
can choose to focus on.
Fees and what you get:
Below are the fees and tutorials you get for both Supported and Independent
Routes to the Diploma. For both Routes the fees also include a range of support
available to all diploma apprentices including:
* additional personal profile space for your Diploma activities on the Permaculture
Association website
* online facilities for networking within the diploma membership via the
Permaculture Association website.
* access to a developing library of website resources.
* entitlement to attend National and Regional Diploma gatherings (these will cost
extra but will be subsidised where possible).
* administration, co-ordination, system development and quality assurance costs of
the programme.
Supported Route total fees 600:
This is the supported programme in which you get the a personal tutor or tutors
whom you meet at intervals throughout the duration of your Diploma studies. The
fee includes the following tutorials:
*
*
*
*
*
Induction event - 2hrs

Interim Portfolio Assessment Tutorial - 2hrs
2 Portfolio Assessment Tutorials 2 hrs each
4 Personal tutorials 1hr each
Presiding Diplomate - 2hrs

Page 3
Independent Route Fees: total fees 280:
This is the route for people who have been doing Permaculture design & practice independently and wish to gain accreditation of their existing work. The fee
include the following tutorials:
* 2 Portfolio Assessment Tutorials 2 hrs each
* Presiding Diplomate - 2hrs
These fees are set out to provide the minimum support necessary in order to make
the Diploma affordable to people who wish to take the major responsibility for
their own learning & development. However it is possible to purchase additional
tutorials to suit you, and we do recommend at least a couple of additional tutorials
for most people.
The fees can be paid in a lump sum or by monthly instalments.
Quality assurance
The Diploma system has quality assurance and network development built into the
structure. As an apprentice this means that you can expect a consistent experience
from well trained tutors, within a well run system. This system is designed to ensure
that portfolios that are recommended for Accreditation are all meeting a consistent level of achievement, whilst still allowing a very diverse range of work to be
accredited.
National & Regional Diploma Gatherings
The Diploma has always been self-directed learning, and remains so. The National
and Regional Diploma gatherings are multi-faceted events that will further support
you with your Diploma. These events are an optional addition available to anyone
currently on the Diploma or anyone who already has a Diploma (in the latter case
they will serve as CPD (continuous professional development).
So you want to know more? Please download the full Guidebook for the Diploma
which is downloadable from the Permaculture Association website:
http://www.permaculture.org.uk/education/diploma-applied-permaculture-design
This guidebook explains in detail all aspects of the Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design. Please refer to the FAQ section for a more detailed summary and to
each specific chapter for a full description.
Example accredited Diploma portfolios:
Aranya (2003) ~ http://www.aranyagardens.co.uk/diploma-portfolio.html

Peter Cow (2007) ~ http://www.livingincircles.com/diploma/diploma-home.htm
Klaudia Van Gool (2009) ~ http://www.klaudia.co.uk/
Ezio Gori (2010) ~ http://www.permaculture2012.co.za/site/default.asp
Hedvig Murray (2011) ~ http://hedvigmurray.wordpress.com/
Pietro Zucchetti (2011) ~ http://www.therainbowtree.org/index.php
Source: Permaculture Association (Britain) ~ www.permaculture.org.uk

Page 4
Gaia University
Integrative Ecosocial Design
This descriptive name, Integrative Ecosocial Design, arose from observations and
understandings gleaned from years of work and action in the permaculture and
ecovillage fields, and from around leading-edge developments appearing elsewhere.
Through the work experience we understood that permaculture folk, for example,
see most problems of human society stemming from destructive land use practices,
such as industrial agriculture, and that switching to sustainable and regenerative
horticulture, repairing ecosystems and living lifestyles based primarily on resources
derived from biological processes would enable us to reconfigure human societies
to function within the carrying capacity of Earth.
Ecovillage-focused people often describe the primary problems as a lack of spiritual awareness, hierarchical decision making systems, poor housing and physical
community design and tend to respond by establishing consensus-based, experimental intentional communities wherever they can find land and permission.
While there is substantial value in both of these approaches neither of these views
seemed complete, and each group, for quite a while, was actively antagonistic
towards the other the one considering the other flimsy and new agey, the other
seeing itself as spiritually superior to the grunts planting trees and digging swales.
From our explorations of the dazzling array of leading-edge design developments,
we considered Integral Theory, Social Ecology, Human Ecology and more. Theres
much to commend in each of these ways of thinking, yet none manages to combine
the practical, pragmatic, action-oriented, purposeful, leaderful, clear approach
were seeking to engender through Gaia University. Here are some brief sketches...
Intergal Theory has some powerful conceptual models, but tends towards extreme
abstract conceptualization, attracts esoteric thinkers and seems to be liable to that
tiresome academic dynamic of seeking to value and create elegant/obscure philosophically dense theory above grounded action.
Social Ecology has great social analysis roots and capacities and a fine vision, and
meanwhile generates impenetrable and lengthy arguments for change seemingly
typical of the intellectual left-wing that places it beyond the patience of anyone
without a good deal of time and a background in unpicking convoluted, verbose
scholarly masterpieces.
Human Ecology, which unlike the two above, has been generated from within the
conventional academy, has a thorough academic pedigree and long history. Part of
its problem, for our purposes, is that it is still embedded in the establishment, which
curtails its ability to act for deep social change lest it bite the hand that feeds it.
Thus at Gaia University we birthed the field of Integrative Ecosocial Design, which
draws on the most practical elements of the above, but has its own character as an
approachable, action-focused, practical/thoughtful practice of praxis.
Whats In a Name?
* Integrative to emphasize a process and direction (rather than integrated, a claim
too bold, or integral which is rather like a branding).
* Ecosocial to indicate a balance between ecology, land-use and all social and
economic aspects of human society.
* Design to underline our primary goal of bringing as many people as possible to
a place of empowerment from which they can notice that the behavior, structures and institutions of societies and the people within them are the products
of human thinking and efforts. Thus all these aspects of culture are amenable to
deconstruction and redesign.
Source: www.gaiauniversity.org
Chapter 14 ~ Resources
Page 1
Resources
Recommended reading
A by no-means exhaustive list, these are just a few of our favourites...
Permaculture Design
Introductory:
Beginners Guide to Permaculture ~ Graham Burnett

Permaculture in a Nutshell ~ Patrick Whitefield
Intermediate:
An Introduction to Permaculture ~ Bill Mollison

Permaculture One / Permaculture Two ~ Bill Mollison / David Holmgren
The Permaculture Way ~ Graham Bell
The Basics of Permaculture Design ~ Ross Mars
Comprehensive:
Permaculture: A Designers Manual ~ Bill Mollison

Permaculture: Principles & Pathways Beyond Sustainability ~ David Holmgren
The Earth Care Manual ~ Patrick Whitefield
Earth Users Guide to Permaculture ~ Rosemary Morrow
Permaculture Gardens / Edible Landscaping

Designing and Maintaining your Edible Landscape Naturally ~ Robert Kourik
Gaias Garden ~ Toby Hemenway
Permaculture ~ Sepp Holzer
The Permaculture Garden ~ Graham Bell
The Permaculture Home Garden ~ Linda Woodrow
Smart Permaculture Design ~ Jenny Allen
Systems and Patterns

A Beginners Guide to Constructing the Universe ~ Michael S.Schneider
Heaven and Earth ~ Phaidon
Hidden Nature ~ Alick Bartholomew
Nature; the Mother of Invention ~ Felix Paturi
Thinking in Systems ~ Donella H. Meadows
Soil and Water

Farming in Natures Image ~ Judith D. Soule & Jon K. Piper
The Humanure Handbook ~ Joseph Jenkins
Mycellium Running ~ Paul Stamets
The One Straw Revolution / The Natural Way of Farming ~ Masanobu Fukuoka
Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond (volumes 1 & 2) ~ Brad Lancaster
Teaming with Microbes ~ Jeff Lowenfels and Wayne Lewis
The Water Book ~ Judith Thornton
Water for Every Farm ~ P. A. Yeomans
Trees
Creating a Forest Garden ~ Martin Crawford
Edible Forest Gardens (volumes 1 and 2) ~ Dave Jacke
Forest Gardening ~ Robert Hart
How to Make a Forest Garden ~ Patrick Whitefield
Sowing the Seeds of Change ~ Treesponsibility
The Woodland Way ~ Ben Law
Food
Local Food ~ Tamzin Pinkerton & Rob Hopkins
Organic Gardening / Salads for All Seasons ~ Charles Dowding
Perennial Vegetables ~ Eric Toensmeier
Plants for a Future ~ Ken Fern
The Winter Harvest Handbook ~ Elliot Coleman
Chapter 14 ~ Resources
Page 2
Buildings
A Pattern Language ~ Christopher Alexander et al
Shelter / Home Work ~ Lloyd Kahn
Spirit and Place~ Christopher Day
Urban / Communities
The Abundance Handbook ~ Grow Sheffield
The Grip of Death; a Study of Destructive Economics ~ Michael Rowbotham
Toolbox for Sustainable City Living~ Scott Kellogg and Stacey Pettigrew
The Transition Handbook ~ Rob Hopkins
Personal
Coming Back to Life ~ Joanna Macey
The Earth Path ~ Starhawk
Eat More Raw ~ Steve Charter
Find Your Power ~ Chris Johnstone
Barefoot Running ~ Michael Sandler with Jessica Lee
The Egoscue Method of Health Through Motion ~ Pete Egoscue
Miscellaneous
Biomimicry ~ Janine Benyus
The Buzz about Bees ~ Jrgen Tautz
Left in the Dark ~ Tony Wright
Natures Operating Instructions ~ Kenny Ausubel with J. P. Harpignies
Recommended viewing
Some key films that we have found inspiring...
In Grave Danger of Falling Food
Global Gardener
Greening the Desert
Permaculture in Practice (Iota)
Farming with Nature (Sepp Holzer)
Eco-village Pioneers
The Power of Community (Cuba)
Forest Gardening (Iota)
Agroforesterie (Agroof)
Grand Designs Ben Law
Money as Debt
The Story of Stuff
Transition Curriculum (Plan-it Earth)
Websites
Designed Visions
Some online Permaculture Diploma Portfolios:

Aranya
www.aranyagardens.co.uk/diploma-portfolio.html
Klaudia Van Gool

www.klaudia.co.uk
Peter Cow
www.livingincircles.com/diploma/diploma-home.htm
Ezio Gori
www.permaculture2012.co.za
Hedvig Murray
www.hedvigmurray.wordpress.com
Pietro Zucchetti
www.therainbowtree.org

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Designed Visions

Permaculture Design Course

A Beginners Guide to Permaculture1

Pattern Understanding and Applications 11

Nine ways of observing15

Where You At?18

McHargs exclusion method12

More design tools19

David Holmgrens Principles21

Climate and Landform

Designing in non-native environments1

Designed Visions ~ permaculture design course handouts

Water in the Landscape3

Humanure dry composting toilets9

Pond Design for Wildlife13

Ten Reasons why Trees are Important1

Not Seeing the Forest for the Trees3

Choice of Species Organiser8

Orchards and Fruit Trees9

Planting Fruit Trees15

Designed Visions ~ permaculture design course handouts

Community Supported Agriculture15

Energy, Buildings and Structures

Energy and Permaculture1

Four possible future scenarios7

Cool climate house design10

Appropriate Energy Technology11

Permaculture in personal and societal change1

Facilitation and Conflict Resolution11

The Guiding Principles of Accelerated Learning1

Accelerated learning mindmaps2

Design Process Overview

Design Activity ~ Hints on the Process1

Simple Surveying Tools4

The Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design1

Designed Visions ~ permaculture design course handouts

Chapter 1~ Introduction to permaculture

Designed Visions ~ permaculture design course handouts

Chapter 1 ~ Introduction to permaculture

Designed Visions ~ permaculture design course handouts

Chapter 1~ Introduction to permaculture

Chapter 1 ~ Introduction to permaculture

Ethics and Philosophies

Care of the Earth

Includes all living and non-living things (such as

Fair Shares Choose Limits to Consumption & Give Away Surplus

Take Responsibility (the prime directive of permaculture)

Co-Operation, Not Competition

Chapter 1~ Introduction to permaculture

Designed Visions ~ permaculture design course handouts

Chapter 1 ~ Introduction to permaculture

Compare this to modern corporate-driven practices that expose us all to rapid

Source: Aranya ~ from Permaculture Design - a step-by-step guide to the process

Chapter 1~ Introduction to permaculture

Problems and Spirals of Erosion

Source: Aranya ~ from Permaculture Design - a step-by-step guide to the process

Chapter 1 ~ Introduction to permaculture

The end game of this spiral is responsible for

Some current spirals:

Chapter 1~ Introduction to permaculture

Permaculture and Sustainability

Design is the conscious assembly of concepts, materials, techniques and strategies

These practical design considerations provide us with clear criteria for

A Beginners Guide to Permaculture1

Pattern Understanding and Applications 11

Nine ways of observing15

Where You At?18

McHargs exclusion method12

More design tools19

David Holmgrens Principles21

Designing in non-native environments1

Water in the Landscape3

Humanure dry composting toilets9

Pond Design for Wildlife13

Ten Reasons why Trees are Important1

Not Seeing the Forest for the Trees3

Choice of Species Organiser8

Orchards and Fruit Trees9

Planting Fruit Trees15

Community Supported Agriculture15

Energy and Permaculture1

Four possible future scenarios7

Cool climate house design10

Appropriate Energy Technology11

Permaculture in personal and societal change1

Facilitation and Conflict Resolution11

The Guiding Principles of Accelerated Learning1

Accelerated learning mindmaps2

Design Activity ~ Hints on the Process1

Simple Surveying Tools4

The Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design1