The Final Test: Making a Permaculture Design
- margaretmaearney
- Sep 13, 2024
- 8 min read
Updated: Jan 31
To finish the course and receive our Permaculture Design Certification (PDC), we had to complete the final task of making our own permaculture design. Everyone felt a bit nervous and unprepared. We had to figure out how to put together all of the concepts that we were briefly introduced to over the past two weeks.
I was assigned to a group with 5 other students. Our assignment was to create a permaculture design for the local school in the community of Pachitulul (the town where the permaculture institute IMAP is located). The school is a two minute walk from the institute so we went to see the property, make observations, and talk to the local teacher.
Visiting the School in Pachitulul
Making Observations
You can see a few images of the school above. It already has a nice mandala garden that IMAP helped construct. There is a paved, concrete soccer court in the center of the school property which takes up a lot of space. There is one functional classroom while the other three classrooms have been abandoned and deteriorated (see middle, left photo). In the bottom left photo, there is a small corn cultivation. There are green spaces to the side of the soccer court as well as below the soccer court where there are several fruit trees. As you can see in the bottom right photo, in the classrooms, the writing booklets are in the local, indigenous language, Kaqchikel. The school preserves the community's native indigenous language.
The first thing we did was to start to observe the site and ask questions. Observation is key to permaculture and it is one of the 12 principles. Where is North, South, East, and West? Where does the sun rise? Which part of the property receives more sunlight for most of the day? Where is there least sunlight? Where does water run or flood during the rainy season? Where are there strong winds? This helps us orient and decide where to place different things depending on how much or little light they need, etc. We also observed what is already there and infrastructure that cannot be moved so that we can work with and build from what already exists.
I sketched out a quick map of the site so that we could have something to refer to. We took a big measuring tape with us and measured the dimensions of almost every corner of the school property. Knowing what the school looks like now, we started to brainstorm ideas for how to make our permaculture design.
When making a community project or design, it's important to get insight into what the community wants or needs. Although we had limited time, we were sure to ask the teacher, community members, and parents of students what they would like to see in the school.
These are the needs that emerged from those conversations:
A way to collect/ reuse inorganic material like plastic
A rainwater catchment system to have access to water during the dry season
Management of grey water (water from the kitchen and sinks)
More areas for the kids to play
Production of nutritious food for kids
A way to generate income to reinvest in the school-- such as workshops or entrepreneurship opportunities
A safer border to the school since it is on a mountainside with a steep drop off/ cliff. Safety was a concern for many parents due to the topography of the school.
We incorporated these needs and suggestions into our permaculture design!
The Social Context of the Project
We started our proposal by recognizing that this is both an ecological AND a social project. Therefore, we should look at our proposal for the Pachitulul School within the context of the community.
There are strong sociocultural roots and sentiments in the community of Pachitulul. When the avocado industry came into the community, they wanted to relocate the families of Pachitulul but the families weren't interested in moving. They wanted to stay where their grandparents and great grandparents were born. Because families want to stay here and feel connected to this place, is important to give more life to and tap into the potential of the few communal spaces left, such as the school.
Therefore, our project is also a proposal for a "model school" of native agriculture and permaculture in the region. Teachers and students from other schools could visit the Pachitulul school to learn and incorporate permaculture concepts in their own schools. Therefore, our permaculture design proposal isn't just a technical proposal but an integral social and ecological proposal.
The Proposal
This is what our design looks like. We used the dimensions we measured to draw this map to scale.
Food forest and meeting space: We propose to add to the space near the entrance where there are already some fruit trees. We will incorporate a diversity of shrubs and trees to build a food forest. Additionally, we will have a sitting space with repurposed tires where there can be meetings, class, and learning activities. There will also be an educational mural about concepts like healthy soil, microorganisms, composting, etc.
Seed nursery: Here the school can grow seedlings to transplant into the garden.
Recycling: Plastic wrappers from snacks can be used to grow seedlings in the seed nursery.
Compost: The compost is right next to the garden so that it is easily accessible to fertilize the mandala garden and food forest.
Banana circle: This is located right next to the kitchen to capture and filter grey water from the sinks.
Herb spiral: This incorporates medicinal plants into a spiral structure that accommodates for space (by being constructed vertically) and creates different microclimates. The plants that need less water are planted at the top of the spiral and those that require more water are at the bottom to absorb the water that drips down. This creates "microclimates" which sounds like a fancy word but is a pretty straightforward concept!
Live fence: A live fence is a fence made from live trees, bushes, or plants. It has a variety of functions. It prevents erosion, serves as a wind break, contributes greater biodiversity, etc. (In permaculture, we want everything to have multiple uses and purposes.) And in our case, it also creates more safety for the children and families at the school. We are placing this live fence on the edge of the property where there is a drop off or small cliff to serve as a barrier along this slope. We propose to intersperse a variety of trees. First, Izote is a tree that grows deep roots quickly and has edible flowers. Second, Leucaena is a tree native to Central America that also grows extensive roots quickly, which help prevent erosion. It fixes nitrogen into the soil and serves as firewood for the kitchen. Finally, Chaya is a small tree often used in live fences and its leaves also serve as a nutritious, high-protein food that can be serves in school meals.
Biomass & ground cover: Using plants for ground cover also prevents soil erosion and maintains soil health. We put this cover next to the live fence where the ground is a bit uneven in order to further help with the erosion and to keep the soil healthy. We suggest the following plants: maní forrajero (arachis pintoi or the pinto peanut), capunchina (tropaeolum majus or the garden nasturtium), consuelda (comfrey) or other crawling plants that develop extensive roots. These cover plants also provide leaves (aka biomass) that can be used in our compost.
Swing: For kids to play. We thought of other games but our group had a hard time making decisions sometimes!
La Milpa: Instead of just planting corn, we suggest a traditional milpa system that integrates corn, beans, and squash as well as other plants. This would be a good educational opportunity to learn about companion planting and native practices of agriculture incorporating diversification.
Compost Toilets: The school currently has a latrine but a compost toilet would convert human excrement into a rich soil amendment that could be used to fertilize trees. It would also prevent contamination and bad odors of latrines.
Rainwater catchment: We propose collecting rain water from the roof channels with a PBC pipe to use during the dry season.
Permaculture Ethics and Principles
Throughout the design brainstorm, we tried to keep in mind the ethics and principles of permaculture which are listed below.
For example, we began our visit to the school by observing and interacting with the site (although time was limited). We incorporated using & valuing diversity through the biodiversity we incorporate in the food forrest and the live fence. We catch and store energy through the use of composting, using a compost toilet, and catching rainwater.
Permaculture Zones
We also need to include the 5 permaculture zones in our design. Zones is a concept that has to do with the level of human activity, efficiency of movement, and human effort in a permaculture site. We create the permaculture design while keeping in mind how frequently we visit different places within the design. This is especially important in a bigger design on a large property where you want to conserve your energy and not have your vegetable garden (where you will need to tend frequently) far away from you. Keeping in mind the zones will make the design more integrated and efficient.
How to Make a Permaculture Design Proposal
Patrick gave us a very brief lesson on how to make a permaculture design. The design consists of two maps.
Map 1: Everything that already exists
Current infrastructure
Current productive systems
Current animals
Current paths/ walkways
Current water systems/ irrigation
Map 2: Consists of 2 layers
Layer 1:
Fixed Infrastructure (things that won't move- like the school classrooms)
Paths/ walkways
Water systems/ irrigation
Zone and sectors
Layer 2:
New, proposed infrastructure
Productive systems
Animals
Technologies
Soil and water management
Creativity and other details
Layer 2 is drawn on a transparent wax paper so that underneath it you can see the fixed infrastructure, pathways, irrigation system, and zones & sectors colored on Layer 1.
The design also needs to include
A legend
Symbols
Scale
Orientation (N,S,E,W)
Below you can see the final results of our design maps
Map 1:
The Current State of the School
Map 1 shows the school as it currently is.
Map 2:
The Proposal
Layer 1
Layer 1 of Map 2 (the bottom layer) shoes the fixed infrastructure (things that won't move- like the school classrooms); paths/ walkways; water systems/ irrigation; zone and sectors.
Layer 2
Layer 2 of Map 2 is the top layer, drawn on transparent wax paper.
It shows the new, proposed infrastructure; productive systems; animals; technologies; soil and water management; creativity and other details
Wrapping things Up
This is certainly not the most impressive permaculture design that exists! We did what we could in 2 days with what we learned in the course, but I think it was a very valuable experience in interacting with a real property and working together in a group. It got us to think about how to integrate ideas into a design as well as how to share these ideas out loud with others. I was nervous for the presentation and a bit afraid we might not get our certificates, but everything went fine!
During our presentation, Gregorio (the technician at IMAP) suggested that we think about planting a nutritious, low-maintenance cover crop in the school garden during vacation days so that when the students are gone and cannot tend to the garden, something productive can still be growing. He suggested a low-maintenance crop like sweet potatoes. I agree that making a planting calendar with the students that follows their school calendar would be a good idea.
Then we had a ceremony and we received our Permaculture Design Certificates (PDC). Overall, we learned a lot from the course, but sometimes it felt a bit superficial and almost like tourism rather than hands-on permaculture practice. IMAP has demonstrative gardens and they rent small plots of land to local producers, but they don't have their own plot to put into practice all of the permaculture concepts that they teach us. Many of us felt that we were leaving with a lot of ideas and concepts but lacked practical skills and implementation. It's up to us to keep learning and put it into practice. We said our goodbyes but I'm definitely leaving with a like-minded community and friends that I will stay close to.
Comments