Permaculture is a way of situating yourself in your ecology. Following principles of permaculture, one tries to create stable, sustainable, productive systems that harmoniously integrate the land with its inhabitants. When placing yourself in your environment, you take into account the ecological processes of plants, animals, nutrients, the climate, weather and the landscape, as well as your fellow humans. Part of Longhaul Farm's long-term goal is to create a place that is part of our ecology's permanent culture.
The practice of permaculture is ancient, but the concept was coined in the mid-20th century. I think it was revived in response to the destruction our current agricultural and development practices are bringing to this world. Our farm plan documents our attempt to work with our local environment, providing inputs to it, rather than just expecting outputs. There will be more posts on how we integrate nature's systems with our work to come...
But this first post is meant to point out the importance of including humans in the permaculture culture. This is inspired by our positive connections made with our neighbors and people in our local community. It is just as important to us to collect rain water as it is to maintain connections with people in our lives. Our relationships will hopefully be a healthy balance of give and take, continuously enhancing our quality of life, feeding our minds, bodies and souls with the powerful restorative features of a secure network of humans.
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