The sum total of surplus energy produced by, stored, conserved, reused or converted by the design. Energy is in surplus once the system itself has available all its needs for growth, reproduction & maintenance (and thus the extra is available for export, use or trade).
by Andy Goldring
In this exercise, which can be used in a PDC, students try to identify and evaluate their involvement in and impact on food cycles. After evaluating the impacts, students are asked to implement an action plan to reduce the food consumption and sourcing from sustainable sources. The full description of the exercise can be dowloaded here..
by Aranya
The following pattern is a guide to what you might cover during your design. Either follow this through as described, or use it as a basis for your own ideas.
by Aranya
The ideal that we always aim towards in permaculture is the concept of ‘harvesting as maintenance’. In reality, if we utilise low-maintenance systems to create a design that requires less energy over time to maintain, while providing increasing yields, we’ve done pretty well.
by Aranya
So now you have created your map, you need to provide your client with an implementation plan. There are several factors that can affect the recommendations you make, including costs, so lets look at them one at a time.
by Aranya
This is the stage where we finally put all our ideas down on paper for then client. No design is ever going to be perfect, so don’t be afraid to make some decisions – you’ll always learn from them later, even if they don’t work out as well as you’d hoped.
by Aranya
Now we’ll get down to experimenting with where the different elements & systems in your design might be best placed. If you already have a fixed point of focus on the site (such as a house), then you’ll be aiming to place everything most efficiently in relation to that.
by Aranya
So having identified the key functions that we are going to design for, we are now going to think about the best ways to fulfil them. Ideally, we only include something (a system or element) in our design if it fulfils at least three functions.
Monika Frank, France, has shared some lessons plans: 1. Design Process and Elements of Permaculture Design.
A 90 minute session. Objectives: Know different steps in design cycle / process. Know why it is important to follow a design process and that it is cyclical.
By Aranya
This is the stage where we identify what will be the focus of the design. We take what we have learned from the client interview(s) & determine what key functions are required (there may be many, but some will be more a priority than others).