28 Oct “Permaculture 101”: Transplanting Wisdom from Other Times and Places

We permaculturists are big on culling best practices from other times and places to solve our design challenges.

This past summer at my local farmers’ market, most of the vendors told me they got all their produce from other states during the summer because “It’s too hot to grow anything in Florida* at this time of year.” (*Yes, I live in Florida now, in a beautiful place by the sea. I still spend a chunk of the year in my beloved central Texas though, and maintain significant ties with the Austin area permaculture community, which is why you still hear quite a bit from me.)

Determined to get my hands on some truly local summer produce, I landed at the booth of a Thai woman selling vegetables she grows in her own yard. She introduced me to all sorts of veggies that originated in sweltering Asian subtropics. Her produce was mostly analogous to our familiar veggies such as spinach and other greens, and squashes. The thought that "it's impossible to grow anything in Florida at this time of year" had probably never even crossed her mind. Also surely a contributing factor in her success was that she kept her operations on a micro scale; she wasn't attempting to put out anywhere near the volume of produce that her American counterparts were going for.

Whether your climate is hot or cold; dry or wet, be sure to study what people from similar climates are doing. Take full advantage of the staggering wealth of free online information about successful techniques and materials from around the world and throughout history. (Do a search for “Permaculture” or “Transition Towns” on Google or YouTube — you’ll feel like you just hit the jackpot!)

And, in your own place, make friends with old-timers and immigrants.

And while you’re at it, visit your local museum or history center. Find out how the early settlers grew their food; harvested their water; met their transportation and shelter needs without fossil fuels.

By the way, though central Texas is not a desert (YET – keeping fingers crossed), we would do well to look to traditional desert cultures for best practices in growing, water-harvesting, residential construction, natural cooling and heating, and other essential functions.

On the subject of wisdom from other times, I recently saw (via a friend's Facebook share) a WWI-era poster exhorting American households to raise chickens. A wise old practice that a lot of people nowadays are getting back into!

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RECOMMENDED RESOURCES

NativeSeeds.org : Arizona-based seed bank offering heirloom and other varieties from the Southwest. Also offers books, classes, and value-added natural goods such as soaps.

The Man Who Stopped the Desert : must-see video about an illiterate farmer in Nigeria who has had great success growing food and mitigating desertification by developing his own variation on the simple technique of digging "zai holes." I rarely take the time to watch videos, but if you live in central Texas or another dangerously dry region, you really must see this one. Episode 711 in the richly informative "Survival Podcast" by Jack Spirko.

HarvestingRainwater.com : water-harvesting guru Brad Lancaster outlines, in his books and on his website filled with stories and pictures, the very simple path (more should follow it!) from water scarcity to water abundance. I was particularly delighted and amazed by his account of his trip to Jordan, where he visited ancient Roman and Byzantine-era cisterns that are still functioning today.