Permaculture

Permaculture

Permaculture techniques used at Soil for Life

Permaculture is a philosophy that centers on the concept of bringing humans into harmony with their environment, and thus creating a  sustainable agricultural landscape. (Diver) If the principles are used correctly, one can create an eco-friendly agricultural system that is extremely efficient.

In order to achieve such a system, permaculture promotes the concept of mimicking the natural landscape. It is important to understand the current environmental situation. What does or does not succeed in the natural conditions? Using this information makes it easier to build an agricultural system that produces the most results for the least amount of work. If farmers work with the existing conditions they can save a lot of valuable time and labor because nature has already done most of the work. The better a system can be blended with the environment, the less work needs to be done.

One of the most important guidelines of permaculture is that of multi-purpose agriculture. By planting seedlings that can be used for both nutritional and medicinal purposes, one can use less space and see more benefits. These can also be achieved using the method of companion planting. Choosing seedlings that benefit from growing near each other allows for a more versatile garden.

Applying Permaculture in Monwabisi Park

Permaculture being used in Monwabisi Park

Those who live in South Africa’s informal settlements do not have the money or energy it takes to plant, maintain, and harvest an extensive agricultural system; nor does the community itself posses enough space for families to create a system big enough to support their households. In planning a sustainable garden system for Monwabisi Park, it was important to keep the concepts of permaculture in mind. By creating gardens that take up relatively little space and require little maintenance, it will be possible for the individuals in Monwabisi Park to grow successful gardens that can help feed their families.

Permaculture can be remodeled to fit any unique situation, such as the degraded soils of Southern Africa (Pilarski). Concepts of permaculture focus on replicating the environment, so systems set up in Monwabisi Park should focus on water wise gardening and composting techniques that will optimize the nutrient content in the sandy soil. By using these techniques and the principles of permaculture, it is possible to create sustainable agriculture in an area such as Monwabisi Park because it works with the environmental conditions instead of fighting them.

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