1. Permaculture: The Greener Revolution
Marina Michahelles
Harvard Extension School
January 13, 2003
In this presentation, I will
Give you a breif overview of modern agriculture
Introduce the concept of Permaculture and some of its principles,
And give some examples of where it has been applied.

2. Agriculture today: Industrial Agriculture The Green Revolution
Corporate Monopolies
-Trade-related Property Rights Agreement
-India Example
Industrial Ag:aims to replace human and beast labor with machines, develop economies of scale, and homogenize the process of food production.
The green Revolution brought hope for farmers struggling with poor soil- can grow high-yielding crops on a large scale even when soil conditions are poor.
Result: Displaced farmers to cities lead to problems with prostitution, child-slavery, burden on the state by those who cannot find work.
In only a few seasons, soil is stripped of nutrients and farmers become dependent on agrochemicals.
Corporate Monopolies: WTO criminalized seed-saving and sharing, and legalized buying intellectual property rights of seeds. Now 10 companies own 32% of commercial seed market and 100% of the GM seed market.
Large companies play the role of the company store by selling the seed and agrochemicals to farmers on credit. After the harvest, farmers sell their crop back to the seed company at a price that the company has set.
India: Had over 200,000 varieties of rice, now 10-15% of land dedicated to growing basmati. 500,000 tons of total 650,000 tons sold on foreign markets- India has to subsidize imports when it could easily produce for itself.

3. What is Permaculture?
“The philosophy behind permaculture is one of working with rather than against nature, of protracted and thoughtful observation rather than protracted and thoughtless work” Bill Mollison
Guidelines for the conscious design of energy-efficient, low-maintenance, productive landscapes that integrate plants, animals, structures and people.
While it started in the realm of agriculture, the principles of permaculture, which implies PERMANENT AG/ CULTURE, are applicable to all areas of society, including urban design and even the corporate world.

4. Principles of Permaculture
Care of the Earth
Care of People
Set Limits on Consumption, and Redistribution of Surplus
Care of the earth: This applies to both living and non-living organisms, suggests that everything has intrinsic value. Because each component plays a multiple roles, we should consider all aspects of elements when designing our environments.
Care of People: We have to individually take responsibility for our own actions. Furthermore, if we keep ourselves healthy, we will better be able to serve our families and wider communities.
Set limits… Calls us to evaluate the abundance and limits of nature. Consider what is enough and reject our capitalistic culture of hoarding and destroying surplus, and instead to redistribute it fairly. (10% of all grain produce for international market goes bad in storage)

5. Applications: Agriculture -Susana Lein in Guatemala Urban Design
-Bowden, Brompton and Ridleyton, Australia
Corporations
-Semco
AG: Monsanto sold broccoli seed and ferts to campesinos, became dependent, and those on hillsides lost their land to landslides. Altertecis an NGO that organized a course geared towards teaching (re-teaching) traditional farming techniques supplemented with permaculture principles. In 3 years, Lein witnessed campesino establishing self-sufficiency, and pass on their knowledge to neighboring farmers.
Urban design: Effort to renew these depressed townships. Implemented principles in considering six strategic areas: housing, urban forestry/ city farms, recycling, community infrastructure, education, and sustainable employment.
Multiple uses for each element: TREES trees are air-conditioners in the summer, wind-breaks in the winter, air-purifiers, pollution-indicators, and not least-important, improve amenity.
Corporations: Semco in Brasil was one the largest manufacturing companies, but was failing. Ricardo Semler pioneered the management shift to eliminate economies of scale and introduce small working groups in charge over the complete manufacturing task. These, along with a number of other manegerial changes, helped revive to corporation, and created a people-oriented as opposed to industry-oriented environment.

6. Conclusion: Our current way of life is not sustainable
Permaculture provides guidelines for gradually shifting toward sustainability
Ag is supposed to be energy-producing, but the energy captured is small compared to the energy used in the process.
As these principles demonstrate, permaculture is not just another agricultural system. It is not to be lumped in a category of alternative form of agriculture along with organic, biodinamic, agroecology, forest gardening, though each can benefit from applying permaculture principles to all aspects of their production. The aim of permaculture- a permanent culture- is to utilize science and technology, architecture, psychology and other cultural resources based on a wholistic understanding of natural systems to create locally sustained farms and communities.