There is overwhelming evidence to tell us that we, this funny human race, must change our ways or be kicked off the earth as we know it. This is the Anthropocene – the current geological age where human activity is the dominant force affecting the climate, atmosphere and environment. The ‘sustainability movement’ is now rich with players, concepts and strategies, but is it effective or is it inherently flawed? ‘Sustainable’ practices, by definition, seek to maintain the status quo and keep the situation from getting worse. We’ve seen the sustainability agenda pushed for the last twenty five years and yet our planet has reach unprecedented levels of pollution, high temperatures, melted permafrost, extreme weather events, topsoil loss and biodiversity death. Clearly, ‘sustaining’ is not good enough. We need to look at restoration. We need to embrace solutions focused not on ‘sustainability’ but on regeneration. This is where the permaculture movement comes in. While many certified organic agriculture practices qualify as sustainable, they are, at the end of the day, extractive and depleting natural resources. Permaculture systems get stronger, more resilient, more diverse and more self-supporting over time. This article, curated by active permaculture practitioners from the Odd Gumnut farms, will shed light on the permaculture movement by diving into each of the twelve guiding principles of permaculture.

Continue reading “[Guest feature] Can regenerative permaculture trump sustainability?”