Can we design a perfect home site?
Currently a Permaculture discussion list is exploring
the concept of designing a low maintenance homestead
and deciding this is basically a myth. We are part of
any design and once we walk away things tend to deteriorate
quickly. In other words, we are part of any site just like
the trees and cows. You can't separate the human element
from nature because we are also nature.
Well... Yes and no. I'm glad to see the more experienced
Pc designers look at past failures and come to this conclusion
and at the same time i think they are missing a few things. Rather
than a long discussion, here is a summary of my viewpoint:
1. There are few absolute rules and each site will
vary in its ability to be self maintaining.
2. The real problem may be in Permaculture literature
that treats the design as a one time up front activity.
In my experience the design never ends and all we
have is ongoing process.
3. As we approach the hunter gather lifestyle our ability
to minimize design and walk away increases.
Our site has some examples of these ideas. The small forest
is self maintaining to a large extent. I harvest a small amount
of firewood and some of the water without any noticeable impact.
The garden is another story. It depends upon my constant
design and intervention. The house is like the forest in
many ways. Being concrete and underground reduced the
work to a low level. The orchards are now big enough to survive
a few years without any attention. Each zone away from the
house is a different story.
I believe the real myth is the idea that design is an up front
activity that can create an ideal home site. To me it is part of a cycle
that learns. The cycle can start anywhere. It could start with education,
or small experiments. In other areas i have accepted natures design.
Sometimes it is all i can do to keep up with natures growth and local
regulations. Things change and we humans are not all that smart. If we
were smart this world would not have so many problems.
jeff - http://www.bctonline.com/users/jko/ehome.html
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