The ethical principles of permaculture

Nature, people and sharing at the heart of our philosophy

This article has been translated with Google Translate. You may find language incoherences but we hope your comprehension won’t be compromised.

Ethics is at the heart of the permaculture process: any design process must be based on values. These values will depend on the objectives to be achieved, the primary and secondary effects expected and tolerated.

These principles are constraints, cultural mechanisms which serve to temper our primary instincts so as to reduce individualistic actions. Our society has never been so powerful, because of the energy at its disposal (fossil fuels, nuclear, renewables, etc.). The use of this energy makes many feats and mistakes possible. Ethical principles then help us to:

Better understand each person’s personal interests (the « I » present)
Better understand the notion of society, of community (the « we » present)
Better perceive the long-term repercussions of our actions (the future « I » and “we”)

Three main principles have emerged during the history of permaculture: take care of the earth, take care of people, and share fairly.

Take care of the earth

Earth is a living and breathing entity. It needs continuous care and attention if serious consequences are to be avoided.
Citation by David Holmgren in Permaculture Principles

This ethical principle brings together two different aspects: taking care of our soils first (the earth in the proper sense), but also taking care of all the living beings that these soils shelter (and by extension, all aquatic animals obviously).

Taking care of our soil

We have strong scientific and historical reasons for considering the condition of our soils as the most reliable measure of the future health and well-being of a society. How to take care of the soil? Here is a thorny question. In addition to these technical aspects, there are also ethical ones, because we do not know to what extent we can increase the capacity of soils to meet the needs of nature and of humans.
David Holmgren – Permaculture

The soil is the reflection of our society: this is why in the garden, permaculturalists strive to respect it, not to work it too much, to mulch it, etc. A rich soil filled with life will provide for the needs of the living things that depend on it (including us!). A good permaculture system should take this into account and act accordingly.

Caring for living things

Caring for the soil alone is not enough; we must also respect the living beings in our ecosystems. All living beings without exception, including those which seem to us the least useful (or even harmful).

We believe that all life forms and species have intrinsic value, regardless of their downside, to us or to other life forms important to us. We reduce our total environmental impact, which we believe is the best way to take care of everything that is alive without having to understand the many impacts of each individual action, to control them or to take responsibility for them. When we abuse or kill a life form, we always do so conscientiously and with respect; not using what you kill is the ultimate form of contempt.
David Holmgren – Permaculture

Take care of the human

After caring for the environment comes caring for individuals. Permaculture is a philosophy that proudly carries its social values and places human needs at the heart of its concerns. This ethical pillar in turn breaks down into two complementary aspects: taking care of yourself and taking care of others.

Although obvious, this approach is often forgotten: let’s start by knowing ourselves well, taking care of ourselves. We can then gradually broaden the scope of our concerns: my neighborhood, my city, my country, etc.

Take care of me

The human journey that permaculture offers begins with oneself: let’s get to know each other.

List our wealths. We are full of talent, let’s list them. It is about being well aware of all our resources: what I like to do, what I know how to do well (natural or worked talents), my interpersonal skills, my know-how, etc. Let’s focus not on what others expect from us, but on what we think is our strength. As Albert Einstein once said, « If you judge a fish by its tree climbing ability, it will spend its entire life believing it is stupid. »

List our needs. Can we all answer the following question: “What do I need to feel good?”. The answer to this question is often not obvious: let’s take the time to ask ourselves it sincerely. The answers can come quickly or they can come over time, whatever! It is up to everyone to discover what they need for a fulfilling life: stability, or on the contrary discovery and movement? Company or a moment alone? These needs are bound to change, we must listen to them and question ourselves regularly.

These reflections facilitate the journey towards self-sufficiency, which will be all the easier to achieve as we focus on our intangible well-being (and that of others) without consuming more material goods than necessary.

Caring for others

Once the introspection work is done, it is appropriate to reflect on our integration into the social fabric. What are the needs of others? From my neighborhood? From my city? Permaculture prioritizes local needs, with the aim of saving energy and in order to find the most relevant solutions for each need.

Taking care of others is first and foremost to communicate effectively together. There are many techniques of non-violent communication or shared governance that can facilitate living together, but one point is particularly important: personal responsibility.

We must learn to accept being personally responsible for the situation we are in, instead of seeing external forces and influences controlling our lives. This also applies to our daily exchanges: accepting our share of responsibility in all circumstances to avoid conflicts and promote group work.

Share fairly

If the first two ethical pillars are generally unanimous among the followers of permaculture, the following principles vary from one interpretation to another. At Ovega we love David Holmgren’s version of sharing as a third ethical pillar.

Any permaculture system creates a useful output (we refer the reader to Design Principle # 3 which is the subject of an article in the Academy). This production, by definition, must meet our needs and will probably generate surpluses (rather than risk not being able to meet our needs).

What then to do with these surpluses? The last ethical pillar of permaculture introduces the notion of equitable sharing of resources. Use as much as you need and share the rest with others.

Knowing how to share also means accepting that nature takes its part. Your nourishing garden is home to many living things that are part of a balanced eco-system. From this balance is born your harvest: agree to donate a small part to all these living beings that make it possible (birds, slugs, etc.).

Although simple in its formulation, it is the most difficult ethical principle to implement, due to the difficulty of defining the limits of our needs. From when do we consider that production is a surplus to be shared: after basic needs only? How to place and detect the threshold of « sufficient »?

The sense of limits arises from a deep knowledge of how our world works. Setting limits on consumption and demographics means figuring out what is enough, and sometimes making tough decisions. But when we accept our condition as mortals and the limited nature of our power, the establishment of personal limits takes the form of a reasonable deal with the world. By practicing self-restraint, we prevent outside forces forcing us to change, and we preserve our autonomy and self-control. (…)

The thorny problem of population growth, for its part, gives rise to very contrasting positions. The planet is undoubtedly already too populated for the long-term well-being of mankind and other species to be assured. (…)

Redistributing the surplus requires that we share the surplus resources in order to help the Earth and other humans, beyond the circle of our immediate influences and responsibilities. How do we distribute our surplus of time, resources and wealth? This question is existential for a large number of relatively wealthy people on this planet. This is also not done through institutions such as the Church, but through development assistance programs, social actions, associations, etc.
David Holmgren – Permaculture

From ethical principles to design principles

Together, these three ethical principles form a system of values that make it possible to build sustainable and equitable systems: they constitute the foundations of permaculture. The 12 design principles are based on this ethic and offer a method of analysis and problem solving that allows you to carry out all your projects in a permaculture process.