News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
A local expert says the concept of permaculture living is gaining traction in homesteading and gardening communities across the region.
Homestead Consultant Owner Ryan Steva (STEE-VUH) said the permaculture system is a style of homesteading and gardening that encourages using different systems to work with nature instead of against it. Steva said there are multiple advantages to the permaculture system including healthier and higher-quality products, less waste, and lower costs.
“As each of us start raising our own food and setting up these small systems, like say chickens and a garden, it makes our community more resilient,” Steva said. “And it means that we are more able to get through harder economic times, and also just be healthier in general in what we’re eating and doing.”
Steva said those who already garden or homestead who want to learn more about the permaculture system can start by implementing small aspects of it into their life over time. He said the concept has been around since the mid-1970s, but recent homestead movements have led to a resurgence of it.
“I’d say that the permaculture concept or the actual word permaculture and the way that that designed science is put together is fairly modern, but the principles are really ageless and timeless,” Steva said.
Steva said the disadvantage of the system is how long it takes to learn about and to get up and running.
“An example might be if you’ve got a field that’s been sprayed with chemical fertilizers, it can take some time to get the biological life in that soil back to a place where it’s self-sustaining and actually getting better and better over time,” Steva said. “So there’s some time and effort on – up front that has to be put into permaculture-type systems and then on the back end it gets better and better with less and less input.”
Steva said anyone who wants to learn more can find many different books, YouTube videos, and classes on the subject. Steva said the movement’s founder, Bill Mollison, called permaculture a “natural designed science.”
“It’s kind of like engineering, but it’s working with nature and making sure that you use natural systems in a way that they feed back into each other and provide a benefit, both for you and the system itself,” Steva said.
