What is Permaculture?
What Permaculture means to us is a system for a sustainable lifestyle which starts at home and goes out into our community and beyond. It's about a fair system for all which doesn't cause harm and where the land and the people are nurtured and cared for. It is not about self-sufficiency for us, we are looking for community self-reliance where the community becomes less reliant on resources from outside and more able to sustain itself locally.
You don't need a large plot of land to practice permaculture, it's not just another form of gardening, although many permaculturalists to like to grow some of their own food. Others buy from local growers or farmers' markets and might supplement that with some sprouts or greens grown on their windowsill.
The word permaculture was coined by Bill Mollison and David Holmgren in the 1970s from "permanent" and "agriculture" although nowadays it is often thought of as "permanent culture". The culture part is what tells us that permaculture isn't just about gardening, it also covers all aspects of community self-reliance.
Growing food and storing it for the winter is a big part of our system. We use companion planting, dynamic accumulators and guilds to get the maximum productivity from a smaller place. Then we've figured out a whole series of methods to preserve our harvest for use throughout the winter. The pdf gives details about our gardens and planting guilds and quite a bit about storing food and growing food indoors in winter. If you're looking for the Companion planting & Dynamic Accumulator tables from the old website, they've all been moved (and much more besides) into the pdf:
You don't need a large plot of land to practice permaculture, it's not just another form of gardening, although many permaculturalists to like to grow some of their own food. Others buy from local growers or farmers' markets and might supplement that with some sprouts or greens grown on their windowsill.
The word permaculture was coined by Bill Mollison and David Holmgren in the 1970s from "permanent" and "agriculture" although nowadays it is often thought of as "permanent culture". The culture part is what tells us that permaculture isn't just about gardening, it also covers all aspects of community self-reliance.
- Care of the Earth
- Care of People
- Create a Surplus and put that back into the first two (also known as Fair Share)
Growing food and storing it for the winter is a big part of our system. We use companion planting, dynamic accumulators and guilds to get the maximum productivity from a smaller place. Then we've figured out a whole series of methods to preserve our harvest for use throughout the winter. The pdf gives details about our gardens and planting guilds and quite a bit about storing food and growing food indoors in winter. If you're looking for the Companion planting & Dynamic Accumulator tables from the old website, they've all been moved (and much more besides) into the pdf:
| Red Sand Cottage - Growing & Preserving Food |
Permaculture at Red Sand Cottage
Before undertaking any permaculture design we carry out a site survey. This gives us valuable insights into the property.
| Red Sand Cottage Site Survey |
Then we analyse all of those findings in a Site Analysis using various techniques like a zone & sector analysis, an elemental analysis and a functional analysis.
| Red Sand Cottage Site Analysis |
Then we begin the process of Mapping, creating a base plan first, then coming up with a concept plan and finally a fully detailed permaculture design.
| Red Sand Cottage Permaculture Design |
