SIMPLY BUSINESS

PERMACULTURE SYSTEM:

WORLDWIDE MOVEMENT FOR SUSTAINABLE LIVING

While our country's agriculture technocrats had been shifting from one model of sustainable farming to another, a worldwide movement has gained foothold on the consciousness of many sustainable agriculture advocates. Led by Australian Bill Mollison, the originator of the system, PERMACULTURE has now become a by-word for those who believed in sustainability as the first requirement in farming and living.

Permaculture is the contraction of two words permanent and agriculture, which explained simply is farming with permanence in mind. The concept is to develop a tract of land that from as early as 20 days, one already harvests from it and does for a long time. All the principles of sound sustainable farming or agriculture is applied.

The word permaculture was coined by Bill Mollison and David Holmgren. Holmgren and Mollison were deeply concerned about the growing trend of world agriculture where single crops were being grown in a place to feed others in other parts of the world. This kind of agriculture, they said, leaves most farming families hungry. The single crop cannot feed the family adequately and would be nutritionally inadequate.
When one shifts his farming paradigm from his present approach of commercial agriculture to perma-culture, he adopts the widely accepted ethics of: “Care for the earth”, “Care for people” and “Sharing the surplus”. (http://www.tropicalpermaculture.com/what-is-permaculture.html).



Caring for the earth means the farmer adopts earth-friendly technologies that sustains and even enhances the fertility of the soil and rebuilds the environment or ecosystem of his farm, home or garden. To recover or restore soil fertility, the farmer may put back organic matter or fertilizers regularly. Organic matter and fertilizers decompose slowly and gradually releases soil nutrients needed by the plants. As the farmer introduces more organic matter from varying sources, the natural soil fertility once native to his area is restored. Complete mix of soil nutrients makes up an ideal condition for plant growth that productivity of crops even when planted densely, geometrically increases as years pass.



Also, as the farmer plants more plant species in his area, he creates symbiosis among the various organisms in the area. In the process, the ecosystem is restored to its original balance that would withstand any destabilization such as harvesting and replanting. For example, an area is first planted to banana as the nurse crop. Then vegetables like pechay and bush beans and other legumes are planted after pechay, the banana plants benefit from the extra fertilizers and the restored fertility provided by the decaying leaves of the beans. As the banana plants grow tall and mature, the shade they provide will encourage shade loving plants to emerge and take over the vegetation. When this happens, weeds which usually grow on direct sunlight are slowly suppressed that before long, it would be easy to control them and plant more shade loving crops that can remain productive even with partial shade.



As the plant cover become denser, soil moisture encourages rapid decomposition of leaves and twigs and microbial action is sped up. Soil microbes help accelerate decomposition and chemical breakdown and the simplified compounds readily become soluble and are absorbed by the roots to be metabolized by the plants. When an area is covered by different species which do not compete with each other for soil nutrients, sunlight and other essential requirements for growth and reproduction, then symbiosis is established and the area's stability is created. (http://www.permaculture.org/nm/index.php/site/index/).



Our local efforts for sustainable farming is not that far from the concept of permaculture. The missing link is the planning for a long period of time. The practice right now are technologies like vermiculture or earthworm culture whose end product is the vermi-cast or manure excreted by the worms and used as fertilizers in various methods. Elevating the practice further, the permaculture farm will include the vermiculture module but incorporated as an integral part of the system and may be grown in the wild among the mix of crops and plants.



So a batch of earthworms may be seeded in a compost pile of manure, hay and other organic materials which are being decomposed. These earthworms will grow in the wild and migrate to nearby piles later and saturate the whole area. As part of the soil micro ecosystem, the earthworm will do its part by digesting the organic matter, bring them into the network of tunnels they make where they further decompose and are used by the plants through their root systems.



“Caring for People” means that the whole purpose of establishing the permaculture farm is to feed the family and the community. Far beyond feeding them is to create habitable and enjoyable environments and ecosystems of plants and animals. A permaculture farm contains as many species as possible so that the ecosystem is reestablished and stabilized so that they not only survive the stress of human pressure but also grow or expand in the process. A stable ecosystem of a permaculture farm helps stabilize the environment, abate and even control pollution and its negative impacts like ozone depletion and carbon dioxide build up.



The quality of life of communities is dictated by the ecosystem. If one lives in a concrete jungle, the ambient temperature would be higher than if one were surrounded by trees and plants. The leaves and trunk of trees contain water and under ordinary circumstances, they are several degrees celsius lower than those of concrete and stones. The same is true in areas where the green cover had been destroyed in favor of cash crop farming. An orchard with medium and tall fruit trees growing together with under growth of grasses and bushes would be much cooler than a corn field or a sugarcane field.



So a permaculture farm would be a much better place to live in than a farm with just one crop like rice, corn or sugarcane. Much more so when one raises pigs and cattle as in commercial farming. One other benefit offered by a permaculture farm to a farm family is the diversified sources of nutritious food. A given area even though how small can produce a variety of food and vegetables. On one small part, the farmer may grow a few heads of chickens for their eggs and meat while their manure are thrown into the earthworm boxes as feed for the worms which in turn produce their castings to be used as soil and foliar fertilizers.



When the farmer wants to serve his family with vegetables, a permaculture farm would be able to grow a wide variety of vegetables which would not bore the family members due to variety and the freshness. Besides, the vegetables and other food raised the natural and organic way are not only nutritious but tasty as well.



“Sharing the surplus” means that he farmer shares his harvests with his community because the high productivity of a permaculture farm ensures surplus. By sharing the surplus, the farmer encourages others to help him sustain his food production efforts and may transpose to labor sharing or trading actions where his neighbors may also want to contribute their labor so that the productivity of the farm is maintained. The surplus may also be bartered for other needs and even labor where the community helps out in major efforts like land development and in establishing the various features of the permaculture farm.



An emerging tourist destination is Cebu City's Kamagayan Center right at the heart of the city. The 1,200 sq. meters urban lot is filled with many kinds of vegetables, herbs and medium growing trees with various uses, from food to herbal medicine. The plant or vegetation density of the area is high yet there is no competition for light, water and nutrients since the plants have a helping inter-relationship with one another. Nutrients, water and sunlight pare provided through planning and strategic placements where plants of compatible growth requirements are planted together. Attention to their symbiotic relationship is also given like pungent or aromatic plants are paired with plants easily attacked by pests.
While the concept of permaculture farming is still new in the country, the internet is a rich resource for information on how one can start with his permaculture efforts. One only needs to goggle the word “permaculture” and the author's name “Bill Mollison” and instantly a broad range of information is provided at his fingertips.



ARTICLE 2:



How to Start your Own Permaculture garden.



An area as small as 100 sq. meters can be developed into a permaculture garden which can supply the food needs of a family of six. Here's how:
First, learn all you can about natural and organic ways of farming. The internet is the best resource for information on natural and organic farming or gardening. Just goggle the words: natural farming, organic farming, lasagna gardening, bio-intensive gardening, permaculture, Bill Mollison.



Second, visit the local agriculture office and learn when seminars are being held. Go to public markets especially those holding farmers' markets so that you learn the kinds of vegetables, where and how they are grown. Try to make acquaintances with vegetable farmers who grow healthy looking vegetables. Also visit trade and agri fairs and locate boots where organic vegetables are sold and strike conversations with the farmers so that you learn all you can about their methods and technologies especially with the manufacture of herbal preparations, pro-biotics and vermiculture;



Third, try developing your 100 sq. meters garden by first planning where to plant which vegetables. Plan to make your garden rows in an east-west direction so that you take full advantage of the sunlgiht which is a crucial requirement for plant growth. Establish your vermi and compost fertilizer generator ahead. If you plan to raise poultry and livestock, plan their cages so that your labor cost is low. Also take advantage of inter relationship like, chickens like to forage among the plants to eat worms and scratch the soil and organic matter for the earthworms. Chicken manure is a valuable resource so you plan the cages to trap the manure without much effort.



Plan for symbiosis and inter-relationships of plants, soil, livestock, and, even fish. This way, you enlist the help of nature in your gardening efforts. One example is the use of legume bushes like ipil-ipil as borders and posts of your gardens. Cut the trees at 6 feet high so that they can become posts for the ampalaya. The leaves are harvested and decomposed to become a nitrogen rich source of organic matter. Plant short term legumes and before maturity, sow the seeds of a new crop so that you can practice the rfelay cropping technology where you can plant as many crops in a given period.



Fourth, implement your plans but study and observe intently so that you may adjust the system if anything goes wrong. Since your area is small avoid the use of external inputs like chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Earn from technicians on the alternative sources of insecticides so that you avoid chemical poisons to contaminate your garden.



Fifth, study the growth of your plants and try to invite technicians so that you will also learn from them. Mix short term, medium term and long term crops so that you can already harvest vegetables as early as 30 days and continuously there after.



Lastly, consider gardening as a recreation, a life study and most of all, an alternative vocation worth enjoying and making money from. The more serious you are about permaculture gardening, themore will be its rewards. Not only that you enjoy eating healthful food, you also exercise and de-stress at the same time.