“The forest teaches us union and compassion … No species in a forest appropriates the share of another species. Every species sustains itself in cooperation with others.”

~Vandana Shiva: Everything I Need to Know I Learned in the Forest.

“Social permaculture is about connection – between people, economies, and governing structures – and creating the conditions for humans to flourish on a societal level and to develop beneficial relationships with the ecosystems which sustain us”

~Social Permaculture, ULEX).

The Twelve Principles of Permaculture

• Observe and Interact
• Catch and Store Energy
• Obtain a Yield
• Apply Self-Regulation and Feedback
• Use and Value Renewables
• Produce No Waste
• Design from Patterns to Details
• Integrate Don’t Segregate
• Use Small, Slow Solutions
• Use and Value Diversity
• Use Edges and Value the Marginal
• Creatively Use and Respond to Change

(From https://ethical.net/ethical/permaculture-principles/)

Talking and reading about permaculture, I’ve often thought that, as well as organising groups (as indicated in the quote above), permaculture ideas can be very useful in managing our own energy. Many of us probably use the principles already without connecting them to permaculture, but I think they can be especially useful in living and organising cooperatively.

Once set up, permaculture is less demanding than ordinary gardening as it works with nature. Our main aim would be to supplement our diets and enjoy contact with nature, rather than self-sufficiency as health will be primary. Trying to supply all our food seems impractical and stressful.

You don’t need to be a permaculture expert to see how the basic principles could apply to organising among people with different levels of energy since different perspectives can be very creative – in line with some of the principles below …

What d’you think?

FOREST GARDENING

Another low input form of permaculture – once established, forest gardening can provide a low maintenance way of providing food.

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REWILDING

We’d love to do some small scale rewilding if possible. Not the full-on introducing wild boar type – rather encouraging and enabling nature to take over gently…

Also …

Passive heating by siting according to the sun https://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/green-basics/siting-with-the-sun-passive-heating-and-daylighting