Permaculture, quite simply, means a culture of permanence.  It is a philosophy of living geared towards interactivity with the natural cycles of the world (rather than a separation from nature), and therefore a way of life that is sustainable. 

One of the most fundamental characteristics that distinguishes permaculture from the current popular culture in the developed world is the concept of cradle to cradle production.  That is to say, in permaculture, everything in the system has its place, and the waste products from one process are the materials for another process. In short, there is no such thing as 'waste'. 
Also, in permaculture, there are no such things as 'pests' or 'weeds'.   This philosophy zooms out of the human perspective and takes into account a wider perspective, giving space and resources to all the participants of nature.  Counter to the consumer paradigm which holds that all of nature is for human use and all things are on Earth are the possessions of humans, permaculture is founded on the concept that nature is the benevolent and balanced interaction of all things and that humans have a place within it.  Although this description may come across as altruistic, in truth, it could not be more self-serving.  This is because a great deal of resources and human energy is wasted in attempting to control processes that are normally done by nature, with the results often being sub-par and unsustainable.  It also happens that it works out in favour of all other creatures within the system.
 

For example, in the consumer paradigm, a garden works thusly.  The gardener clears the soil of all life.  Then, he adds back only those plants that he wishes to harvest.  The biodiversity of this garden is represented in 15-20 types of plants.  Since the plants are highly exposed to drying sun and wind, the gardener must water the plants and provide shelter in extreme weather (in the form of stakes, shade cloth, and the like).  Since there is copious open and highly fertilized ground, he must weed the garden.  Since he has cleared away habitat and food for microorganisms and applied a fertilizer so concentrated as to be toxic to soil life, he is also responsible for feeding the plants (customarily with fertilizer derived from highly energy-costly petrolium).  The plants have very little disease resistance, since they have not been exposed to many organisms and they are all planted with the same species in groups, so a single type of pathogen or insect can totally infest the plants.    If the gardener is diligent and the crops successful, at the end of the growing season, he and his family will be fed.  Since everything he planted was an annual, he must do all this work again every year.

 

Now, let's examine the permaculture garden. The gardener encourages as much soil life as possible by adding plenty of organic material for food.  He may open some ground for new plants to be added to those which naturally occur, leaving behind a variety of native plants which provide food and habitat for the organisms that reside there.  Most of these organisms contribute to the garden with their mature or by eating the organisms that cause damage to the food crops.  He adds those plants that he wishes to harvest, many of which are self-seeding or perennial, so the diversity of food increases every year.  The biodiversity of this garden is represented in 50-80 types of plants, billions of microorganisms in the soil, as well as organisms like worms, insects, snakes and birds.  Since the garden is largely self-supporting and many more plants can populate the soil, there is more than enough food to go around.  The plants are sheltered from drying sun and wind by the other plants, so the gardener need not water the plants except in the most extreme weather.  Since there is no open ground, he need not weed the garden.  However, since the gardener is aware of the uses of each plant, he will harvest plants from the garden continuously for his own use, giving the remaining plants room to expand.  Because he has provided habitat and food for microorganisms he need not apply a fertilizer. The plants have excellent disease resistance, since they have been exposed to many organisms.  Plus, the species are mixed, so pests are slowed in their progression and there is plenty for them to eat other than the gardeners dinner.  Additionally, the nutritional requirements of each plant type differ, so the mixture means that there is enough for all plants in each part of the soil (and more is constantly being made available by microorganisms in the soil).    If the nature persists in doing what it has since the beginning of time, throughout the growing season, the gardenener, his family, his neighbours and all the creatures in the garden will be fed.  Since the life within the garden is in balance, it will thrive year after year with little or no intervention from the gardener. 

 

This example illustrates the interaction of human and nature from the different paradigms.  It doesn't take into account the numerous other advantages to letting go of the reigns in nature and trusting to its infinite and time-tested wisdom.  This is not to say that we humans, with our amazing ingenuity, should not interact at all in nature.  In permaculture, the role of humans is to conduct the intricate symphony of nature with a thorough  understanding and patient wisdom, not to try to play every instrument at once.  Nature has been providing for our needs and the needs of all life on earth for milennia, and if we dont interfere, it will continue to do so with the least possible energy expended and nothing wasted.

Bryce and I came across this philosophy some years ago during our inquiry into gardening for self-sufficiency.  Over time, though, we found that it doesn't just apply to food supply and gardening, but to everything—a sustainable way to work, to provide shelter, to build a community.  I mentioned paradigm severy times in my description, and this is because our basic cultural assumptions influence every decision we make in our lives—from how and when to work, down to what bin to toss an item into when we are done with it.  We examined the paradigm that we were raised in and were living in (the modern industrial culture, consumerism) , and we saw it leading to decisions that were not creating a fulfilling life for us, and were destroying the world around us.

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