"A science and an art that aims to develop ethical, sustainable and robust human ecosystems that blend harmoniously with nature" (S.Read)
It is therefore a global system design approach that allows:
To apprehend a system as a whole (holistic approach), to observe how the parts of a system are connected,
To repair faulty systems by applying principles derived from functional sustainable systems,
To observe and learn about natural systems in operation,
To organize and plan the integration of human beings into ecosystems without damaging them, by integrating an ethics that anticipates the lack of knowledge and understanding of the environment,
So to design, plan and realize human ecosystems sustainable, ecologically sustainable, socially equitable, economically viable.
It is a systemic and holistic design tool, Permaculture is based on 3 fundamental ethical bases:
Respect for the Earth,
Respect for man and peoples,
Create abundance and redistribute surpluses
This essential triptych is often represented by the flower with 3 petals:
Once these fundamentals are established, it is essential to perceive the extent of permaculture's application fields, and the infinite interactions and connections, which show that permaculture goes far beyond a simple new agricultural approach, which more is a form of "alternative gardening". The flower remains here the most relevant representation:
The spiral that originates in ethics and principles suggests the link between the petals - therefore the interrelations between the fields of application - and the evolutionary nature of the path, which starts from the individual and local level to reach the collective and global level. .
The principles that are, with the ethics, at the heart of this flower and any conception in permaculture are 12 in permaculture, ethics and principles are thus universal and inherent to any project, when the strategies, the techniques and the tools are contextual.
To go into more detail, let's take a look at what are David Holmgren's 12 principles of permaculture.
(Document taken from the site of the "University of Permaculture" to which the association "farms of life" is affiliated)