Welcome to Permie.net!

We want to help show off the work of permaculturists…permies…and provide resources for everyone to live in a more truly sustainable way.

What is Permaculture?

The modern practice of permaculture was founded by Bill Mollison and David Holmgren as the practice of designing and building sustainable human settlements. Mollison coined the term “permaculture” as a portmanteau of “permanent agriculture”, but later said that it could also be thought of as “permanent culture”. The permanence of permaculture lies in its sustainability; it’s a design system based on close observation of nature to create a way of life with the same resiliency of a balanced ecosystem.

Of course, the activities of permaculture are nothing new…many of the ideas build upon practices used by indigenous civilizations of the past, which is why some say that permaculture is “on the cutting edge of a 10,000 year old idea.”

The practice of permaculture is formalized around three ethics:

1. Care of the Earth: care of the living and non-living systems of our environment
2. Care of People: providing for people to access those resources necessary to their existence
3. Setting Voluntary Limits to Population and Consumption: governing our own needs and reinvesting the surplus in the care of earth and people.

The bumper sticker version you might see is “Earth care, people care, fair share”.

Looking Ahead

We plan to begin by building a catalog of posts dedicated to helping you find the best permaculture resources on the web. We’re based in Sonoma County, and we’ll be featuring lots of local information. But we’ll also feature permaculture work being done across the globe.

Do you have a suggestion for a site or project to feature? Please use the “Contact Us” link at the top of the right column to drop us a note.

We’d also like to hear from you (by email or in the comments below) how you think Permie.net can best serve the greater permaculture community. Please drop us a note and let us know what you think!

Thanks for stopping by. We’re glad you made it!