How Do I Learn All There Is to Know About Permaculture?

This Q&A is pulled from a collection of questions posed to me by students of my Online Permaculture Design Course (PDC). Learn more with my free four-part Masterclass series, here:
www.discoverpe...
Question:
What is your recommendation for someone who wants to know all there is to know about Permaculture? I would like to travel directly to Australia and learn from you someday, but the reality is that I'm unable to do so at the present. This PDC is clearly an option to help with that, but what else can I do? How would you pursue the goal of learning Permaculture in such depth?
Support us in making more films by:
► Signing up to our newsletter and the Permaculture Circle-my curated collection of 100+ free videos: start.geofflaw...
► Liking us on Facebook: / geofflawtononline
► Following us on Instagram: / geofflawtononline
► Subscribing to our KZbin channel: / @discoverpermaculture
About Geoff:
Geoff is a world-renowned permaculture consultant, designer, and teacher. He has established permaculture demonstration sites that function as education centers in all the world’s extreme climates - information on the success of these systems is networked through the Permaculture Research Institute and the www.permaculturenews.org website.
About Permaculture:
Permaculture (en.wikipedia.o...) integrates land, resources, people and the environment through mutually beneficial synergies - imitating the no waste, closed-loop systems seen in diverse natural systems. Permaculture applies holistic solutions that are applicable in rural and urban contexts and at any scale. It is a multidisciplinary toolbox including agriculture, water harvesting and hydrology, energy, natural building, forestry, waste management, animal systems, aquaculture, appropriate technology, economics, and community development.
#permaculture #permaculturedesign #permacultureliving

[@joecrablone286]

Permaculture tomes, followed by Mollison's lectures, then read Holmgren, Deppe and Shepard, use the permies forums to fill the gaps, read scientific journals of soil/botany/ecology/microbiology - then you are ready to learn from your own observations in light of your knowledge base. Keep your experimental projects small at first so you're not overwhelmed by failures or workloads, leaving time for observation and reflection.

[@b_uppy]

If you have intellectual curiosity permaculture is great because there is always opportunity to learn more. Aspects of hydrology, ecology, botany, agriculture, ethnobotany, etc inform you more and more as you go. The trick is to keep learning and observing.

[@pedrodomingo180]

willing to help other people, that's gold ,you actually learn new stuff about things that you thought you knew.whilst helping spread the love.I still feel like a mini Geoff Lawton ,thank you

[@beesplaining1882]

Great advice. Reminded me of a Chomsky quote "the more you learn the more you realise the less you know".

[@Packgammon]

I realized Chomsky lied about 9/11.

[@beesplaining1882]

@@Packgammon he didn't lie. He chose not to perpetuate a conspiracy theory.

[@Packgammon]

@@beesplaining1882 Ok thx, JIDF.

[@Somewhere-In-AZ]

Doing is the best teacher. Every environment is slightly different so you have to accommodate the environment you're in to become good at it.

[@SAROXBAND]

This channel is becoming my religion. Wow. Every video fills my heart with hope & helps me change my mind frame. Thank you 🙏♥️🙌🌎

[@joeb8167]

Much respect and admiration for your truly humble, affirming, wide ranging response. Wish more educators of your standing had this perspective. So true in any field of study- the more one learns, the more one understands that there is much more to be learned. Thank you!

[@TerraFirmaX]

excellent advice. I'm new to all this, but I've learned that thru observation you can learn a lot. What I thought was going to be a good strategy for my homestead has turned out to not be what was needed here. What I thought would be a detriment has turned out to be assets. It will evolve over time, some things will work some won't. But patients is key as I am learning.

[@Christodophilus]

Read books, watch videos about permaculture, etc, but there's no greater absorption method than practicing it. Which means experiencing the set-backs, as well as the solutions. If you cannot get to demonstration sites, because you're needed at home, then start your permaculture journey at home. Our land is in stasis at the moment, due to the extended drought. Nothing is progressing. So I've turned my attention instead, to inside the house. Or what is often referred to as zone zero. There are plenty of permaculture principles I can apply to the systems inside the house. So wherever you spend the most time, office/home or outdoors, apply the permaculture principles right there. Observe the setbacks to develop the solutions. If you're experiencing a barrier to learning about permaculture, then you're not integrating with what systems are already available. Intergration is the key to unlocking the understanding of permaculture. You can do it, in an existing permaculture demonstration site (easiest start for the novice) or create your own, from scratch. This is for the adventurers, pioneers or just short on the resources of time and money. It takes longer to get going, but the experience is just as valid. So do what you can apply, according to the resources available to you.

[@HFTLMate]

you've done a truly enormous amount of positive work for humanity geoff, I love what you've accomplished at Zaytuna

[@tgeezee3453]

I'm addicted to Geoff's video's …. please help upload more .....pleeeezzeee ..

[@ElGuardiandelaTierra]

Thanks for your love of the permaculture 🌱🌳🌼🍁🍂

[@solfeinberg437]

What a positive recipe. If I was a little younger, single and with a little savings - I think this would be my life plan! I'll probably just look around for local experts / people who like what I've done here - also very positive - if they ask for help, and you think you can help, make an affirmation that you'll always say yes.

[@chiaridude9098]

Great Video 👍 Thank you for setting such a wonderful example. You’re a real life Super Hero!

[@wolfebilt]

I can see the more I do and plant and just try, I learn how any given plant/design and environment work with each other. Was the time/money/resource investment a balanced and effective one so far? Can I make improvements? Executing and seeing what happens can be a great teacher when it comes to this stuff. I am tending some land and did not used to before a couple years ago and every project confirms or tears down an idea I may have had about how to make something work or how I design a farm system. The things I'm trying to do are also cost effective and at a minimum double or triple use objects, implements, structures. I also have not invested in tractors, and do everything organically as a practice. And with access to videos from teachers like Geoff, that inspire with many systems knowledge, it's easier to see some of what might be possible. Just try to keep doing, learning, observing. I am admittedly lazy with things like logging observations, but just observing and synthesizing a thought helps me understand especially with plants. Thanks

[@travisadams3970]

Geoff Lawtons Advice is always Grand. Your presentation of permaculture is awesome. PDC GRAD. 2016 . Advice as true blue as it shows in all your global efforts. Your Incredible

[@PkSage89]

Perfect, had this question running through my mind, lol.. Wonders of the internet, yay. Meanwhile other folk are using it for television..

[@kirkjohnson9353]

Do some volunteer work at a local farm. It's local, it's free and makes an impact on developing community.

[@nobodyspecial3338]

Let nature teach you. God is the best teacher. Sit still and observe. The very thing that society teaches us not to do. Making mistakes is also great. Mulch mulch mulch.

[@coreenmcnally2505]

Excellent answer! thank you

[@rafa-lk6lf]

I'm new here in permaculture assunts, but, how and where do i start my study?

[@BarbaraC02]

Plant and fail... plant and succeed... wash, rinse and do it again and again. My garden looks terrific 5 years in.

[@SudeeshSubramanian]

How do I ask questions??

[@MyFamilyGarden]

Would you do some more videos focusing on people care?

[@wendysurbanhomestead5011]

How on earth do you practice permaculture in a backyard ? I live on 1/10 of an acre in Southern Ontario, Canada. Hard clay soil.

[@JB-yg3ew]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/p365aXaal8yDrbM

[@JB-yg3ew]

Link to Verge permaculture. They're in your neck of the woods, have a small property and are very involved in the community.

[@valeriewillimann9050]

Absolutely 🎈❤️👌🏼✨😆 My wish is to develop a spiritual center with Aloshas eco buildings and your wisdom on perma culture together with my family and my friends family 🤸🏼‍♀️🤸🏼‍♀️🤸🏼‍♀️🌪🌸💫✨👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼😀❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@HayatPermacultureFarms]

Sir I’m from India can you help me design my farm

[@peace4peaceful]

I wonder myself. Arrived here from no dig experiment. For me i think i start with water, then i think maybe mulch to hold the water. Then i think ah no i need a swale and legume trees..lol. Now i think, ill chug along n bit by bit implenting permeculture teachings as i go.

[@kenfarley957]

Study mature and mimic nature.

[@padimenguningofficial337]

hallo. i like this but please subtitle indonesia. thankz

[@b_uppy]

Somebody thought Mark Shepard didn't like you, Geoff. I couldn't think of a bigger pile of tripe. He refers to you often with affection, I believe... he often talks of your discussion of "swiles".

[@wes4192]

Shouldn't environmentalist be opposed to world travel. In the current day it's insane to want to see the world, by jet or bus or whatever...sailboat can be forgiven but most people wouldnt be up for a yacht trip. all the info we could ever need is on youtube and the internet in general but furthermore, and most importantly...observe and interact is nearly all you need to know, if you are an intelligent person of course. In fact i was hoping that was your angle for this video since you shot it in a zone 5 location.. I thought you were going to say that the best teacher of permaculture is the forest. or the natural system... So here's my tip to those who want to learn more. Go into your yard and start growing things...go online and interact there with people in communities and blogs and vlogs....unless you live down the road from Geoff you should be finding someone else to teach you...This stuff is not rocket science, it's one of the most intuitive ideas out there and once you understand it better you will realse that you kind of already did. Bill and Dave didnt invent Permaculture in a sense...they just wrote the book. The idea had been clear in many cultures like the aboriginal australians but they had no written language so the book was never written. Good luck and enjoy

[@1rstjames]

Das, good insights. What would your opinion be if cruise ships were solar/cold fusion/biofuel/wind powered? Crazier question, if aliens do exist, and come here, should we limit this new form of travel? The US military consumes about 35% of all US oil. They snuffed Stanley Pons and Martin Fleischmann work, spent vast resources debunking them both, only to later admit cold fusion is real. Are the real limitations what you think they are? Sometimes, we think it's this grand thing holding us all back, when it's actually the annoying barnacle of repressive fake Democracies.

[@wes4192]

@@1rstjames good grief

[@1rstjames]

@@wes4192 exactly. I grieve every day.

[@AselflimitedcapitalisemW0mamon]

How about instead of trying to be a know-it-all we just learn enough about permaculture - to help our fellow villagers - Village survive