Permaculture is about...
taking responsibility for our actions and for our planet, and turning around our behaviours of consumption and exploitation... - Graham Burnett
http://www.spiralseed.co.uk/permaculture/

INTRODUCING
Permaculture Potluck #1
- "tastes" from an integrated toolbox approach to just and sustainable living.
Tuesday, February 28, 6:45 - 9:30 pm
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Break at 8 for the co-op's vegetarian potluck. Please bring a dish to share.
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At Stone Soup Co-op 4637 N. Ashland, Chicago
- Ring bell at side door -
Info: 773-907-1465, raelearth (at) yahoo (dot) com
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Find out about permaculture - a nature mimicking design system, through the stories of urban garden consultant Bill Shores, and Chicagoland Urban Permaculture coordinator Rael Bassan, who grows mushrooms.
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Learn how to turn problems into solutions, wastes into resources, and other examples such as how Mexican gang leaders became eco-punks, liberating their neighborhood.
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This session will focus on the rationale and principles, with some examples. A second session in March will provide more practical details of some applications.

P E R M A C U L T U R E

A few RESOURCES

Peace through Permaculture: A Positive Alternative to "Peace through Military Strength" A four article collection 2002-2004 http://sdecc.igc.org/intropc.html

Permaculture ethics: 1) earth care, 2) people care, and 3) fair share - of resources and surpluses. Achieved largely through closing the loop by recycling/investment of surplus into 1) & 2).

In Permaculture, we work towards creating a PERMA-nent CULTURE by investigating sustainable ways to meet our needs. http://www.designtrek.net/fgperma06

A short introduction is at
PERMACULTURE; ETHICAL DESIGN FOR ABUNDANT LIVING
By Graham Burnett http://www.spiralseed.co.uk/raven/
Principles (A short set - over 30 have been proposed by others)
1) Work With Nature, Not Against... - 'Bending nature to our will' is not only energy consuming, unsustainable and destructive, it is also unnecessary for providing our needs.
2) The Problem Is The Solution - Depends how we look at things...
3) Maximise Diversity - Functions should have multiple supports
4) Everything Cycles - 'pollution' doesn't exist in nature for long.
5) Correct Placement - Maximise beneficial connections

URBAN PERMACULTURE
Urban Permaculture Guild. San Francisco Bay Area. Includes paradigm reconstruction, creative transformation, artistic and ecologically-oriented placemaking. http://www.urbanpermacultureguild.org/mission.html
Inspired by City Repair http://www.cityrepair.org/about.html
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The Urban Permaculture Homestead http://www.sentienttimes.com/03/june_july_03/permacultureT.html
By Jude Hobbs, Eugene, Oregon.
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Urban Permaculture: Self-sustaining food, fibre and energy producing ecosystems http://www.life.ca/nl/40/perma.html

ECO-PUNKS
How Mexican gang leaders became eco-punks, liberating their neighborhood with permaculture tools.
Ahoka Fellow Helen Samuels started the process...
http://www.ashoka.org/fellows/viewprofile3.cfm?reid=96884
of becoming El Coolectivo Ecológico Social Tierra Viva
http://www.pbs.org/kcet/globaltribe/countries/mex_punk.html
http://www.tekio.net/youth_network.html PICTURES !!!
http://www.tierraviva.org.mx/
and pioneering radical social alternatives
http://www.theecologist.org/archive_detail.asp?content_id=409

FOOD FORESTS - coming to Chicago?
Home Scale Food Forests. Also useful material for those with limited sun.
http://www.edibleforestgardens.com/about_gardening.html

MORE "TASTES" of PERMACULTURE
Permaculture: A Pattern for Whole Systems Design http://www.patternliteracy.com/
Site by Toby Hemenway, author of the 2001 book, Gaia's Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture. Excellent for US gardening.

http://www.holmgren.com.au/html/About/aboutpermaculture.html
Site by David Holmgren, author of the 2002 book, Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability Expands on applications to the rest of personally controlable permanent culture

A more extended Introduction to Permaculture: Concepts and Resources http://www.attra.org/attra-pub/perma.html#defined
from an agricultural and appropriate technology viewpoint

NEW!!
Illinois Permaculture Handbook (released December 15, 2005)
http://robscott.freeshell.org/book/
A 130 page book, written by Rob Scott, implementor of the Urbana Permaculture Project. http://www.prairienet.org/upp/ Includes an economics chapter