PERMACULTURE: A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO LIFE
When we tell people we practise permaculture, we usually get some questions. The interesting thing is the type of questions we are asked. Usually, the person asking us has a plant or tree that has some sort of disease and we are asked what they can do about it. It is interesting how we are all so indoctrinated into thinking that someone who works with nature, plants, and animals should just know how to treat something that is diseased without doing any further research or knowing the circumstances…
We are so used to go to a doctor with our own ailments and being given a prescription for something or other which will “fix” the symptom, and we expect the same for our plants, trees, and animals. Holistic medicine is becoming more popular these days, and people are starting to understand that they have to research and look at the cause behind the symptom. However, even some holistic medicine practitioners still seem to think that there should be a blanket cure for symptoms of disease in plants or animals (or soil, or other non-human life…) This attitude is one of the reasons our planet is in such a mess.
As with the human system, other natural systems also suffer under stress. This stress can be caused by lots of different factors, as in humans. We as permaculturalists are holistic practitioners, and we need to look at improving the natural environment for all elements in a system, thus improving the health of each individual element. It takes time to truly understand how to look at everything holistically, as we have been brought up in a culture of band aid solutions to everything.
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