Hello friends,
Most people do not understand exactly what permaculture is. In this post, I want to discuss the origins and nature of permaculture. Almost all the people I speak to about it, think that parmaculture is an advanced system of growing, or raising food, that is slightly more advanced than organic.
Whilst that may be true, it is like saying that hymns are a way of singing. Yes, hymns are singing, but it isn't really what hymns are all about. Let's explore that a little further.
I want you to imagine that you have a piece of land. It could be 5 acres, or 50 acres, it doesn't matter. Now, imagine that you built a 10 foot wall all around that land, and I mean all around it, no entrance, no exit.
Now, I am going to tell you that you are going to live in this walled area, and you must sustain yourself. The wall will prevent anything from coming in, or going out. For one time only, you can bring in any animals, plants, or materials that you think you may need. What would you put inside ? Chickens ? Pigs ? Cows ? You might think about what vegetables and fruits you eat, and bring some of them in. What about wood, for building things, and for heating in the cold months ? Some stone to build a house. Maybe some metal to make or repair tools. It would take a long time to decide all the things you would need. And it would be very difficult to decide what you did not need.
When you are ready to move in, I would ask you 'Will you be able to live here permanantly ? You may answer that you think you would, so I would reply 'For how long ? A year ? A century ? How many generations ?'
You see this is important when we talk about permaculture, or sustainability, or self dependance. They are basically all the same thing. The walled piece of land we created is a closed environment, and if you think about, knock down those walls, we all live in a closed environment.
Luckily, we do not have to conduct this experiment, because it has already been done, and is still running. It is called Planet Earth. Here, the interdependant relationship between animals, plants, and minerals, has been running for millions of years. During that time, all living things have evolved, and created a niche for themselves. The predominant message between all of these living things, is that you need me, and I need you. Cows could not live without grass, and grass could not live without fertilzer. It is far more complex than that simple analogy, but it still holds true for all living things. If you remove one species from the matrix, then the whole chain starts to collapse.
That begs a completely different answer to what you would and would not bring onto your walled piece of land. Because every living thing you bring onto the land, is completely dependant on a whole series of other living things to survive. Some of them might be microscopic. Vegetarian animals need predators to keep their gene pool strong. Predators need difficult-to-catch prey to keep their gene pool strong. This complex biodiverstiy is completely beyond mankinds ability to mimic it. But my goodness, do we try and convince ourselves that we can ! And this is rapidly expanding out of control, and toward disaster.
There is an answer. But it is very difficult for people to accept it. Do nothing. Everything that we need to survive, was already there. Indeed, if it wasn't, then we wouldn't be here, and would have died out tens of thousands of years ago. And that holds true for every living thing on the planet. So, when you have weeds around your tomatoes, don't worry, that is supposed to happen in the great system of permaculture, and the tomatoes will not die out. If a coyote comes and takes a few of your lambs, don't worry, the coyotes need the lambs, and the sheep need the coyotes, it has been that way for a very long time, successfully, and the sheep did not become extinct.
I hope that you understand what I am suggesting. Do not fight natural processes, but embrace them, encourage them. Because the garden you have lovingly adapted, is absolutely nothing compared to the billions of years of boundless life on our planet. By all means plant a few things, but understand this. If we poo'd the way animals poo, then the food we love to eat would be springing up everywhere. We are part of nature, and the natural process, but we defy it. Has it not occurred to anyone, why animals don't need to plant crops ? Or put other animals in fences ? They truly live in a permaculture system. So, my message here, is that the things we need to live, were already there all the time.
Incredibly, while men toil in the fields, they do not hesitate, and look around them. Nearly all the animals we share this world with are doing ... almost nothing. Certainly nothing that we could consider work. A sparrow needs to find 3 good sized worms a day, and a stream. That's it. The rest is leisure time, The Buffalo needs to walk half a mile to where the grass is longer. That's it. The rest of their day is lunchtime. The lion has to chase down a gazelle for half an hour, and then they sit in the sun and nap, for days ! The mouse has to find one ear of corn, that is his days work done. The squirrel does not remove the weeds from around the chestnut tree. The monkey does not clear a piece of ground and march up and down planting banana seeds.
I intend do delve far deeper into these topics in future blogs. But I hope that this piece has given you a finer concept of what permaculture actually means. It is not a method of farming, but a life philosophy. I don't want to discourage anyone who is trying their best to live sustainably, quite the opposite in fact. In future episodes, I will suggest many tips on how we too, can live quite happily, while doing almost nothing. It was all already there.
Which leads me to the spiritual aspect of permaculture, as I see it. While we may create a garden, or a forest, we must understand that such a thing is something humans have created. On the other hand, the natural world could be described as "the creation". Is it perfect ? Well, a couple of billion years says, yes, it is. And if you want to find God, whatever God is, then using the same principles, you would do better to look at the magnificence of the wonders of the natural world, and the beauty of the universe, than to sit in a church, which is man made. In which place do you suppose you would be nearer to knowing God ?
This is not a new concept. So to all of you homesteaders, small-holding gardeners, and people who are trying to live their lives sustainably, I will share this with you.
The word SANCTUARY means somewhere you can stay indefinitely. It comes from the Latin SANCTUS. which indirectly refers to a place which is self-sustaining. But Sanctus had another meaning in Latin. It means Holy.
As usual I finish with a musical piece. This piece links into the next blog subject. Without giving anything away, how would you feel if your son said he wanted to be a football player, or an astronaut ? Or how about if your son wanted to follow in your footsteps ? But how would you feel if your son said he wanted to be a choirboy and just sing his heart out ? We are all here with purpose, but as we grow older, influences taint our childhood dreams, and corrupt us. But our purpose is sacred above all else.
Do you recognise the tune ?
Speak to you all next time.
LOCUS ISTE A DEO FACTUS EST
This place was created by God
INAESTIMABILE SACRAMENTUM
Everlasting promise
SANCTUS
Holy
BENEDICTUS BENEDICTUS QUI VENIT IL NOMINE
Blessed is he that cometh in the name
BENEDICTUS IN NOMINE , DOMINE
Blessed in the name of God
SANCTUS DOMINUS DEUS SABBAOTH
Holy is the God of everything
PLENI SUNT COELI ET TERRA GLORIA
Heaven and earth are full of His glory
