New Paltz Permaculture Meetup

What Is Permaculture Design?

Permaculture is a whole systems design science that is positively changing the way people think and interact with Earth.

Permaculture is a design discipline that is the ultimate in deep ecology and holistic healing of the earth human relationship. It is finding ways to synergize human and planetary dynamics and processes. Permaculture as a term is a contraction for permanent agriculture which is seen by the chaps who coined it Bill Mollison,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Mollison

and David Holmgren, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Holmgren to be the foundation of civilization. Permaculture started in the early 70’s in part Mollison wanted to see earth repair work on damaged sites be part of what the hippies would learn to do through his books and classes with their back to the land movement in Australia. It has a diversity of sources for it’s principles which are the real tool kit of permaculture, they are cybernetics and systems theory from Howard and Eugene Odum

, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_T._Odum

Holmgren’s ecological studies and systems experience and Mollison’s life with aborigines helping to establish their right to have their land granted back to them by helping to prove their genealogy as aboriginal.

Other influences are Masanobu Fukuoka,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masanobu_Fukuoka

a Japanese microbiologist whose seminal text is the One Straw Revolution illustrates the Tao of how permaculture cooperates with nature and capitalizes on natures inherent direction with a human need in mind. Permaculture looks to the long term potential of trees and what it calls forest gardens to provide a significant increase in the long term sustainability of, not just how we feed ourselves but also how we house ourselves, clothe ourselves medicate ourselves, permaculture wants to regionalize and naturalize all this.

This Meetup will be lead by Andrew Faust and occasional visiting friends. Andrew is director at Center for Bioregional Living which since 2007 has been training permaculture designers in NYC and starting June 1st 2012 at their rural campus in Ellenville, NY. A certificate in Permaculture Design is very helpful but not necessary.