Permaculture is a movement that many folks have heard of. It has a lot of political ideology for some, not for me. I think of it as a systems approach to homesteading and life. I am going to skip over many things because Permaculture is a deep subject. You can watch videos, read books, and blogs about this. You can even take a Permaculture Design Course from some very experienced permaculturists. (PDC) But in order to understand the basics of it you have to understand it has zones. These zones help plan the homestead in a way that is efficient for the land, time and you. Here is my really simplified version into permaculture and zones.
What is Permaculture:
Many people consider Bill Mollison the father of Permaculture. He and David Holmgren were recorded explaining what Permaculture is Mollison What is Perm
What are Permaculture zones?
Zones are typically split into 5 zones (1-5) , but many have added a zone 0, Ben Falk has spoken of zone 00 and some have added a zone 6 as well. Your family and friends can fit into these zones as well. So do you see how this can be a whole lifestyle design? Our lives are interwoven with work, play, homesteading, relationships, community. All of it builds and works together…or not. For myself, my goal is to create a life and space where the flow of these things happens as easily as possible. Yes, we all need boundaries, those can be worked into this. It will take some thought and effort. In fact, continual effort, because that is life. I am not going to get into describing the zones, many people have done that for you in blogs and videos online. You may enjoy my simple drawings…or not.
The Zones
Zone 00-
THE skin you’re in- YOU
Zone 0-
Your home can have many zones, some of us rarely visit certain areas of our home.
Zone 1-
Kitchen Gardens, Chicken Coop etc..
Zone 2-
Less attention but similar to zone 1 & 2, visited daily
Zone 3-
Orchards, field crops, mushrooms, bees
Zone 4-
Managed Woodlots etc..
Zone 5-
Wild untouched areas
Zone 6-
Your community.
These zones will be unique to each homestead. They will vary for the urban, suburban and rural homestead.
I am going to do a series on how these zones work for my suburban lifestyle starting with one of the most important zones we have. Zone 00.
YOU
Zone 00 is self care, YOU! It is probably the most important of all of these. Self care isn’t working yourself to exhaustion and then rest and pamper. Though if that is where you have to start, then start there. It’s about managing at a level that is enjoyable and maintainable. Have you heard the old saying, ” use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.” This is a great way to deal with consumerism, being thrifty, sustainability and even regenerative practices. But when it comes to our bodies, it isn’t a great slogan. Our bodies are amazing and have amazing abilities to heal, refresh and retool but we need to care for them on a regular basis. We tend to abuse them and expect them to perform flawlessly. We can’t, “use it up”, “wear it out” or “make it do” like a pair of jeans. We eventually pay for that. And that payment ends up costing us more than we want to pay.
What if there was another way? I propose there is…But it’s different and it’s hard…and it’s eccentric because it means saying no, living different, being different. It may mean doing less, having less, making less…it may not. For us it does. You also don’t have to get radical with this unless it is your jam. The beauty of making your own rules and living life on your terms is…YOU decide!
The goal of my blog is to bring you on my journey as I examine and develop better self care practices. My goal is to stop chaos and busyness being my normal and carve a life I enjoy and can maintain with as little stress and anxiety as I possibly can. Because I have worked on this for a long time I am well on my way down this path. In many ways I am hacking the vines and brush back with my machete and making my own path. In others I stand on the shoulders of giants like Mollison, Holmgren and Falk. Remember this journey is about you. It will be different than mine. It will have its own pace, its own goals.
Now let’s REWILD!