INTRODUCTION (The Practical Permaculture Project)
When I was little,
gardening seemed like the most natural thing in the world to me. I grew up on
my grandparents’ farm, where a simple life was a happy one. My parents loved
gardening so much they would take care in planting every seed or fruit tree we
had around our yard. There were always flowers in our garden and fresh
vegetables to eat, and soon enough, I had my first little herb garden of my own.
It wasn't very big and didn't really last long, but growing up in that
environment had such lasting effects on me, not least the love of cooking from
fresh ingredients—the pride when you know what goes into your meal instead of
eating factory-made foods with no flavor at all! And now here we are years
later, after many mistakes—I'll never forget losing those zucchini
plants—followed by lots of studies, experience, and successes.
During my studies and
work, I traveled a lot and visited many countries. I recognized the positive
impact sustainable agriculture was making on the environment and that's what
drew me toward permaculture about ten years ago. I realized that
permaculture is the way to grow food in harmony with nature using all available
resources. It is the way to design and maintain food production systems that
imitate nature and consequently thrive with nature's resilience, stability, and
diversity. Permaculture integrates people and their land to provide them
sustainably with food, shelter, energy, and other needs in the long term.
Permaculture asks us to
turn to nature for inspiration and follow its relationships and patterns.
Everything in an ecosystem is related, interdependent, and crucial for the
health of the system.
Whenever I mention
permaculture to someone who's never heard of it before, I always get to hear
something along the lines of "That sounds like a lot of
work" or "That sounds complicated; I could never do what
you're doing." This makes me smile, because I had the same thoughts
when I first started, and now I rarely ever go to the grocery store.
Your future sustainable
garden in your own backyard allows you to take charge of your own food supply
with minimal damage to the environment. While we will also touch on the
social and cultural aspects of permaculture, the purpose of this book is to
show you why permaculture can change the way you relate to nature as you grow
food and develop independence from outside sources of food. It gives you such
an empowering feeling when everything starts coming full circle and you are
able to say: "I created this." I believe it's our responsibility as
people with firsthand knowledge of the joys of gardening to pass this message
along.
This book is filled with
simple and easy-to-follow instructions to help you transform your backyard or
any space available in your home into a flourishing vegetable or fruit garden
to meet your food requirements. The joy that you get from harvesting your
own fresh produce is incomparable, and it feels amazing discovering a way to
work with nature to fulfill your family's needs.
