Of course I am a huge believer in the notion that our small actions and choices each day add up to very big changes over time. Permaculture is so much more than turning lawns into Forest Gardens full of food, medicine, habitat, and thriving soil life. It’s a lifestyle in and out of the garden. We’ve helped do our small part to purchase land for tribal folks in Malawi to farm on, aided in funding the building of housing for affected tsunami survivors, and so on. Truth be told, it isn’t always some huge task we have completed that makes the most difference, sometimes it is something no one will ever praise you for that has the largest impact of all. While I need to survive in the economy of the world, I believe that permaculture is a different kind of currency. It provides what money and all of our technology cannot, a living and thriving planet for the future of all life.

I was going to call this entry “Permaculture is NOT a Buzzword”, but I didn’t like the negative connotation it carried. Lately, we see a lot of folks attacking words like “Permaculture”, “Regenerative”, and “Sustainable”. They claim these terms are part of a fear mongering agenda, and that folks just throw the word regenerative or sustainable around to market based off climate change. I’ve met folks who call these words “Greenwashing”. Heck, I’ve met folks who have called me “altruistic”. Woe there buddy, it’s actually important to try and do the right thing. I considered it an honor. I don’t speak in platitudes, and no true permaculture professional does. We don’t just seek change, we implement it daily in real and measurable ways. I haven't written a blog in quite a while. I honestly try to live a very intentional life, and there's only so much time to commit to screens. However, as the world continues to war around us, I wanted to share some project photos and constructive thoughts.

We had a super busy season last year. Our family has been so blessed to design, build, and watch you all create change with mother nature. Then there is trying to do all the little things at home on our land as well. So this here webpage gets the short end of the stick. Sorry friends, but I choose to keep life in balance. I love and appreciate you all just the same.

Permaculture = Ecological Yields

I want to discuss a few things that I've come to consider very important over the years. I'd like to have a serious conversation about Permaculture and the ecological yields received when we take a regenerative approach to our place in the circle of life.

Permaculture ecosystems yield living soil, a healthy carbon cycle, stored water, and biodiversity. The land becomes adaptable to drought, flood, and even fire. It is not just buzzwords, and when put into real action, it is certainly not the same greenwashing you will see marketed to the masses. Permaculture actually is "regenerative", and there's no fancy technology required, just consciousness, willingness, and effort, and measurable results.

We have a framework called Earth's living systems. It provides us with a concrete example of what words like "regenerative" actually mean, and by partnering with the patterns of the ecosystems around us, we can create cycles of regeneration in our own communities. 

This is not a static system; it is allowed to unfold over time. We can co-create regenerative ecosystems by working with and within the earth's ecosphere. For us humans, it offers food, herbal medicine, fiber, fuel, stress relief, connection, recreation, culture, and more.

The Smallest Changes for the Biggest Rewards

Permaculture can be implemented with very small changes for great reward, but also conducted on large-scale by utilizing phased design. We understand that working with nature might mean accomplishing multi-generational goals that build resiliency into our lives. Think of communities who grow olive trees and pass on that knowledge for thousands of years. 

It's true that Ancient and Native Cultures have been tending the land for millennia, but in the last 150 years we have destroyed so much of what may have taken our planet millions of years to create. Our partners on this earth are trusting us to equally cohabitate. It never ends well when we don't.

How do we accomplish the ultimate regenerative life? We build habitat, use cover crops, promote diversity, and allow for intense growth. In a permaculture forest garden, we let plant life go to seed for next seasons uses, or in the case of many natives, simply to reseed into the ecosystem. We build and diversify microbial life. Planting should be extensive and intensive. Trusting in the ways of nature, there will be a flow of seasonal yields at all times of the year.

Partnering With Our Non-Human Cousins

On a permaculture site, we work intensely with microbial life in the soil. The soil's microbiome is just as important as our human microbiome.
Not just soil critters, but animal involvement in general is optimal for so many reasons. When we partner with our non-human cousins, we find greater success for both people and planet. 

Another note is that in permaculture we are also not afraid to safely use fire. Natives knew this simple and natural regenerative technology well. We promote the use of and hold any biochar produced on our land. Same as the leaves, these are treasure and not trash.

Who doesn't like a really cool looking design, but let's get real... Aesthetic is not as important as actually being regenerative. So start that huge compost pile, make leaf molds, and make onsite mulch. Get your feet wet and dive into the world of making compost teas and extracts. Inoculate the soil with mycorrhizal fungi! Let the neighbors ask what the heck you're up to over there. Lucky for our eyes, partnering with local ecology is stunningly beautiful.

When the biology levels are intense within the soil, when the food web is active and the rhizosphere is full of a living root networks complete with mycorrhizal fungi, we will need less volume of water, and much less soil replaced over and over. Saving you money and saving the planets resources.

A favorite permaculture staple of mine is to allow habitat for ecology and regenerative growth by not cleaning up landscaping and gardens too early. We are patient when needed, and act fast when needed, but truly, we understand that regenerative yields take time. We install things with seasonal sensitivity. Your timing should make sense for seasonal eating as well as for thriving plants. 

Another concept is always to build responsibly - choose materials wisely. Design in order to build with the least harm. If I know of a resource being wasted that can do the job well, that's what I'm using, especially if it's provided by the cycle on our own land.

Do No Harm

The focused approach we take is to design for maximum ecological gain. Oddly enough, many folks don't understand that partnering with the local ecology will move our planet forward, while monoculture crops, injecting herbicides, using gmo seeds, producing food in a laboratory, and spraying everything with pesticides will only keep desertifying the planet... All the while reducing the nutrients available to our bodies. 

Just like a doctor’s oath, we aim to “Do No Harm”. We don't tear through with large machines that destroy habitat and compact the soil when we can use our bodies as they were made to be used. Permaculture is exercise and recreation as well. Viewing it through this lens, we use the least amount of land disturbance, and the least amount of fossil fuels on projects as possible. This isn't for "greenwashing" purposes, but you can feel good in your soul about it. If we are to be regenerative for the sake of the future, then we want to be more than just carbon neutral. Carbon sequestration is not only regenerative for mother earth, but you can save money and feed your family by taking your appropriate place in the cycle and caring for that soil by not compacting it.

I’ll leave you with a fact. Currently, we are losing 5.7 tons of soil per acre annually across the globe. That's a conservative figure, with some factory farms losing as much as 17 tons per acre of soil each year. Gone away, along with that once healthy and biodiverse soil, is also the nutrients that our food once contained not too long ago.

I hope you can see for yourself that permaculture is extremely rewarding. I hope you can see that we can change the path we are on one small step at a time. A permaculture life is a heck of a lot of fun, but it's also a serious business that our planet desperately needs. 

Love,
Tyler - Owner @ Ancient Origins