Food, medicine, building materials, and so much more…
Our forebears were extremely self-reliant and grew most everything they needed to survive. According to the Council for Economic Education (econedlink.org), 200 years ago 90% of the population of the United States were farmers. With the increasing urbanization and industrialization of our food systems, today less than 2% the US population farms, and that number is dropping rapidly. In 2011, according to the USDA, the average farmer in America was 59 years old. The good news is that many of the skills and much of the information to grow well still exists in our broader regions. Culturally, we have a window of opportunity to take advantage of the current wisdom of our elders and begin to revitalize our communities and create stronger relationships to our land.

Many of our major cities and even our small towns are food deserts, where healthy & affordable food is scarce and travel distances to fresh produce are challenging for a majority of the populations who live there. Reliance on cheap and fast food from an unstable, socially and ecologically destructive food system is taking its toll on our health. As we chart the waters of creative transition away from this model, one of the major goals will be to produce the majority of our food locally within our communities. Given the limited space and degraded soils found in urban areas it is especially important that we design these local food systems in a way that utilizes the complex interrelationships found in natural ecosystems.

Permaculture designs are always more than the sum of their parts. Explore ways to create synergy between the following modules as well as those elements that are already present in your space, but most importantly be willing to dive-in, get messy, and have fun.