permaculture consulting and training
The word “permaculture” was coined and popularized in the mid 70’s by David Holmgren, a young Australian ecologist, and his associate / professor, Bill Mollison. It is a contraction of “permanent agriculture” or “permanent culture.” Originally, Permaculture was about designing ecological human habitats and food production systems. It is a land use and community building movement which strives for the harmonious integration of human dwellings, microclimate, annual and perennial plants, animals, soils, and water into stable, productive communities. The focus is not on these elements themselves, but rather on the relationships created among them by the way we place them in the landscape. This synergy is further enhanced by Bio-mimicry or mimicking the patterns found in nature.
A central theme in permaculture is the design of ecological landscapes that produce food. Emphasis is placed on multi-use plants, cultural practices such as sheet mulching and trellising, utilising vertical space and the integration of animals to recycle nutrients and graze weeds. Food produced through a permaculture system, tends to be full of nutrients in stark contrast to industrial produced food. However, permaculture entails much more than just food production. Energy-efficient buildings, waste water treatment, recycling, and land stewardship in general are other important components of permaculture.
“Integrated farming”, ”ecological engineering” and “cultivated ecology” are also terms used to describe permaculture.
More recently, permaculture has expanded its view to include economic and social structures that support the evolution and development of more sustainable and permanent communities, such as co-housing projects and eco-villages. As such, a permaculture mindset produces intelligent design concepts which are applicable to urban as well as rural settings, organisations as well as individuals, businesses as well as the public sector.
XS NRG are pioneers in using a permaculture approach to dealing with key environmental, socio-economic, political and commercial challenges. We see massive potential in releasing the creative energy and potential of individuals, teams and organisations by teaching the key permaculture principles and facilitating the application in solving difficult challenges. As Einstein said “we cannot solve problems with the same thinking that created them”.
Our permaculture seminars, workshops and programmes have the potential to create new ways of thinking to solve and overcome key commercial and socio-economic challenges.
Additionally, our design consultants are expert in applying permaculture principles in conventional ways to design edible landscapes and community projects.
