Why Permaculture?

I was born in a little village in the western part of Turkey, where I felt completely connected to Mother Earth, but at the age of five we moved to a town which marked my separation from nature. After the move I still used to go to the village for school holidays as I really loved the simple life out there and visiting my mostly elderly friend. One of my fondest memories is going to the tomato fields and eating those giant tomatoes as if they were apples. They were so juicy and delicious, and biting into them was the most satisfying thing.

Fast forwarding to my life in the city many years laters I buy tomatoes which taste like nothing but paper and are all wrapped in plastic. This annoys me so much. I am not only angry about the paper flavored tomatoes but also the damage we do to the universe; climate change, extinction, monoculture, pesticides. All the man-made destruction upset me deeply and I know many of you feel the same! For such a long time I saw humankind as destroyers with no benefit to our planet. I couldn’t  think of any beneficial relationships between people and the environment. I thought if we disappeared the earth would revive and rejuvenate. However, recently, my perspective in this has shifted since I started to see that we are not all that separate, but actually a part of the natural world. In fact as we are of nature ourselves, so we should be able to live without damaging other beings. In her beautiful book Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer asks “How can we begin to move toward ecological and cultural sustainability if we cannot even imagine what the path feels like?” and she also adds a Fourth Sister to the Three Sisters of indigenous agriculture, (Winter Squash, Corn and Beans), for the planter themself is also an essential partner.

That's why I've been interested in learning about different methods and systems that make it possible for humans to live harmoniously with other beings hand in hand with Mother Earth.

What permaculture essentially does is that it attempts to mimic natural processes. As I sat there each day for fifteen minutes just to observe nature with curiosity as part of my permaculture course back in Colombia, I remember my intention when I first arrived here: “I want to learn about the land”  but soon I understood I was there to learn from the land.

Ps: Those who are interested in permaculture I'd strongly recommend watching the inspirational film called Inhabit which shows how a commitment to the principles of permaculture could potentially lead to a more sustainable future.