A Permanent Culture

by Charlie Blue Bradshaw

Our culture, in many ways, defines us. It shapes us through life, and in turn we shape others
through it. It is the choices we make, and the way we live life. Travelling has taught me many
things, one of which is this: there are many ways of living, and many ways of seeing the world; but
some cultures are more in tune with the surrounding matrix of life that supports and sustains
them. These cultures tend to be simple, coarse, and happy, for the most part. There are always
those ubiquitous signs of 'globalization': Coca-Cola, cigarettes, and fast food. These are the
pioneers of Western culture. (And how reflective of its health are they?) Unfortunately, the global
trend has been, and continues to be toward Western industrialised living. It's unfortunate because
all cultures rely on the foundations provided by a healthy environment something which seems
to have been for the most part forgotten (or ignored) in the West.

People identify heavily with their environment: this is very easy to see when travelling, as each
new location has its own nuances, niches, and atmosphere. And in turn, these help to mould the
culture of that area. Looking at the bigger picture, our collective environment is in trouble. So it
becomes obvious that the varied forms of collective human culture existing around the globe are,
too, in trouble.

For most of the last 12,000 years, culture has also been inextricably tied to agriculture. Cultivation
and culture have very similar etymological roots, and in different contexts can refer to either
people or gardens. Agriculture has been the overlap between human society and the environment
since the Neolithic revolution, and so has determined how we view and act toward nature.
Regarding our 'modern' agricultural practices, the great problems we face become a bit clearer. By
no means is modern agriculture the only culprit the web is much more complex than that.
However, there is a relationship between the modern drive for consumption, materialist desires,
desensitisation, and a tendency toward apathy; and the destruction of soils, poisoning of
waterways, clear-cutting of forests, and the orderly lines of monoculture crops.

The bridge between traditional or tribal ways of understanding our place in the natural world, and
modern technological and informational prowess, is permaculture. Permaculture began as a design
science focusing on earth care and sustainable agricultural practices. It has since evolved into a
way of looking at the world and acting within it, no matter the area of life: in essence, a culture! It
contains a set of principles and ethics which, mimicking the role of taboos in tribal societies, allow
the culture to function seamlessly both within and with our wild surroundings. Most importantly
(for me, as a budding ecologist interested in sustainable agriculture), it provides guidance on a way
of producing food that works with the surrounding ecosystems, reducing the need for labour and
energy-use, while simultaneously allowing the non-cultivated environment to flourish. This is
possible primarily because of an emphasis on conscious design. I'm inclined to see permaculture as
the future, since it focuses on lowering energy consumption, making the most of a limited amount
of space and resources, building soil and productive ecosystems for future generations, and
integrating local plant and animal species.

This is our challenge: to build societies on a foundation of adequate clean water, nutritious food,
fresh air, clothing and shelter suitable for each climate, and a supportive living environment for all
living things. Furthermore, we need pragmatic action now, before it's too late. Yet this action needs
to be rooted in an understanding that Earth was not made for us we were made by Earth. Each
and every one of us has the responsibility to reverse our short-sighted drive toward development,
and re-learn a way of living that connects us again with the web of life that encircles the planet we
call home.

Abram, David. Becoming Animal: an Earthly Cosmology. Vintage Books, New York, 2011. 334 pages.

Fukuoka, Masanobu. The One-Straw Revolution: An Introduction to Natural Farming. Trans. Chris
Pearce, Tsune Kurosawa, Larry Korn. Ed. Larry Korn. Rodale Press, Emmaus, 1978. 150
pages.

McGregor, James H. S. Back to the Garden: Nature and the Mediterranean World from Prehistory
to the Present. Yale University Press, New Haven, 2015. 499 pages.

Mollison, Bill. Introduction to Permaculture. 2nd Edition, ed. Reny Mia Slay. Tagari Publications,
Tasmania, 2009. 218 pages.

Mollison, Bill. Permaculture: A Designers' Manual. 2nd Edition. Tagari Publications, Tasmania, 2002.
565 pages.

Quinn, David. Ishmael: An Adventure of the Mind and Spirit. Bantam Books, New York, 1995. 266
pages.