Permaculture
Permaculture was thought out during the 1970’s. It was the time when people became aware that each one has an influence over nature and that humans can damage nature. Chemicals like DDT was widely used, monoculture was adding to ever growing erosion and destruction of nature. Chemical fertilisers were produced at an ever increasing rate as the demand was high. Pesticides were used in mega quantities to kill whatever moved around the agricultural crop.
A few voices of awareness surfaced, claiming that the pesticides also damage human cells. The Gaia theory of self regulating feedback mechanisms in nature was published to shed some light on the interaction and connection between humans and nature. Bill Mollison and David Holmgren published their theory based on natural ecosystems that can support sustainable agriculture systems.
The dawn of permaculture happened almost unnoticed by the world. It took a lot of hard work of Mollison to push it into the view of authorities and influential people in politics. Even today it is a novice concept, fifty years after it was conceived. Many side shoots of the permaculture concept developed over time; where syntropic agriculture and agroforestry are the most vocal contenders for a place in the alternative farming industry.
All theories are born within a context where there is a need for solving some issues that burns in someone’s soul. All theories develop over time and either take the spiritual, or even religious road or it develops techniques for people to use. Many hold the concept of “create no waste” and “create a community” very dear to their hearts. This even happens to a degree that permaculture becomes a way of life that is energised by a dogma amongst the “believers”. Others take the “techniques” road, like ourselves at LoosNatural farm.
At LooseNatural farm we are aware of a need to have a goal, a dream or we can even call it a theory or philosophy. We have leaned over the years that one should decide between adapting dreams to ourselves or we adapt to the dreams. This is not an easy decision to take as each of those scenarios have a place and time. At LooseNatural farm we have the dream of being natural and we are quite aware that we have to be loose in ourselves to reach that goal. What natural really is needs to be answered before one can blindly follow a small dream built on over simplified idealism. Therefore we have added the term “loose” as we have to constantly adapt to the situation and our understanding of what natural is.
At LooseNatural farm we juggle permaculture, syntropic and agroforestry agriculture concepts with great skill. We can do this because we are skilled to extract techniques out of theories. Martin has studied this at university level and has practiced this his whole adult life in his various positions he held in the international job market. Techniques are repeatable actions that mostly deliver the desired outcome. To practice a technique one obviously requires the right tools and the associated experience or skills.
At LooseNatural farm we use several techniques that make our lives easier and guarantee great results:
From permaculture we extracted the technique of constructing swales to plant water and to plant plants.
From Syntropic agriculture we extracted the technique of planting a diversity of plants next to each other.
From Agroforestry we extracted the technique to create as much shade and wind protection during our hot and dry summers.
These techniques are standardised, written down, published, taught and handed to all who visit the farm for some internship or Permaculture course. These techniques can be seen as they are practiced by everyone on a daily basis. It can also be seen in nature, how we have influenced the land to respond well to where we are heading at. At LooseNatural farm we have only started our work in March 2022 and our basic strategy is slowly becoming visible just by looking at the land.
Permaculture is a colossal theory that takes years to grasp and to implement. By using techniques we are making our lives much easier and also for those who work with us. Permaculture techniques are there for the extraction and implementation. We are well on our way to thrive on our farm due to our commitment to Permaculture Techniques.