Communing With the Campbells – What is Permaculture?
Henley Herald : What is Permaculture? from Anthony Campbell on Vimeo.
I think it’s a phrase we’ve all heard of but many of us aren’t sure exactly what it means. This week we learn a bit more about what it means and how the community here at La Ecovilla uses their land.
Permaculture is an innovative framework for creating sustainable ways of living. It is a practical method of of developing ecologically harmonious, efficient and productive systems that can be used by anyone, anywhere.
One of the goals with this project is to arm ourselves with transferrable and transformational ideas and skills. Permaculture will be one of the key pillars in our journey. We’re learning so much and it’s awesome to witness our girls learning in such a hands on way as we go.
I happen to believe that we’re on the edge of a mainstream awakening. This awakening is happening because it has to happen in oder to save our planet. I don’t believe that we will save the planet by simply taking our reusable plastic bags to do our shopping at the supermarket. I believe we need a mainstream mindset shift. I think that shift is inevitable, the question is how long it will take?
Mainstream thinking and then behaviour change does not happen quickly. It takes time and it starts on the fringes of our societies. When there is fertile ground for new ideas to grow and irrefutable evidence to back up those ideas then amazing things can and do happen. Communities like La Ecovilla, and indeed Marmalade Lane in Cambridge, are examples of human beings living in better harmony with the planet. They are outlier communities at present, viewed as slightly strange by mainstream society. However attitudes are shifting and I believe that we’ll come to view these type of communities as trailblazers.
Our mission and question remains ‘is there a better way’. There is so much more for us to learn but already I feel confident to say ‘yes’ there is a better way. There is no utopia. It does not exist but I feel more excited than ever to share our learnings and contribute to the mainstream awakening that I consider to be inevitable.
