Permaculture Farm - a Way to the Ethical and Sustainable Food Production
hello, my name is Denisa Tomášková
and I work for a czech permaculture academy as a teacher
of permaculture courses
and I also create permaculture designs as a permaculture designer
that means that I consult my clients about their sites
that are of different sizes
from small gardens to many acres
we make permaculture systems
today I hacve prepared for you a short overview of what it means "the permaculture farm"
permaculture farming is very different from a conventional farming
but also from the organic agriculture
the main difference is that permaculture is a design system based on ethical rules
let's have a look on what is it we want to compare a permaculture farm to
can permaculture feed the world?
a long time ago when I started to study permaculture my friends used to ask me if permaculture could feed the world
they used to say it was a very nice concept based on the nature but...
I was talking only about small systems in gardens which was only a complementary production
those many years ago I was curious too
at that time I also tended to a quite a big piece of land, I had two hectares
I kept asking myself how to... how to make the production on the big land function
conventional agriculture produces unbelievable yields nowadays
it can produce grain around 5t per hectare
potatoes 22t per hectare
60t per hectare sugar beet
those are huge numbers
the price we pay is of course very well known, but it is extremely difficult
to reach those numbers in monocrop in organic agriculture
these yields are dependant on the artificial energy added to the system regularly
we use fossil fuels to power the tractors
we use many chemicals as fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides
the price we pay is:
soil degradation and water regime disturbance
the soil treated this way succums to wind and water erosion
the soil horizon is compacted by the heavy machinery on the fields
lastbut not least : agriculture is one of the major contributors to the carbon emissions
let's have look how is permaculture facing the challenges connected to food production
let's begin with what really is permaculture
there are many definitions of permaculture
I like this one:
permaculture is a set of tools that helpes us to create
ethicasl and ecological livelihood
it is based on the three basic ethical rules
Earth care, people care, sharing the surplus
this concept was created by Bill Mollison and David Holmgren
in Australia in the 70's
and originally it was really created as a concept of a sustainable agriculture
permanent agriculture
as years passed it was widento ed"permanent culture"
permaculture is based on nature
it copies natural principles of functioning
I have chosen a couple of permaculture principles
that we use when we design permaculture systems
permaculture principles are the main tools for the design
permaculture systems should copy the nature so that they consume less energy over time
conventional agriculutre requires constant imput of energy
it requires plowing, pesticies, herbicides
in permaculture we aim for a kind of production that does not require these imputs
ipermaculture farm should not need to buy in the fertilizers, to pollute the soil with chemicals
the first principle I chose is WE WORK WITH NATURE RATHER THAN AGAINST IT
in permaculture we carefuly observe the nature
we try to visit unspoiled places
Bill Mollison himself worked in and observed the Tasmanian rain forest
and he relized hat nature does not need to plow
does not need to fertilize and yet nature is extremely productive
and so we work in cooperation with nature, we don't try to fight it
we observe and duplicate the natural functioning of systems
eventually this makes the work on the farm easier
another core principle of permaculture is THE PROBLEM IS THE SOLUTION
we often try to resolve problems with a big imput of energy
for example if we have a wet piece of land, we can either meliorate it
and make it into something different from the natural tendency of the place
or in permaculture we can plant some water loving plants and adjust the production to the plsce
or we can make a pond there
another permaculture priciple is TO MAKE THE LEAST CHANGE FORTHE BIGGEST EFFECT
again we are trying rather think more and to do less
for example if we have some old buildings on the site
we can renovate them, we can pull them down or we can creatively use them with a minimum energy imput
we can tranform them into a shed, summer kitchen
our students in our courses come up with all sorts of solutions
another principle i chose is CATCH AND STORE ENERGY
that is absolutely essential for a permaculture system to function
if we develop a farm that is supposed to bring the yield
we need to work with the energies that enter the site very crefuly
these energies can be various
it can be the sunshine, the wind
it can also be people that come
it can be turists
so people make a form of incoming energy as well
in permaculture we work with the energy so that
invite the beneficial energies and block the negative energies
we store the energy in plants
we try to catch the energy of the wind
we transform it into electricity or use it to dry wet places
there are many ways
those energies we do not want on the site we divert or block
for instance the unwanted hot summer wind can be diverted by a windbreak
another permaculture principle is DESIGN FROM PATTERN TO DETAIL
when we design a site we define the main idea, the master pattern first and then we proceed to details
the master pattern is processed into bigger detail over time
the detailed design of a chicken coop or a raised bed comes last
the last permaculture principle to show here is
USE EDGES AND VALUE MARGINAL
the surplus in ecosystems is concentrted on the edges
if we take for example forest and a meadow the most species will be found on the transition from one ecosystem to another
if we take a river bank - it is the place where the water ecosystem meets the solid dry earth
the edges are always the most productive
in permaculture we design edges on purpose to obtain the yield they bare
the edge can generate the yield that we as farmers can selll
in permaculture design we are aiming for a system where the demand for imputs is minimized
and the need for energy imput decreases over time
that is a big difference to the conventional agriculture and
I think also to the organic agriculture
because also in organic agriculture we use energy demanding techniques
there are more smart tools in permaculture
we use those tools to design or only to contemplate about the design
the tool I chose is a concept of ZONES
zoning in permculture means that we keep often used things closer and less used things further from the house
there is a house in the centre and the things that need most care around the house
in this zone there will be for instance plant nurseryor other plants that need daily care
there will be some small QUIET animals in this zone
the further from the house we go, there will be elements of the design that need less and less care
so as we already understand the zone around the house, zone 1 is for small intensive systems
zone 2 will be for bigger animals, small trees, chicens and still often used things
such as strawberries for breakfast
zone 3 is for the main crop and big animals
for instance potato field does not require daily attention
in zone 3 there will be pastures and ponds
the ponds if managed properly can produce up to 30xmore nutrient than the dryland
zone4 is a managed forest of your choice - for firewood, timber. it is a place where we store energy long term
zone 5 is a wilderness
there is no human intervention in this part of the property
this place is left on it's own
zone 5 is present in all sizes of the sites
zone 5 is a textbook of nature that we observe and learn from it
let's have a look on the water management on a permaculture farm
in pemaculture we try to always function acording the permaculture ethics - Earth care, people care and fair share
these are three common ways to deal with water on the property:
water is a resource that is becoming scarce even in our counry - we experience droughts and floods
there is a basic rule in permaculture for water: SLOW SPREAD SINK
we use swales on contour, little ponds and marshes and keyline design to keep the water on the property as long as possible
swales are tree growing features!
the small ponds and dams are used for animals, for putting out fires and for growing fish and water plants, can be a lso used for irrigation
we aim to produce a mosaic of water features that most resembles the natural system
keyline design uses a special plow made by P.A.Yeomans that rips the soil open and allows to infiltratethe soil with water and air
keyline plow can be also used to sow the seeds into the pastures
soil is a resource that can be renewed, but only with a great difficulty.
plowing and chemicals destroy the soil life
in permaculture we care for soil by groudcovers, annual or perennial, no-till techniques and pasture cropping.
there are farms that can produce a nice crop without turning the soil
annual groundcovers- a sequence of plants on the field so that the soil is never bare and also the weeds cannot grow
as a groudcover we can use rye, clover, daikon and many others
daikon root opens the soil
pasture cropping can be also effective if the sequence is right - theanimals intensively graze, trumole the grass and then the soil is ripped and sown
the animals are used on the permaculture farms for services they can perform
on permacculture farm we use animal tractors - chicken tractor, pig tractor and we use other animals for other activities too
the chickens can help with the pests in the orchard
obtaining a yield on a permaculture farm: witn animals, greenmanure, biochar, compost teas and vermicompost
on a permaculture farm we try to produce all the fertilizer necessary, so that we do not have to import anthing
it is necessary that a farm cooperate with the close surroundings
and there is a return of at least a part of the residues
the aim is to be self sefficient with producing of the energy
how can we do it? we use animals, they can replace some machines, e.g for tillage and weeding
another way for enhancing the soil quality is a green manure
if we have to till, we should use cover crops after harvest because of protection and accumulation of nutrients in soil
another method we can use even on a larger areas is biochar applicacion
there are experiments in Germany and also in Australia
it is basically a charcoal with an enormous surface and it is like a sponge and a shelter for microorganisms in the soil
Experiments proves that the soil with biochar is very productive.
there two main ways for fertilising as such: compost tea, which is microbial and mycelial leachate
it is added to nutrient solution and during the aerobic process there is a reproduction of useful microorganisms
and this solution can be used for large areas
advantage is to mix the suitable solution for a certain crop
the cereals prefer more bacterial component, trees and bushes prefer mycelial component and the tomatoes like half-half ratio
there is a research about it beacause the microbial organisms are crucial for health and growth of plants.
there is a hope that conventional fertilizers could be replaced by this
for smaller vegetable production. it is possible to use so called vermicompost which is a product of earthworms
they are special manure earthworms which feed on organic matter
there are big vermicompost productions
fertilizing with vermicompost is very efficient, especially with vegetables is higher yield
let's have a look on animals, so far we have been talking about plant production
animals should be part of each permaculture farm, it doesn't mean that a farm has to be specialised on animal husbandry
permaculture farmer always will be a passionate producer of compost so it is useful to have animals for composting
however if we want to focus on animal production, there is several models of attitude
Joel Salatin from U.S., he is an organic farmer, he is commercially successful
it is often a problem that permaculture farmer can grow and produce good vegetables, good meat but he has got a problem to sell it
and he is a good at production but also at sale.
he started "mobile farm". he has got his own plots and rented plots
all the facilities are mobile, on the wheels
what you can see on the pic, it is "egg mobile"
the hens are changing the plots every day
so there is no degradation of the plot, they fertilise and aerate the soil
at the same time, there is an elimination of pest problem, because animals are not in touch with their own excrements
those hens have a good diet of insects, of course they get the food from farmer
his farm is located in Virginia and its name is Polyface farm
another person who works with animals on a permaculture farm with diverse crops, he produces potatoes, cereals, fruits and vegetables and animals, is Mark Shepard
his concept restoration agriculture, it is permaculture farm where there is a water management, well-done design of zones that there is no waste of energy
the next concept which is accepted by permaculture is holistic management
the soil degradation is huge, especially in dry areas, because there is intevsive pasture with no time for plant regeneration
this concept was created by Alan Savory and it is for enhancing the soil quality
improve the quality of pastures and at the same time to produce meat and milk
the principle of this concept is that we work a certain intention and with financial concepts, and the animals are moved around with enough time for plants to regenerate
and create root system large enough to ensure carbon sequestration and a good growth of plants to the future
if we had one hectar plot and a herd of sheep, we wouldn't use whole hectar for sheep but divide it into smaller pieces
so sheep graze on one piece and when they return, the grass should be fully regenerated
and parasites in excrements should have broken life cycles after that time
there is much more examples but we don't have enough time to talk about it
now let's have a look how it is with permaculture farming and care about people
primarily farms care about people in a way of producing the food which enable to survive
it is even more obvious for permaculture farms. the permaculture products should be healthy, alive, appropriate, not chemical
currently there is an increasing tred of growing in the cities
it is beacuse there is an effort to grow the food locally
why are we doing that? we try to decrease the impact on the environment because of long distance transport of food
but it is also beacuse fresh vegetables and fresh food has got a bigger nutrient value than long stored vegetable
it means that there are more and more urban farms
definitely it is not something what would replace a mass production
but from human care point of view and what quality people can get, it is very beneficial because people in the city have got a possibility to buy completely fresh product
some urban farms work typically, hydroponic, but lots of them implement permaculture principles
and thanks to that there is a phenomenon of people around farms
and the community forms around the food what i think it is really appropriate and beneficial
now let's talk about how the farmer can share the surplus
of course, the aim of farm is to produce something what is possible to pass on
in permaculture it is one aspect that we create the surplus and it is possible to use it but at the same time there is a formation of new information
because permaculture farmers try many new things, they obtain the knowledge and art which they can share with others
so this is that surplus which each permaculture farmer can share
the way they can do it by several ways. there is an organisation of organic farms for volunteers, WWOOFing.
you can find information about it online
then there is an international map of permaculture projects www.permacultureglobal.com, where it is possible to find projects from your climate
it is possible to add information about your project, your experience, your difficulties
in the Czech republic, there is an organisation Permakultura CS and its partner Academy of permaculture
where we like people who come and share their experience on permaculture courses
and in magazine which is published by permaculture association, it is called Klíč k soběstačnosti (Key for self-sufficiency)
and on permaculture convergences every year
knowledge it is that precious what permaculture farmer can share
so it was very short review about specifics of permaculture farms and techniques
for those who are interested in this topis, can visit www.permakulturacs.cz or www.akademiepermakultury.cz
you can find lots of useful information onlie, permaculture community is wide and global
it is not only about Australians but also what people do in our climate
thank you for your attention and i hope we will meet at some permaculture course or a meeting of permaculture community in the Czech republic
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