This is the first installation in our permaculture principles series. We are super excited to be sharing and promoting permaculture through the blockchain. We're hosting a live radio shows through the Global Homestead Collective (@ghscollective) every Tuesday from 4-5pm CST and are digging into each of the 12 principles. Check it out here.

Here is the recorded show:

We believe in the power of using permaculture to change lives and bring about change and this is our humble offering. Today's episode is focused on principle #1:

Observe and interact - Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

Human becoming a tree...

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The core of permaculture is a dozen principles guided by a trio of ethics.

How one chooses to implement these principles and ethics is entirely context dependent, but the themes and concepts can help shape and inform our daily decisions, big and small.

Permaculture is the skillful design and implementation of strategies for abundance and harmony. It can be growing food, building shelter, energy usage, political organization and more.

This first principle may be the most crucial of all because it sets the stage for further action or inaction. As we inhabit the role as designer and insert ourselves, we affect change in our environment. By nature we cannot completely remove ourselves from any situation as even by observing we are having an effect on what we are observing.

This principle reminds us to do nothing (except observe) before moving into action mode so that our action may be informed and aligned.

In this episode we go over some ancient examples of the results of deep observation practice and a highlight some of the amazingly connected aspects of human culture citing the Chaco Canyon cultural site as one example. Their dwellings and ceremonial sites are aligned with cosmic cycles and rhythms and the connection they embodied is truly astounding. Read more about it here.

The inter-building alignments form an astronomical regional pattern of approximately 5,000 square kilometers.

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An example of building in allignment at Chaco Canyon

We dive a little into how the North American landscape WAS managed and how European arrivals didn't understand the extend of human and land interaction when they arrived here. There's always another layer of undersatnding if we're willing to look for it. How would our experience of life differ if our ancestors had met the Native Americans and their management of the landscape with curiosity and observation instead of domination/exploitation?

Interacting with our landscape can be harmonious if we take the time

This principle shows us that we CAN meet our needs without having to impose our will on a landscape.

First we must understand the current status of whatever ecosystem we are interacting with. To do so, we must take a step back and slow down (we'll save that for another episode though...). We offer a few simple techniques that can facilitate this observation process and share stories of how it was affected our life on the land so far.

We have a powerful toolkit at our disposal if we are willing to use it.... Our mind, memory and forethought can guide us to amazing things.

Circle of Permaculture Principles
Join us next week for Catch & Store energy!

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