Submitted:
Wednesday 28 January, 2009.
Permaculture
Another concept and practice that compliments freeganism is "permaculture". Permaculture is an Australian concept of living accredited to Bill Mollison. Most people consider it to be a way of gardening but it is also really a philosophy to empower people to live a holistic, self-sustainable life which respects the ways and needs of the earth, other people and cultures, and reduces destruction of the environment. It has been shown to be valuable to those living in small flats in urban situations, to larger rural scenes: from the tropics to arid regions; cold and hot climates.
Permaculture, in its initial stages, is not free although a good permaculturalist will incorporate free aspects, e.g. foraging for manure, mulch and compost and acquiring seeds and cuttings from friends. It relies heavily on perennial plants and trees which can represent a significant initial investment, which should not have to be repeated.
Gardens are laid out in zones, surrounding the dwelling with those areas needing the most attention closest to the house (e.g. herbs, salad vegetables), and those least visited which are furthest away (e.g. timber for firewood, grazing areas). This reduces the energy needs for daily tasks. Similarly, anything purchased should, wherever possible, come from local areas to reduce transportation costs and support local (small) businesses, multi-tasking as you go.
Permaculture uses organic gardening techniques with special emphasis on the vitality of the soil. Chemical fertilizers destroy soil microorganisms which aerate and sometimes feed the soil. Instead, animal manure, liquid fertilizers made from organic materials (manure and plant materials), and compost mulch, made from plants that offer micro-nutrients, are used. 'Companion planting' is also employed as some plants are known to benefit others (e.g. borage with strawberries).
Pesticides are not used because whilst killing pests, they also kill friendly insects which help the garden. A second aspect of companion planting is used to combat pests - plants known to deter specific pests are grown alongside those that are prone to attack (e.g. onions deter carrot fly, garlic deters aphids). From a freegan point of view, this is a good freebie. Animals are also employed to control pests. A frog pond for instance (build it and they will come) however small, increases the health of the garden and chickens do a great job of cleaning up fruit fly infected fruit, whilst fattening up themselves in the process... another freebie!
A good permaculture garden requires considerable thought and planning, to reduce time and energy consumption caused by making major changes. You do not want to have to move a path or tree next year because of an oversight. Plants need to be selected carefully and need to serve more than one purpose. Lucern (alfalfa), for instance is a green manure that is used as animal fodder and makes good mulch for plants prone to mould. Space is maximized so that an area of ground will yield more than a one crop plot. Taller plants have lower plants beneath them and with ground-cover plants underneath them. Walls, fences, and tree trunks can be used for vines so that the garden grows vertically as well as horizontally.
Another important aspect of permaculture is the concept of taking responsibility for your own consumption and waste. Anything entering the property - from water to plastic bottles - needs to, ideally, be dealt with on the property. If you had to find a way to dispose of all your own rubbish in an environmentally friendly way, you would quickly make some changes in your purchase and collection of packaging, and the material from which goods are made. With this aspect of permaculture in mind, we have embarked on an experiment with the use of 'humanure'. (An article by this name is posted under the 'articles' section of the ukfreegan website. You can read this by going to the following link: http://freegan.org.uk/pages/view_article.php?id=15)
Courses are now on offer which teach permaculture. We are very new to the practice and are in no way qualified spokespersons - just enthusiasts who have become empowered through usage. We encourage other freegans to give it some consideration.