A Fresh Look at Permaculture

The writer, in earlier times, appreciating the bounty of the Earth

Tate Burnham, ABG Contributor

Given that I am not my father, this post will likely be in a different style than what most of y’all are accustomed to reading here on ABG. However, with what I’ve seen of agrarianism and the value my father places on similar ideals to this I’m sure this will fit here.

So, the bounty of the Earth. This is probably one of the most fundamental things in all of human society, and yet something that the modern world seems to have entirely forgotten. Human civilization would not exist without this concept: that when you put in the work and the weather cooperates, the earth w ill literally just give you food. And not a little food either. If you’re smart, work with other people, and learn about what your bioregion is best at producing you can feed an entire community.

And yet we seem to have lost touch with this simple fact. For most of human history 90% of our population was growing food or other agricultural products to assist in food production. In America today that number has dropped to 10%. What values are lost by this? What understanding of life and death? What love for the Earth and the land that feeds you? Look at the family that prepares their food from field to table and compare them to the family that brings their food from supermarket to table. There is a fundamental difference in how they perceive the world.

It is my opinion that many of the problems that plague our world today, especially those of the environmental variety, are fueled by this new understanding. Likewise, they can be mitigated by encouraging a more positive understanding. The older way of thinking. The Earth can literally be regenerated by everyday people going out and using what we know of permaculture to fix problems. Building swales allows water flow to fertilize barren land, that land becomes good for plant growth, carbon sequestering in that region goes up and drastically reduces air pollution. You can grow gardens in your own yard that will not only provide food, but also beauty and habitat for pollinators and other endangered beneficial wildlife.

This doesn’t just impact us on an individual or familial basis either, the community that grows and eats together is the best kind. Think of what would happen if you networked with your friends and neighbors on garden projects and local permaculture. Entire neighborhoods reduce their reliance on grocery stores drastically, they have more money that stays in the community and helps the economy. By sharing food between these gardens common identity is boosted, hunger among those less fortunate will be hedged, and we take one step closer to who we were in the past. Plus, your neighborhood will become far more beautiful than just rows and rows of ugly grass and pollinators will be more abundant.

I dream of the day when we wake up and realize that using more land for yard grass than you do for irrigated corn is a horrible idea for a sustainable society, and take action for ourselves and our descendants. The community that doesn’t eat together isn’t much of a community.

Deuteronomy 28:12, and Fertilis Facilis y’all.

Tate Burnham is a high school senior, musician, and voracious learner. His interests include permaculture, history, mythology, and music. It turns out that he's also a pretty good writer.
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