“Permaculture is the conscious design and maintenance of agriculturally productive ecosystems which have the diversity, stability, and resilience of natural ecosystems. Permaculture is about designing sustainable human settlements. It is a philosophy and an approach to land use which weaves together microclimate, annual and perennial plants, animals, soil, water management, and human needs into intricately connected, productive communities”
– Bill Mollison 

“The word Permaculture was coined by Bill Mollison and myself in the mid-1970’s to describe an integrated, evolving system of perennial or self-perpetuating plant and animal species useful to man.
A more current definition of Permaculture, which reflects the expansion of focus implicit in Permaculture One, is ‘Consciously designed landscapes which mimic the patterns and relationships found in nature, while yielding an abundance of food, fibre and energy for provision of local needs.’ People, their buildings and the ways in which they organise themselves are central to Permaculture. Thus the Permaculture vision of permanent or sustainable agriculture has evolved to one of permanent or sustainable culture.”
– David Holmgren 

David Holmgren and Bill Mollison cofounded the concepts of permaculture.

Put in my own words,

Think…”Permanent-Culture”

“Permaculture is an ethics based design system that uses natural patterns and processes of God’s creative design as a guide for developing productive and permanent high quality food production and communities, emphasizing water management, sustainability, and the use of natural agricultural systems that require little inputs once established, except to harvest the abundance!”

–Michael Cooley

So what I will attempt to do going forward is give some of the “Why’s” and How’s” of Permaculture. I am hoping to also discuss topics in preparedness from a practical point of view… (like what if we have a major ice storm this coming winter and you cannot leave your electricity-less home for a week for example). I believe those trying to be prepared for hard times would be well served to learn and follow the resilience giving principals provided by Permaculture design.