"What
permaculturists are doing is the most important
activity that any group is doing on the planet. We
don't know what details of a truly sustainable future
are going to be like, but we need options, we need
people experimenting in all kinds of ways and
permaculturists are one of the critical gangs that
are doing that."
Dr. David
Suzuki, geneticist, broadcaster and international
environmental advocate
"Permaculture
is also a world wide network and movement of
individuals and groups working in both rich and poor
countries on all continents. Largely unsupported by
government or business, these people are contributing
to a sustainable future by reorganizing their life
and work around permaculture design principles. In
this way they are creating small local changes but
ones which are directly and indirectly influencing
action in the wider environment, organic agriculture,
appropriate technology, communities and other
movements for a sustainable world. After 20 years
Permaculture may rank as one of Australia's most
significant 'intellectual exports'."
David
Holmgren
"Permaculture
is revolution disguised as gardening."
Mike
Feingold, a Permaculture Teacher at Findhorn
"Permaculture,
a design system that reconciles human communities
with the ecological imperatives of a living
planet."
Ben Haggard
"Permaculture
is a design system for creating sustainable human
environments. The word itself is a contraction not
only of permanent and agriculture but also of
permanent culture, as cultures cannot survive for
long without a sustainable agricultural base and
landuse ethic. On one level, permaculture deals with
plants, animals, buildings, and infrastructures
(water, energy, communications). However,
permaculture is not about these elements themselves,
but rather about the relationships we can create
between them by the way we place them in the
landscape.
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. Permaculture
uses the inherent qualities of plants and animals
combined with the natural characteristics of
landscapes and structures to produce a
life-supporting system for city and country, using
the smallest practical area.
Permaculture is based on the observation of natural
systems, the wisdom contained in traditional farming
systems, and modern scientific and technological
knowledge. Although based on good ecological models,
permaculture creates a cultivated ecology, which is
designed to produce more human and animal food than
is generally found in nature."
from
Introduction to Permaculture
by Bill Mollison.
