Permaculture is an important and sustainable alternative to conventional agriculture. But permaculture is also important in everyday life.
Permaculture is a kind of toolkit for creating a lifestyle in harmony with the environment. It is based on nature as its model. Every action is guided by a single question: What would nature do?
The answer is always the same: respect the earth and all living things. Biodiversity — the diversity of species among all animals, plants, other forms of organic life, and habitats — comes first. Because the more versatile a system is, the more resilient it becomes.
Following this guiding principle, permaculture was developed as a practical design method inspired by nature. Through observation, permaculture seeks to learn nature’s structures, imitate its patterns, and create self-regulating systems. What began as an alternative agricultural practice is now also applied in everyday life and in social contexts.
The origin of permaculture
Permaculture was originally developed as a sustainable response to industrial and environmentally harmful agriculture. In conventional farming, the guiding principle of maximization leads to permanent soil degradation, mineral deficiency, and ultimately soil sterility. Permaculture proposes a shift in thinking toward permanent agriculture (hence the term: permaculture).
The term “permaculture” was coined in the 1970s by Australians Bill Mollison and David Holmgren, pioneers in the field of agriculture. They had in mind a concept of sustainable living and regenerative land use.
Over the years, alongside agricultural practices, social aspects have also been incorporated into permaculture. Its design principles relate not only to horticulture, but are also applied to the design of settlement areas and social networks. Together with the three pillars of sustainability, this results in the following guiding principles:
- Earthcare (ecological sustainability)
- Peoplecare (social sustainability)
- Fair Share (economic sustainability)
In this context, permaculture is much more than an alternative to energy-intensive industrial agriculture. Permaculture aims to:
- Decentralize large-scale agriculture: elements of permaculture can already be found in regenerative agriculture, ecological farming, and sustainable agriculture. Permaculture doesn’t just want to protect nature — it wants to work with it.
- Create new habitats for both nature and people: because more and more people are fleeing the effects of climate change, and animals, too, are increasingly losing their habitats.
- Teach natural gardening: by cultivating in harmony with nature, permaculture principles can also be applied to your own garden. Studies show this can increase yield while helping protect the environment.
- Combat species extinction: studies show we are losing more and more species to climate change. Permaculture points to simple things you can do about mass extinction in order to preserve biodiversity.
- Offer hope: we are no longer just talking about climate change, but about a climate crisis. In times like these, people need practical guidance on how to deal with it.
- Create a new closeness to nature: through new concepts such as urban agriculture, cities are once again becoming natural habitats.
- Achieve a fair distribution of resources: this applies both to the economy’s financial resources and to ecological resources and land distribution.
Across all areas of application, permaculture is about imitating natural ecosystems and working with nature rather than against it. Permaculture is therefore based on practice-oriented methods aimed at creating a holistic and sustainable way of life.
Written by Lina Brammertz
Lina is a nature lover from Germany. She studied Social and Environmental Sciences in the UK, where she discovered her passion for permaculture and ecovillages. Lina is now traveling through Europe, exploring ecological communities and projects.