Ethics of Permaculture
Three ethics are central to permaculture and form the basis for permaculture design:
Earth care
People care
Fair share
These permaculture ethics are based on knowledge and research destilled from traditional societies that have existed in balance with their environment.
Earth care
Earth care means ongoing care and nurturing for the earth as a living and breathing entity. It also means looking after its living soil which measures health and well-being of society.
Many techniques exist to define how healthy the soil is: the easiest would be to see how much life exists there. The forests and rivers - lungs and veins of the planet - support countless life forms. These life forms all have intrinsic value and need to be respected.
People care
Caring for people starts with ourselves and goes on to family and the wider community. When working towards a change we need to work together as companions. The community is a valuable resource of collective wisdom and helps when dealing with difficulties. To acknowlegde that we are responsible for our situation helps to empower ourselves while a shift of our focus from material goods to non-material well-being fosters self-reliance.
If people’s needs are met in compassionate and simple ways, the environment surrounding them will prosper.
What can we take away from this? The permaculture approach teaches us to focus on opportunities and to care for ourselves and others.
Fair share
...represents the taking of what we need and sharing what we don’t whilst recognising that there are limits to how much we can give and how much we can take.
Let's take the example of an apple tree: All the apples from one tree are more than enough to share with others of the community. And we can also benefit when our teacher living next door has too many pears.
As we consume more and more and it becomes clear that permanent and ongoing growth is not possible. We need to focus on finding the right balance in our actions - within the limits of giving and taking.
Sources:
The three ethics: https://permacultureprinciples.com/ethics/
One of a series of permaculture videos by Oregon State University Ecampus