Permaculture Principle #8 - Integrate rather than segregate
Hi fellow gardeners and Permies, and welcome to this weeks blog. Today I am talking about Permaculture Principle #8 - Integrate rather than segregate
Just reading this principle, it makes total sense to use it as much as possible, both in our daily lives and in our garden. So much in our society today tends to do the opposite, and we all have a great responsibility to come together rather than segregate from each other.
From a Permaculture perspective, this principle is about the connections that are present in nature, and how we can improve and benefit ourselves, our animals and our plants integrating with others.
So looking at our garden using this principle, we want to use the following “tactics”
Plant in polycultures, mixing groupings of plants together that benefit each other.
Include animals with the plants, if you have the space, like chickens or ducks.
Seek diversity
Planting polycultures will not only be beneficial for attracting all kinds of insects and bugs to your garden, it will also encourage a greater diversity of food for your house. If you have the space for animals, that will further improve the system as they will help out with composting for example.
Furthermore, as I usually like to do, see below some examples of how we can use this principle in our daily lives:
On a bigger level, integrating people that are from a different country, speak a different language, and look different than us makes total sense. Segregating because of these things only create problems and won’t lead to anything good in the long run.
On a “garden level” we can use this principle by inviting and encouraging people that maybe don’t know how to garden, or don’t believe they have the space. As we know, you don’t need much space grow certain plants.
On a Human level, how can we work towards community and oneness, instead of just fighting for what “we” want all the time? Were we meant to live family by family in these big boxes, or can we work towards sharing more things as a community of people?
I would love to hear from you if you have anything to add to my examples!
See you next week
Hampus
