This comes as rather self-explanatory. It not only means the obvious, “produce no waste,” but also that any waste you have means you have a lost opportunity. Pollution is energy and opportunity wasted and waste is…well, wasteful. Food scraps can be given to pigs, chickens, or worms, all of which turn “waste” into a useable resource. Practically anything can be composted, so organic matter shouldn’t be an issue. Worms in particular have become popular for converting waste. Many people are experimenting with composting toilets that employ worms to increase sanitation and again, turn waste into an opportunity. Animal manure is composted and spread throughout the garden for nutrients and biomass. A permaculturist tries to find an opportunity in every situation. A pond full of algae means excess energy. That means you can grow a host of water plants and some fish. What was once wasteful is now useful. This goes back to catching and storing energy. Pollution means you are not catching, storing, and using all of the energy available to you, and that is simply unwise. It’s like throwing away money. Or at the very least not making as much as you could be if you thought a little bit harder. There is a group building houses out of plastic bottles filled with unrecyclable waste, like batteries. They can’t break down the batteries, but they can use them for something else. One of the biggest potential sources of waste for the permaculturist is actually having too much food. Nature likes growing stuff, and a permaculture gardener often finds the kitchen overflowing with vegetables, fruit, and milk. Many getting into permaculture do not find themselves as willing to spend days and weeks putting that food up for the future. They didn’t expect to can, dehydrate, pickle, and preserve hundreds of pounds of food and still have more to do. It can be overwhelming. Things go bad left and right. Even the neighbors can get overwhelmed with summer squash and tomatoes.
This is where the people care and fair share ethics come into play. You have too much? There are plenty who do not. There are food banks, shelters, churches, and charities that need what you can provide. This should not be disagreeable. It should be an honor to give of what we have been blessed with. There should be no waste in the permaculture life. Comments are closed.
|
Rebecca Burrow
I am a Christian permie designer trying to spread the word about Christian land stewardship through permaculture. I like goats a lot. Maaaaaaaah. Archives
September 2016
Categories
|
Burrow Permaculture Consulting | Permie Blog |