Permaculture comes from the words ‘permanent’ and ‘agriculture’ and was devised by Bill Mollison and David Holmgren in the 1970s as a way to grow food in a sustainable way. It has broadened to encompass all aspects of holistic design as applied to growing food, utilising water in the landscape, building shelter, resilience and disaster planning, re-invigorating community, ethical economics and more. It is based on a set of ethics – Earth Care, People Care and Fair Share, and a set of principles. The principles come from a keen observation of nature, and seek to mimic the patterns and relationships found in nature. When we are designing something we always ask ‘How does nature do it?’ Does nature leave the soil bare? No. Does nature require outside inputs? No. Is nature based on biological resources? Yes. I highly recommend the website Permaculture Principles, and of course we’d love to welcome you on one of our own Introduction to Permaculture courses here at Kahikatea Farm – see our courses page for more info.