Permaculture Ethics - Fair Share
Hi, Hampus The Organic Gardener here.
Today I am going to talk about the third and last Permaculture Ethic, Fair Share.
As the third ethic in Permaculture, Fair Share can be seen as derived from the first. Nonetheless, it is is a very important one, but one that can only be achieved once we have the first two ethics sorted out first!
This is one of the reasons I think Fair Share is being neglected or forgotten in our society, we don’t have our things in place for ourselves to be able to help others.
Fair Share is about setting limits on our behaviour, and redistribute any surplus that we are creating. And by limit, I don’t mean limiting free movement or thought, rather going towards conscious efforts to enhance quality of life for all plants and species on earth. If we for example are growing fruit trees in our backyard, we are more than likely going to have a surplus of harvest from those fruit trees. Following the Fair Share ethic, we can share our abundant produce with others in our community.
It is also about finding balance in our lives, in contrast to what is possible for some people on this planet. How can we find balance in our lives by being content where we are, instead of always striving for more?
Other than the above mentioned example of Fair Share in our daily lives, here are some more:
Set a limit on your energy consumption. Make use of the sunshine to dry your clothes, harvest your grey water to use for watering lawn or fruit trees.
Take the bike or walk, instead of the car, when you travel short distances
All of these examples prompts you to spend less recourses so that they are available for others in need (humans, animals, or plants).
I hope this have sparked some thought in you to implement a little bit more “Fair Share” in your daily life.
Please leave me a comment and let me know of something you do daily that is aligned to the Fair Share ethic!
Next week, I will dive into the first of 12 Permaculture Design Principles.
See you then.
Hampus The Organic Gardener
