Human-centred landscapes
Permaculture is a system of agricultural and social design principles for "human-centred" landscapes and is one of the fastest growing grassroots movements around the world.
Ina Wilkie - Permaculture minimizes external inputs and sets up closed systems, a great approach for people who do not have money. It is about creating real independence, starting at home. Permaculture design assists us to use inputs like energy, water, sun more efficiently and improve our environments, leading to better health all around. And it can help us save money! Appropriate technology
The idea of appropriate technology is that people understand their own needs better than anyone else and can therefore invent the technological innovations necessary to meet those needs. The notion of appropriate technology goes back to the social movement led by Mahatma Gandhi whereby low-tech self-sufficiency or “village technology” was reclaimed to subvert and ultimately prevail over the British Empire. In this understanding, appropriate technology is a means to liberation.
Farm Okukuna in Gorengab Extension 3 is partner and implementing site of the Living Permaculture project. The farm is a project of the City of Windhoek and the World Future Council. Community members run a market garden and compost businesses, while the farm is also a training centre around nutrition, growing food, and innovation for shack dwellers.
What is Permaculture?
Permaculture is a design approach to creating sustainable human habitats, without impacting negatively on the natural environment around us, as well as afar from us. If we carefully observe our climate, our buildings, our social environment, and our available plants and animals, we can design our home spaces into a productive, useful and abundant support system for people.
The originators of Permaculture put together an approach to human livelihoods, culture and economy that would ensure that no harm came to the Earth, that people were respected and supported, and asks in turn that we give back surplus (extra) time, energy and resources to the Earth and to care of People.
The intention in Permaculture is for people to reclaim their rights and abilities to be self-sufficient without damaging the resources we have wherever possible. This starts at home, and spreads out into our communities, cities and farms.
Permaculture systems are based on natural systems – what we call ecosystems. The breakthrough in Permaculture was realising that we needed to create human habitats that were similar to natural ones. If we can redesign our home spaces and lives to function more like an ecosystem, we will create situations where there is very little waste, and much abundance produced. Through the Permaculture design process, we will be able to achieve this. This means that our homes will use as many renewable resources as possible, heat and cool itself, and that we will be able to produce for human needs in the space around the home.
Basic human needs
Humans need food, shelter, clothing, energy, love and a meaningful life in order to truly reach their potential. For most of the world, many of these needs are not met. At the moment, very few of us have any control over where our food comes from, how it is produced; nor over our sources of electricity, heat and water. We increasingly look to government, parastatals and industry to provide these needs. But if we take charge of what we need, we really can make sense of our lives.
“Sustainable” is a buzz word that is used very loosely by people to describe many things. We look at sustainability as asking not only ‘can we sustain ourselves and thrive as human beings today?’ but ‘will our children’s children be about to sustain themselves far into the future?’. Sustainability is a long-term, future-thinking strategy, considering what will happen in the future as a result of the choices we make today. One understanding of sustainability is to look forward seven generations. This means that the way we live now, how we use natural resources, land, and fossil fuels, should be done in such a way that our grandchildren seven generations from now can live in the same way, or better. This simple explanation of sustainability asks us to look at the consequences of our actions, and the fruits of our labour. It urges humans to change their behaviour and consumer patterns quite radically to ensure that there will be enough resources 140 years from now, for everyone. Thinking and designing sustainably means that we take into account the impact our actions today will have on the future. If we plant a fruit tree today, perhaps our children and grandchildren will have fruit to eat. If we pollute our nearby river, then perhaps our children and grandchildren will struggle to find clean water to drink. Sustainability asks us to create a better world for our children than the one we have today. Permaculture has been described as the fastest growing grassroots movement in the world!
Permaculture has ethics which are values that guide our thinking and decision making. We need shared or common values in order to make decisions together. All our actions must avoid harming the earth, and we also need to actively regenerate and heal damaged ecosystems. All forms of life have a right to live as they play a critical role in the global ecosystem. All peoples should be respected and cared for. This ethic also relates to caring for ourselves, our health and our mental/emotional wellbeing. It is also about reaching out to other people in a positive way. Surplus share is about giving back. It essentially teaches not to hoard, and only to use what we really need! When we do have extra time, energy, knowledge or even money, we should dedicate them towards the first two ethics so that the world around us continually improves. In some ways the society around us no longer upholds these values, and encourages us to value external things, like money, status and objects. Permaculture asks us to come back to the basic values that really matter and create a society more positive than the one we live in now. Another aspect of Permaculture is that we create a global nation which values the same ethics – this means we can create a global family that has nothing to do with political, economic or religious boundaries.
Living Permaculture – Ideas for Home Improvement (Ina Wilkie) - https://www.nafsan.org/resource-library, https://www.nafsan.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/living-permaculture-handbooklowres.pdf, www.facebook.com/GrowingFoodinWindhoek/
STATS:
Your own backyard garden
• Decide what you would like to grow.
• Observe and find a suitable location (place) for your garden (sun, wind, water).
• Arrange your garden beds.
• Prepare the soil before you plant (level the soil and add manure).
• Plant your seeds.
• Add mulch to keep the soil moist.
Did you know?
Windbreaks
Evergreen shrubs make great permanent windbreaks
Gardening tip
Start some of the fruits that grow well in your area in pots and at the same time a vegetable garden.
Gardening precaution tip:
Think about summer and winter, as well as where you need or want sun and where you don’t.