In the pathway: Urban permaculture, Social and collective permaculture
Social permaculture
Applying permaculture principles to human and collective organisation.
Explanation
Permaculture is not only about plants: it includes shared governance, pooling of tools, sharing of surplus, group decision-making and community resilience. Sociocracy, the commons and cooperatives are expressions of it. A concept developed by Robin Clayfield, Looby Macnamara (People & Permaculture, 2012) and David Holmgren from the permaculture ethics, especially care for people and fair share.
Refined definition
Social permaculture applies the 12 principles of permaculture design (Holmgren) to the human field: observe and interact, use and value diversity, integrate rather than segregate, use small and slow solutions; it joins to them the third ethic, fair share. It draws on sociocracy, nonviolent communication (NVC, Marshall Rosenberg), the governance of the commons (Elinor Ostrom, Nobel Prize 2009) and holacracy.
Key points
Concrete tools
DECISION BY CONSENT (sociocracy): not unanimity, not majority, but “no reasoned objection”. Faster and more robust. Source: Endenburg G., Sociocracy (1998); Buck J., Endenburg G., Sociocracy as Social Design. SEMI-AUTONOMOUS CIRCLES: sub-groups by function (garden, communication, finances) with an elected delegate to the general circle. NONVIOLENT COMMUNICATION (Rosenberg M., 2003): observation + feeling + need + request. GOVERNANCE OF THE COMMONS (Ostrom E., Governing the Commons, 1990): 8 principles for collectively managing resources without falling into the “tragedy of the commons”.
French examples
Eco-villages (Auroville in India, Sieben Linden in Germany, La Bigotière in France). Participatory housing (Le Hameau des Buis in Ardèche). AMAPs (Associations for the Maintenance of Peasant Agriculture, 2000+ in France). Village tool banks. Complementary local currencies (Eusko in the Basque Country, Sol-Violette in Toulouse). Cocagne networks (integration gardens).
Watch out for
- • Social permaculture is demanding: it takes time, listening and patience. Groups that want to decide everything by consent about everything end up exhausted.
- • Distinguish social permaculture (tools for living together) from political ideology: there are permaculture collectives of every political persuasion.
Examples
- • Shared gardens (AMAP, Incredible Edible)
- • Pooled tool banks
- • Sociocracy / decision by consent
- • Participatory housing (Hameau des Buis, La Bigotière)
- • Local currencies (Eusko, Sol-Violette)
Sources
- Macnamara, L. (2012). People & Permaculture: Caring and Designing for Ourselves, Each Other and the Planet. East Meon : Permanent Publications.
- Ostrom, E. (1990). Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press.
- Endenburg, G. (1998). Sociocracy: The Organization of Decision-Making. Delft : Eburon.
- Rosenberg, M.B. (2003). Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life (2e éd.). Encinitas : PuddleDancer Press.