Chapter 2. Ethics and Permaculture (EN)

Chapter 2 : Ethics and Principles

A Permaculture design Methodology is defined by the following elements:

1. Ethics and Principles
2. Design Process
3. Design Tools
4. Deliverables/Outputs

Ethics and Permaculture

Ethics is one of those terms that people know, but cannot exactly define. In common usage, the word “ethics” is often incorrectly used interchangeably with the word “morality”, and although the two concepts are tied together, they are not the same. Whereas morals define  what is right and wrong, ethics are a codified or formalised system of morals of a particular person, group etc. So, in a nutshell, ethics can be defined as a set of formalised principles of what is right and wrong conduct.

As a basic definition, Permaculture is a holistic design system set up to create sustainable human settlements and food production systems. It is also a global movement concerned with the sustainable, environment-friendly use of the land and the building of stable communities, through the harmonious interrelations between humans, plants, animals and the Earth. 

By this very definition, this system requires that our conduct is focused on the good of the planet, of Nature and of the people. It cannot work otherwise.

Permaculture deals with scientifically definable and measurable systems, biological ecosystems and human communities. What is beneficial or detrimental to either of these systems is not a subjective matter bound in the realms of personal opinion and conjecture. What is good or bad for living systems is objective scientific fact that can be observed, measured and the results readily reproduced, it is not idle philosophy abstracted from reality and relegated to the towers of academia.

“Any living system, when viewed scientifically, has required inputs which sustain life within that system”.

A plant needs sunlight, air, water and soil to sustain it. Naturally, these inputs occur in a clean, unpolluted state. If we impair these inputs in any way, we harm plant life. When we extend this example to animal life (and yes, that includes us humans too!), it works exactly the same way, just with greater complexity.

If people’s actions are detrimental to the inputs required to sustain life in a living system, or if the actions are directly harmful to the living system itself (ie. the organisms within it), then those actions are de facto unethical.

From a Permaculture perspective, ethical actions are therefore simply those that support life, while unethical ones are ones that harm or needlessly destroy life.

Permaculture therefore starts with ethics, which form the very foundations of this design system, and all actions we undertake in

The three ethics of Permaculture are as follows:

• Care for the Earth
• Care for People
• Return of surplus to Earth and people (also called “Fair Share”)

The ethics of Permaculture, Care of the Earth, Care of People and Sharing of Surplus, promote a system that is life-affirming, and creates a sense of reverence for all life on the planet.

By embodying and living by these principles, we ensure the continued survival of our species, the health of the planet and maintain a healthy respect for life itself.

Ethic 1: Care for the Earth

The Earth is the very thing that sustains us, it provides us with all the essentials that keep us alive (air, water, food, shelter) and it is the only source of these essentials, we cannot get them from anywhere else. We depend on the Earth and all the living systems on the planet (which, incidentally, are all interconnected in a complicated, interdependent web of life) for our survival.

Taking care of the Earth’s systems, which keep us alive, would logically be seen as “enlightened self-interest”, in other words, doing what is right to ensure one’s own survival, though not polluting the air we breathe, not poisoning the water we drink, and not destroying the land which provides our sustenance.

“Care of the Earth” includes all living and non-living things, such as animals and plants, as well as land, water and air.

Why? As science shows us through the disciplines of ecology and biology, all living and non-living systems are interconnected and interdependent. When one is affected, all are affected.

Caring for the Earth also means caring for the soil. Life depends on life, and the soil itself is actually a very complex living ecosystem, which supports plant life. Plant life in turn supports higher organisms and provides us with our sources of food, directly or indirectly.

Beyond food production, caring for the Earth means caring for our forests, which are the lungs of the planet, ensuring a supply of clean air. Forests are also inextricably linked to the process of rain formation and the water cycle, and therefore play a key role in ensuring our supply of fresh water. It means caring for our rivers, which are the veins of our planet, circulating the water, which all life depends on.

Ethic 2: Care for People

All living things are interdependent, and this includes the  people. In reality as the saying goes, “no man is an island”, humans by their very nature are communal and social animals. Life on this planet is generally cooperative in nature.

Beyond physical interdependency, humans psychologically need a community. Modern studies have shown that having a community is beneficial to the mental health of an individual, while the lack of a community is clearly detrimental. 

 Self-sufficiency is a myth, and a harmful one too!

“Care of the People” is about promoting responsibility towards the greater community. It is important to point out that we are talking about self-reliance and not self-sufficiency here. As mentioned above, “no man is an island”, one person cannot do everything, and it would be ridiculous to expect any one person to do so in any lifestyle.

As Bill Mollison once stated, “I might grow food, but I don’t want to have to make my own shoes, I can trade food I’ve grown with someone who makes shoes”. That is the essence of community! It is about sharing and supporting each other.

So, what does promoting self-reliance mean? It is about taking responsibility for more than one’s own future and looking to help one’s community by sharing knowledge and experience, to teach people  so that they can provide for some of their basic needs.

The essence of this is captured by the expression “give a man a fish, and he’ll eat for a day, teach a man to fish and he’ll eat for ever”. It is about a collaborative effort to bring change to one’s own life and that of others.

When people collaborate to support each other, and to meet their needs, both physical and non-physical, this creates a bond, which builds a stable, supportive,  emotionally healthy and prospering community.

Ethic 3: Fair share

This is also described as the ethical principle of “Return of surplus to the Earth and people”. No matter how you look at it, the world’s resources are finite, so logically there is a finite and measurable share of resources available to each person on the planet.

If all the produced resources were a metaphorical “pie”, and each person had their “slice of the pie”, what happens when someone wants more than their fair share, when someone wants more than one slice of the pie? Simply put, someone else goes without.

If anyone for even the briefest moment stops to think of how you could possibly have continuous growth, and for that matter, continuously increasing consumption, on a planet of a fixed size with finite (and diminishing) resources, then the nonsensical nature of this concept becomes clear and evident.

All our basic needs are met by the Earth itself, and our higher needs are met through community with each other.

Furthermore, when we share our surplus and when we share our skills, knowledge and experience, we build bonds between people which helps in fostering a sense of a stable and collaborative community.

So, what’s the point of “Fair Share”? If we take only our fair share, then there is enough for everybody, and there will continue to be in the future too.

Principles and Permaculture

The permaculture movement cares about design and people, therefore it is worth  highlighting some of the principles that can have an effective application during the design process and life itself.

Some attitudinal principles are listed below:

Please take a moment for each of the following principles to think about how they can be experienced or maybe how you already experienced them in your life.