Niche Analysis is one of many permaculture design tools we can to implement the least change for greatest effect. By understanding needs and yields of all elements in any system, we can organize relationships among these elements to mimic nature. We can also use this tool to think outside of the anthropocentric norm to fulfill needs and utilize needs that includes but is not limited to human involvement. This helps us understand what needs could be fulfilled by other parts of the system rather than external sources, and identify potential problems and their solutions before implementing a design. You want to run a niche analysis on all elements within your system, from plants, to animals, to uninvited guests, neighbors and yourself. One way to do this is to use scrap paper, one piece for each element, and write down the following:
Also make note of:
Element Examples (Needs/Wants):
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Permaculture ethics makes practicing permaculture unique and challenging. They provide guidelines to follow as we interact with the landscape to suit our needs in the face of our ability to be destructive and wasteful. These ethics have been challenging for us to incorporate in the day to day as we change our lives. The dominant culture and economic system of over-consumption is completely antithetical to this work, so we remind ourselves that our ability to practice these ethics is always in progress, and a consciousness about them is our first step towards embodying them.
Design Care: When we design, are we meeting the other 3 ethics? These ethics are not defined, we can decide what they mean for us, but they are the measurables for the work we do. How do/will permaculture ethics inform your work? In our F.E.A.S.T. Permaculture Design Course, we brainstormed a list of "the shoulders we stand on", the pioneers that have come before us - people, places, books, experiences - that we draw upon and have gratitude for:
There are many more that are not present on this list -- What would you add? We sponsored and helped to organize the Northeast Permaculture Convergence this year to contribute to strengthening the Eastern MA permaculture community. During the convergence, Jessica was interviewed by Sevan at Bell Tower Foods who asked what permaculture is and how it can be used to grow food. His organization works in a mobile food-truck capacity to make local delicious food more accessible in urban areas of Boston. The first thought for many folks when they think of permaculture is food production, probably because the term, when coined, referred to permanent agriculture. Permaculture is now thought of and applied as framework for thinking about permanent culture, including but not limited to agriculture. David Holmgren visualized this in the shape of a flower (below) in his book Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability. Petals represent broad areas of focus within a wholistic interconnected system, informed from the center by ethics and design principles. Growing food is a great entrance point for many folks new to permaculture -- it's easier to get people excited about growing kiwis in Massachusetts than to talk about the evils of big banks, or the damage the industrial food system is doing to the land. However it's not the only possible point of attachment. This past year growing food touched upon all of these petals in an interconnected way - we learned how to take care of our well-being, try low tech human powered tools, not go to the grocery store to buy food, lower the toxicity of our food, among other yields.
After one full season, now the work begins to find new points of engagement on this flower, and winter is a perfect time to articulate goals and develop a design. What petal(s) would you focus your next year on? |
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