ETHICS OF PERMACULTURE
- In harmony with Pachamama – biodiversity is being increased onsite through the use of directed succession and by preventing harmful practices like slash and burn and hunting within Temple grounds.
- Humanitarian – plant medicine healing is provided for the Temple’s many visitors, staff and local villagers
- Redistribution of surplus:
- We grow and share our food with the local community, in efforts to drive sustainability and create healthy relationship.
- Integration with the local community:
- Contributing to the local economy through employment & purchasing products
- Regular donations for communal benefit
- Providing schoolteachers for the local school
- Development of a local Permaculture network to share resources and knowledge
- Permaculture education
- Increasing the capacity of our staff and volunteers to enact a positive change in the world
- Comprehensive permaculture curriculum and educational tools in development
Design and Planning
- Zone differentiation clearly defined, sectors established, and soil types determined to allow crop specificity
- Traditional knowledge of plants – “Ingan ethno-botanical” knowledge used during workshops, plant diets, and onsite medical treatment
- Techniques and resources applied from analogue climates:
- Lo’I aquaculture systems used for the production of taro (Colocasia escuelenta) and water chestnuts (Eleocharis dulcis)
- Exotic tree crops planted – breadfruit, jackfruit, mangoes, avocados, etc.
- Integration of existing systems/elements:
- Revitalization of derelict onsite agroforestry systems
- Sustainable waste management:
- Grey water treatment systems throughout the site.
- Composting toilets and subsequent use of humanure for tree crop fertilization
- Sacred geometry has been used in the design process to create edible and medicinal mandala gardens
- Collaborative design process used in the creation of volunteer center garden
Infrastructure
- Placement of infrastructure is consistent with permaculture planning, making use of sandy soils for drainage and mosquito control, and gradient variability for water distribution
- Multiple water sources: rainwater catchment & springbox, and a functional hierarchy of use
- Natural building – demonstration building built using earthbag/cob techniques as a potential model for future construction
- Alternative energy: solar panels and lanterns used for energy efficiency
- Nurseries will be developed onsite to produce all the seedlings required for systems implementation and to create a germplasm bank for outreach initiatives to other local spaces.
- Swales, contour beds, and banana circles will be used throughout the site
- A recycling center will be built to serve the Temple and local community
Production
- Local materials utilized for building construction – pole-wood and bombonaje thatch palm for roofs
- Soil regeneration – biochar will be produced onsite and terra preta soils created through application to raised beds
- Integrated fertility management:
- Urine used for charging biochar
- Food waste made into compost and added to banana circles
- Humanure used for tree planting
- Fungal inoculant used for legume species
- Working with succession – shifting the forest towards pseudo-climax through the introduction of mature forest species
- Edible landscaping used throughout Temple Zone 1
- Food production – fruit, perennial vegetables, and staple crops produced onsite and purchased from neighboring communities
- Polycropping and companion planting used extensively onsite
- Medicinal gardens onsite