In line with this, agriculture comes in the picture as
the focus of farming becomes intertwined and the concept of permaculture comes
in place. This is a concept being brought to the fore to the public under the
Permaculture Research Institute (Kenya). It entails a combination of food
security and environmental sustainability as can be witnessed in the coining of
the word from “permanent” and “agriculture” by Bill Morrison, a biologist and
his student David Holmgren in the 1970’s
. It goes beyond laid down techniques just as it applies beyond agriculture. To
find his inspiration, click . Its building ethics are: Earth care, People
care and fair share and how to apply them to the gardens, land, economies and
overall nature.
There are 12 principles outlined and just to
mention a few which includes,
- Integrate
rather than disintegrate.
- Work with
nature rather than against it.
- The problem
is always the solution.
In a nutshell it integrates human habitats into
natural landscapes and utilizes natural processes to provide sustainable food
production, electricity and other basic human needs.
To start with, one
observes the nature of the ecosystem and how various components interplay at
work. The mere fact that ecosystems are stable and resilient, there is
basically no waste as the waste of one species translate to the feed of the
next species. Plants, humans and wastes are able to react together in a closed
like system.The system thus works as follows:
A crop cycle begins with seeds from the previous harvest being planted. Multiple plant species or what is commonly known as intercropping is incorporated. These are done at three levels:
Companion planting. As the name suggests, these plants supplement each other in areas of pests control, pollination and the fixing of nutrients. E.g. flowers, garlics, legumes and vegetables
Watch out for part two, as i bring to fore a practical Permaculture case for better understanding.......
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