The Flower Diagram

Permaculture acknowledges that everything is connected and how we act in one arena has direct influences on every other aspect of our lives. Thus, it approaches the design of projects and systems from this holistic perspective. 

The diagram below illustrates the domains involved in the permaculture philosophy and approach.

“The Permaculture journey begins with the Ethics and Design Principles and moves through the key domains required to create a sustainable culture.
The spiral evolutionary path joins together these domains, initially at a personal and local level and then proceeding to the collective and global level.”*

The following are examples of some of the specific systems and solutions that are commonly associated with permaculture. This list is not comprehensive nor does it represent the content of every permaculture project. Rather, they are good tools from which to draw…  

Land and Nature Stewardship
Bio-intensive gardening, forest gardening, seed saving,
organic agriculture, biodynamics, natural farming,
keyline water harvesting, holistic rangeland management, agroforestry,
nature-based forestry, integrated aquaculture, wild harvesting, fishing/hunting

Building
 Passive solar design, natural construction materials, water harvesting,
waste reuse, biotechture, earth sheltered construction, natural disaster resistant construction, owner building, pattern language

Tools and Technology
Reuse and creative recycling, hand tools, bicycles and electric bikes, efficient and low pollution stoves, fuels from organic waste, wood gassification, bio-char from forest wastes, co-generation, micro-hydro, small scale wind, grid tied renewable power generation, energy storage, transition engineering, emerging energy tech

Education and Culture
 Home schooling, Waldorf education, participatory arts and music, social ecology, action research, transition culture

Health & Spiritual Well-Being
 Home birthing/breast feeding, complimentary and holistic medicine, Yoga and Taiji based disciplines, spirit of place, indigenous cultural revival, dying with dignity

Finance and Economics
 Local and regional currencies, carpooling/ride sharing/car sharing, ethical investment/fair trade, farmers markets, CSA (community supported agriculture), tradable energy quotas, life cycle analysis and energy accounting

Land Tenure & Community Governance
 Cooperatives and body corporates, co-housing, ecovillages, native title and traditional use rights, open space technology, consensus decision making, non-violent communication

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Not to worry if this seems like a lot – permaculture projects begin very simply and develop organically. Like learning Taiji, we begin by relaxing into our center and taking a single step. Also like Taiji, there are many excellent resources to help us every step of the way. Before we get to actions and resources though, lets take a closer look at some of the key concepts. 
CONTINUE…