RESOURCES
What is Permaculture...
"Permaculture, a design system that reconciles human communities with the ecological imperatives of a living planet."
Ben Haggard
Permacullture: the use of ecology as the basis for designing integrated systems of food production, housing, appropriate technology, and community development. Permaculture is built upon an ethic of caring for the earth and interacting with the environment in mutually beneficial ways.
Permaculture design is site specific, client specific, and culture specific.
Permaculture principles focus on thoughtful designs for small-scale intensive systems which are labor efficient and use biological resources instead of fossil fuels. Designs stress ecological connections and closed energy and material loops. The core of permaculture is design and the working relationships and connections between all things. Each component in a system performs multiple functions, and each function is supported by many elements. Key to efficient design is observation and replication of natural ecosystems, where designers maximize diversity with polycultures, stress efficient energy planning for houses and settlement, using and accelerating natural plant succession, and increasing the highly productive "edge zones" within the system.
Bill Mollison
A Bit of History...
:: Bill Mollison
In 1978 there was nothing quite like Permaculture. More than thirty years later Permaculture laps the globe, with over 4000 projects across 120 countries.
Australian biologist Bill Mollison, co-founder and originator of Permaculture, has taught and developed projects from the Arctic through Sub-tropics, and Equatorial regions on the planet.
He has been named Australia's "Man of the Year", and in 1981 received the prestigious Right Livelihood Award. There are few countries left in the world where he has not planted the seeds of Permaculture.
:: David Holmgren
David Holmgren is best known as the co-originator with Bill Mollison of the Permaculture concept put forth in "Permaculture One" in 1978. Since then he has written several more books, including most recently "Permaculture: Principles & Pathways Beyond Sustainability", and developed three properties using permaculture principles, and conducted workshops and courses in Australia, New Zealand, Israel, Italy, France, Britain, Germany, Denmark and Sweden. He has also consulted on and supervised urban and rural projects in Australia and New Zealand. As a permaculture designer and consultant, his most recent work has focused on global permaculture strategies addressing the issue of “energy descent”, a concept that acknowledges a future of reduced fossil fuels, but plans within a framework of gradual transition and adaptive strategies. In drawing links to permaculture, in future design for homes, cities, and agriculture, he feels lessons learned will need to be applied everywhere, rather than just First World versus Third World type situations.
The permaculture concept and movement have already changed the lives of thousands of people and affected perhaps millions in myriad of ways. All this has occurred without any substantial support from powerful institutions, corporations or governments. Some would attribute its influence solely to the tireless energy, intellect and charisma of Bill Mollison. Although his role in permacultures' initial global spread is unquestioned, "its persistence, evolution an influence must be attributed to its relevance to people's lives and situations".
For more information on the history of Permaculture, see our Articles and Links on this site.
The above photos (except for Bill Mollison and David Holmgren), were taken at the Learning Center of Natural Design in Los Osos, CA and illustrate the various elements of the permaculture garden which was designed by Larry Santoyo. All photos © L. Santoyo Designs www.earthflow.com
Videos:
Santa Barbara Permaculture Network Vimeo Channel
Event Archives 2000–2019
Two decades of our events, interviews & presentations!
:: The Legal Landscape of Social Enterprise & the Sharing Economy (June 2011) with Janelle Orsi & Jenny Kassan from the Sustainable Economies Law Center (SELC).
:: Waste & Recycling Workshop/Janet Unruh of IMS/SBCC Center for Sustainability.
:: Waste & Recycling Workshop/Nikhil Arora, BTTR Ventures/SBCC Center for Sustainability.
:: Waste & Recycling Workshop/Albe Zakes of TerraCycle/SBCC Center for Sustainability.
:: Gunter Pauli From Green Jobs to Building the Blue Economy Evening Talk.
:: Gunter Pauli From Green Jobs to Building the Blue Economy Workshop.
Interviews:
:: City Chicks Author Patricia Foreman on Sustainable World Radio:
CLICK HERE to listen to this interview.
:: Edible Forest Gardens, a Conversation with Dave Jacke on Sustainable World Radio:
CLICK HERE o listen to this interview.
:: On the Way to IPC10 in Jordan & International Permaculture Conference Update with Margie Bushman & Wes Roe of Santa Barbara Permaculture Network, on Sustainable World Radio:
CLICK HERE o listen to this interview.
Articles
:: Permaculture: A Quiet Revolution
An Interview with Bill Mollison.
by Scott London
CLICK HERE to read this article.
:: Finding our way back to the Garden
Permaculture offers a solution and a path.
By Stacey Ward
CLICK HERE to read this article.
:: Balancing farmland preservation and development
Crystal Waters Permaculture Village near Brisbane, Australia, is forging a model for the 'sustainable suburb.'
CLICK HERE to read this article.
:: Growing for the Future
By Lynn Welp
CLICK HERE to read this article.
:: Peace Through Permaculture
April 2004, from the Food Not Lawns website.
By Heather Coburn
CLICK HERE to read this article.
:: Retrofitting the suburbsfor sustainability
by David Holmgren, co-founder of Permaculture.
CLICK HERE to read this article.
:: Starting a Successful Urban Ecovillage
By Diana Leafe Christian
CLICK HERE to read this article.
:: The Green Zone; The 8th International Permaculture Convergence in Brazil
By Margie Bushman
CLICK HERE to read this article.
Links
:: Permaculture
Quail Springs Learning Oasis & Permaculture Farm
Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond/Brad Lancaster
Earth Flow Design Works/Larry Santoyo
Regenerative Design Institute/Penny Livingston
Permaculture: A Pattern for Whole Systems Design
Berg-en-Dal, Sustainable Dryland Permaculture Project, South Africa
South California Permaculture Convergence
Northern California Convergence
Permaculture Quiet Revolution Movie
Organization of Permaculture and Arts
Instituto de Permacultura e Ecovilas do Cerrado (IPEC) Brazil
9 th International Permaculture Convergence and Conference 2009
Darren Doherty Keyline Design
ERDA Permaculture Institute/Robyn Francis
Permaculture Guild of Santa Barbara meets the third Wednesday of the month, at the South Coast Watershed Resource Center, Arroyo Burro Beach County Park www.permacultureguildsb.org
Larry Saltzman lbsaltzman@aol.com (805) 451-4168
:: Publications and Other Media
Hopedance: Radical Solutions Inspiring Hope
Permaculture Magazine: Solutions for sustainable living
:: Community Building
Bioneers: Visionary and Practical Solutions for restoring the Earth
Global Resource Alliance Ojai/Tanzania
Sustainable Solutions Caravan
Path to Freedom: Urban Homesteading
:: Local Resources
Community Environmental Council
RAIN Public Internet Broadcasting
Santa Barbara Organics/Loren Luyendak
Wishtoyo Foundation
(Wishtoyo is a bridge, preserving the wisdom of the ancient Chumash culture and linking it to present day environmental issues)
:: Plant Communities
California Native Plant Society
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Ojai's Center for Regenerative Agriculture
Exploring Solutions Past (ESP) Maya Food Forest Alliance
Healing Grounds Organic Nursery