In this, and the subsequent posts I would like to revisit and complete the discussion of the Permaculture principles I started three years ago.
Diversity is one of those frequently used words we tend to see, hear, and read all around us, from biodiversity to cultural diversity. However, in spite of this, our global industrial culture is responsible for the greatest loss of diversity in all areas in recorded history. For this reason I find it important to highlight the importance of diversity in our lives, as does David Homgren in the last, but certainly not least of his twelve principles.
Resilience or Productivity?
Perhaps the greatest flaw in our understanding of diversity is that it is perceived to be on the opposite end of the spectrum from productivity. And it sure makes sense if we look at an expanse of monoculture compared to wild plants. The former will always have a greater yield, albeit of only one product. This is the main argument used for the transition to intensive grain producing agriculture in the Green Revolution 10,000 years ago. You simply can grow so much more of one thing.
Of course, the disadvantages can't be ignored: in case of a crop failure, a famine is pre-programmed. The absence of other plants will attract pests, setting the farmer up for an endless battle against other species who are just as interested in eating that one and only crop. Also, basing a diet on that one grain greatly diminishes the nutritional diversity, and therefor the health of those relying on this monoculture. But we tend to accept all these drawbacks, simply because specializing on the production of one crop simply creates more. Is that true though?
Forests and Food Forests
Without a doubt, forests are highly diverse environments, offering habitat to a huge number of animal species, by consisting of an even greater number of plant species. This diversity makes the entire ecosystem resilient against any kinds of "pests", may they come in the form of infestation of insects, fungi, bacteria, or even new types of plants and animals. In the multitude of species already present, there is a good chance something or other will see the invading species as a food source, and thus drive its number down to a level, in which it stops being a threat to the system as a whole. At that point, this new species may as well incorporate itself into the system, find a niche for itself, and thus add to the overall resilience of the entire ecosystem.
However, forests also tend to be nutrient rich environments. Permaculture has always focused on creating food forests, that is highly stable ecosystems, consisting of food producing plants, emulating nature in growing on various levels, from ground cover, bushes, trees of various heights, as well as root crops and climbing plants. By including plants that may not be directly edible by humans, but provide forage for animals we may eat, it further increases its production value.
Diversity in Food and Digestion
By basing our diets on a highly diverse food production, we can also ensure better health and stability of our bodies in general. Any nutritionist will agree, that getting our proteins, carbs, and fats from a number of sources helps us get all the necessary subtypes of these nutrients. Additionally, having a greater variety of microbial life in our intestines will also make the ecosystem of our bodies more resilient against invading germs. Consuming bacterial cultures in form of (a good diversity of) probiotic drinks or other fermented food, our bodies will be better at digesting all nutrients, and our immune systems will be stronger.
Diversity in Cultures
Even on the social level, having a great diversity in thinking and doing things around us will supply us with an immense toolbox for life. We may not have to adopt each cultural practice around us, but it's useful to be aware of and get an understanding of them, so that we may change our approaches more easily, should the changing conditions around us require it.
Unfortunately, the tendency around the world is just the opposite. By exporting "Western Culture", a misnomer for industrial modernism, we convince (or even coerce) people around the world to abandon their old ways of living and thinking, in favor of becoming better consumers and wage workers. This tendency can be seen most alarmingly in the rapid loss of languages around the world.
Speaking only one language, or languages that are closely related, it can be hard to see how each language is also a unique way of interpreting and looking at the world. Just as it is the case with ecosystems, where one species may take on the challenges of change if another one might not, one culture may have the required tools to face an incoming change in an eficient and elegant manner. As much as we value creativity and "thinking outside of the box", it is cultural diversity, more than anything else, which helps us expand our creativity. And creativity is one of the key ingredients in creating successful perennial food forests.
To see my discussions of other Permaculture Principles, take a look at these posts:
Permaculture: A Starting Point
David Holmgren
- Observe and interact
- Catch and store energy
- Obtain a yield
- Apply self-regulation and accept feedback
- Use and value renewable resources and services
- Produce no waste
- Design from patterns to details
- Integrate rather than segregate
- Use small and slow solutions
- Use and value diversity
- Use edges and value the marginal
- Creatively use and respond to change
Bill Mollison
- Work with nature, not against it
- The problem is the solution
- Maximum effect for minimum effort
- The yield of the system is theoretically unlimited
- Everything gardens