Stressed by Corona?

Is Permaculture a resort?

Let’s find out for ourselves.

Permaculture is a way of life, or a must teaching for our present and future generations? Guess a bit of both…

In the wake of today’s “quarantine”, humanity is forced to rethink their role in this world. We, till this very calamity hit us, felt invincible; with greed for more, be it money, power, resources or fame… now nature is reclaiming its space, and a realization has dawned upon us, that we are nothing but a part of a beautiful creation around us.

Depletion of natural habitats and resources, quite evidently underline that humans have stretched too far, with their greed, and the only bleak hope we have is that everyone contributes to conserve and care, for whatever they had or they could, around them.

Conservation was always the key much kept hidden from the wavering minds running after supremacy.

Here in this present time, we come to an agreement that Yes, we need to change our actions for a better approach to life. Self-sufficiency in terms of money, power, fame etc. doesn’t seem to be at the rescue for anyone in this difficult time. But there is something which is at the rescue for the people who adhered and implemented it before this much tensed situation started. Permaculture is what we are referring to. It is a holistic approach to live life with self-sufficiency, by optimizing the energy received from the source. It is a vast subject which includes growing food, water harvesting, raising animals and tapping renewable energy, in sync with nature.

If every human takes up this clean way of self-sufficiency, not only would there be better immune systems, and no shortage of food, but we would also be contributing to environmental conservation to a great deal.

Can you imagine the joy of someone who can protect his or her family from the interaction outside their own space with an endless supply of food, water and power in this present time?

Permaculture enables you to design a space that provides for an endless supply of food, water and power. Not only that, but a space that constantly keeps you engaged and demands a bit of your attention every day. This is where you wake up to see new flowers, vegetables and fruits budding everyday .I would say it is like an ever changing- constant factor in your life which takes care of all possible human needs through a self-sufficient model. It is a conservative approach to a clean living, which my friends seem to be the need of this hour.

Today we hear people complaining of being stranded in their own houses but is it really a valid reason to complain? If anyone feels the answer is a “Yes” then they should try meeting a world war survivor and understand what they had to go through. Anyways that is not a point of debate here…. but to understand the importance of self-sufficiency in relation to the present scenario.

Here I would like to share my experience of adopting Permaculture a couple of years back…I was never into socializing much since the very beginning, even when I was surrounded by a group of random groups of people, my heart was soaring after the fluttering butterfly which caught my attention instantly. A walk after the rain would certainly mean pulling off tree branches and getting drenched with rainwater settled in leaves. Such was my life. Then life took its course and I was set to be processed in society’s machine, to get a bit tamed, as is done to most of the young minds in this world.

Something deep within me still pulled me towards nature.

Growing up I realized all things I once loved were running out; the whole backdrop which caught my attention for hours was slowly slipping out of the frame somewhere.

This made me adamant that I was not going to get settled in the society’s mould and get sculpted into a machine of gaining money by compromising over my happiness or my connection to nature.

The grave urge within me to survive without being disconnected to nature made me consider growing an organic food forest for myself initially. This was when I started to realize how intrigued I was to see the joy of my father when he used to notice a budding tree in his orchid, not knowing that later I will follow his league. My father owned a farming land which was mostly used to plant a fruit orchid and it was an organic farm…so I was unknowingly a bit trained to venture into what was popping in my head. Still, there were gaps to fill; questions to ask and lots of lessons to learn of course. Some of these were overcome by reading and discussing the subject and others were still waiting ahead of me to be learned by trial and error.

With an intention to make a positive difference I planned to create my own heaven, where my beloved birds, butterflies, ladybugs, fireflies and dragonflies “little fairies” as I call them; could all live, breed and flutter freely.

Permaculture made this dream of mine come true. Permaculture taught me the intricacies of the elements and the infinite web made by their interdependency leading to self-sufficiency. It was all about re-using the energy source to its optimising level before we lose it.

Finally, we had our own space with an unlimited supply of food, water and clean fuel. It was all possible by incorporating healthy practices like organic farming, integrated farming, composting, water harvesting, clean fuel generation and a lot more, summing up to a self-sustaining system.

Permaculture as defined by Bill Mollison as “the conscious design and maintenance of agriculturally productive ecosystems which have the diversity, stability, and strength of natural eco-systems. It is a harmonious combination of land and people in supplying their food, energy, shelter and other material and non-material needs in a sustainable way."

Implementing permaculture on a very small piece of land has rewarded me immensely. In this difficult time of “Quarantine” we have a self-sustaining model which is provided for all the needs of my family and more. The variety of birds, fluttering butterflies, buzzing bees, blooming flowers, colourful insects and glowing fireflies are all yet another reward of choosing this ethical way of my living.

22^nd April is the “Earth day”; on this day, it is a humble request to all people who are capable of getting involved in such an activity to go ahead and contribute their bit to Mother Nature. It is a compassionate living which all can abide by; after all the hard work we undergo is for our family and their health. Imagine the joy of relishing a fruit knowing its source is pure and not contaminated with pesticides.

Pollute our own ground water and streams? Poison our own food? Degrading our own soil? These are some guilt I can’t afford to live with .Will you be able live with them?

For people who think time is money and we don’t have time for all this I have a question
Will money suffice for you and your family’s health?

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