The Four Principles Of Permaculture

Permaculture is a system of agriculture and society whose design is inspired by patterns observed in natural ecosystems. As Mollison states: "Permaculture is a philosophy of working with, rather than against nature; of protracted and thoughtful observation rather than protracted and thoughtless labor; "[1]. The Permaculture movement began in the 1970's as an alternative farming strategy that seeks "permanent agriculture". The term evolved to permanent-culture, since the social aspects are important in the agriculture. The term permaculture goes beyond food production, it is a sustainable system that provides food, energy, shelter, as well as the social components [2][3].

To conclude, our current way of agricultural life is not sustainable. The article “What’s for supper” has made me realize that if I hope for a better future for generations to come I should support a locally sourced lifestyle. This article is an eye opener to me and proved to me the importance of supporting locally grown produce. Locally grown produce supports the environment as well as jobs for people in the community. The current system takes a toll on every species on the planet. Humans are overproducing on a massive scale and are wasting close to half of our supplies and

Throughout this composition I intend to shed light onto the present day agricultural practices and the key natural components of this planet that support life and sustain biodiversity.

The worlds biomes at the moment are unable to feed the growing global population in the future. They might be able to feed the population now but as the population grows we need to increase the worlds agriculture to provide enough food to feed the growing population. In order to feed the growing population, the world needs to put into action some simple steps to increase food production and to reduce wastage from existing food.

TRANSITION Another way of describing Permaculture would be having all of our needs met. Von Roenn works very closely with the low income community, giving them assistance in getting what they need. During anthropology class, the topic of Africa and its constant struggle against aids and ebola have come up numerous times. When looking at the ecosystem and the standard of living, it is clear that they do not have their needs met. A community struggling to get enough food or stay clean has little energy and time to put towards their community. As time continues, things get backed up and the living conditions worsen. What Von Roenn tells the people of the local

Mayan civilization underwent massive developments in agriculture and within their society. According to historian Sylvanus Griswold Morley, Maya Maize agricultural practices have remained the same as they were over three thousand years ago. (Morley 128) A uncomplicated process of felling the forest, burning dried trees and bushes, planting, and switching up the spots of the cornfields every few years. This system is known as the milpa agriculture, pulled from the Aztec word for cornfield. Agricultural tools were fire-hardened, the Maya xul, a pointed planting stick, the baat, a stone axe, chim, a fiber bag for carrying the seed corn. At first, they used sticks to punch holes into the ground, but progressively obtained more advanced farming techniques. Their main crops they grew were maize (corn), beans, squash, avocados, chili peppers, pineapples, papayas, and cocoa, which was used for

Farming for our food causes many issues. Growing our food is causing a major decrease in finite resources, like fertile soil and water (Clemmitt 555). Fertile soil and water are being wasted on crops that are not successfully growing. The decrease in finite resources is caused by old, non-efficient techniques, like the throw-and-grow (Clemmitt

American Agriculturists are utilizing the newest technologies in order to help the goal of food security being reached. The access we have to power fuels our drive and success in this mission. However, we take what we have for granted. Third-world countries are struggling with reaching food security just as much as our nation is. It is vital to remember that the whole world is hungry.

Rotational grazing and holistic farming have recently pique my interest. Using these methods it is possible to maximize output and at the same time minimize the damage to the ecosystem. Less deterioration is not only good for the environment but also to the rancher’s bottom line. It increases plant matter while using less inputs, like fertilizer or chemicals.

As a set of interacting species found in the same place and functioning together, this enabling life to persist. That is essentially the definition we used earlier. A problem with this term and definition is that it is often difficult in practice to know the entire set of interacting species. A resource, in ecological terms, is something such as food, water, habitat, and sunlight, prey that is required by an organism to perform a vital function such as grow or reproduce. A consumer is an organism that consumes a resource such as predators and herbivores (Botkin, 2015). Ecosystems are collections of plants, animals, and micro-organisms interacting among themselves and with their habitat. While most ecosystems are hard to define and draw rigid boundaries around, scientists characterize them by their rock and soil types, by water features such as streams and ponds, and by the common plant and animal species which make their homes within these areas. This, most interactions between animals involve one or more competitor species competing for a resource. Ecosystem management also recognizes the influence of natural disturbances such as fire and windstorms, accepting that natural ecosystems are dynamic and change over time. Biological production is the capture of usable energy from the environment to produce

Long ago, the concept of self-sustaining, organic fruits and vegetables was actually a reality. The earth was created in this fashion to sustain life, and in an attempt to streamline production, people have created farms that chemically treat our foods. However; it is possible to go back to the basics as an entire community, not just an individual striving alone. Imagine a Permaculture World is a non-profit organization whose mission is just that.

Permaculture is a type of lifestyle that features observed in natural environment. La’akea community, where we visited on February 20th, 2016, is a permaculture community where approximately twenty people live together and grow food to sustain themselves. On the day of the field trip, a lady gave us a tour around their property first, and then, we cut grasses for 30 minutes. Their lifestyle is self-sustainable since they produce electricity from solar energy, collect water from water catchment and grow food for themselves. They also make use of animals such as goats, bunnies and piggy big. These animals eat weeds, and their wastes become fertilizers that help plants to grow. Further, the bees they keep in their beehives pollinate plants and help pro. Moreover, they build houses in the property by

In order for living things reproduce they need photosynthesis. In order for humans and animals to reproduce they need the nutrition from plants to keep their bodies and babies healthy and medication during pregnancy and to give birth. In order for a plant to reproduce it must use the solar energy from the sun that is stored to reproduce another plant. For example, plants uses the solar energy to

Humans depend on plants in numerous ways. One reason we depend on plants is for consumption. Plants have the unique ability of producing their own food through a process called photosynthesis. In this process, plants are able to produce macromolecules such as carbohydrates that cannot be produced in animals or humans. In humans, the only to gain these macromolecules is to consume plant matter, or consume plant-eating animals (herbivores).

Summarize, in YOUR own words (do NOT copy from the website) two of the methods for sustainable agriculture from http://www.ucsusa.org/food_and_agriculture/science_and_impacts/science/sustainable-agriculture.html (including all hyperlinks used).