Permaculture and the Paleo Diet
Permaculture on an organic farm on the Swabian Mountains in Germany. Courtesy of Wikipedia.
Have you thought about growing your own food in sustainable ways? From Wikipedia:
Permaculture is a theory of ecological design which seeks to develop sustainable human settlements and agricultural systems, by attempting to model them on natural ecosystems.
It’s interesting to consider the relevance of permaculture in the context of the paleo diet. Mark Sisson posed an important question on his blog recently: “Can paleo/primal feed the world?” - Part1, Part 2, Part 3. The answer? Probably not, if we’re employing the traditional means of utilising soil and animal husbandry. Sisson himself points out that we’d need to be prepared to eat more offal - and more plant foods - if we were to take a whole-world approach to paleo.
To get close to the potential of this, surely a more sophisticated approach is called for:
Permaculture draws from several other disciplines including organic farming, agroforestry, sustainable development, and applied ecology. “The primary agenda of the movement has been to assist people to become more self reliant through the design and development of productive and sustainable gardens and farms. The design principles which are the conceptual foundation of permaculture were
derived from the science of systems ecology and study of pre-industrial examples of sustainable land use.” - Oliver Holmgreen, , 1997
In considering the issue of permaculture and the paleo diet, I came across this charming little documentary. It’s actually three mini documentaries in one:
- FOREST GARDENING with Robert Hart
- PLANTS FOR A FUTURE with Ken Fern - a case study about Rural Permaculture in Britain, showcasing loads of amazing edible plants, aquaculture and flowers, as well as fantastic medicinal plants. Look out for a cure for female infertility that’s dropped in here!
- URBAN PERMACULTURE with Mike & Julia Guerra - a brilliant and inspiring documentary of permaculture techniques used effectively in an urban back garden
So - do you see a role for permaculture in sustaining the paleo diet? Have you started to grow your own food? Share your thoughts and experiences below!
Brian Cormack Carr is a freelance writer and coach whose mission in life is to help YOU do what you were designed for.
His home on the web is YourPrimalLife.com where you will find more articles, freebies, and information about his online career-creation programme VitalVocation.com - 12 sessions of virtual coaching from Brian for just $20!
Twitter: @cormackcarr
My husband and I are totally into the permaculture idea. We have a large city lot that we have covered with perennial food sources, a garden, edible landscaping, and a small flock of chickens. Ultimately, we are working towards owning 3-5 acres and have tons of ideas of what to do with it. Some of our dreams will be difficult to realize due to infringements on our liberty by our state government. As of April 1st, it will be illegal in Michigan to own certain breeds of pigs, infact ant pig that is able to survive in the wild. We had planned on free-range hogs in a thicket of oak trees. Free-range hogs will essentially be illegal here due to the breeds the government is allowing to be kept.
That’s so exciting, Lyndsey! (The part about what you’re doing with your city lot, not the part about the state government’s numbskull approach to the pig situation).
What got you started? Were there any books/resources you found particularly useful?
I’ve yet to implement any permaculture practices, as I have yet to live anywhere long enough to establish myself. But I have done a lot of reading on the subject, and I can recommend some books.
The book I own is Earth User’s Guide to Permaculture (http://www.amazon.com/Earth-Users-Guide-Permaculture-Edition/dp/068404711X). It’s a good beginner’s guide, though be ready for some references to kangaroos, as it was written by an Australian author (for Austrailia, it seems, though the principals can be applied anywhere).
A very popular book on permaculture, and on my to-buy list, is Gaia’s Garden (http://www.amazon.com/Gaias-Garden-Second-Edition-Permaculture/dp/1603580298). I’ve flipped through it and it seems like a great resource.
Lastly, Sepp Holzer is famous in the sustainable gardening world for promoting permaculture. I haven’t read any of work, but they might be worth checking out (http://www.amazon.com/Sepp-Holzers-Permaculture-Small-Scale-Gardening-With/dp/160358370X/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_b).
Hope that helps!
While I don’t have the edible garden of my dreams. Every year I do plant some veg and herbs. When we moved here 2 years ago, we cleaned out some of the woods behind our house and found 2 sets of grape vines that have gone wild. and a pear tree that was also planted but long forgotten about. I have had some yard chickens as well. There is an abundance of wild pecan trees and edible mushrooms I am told. I would love to learn more about mushroom hunting, but with my luck I would pick the ones that would kill me..lol
My husband’s family grow and raise their own cows, pigs, chickens. They also have the garden I would love to have one day. I guess I am lucky that I do live in the country, so we dont have the ” city and urban issues to deal with. When my kids were little, I had them make butter and whipped cream from store bought cream, and to this day they still talk about doing that.. I think it is important for children to know where our foods come from and get used to the taste of real foods. How sad is that statement? We are a culture that is so consumed with food, its ironic how truly disconnected we have become with our food.
You can take a Permaculture Design Course which will take you through the steps of setting up a Perennial Polyculture Homestead in the city or in the country. It will also certify you to do this for others using the copywrited word Permaculture in your advertising.
I teach a Sustainable Gardening class for this website. I will discuss Permaculture Gardening PAtterns there.
Check out the videos on my website. They are under the Community tab.
Cathe’ Fish
Practical Permaculture Research Institute