Goal articulation is the first step in any design process. This is true for a permaculture project in your backyard, or when working with a community space. As a designers with clients, we must actively listen and absorb information from them, paying attention to how they articulate their goals and how you process re-articulate them. People get locked into idea of what they want; instead of form or details, focus more on function and the bigger picture. By seeing alternatives and spending time on exploration, we can help expand the palate of possibility. When we design for our own living spaces or communities, we are both the client and designer, and must also actively listen to, absorb and process our goals for action.
It's important to use PTAV (present tense active voice) when articulating goals. Setting goals in the present tense helps us see what it feels like by saying "this is the way it is". The goals set set this way are not in the past or the future, and are more powerful in the present. Using an active voice, we become the do-ers, connecting thought and action, theory to practice.
Here is a worksheet adapted from Edible Forest Gardens Volume 2 that describes the goal articulation process in depth:
It's important to use PTAV (present tense active voice) when articulating goals. Setting goals in the present tense helps us see what it feels like by saying "this is the way it is". The goals set set this way are not in the past or the future, and are more powerful in the present. Using an active voice, we become the do-ers, connecting thought and action, theory to practice.
Here is a worksheet adapted from Edible Forest Gardens Volume 2 that describes the goal articulation process in depth:
To start the design process for the Cliff Garden in Waltham in 2011, we articulated our goals, and keep a copy of these goals where when we are drafting designs and during installation to help guide us.
1) Our garden grows and feeds us the produce we currently eat most often:
2) Our garden grows and fees us new food that we love to eat but never knew about before our PDC
3) We hang out in a chill social space outside near our garden
4) We attract abundant wildlife to our garden and they love it here, including: birds, chipmunks, ducks, bees, dragonflies, ladybugs, spiders, worms, mushrooms, microbes, squirrels
5) We have a pond that supports a vibrant aquaculture including: fish, frogs, water chestnuts, lilies
These goals were ambitious in our first year of applying permaculture. We did not meet all of our goals, and many goals were not realized in the ways that we thought they would in the beginning. We didn't grow many shrubs or trees, and focused on perennial and annual herbaceous crops for the most part. We did however, eat a lot of food from the backyard, made salads, tinctures, sat and enjoyed abundant wildlife while eating alpine strawberries, all which happened after many steps later in the design process...
1) Our garden grows and feeds us the produce we currently eat most often:
- Salad - cucumber, lettuces, tomatoes (heirloom, cherry), onions, peppers, carrots, cilantro, spinach
- Fruits - (short term) strawberries, ground cherries, watermelon, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, grapes
2) Our garden grows and fees us new food that we love to eat but never knew about before our PDC
- fruits - pawpaw, persimmons, elderberry, mulberry, hardy kiwis
- vegetables - yamberries, ground nuts, tomatillos
- herbs - lavender, sage, rosemary, basil, oregano, parsley, mint (peppermint and chocolate mint), curry, chives, anise hissop, borage
- Flowers - for bee forage and beauty/aesthetics
3) We hang out in a chill social space outside near our garden
- protected from the wind
- comfortable seating
- nice view
- grab and go snacks available with little effort
4) We attract abundant wildlife to our garden and they love it here, including: birds, chipmunks, ducks, bees, dragonflies, ladybugs, spiders, worms, mushrooms, microbes, squirrels
5) We have a pond that supports a vibrant aquaculture including: fish, frogs, water chestnuts, lilies
These goals were ambitious in our first year of applying permaculture. We did not meet all of our goals, and many goals were not realized in the ways that we thought they would in the beginning. We didn't grow many shrubs or trees, and focused on perennial and annual herbaceous crops for the most part. We did however, eat a lot of food from the backyard, made salads, tinctures, sat and enjoyed abundant wildlife while eating alpine strawberries, all which happened after many steps later in the design process...
Our goals written down
Some of our yields
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