[Scpg] Off the Contour #11 - Permaculture & Ecological Design Principles Darren Doherty

[Wesley Roe and Santa Barbara Permaculture Network]

Off the Contour #11 - Permaculture & Ecological Design Principles
http://regenag.blogspot.com/2011/02/off-contour-11-permaculture-ecological.html

PERMACULTURE & ECOLOGICAL DESIGN PRINCIPLES

By definition Permaculture is an inclusive design system that 
involves the integration of a whole host of disciplines in the 
pursuit of its follower's objectives. The current sets of 
Permaculture design principles have been composed as a result of 
retrospectivity (Holmgren's) or by incremental discussion, original 
thought and extra-disciplinary harvesting (Mollison's). Beyond the 
work of these two Permaculture co-originators there has been few 
contributions to the development of more Permaculture principles 
however outside of the field of Permaculture itself others have 
provided a number of lists that I believe will prove informative and 
expand the realm of thinking outside of the Permaculture movement per 
se. As systems mature, and Permaculture is getting that way, they 
sometimes stop being quite as expansive in their capture/integration 
of concepts (or information, genetics etc.) as they could be and so 
this is an attempt to keep the doors open.

Bill Mollison, Permaculture: A Designers' Manual (1988) & 
Introduction to Permaculture (1991)

* Relative location
* Each element performs multiple functions
* Each function is supported by many elements
* Energy efficient planning
* Using biological resources
* Energy cycling
* Small-scale intensive systems
* Natural plant succession and stacking
* Polyculture and diversity of species
* Increasing "edge" within a system
* Observe and replicate natural patterns
* Pay attention to scale
* Attitude

David Holmgren, Permaculture: Principles & Pathways Beyond 
Sustainability (2002)

* Observe and Interact
* Catch and Store Energy
* Obtain a Yield
* Apply Self Regulation and Accept Feedback
* Use and Value Renewable Resources and Services
* Produce No Waste
* Design from Patterns to Details
* Integrate Rather than Segregate
* Use Small and Slow Solutions
* Use and Value Diversity
* Use Edges and Value the Marginal
* Creatively Use and Respond to Change

Sim Van Der Ryn & Stuart Cowan, Ecological Design (1996)

1. Solutions grow from place

"Ecological design begins with the intimate knowledge of a particular place."

2. Ecological accounting informs design

"No conventional design is executed without a careful accounting of 
all economic costs. Likewise no ecological design is executed without 
a careful accounting of all ecological costs, from resource depletion 
to pollution to habitat destruction. Tracing the full set of 
ecological impacts of a design is obviously a prerequisite for 
ameliorating those impacts."

3. Design with nature

"Ecological design...is a kind of covenant between human communities 
and other living communities: Nothing in the design should violate 
the wider integrities of nature....By working with the patterns and 
processes favored by the living world, we can dramtically reduce the 
ecological impacts of our designs."

4. Everyone is a designer

"No one is participant only or designer only. Everyone is 
participant-designer. Honor the special knowledge that each person 
brings....The best design expeirences occur when noone can claim 
credit for the solution--when the solution grows and evolves 
organically out of a particular situation, process and pattern of 
communication."

5. Make nature visible

"Making natural cycles and processes visible brings the designed 
environment back to life. Effective design helps inform us of our 
place within nature."

Art Ludwig from Principles of Ecological Design (2003)

1. Transcend market culture

The main obstacles to living with nature are cultural, not technical 
or economic.
We do things not because they make social or economic sense, but 
simply because our society has been led to believe in them. The 
culture-the gut level idea of the right way to live-is a force which 
shapes desires and constrains the mainstream of society. In the West 
it determines, for example, what is thought to be "economically 
viable" at least as much as economics does.

What then determines the culture? Much of the American way of life 
has been designed by market forces. Free market enthusiasts claim 
that no system is more effective for filling human needs. This is 
probably true. But a way of life designed with the goal of living 
best would be very different than one designed to maximize profit...

This book explains nothing less than how to redesign our way of life 
from the ground up, optimized for long term quality, not short term 
profitability. Alternatives to the conventional score board for 
success "How much do you make?" is a widely accepted standard measure 
of success. However, the degree to which you "want what you have" is 
arguably a more real measure of success, security, and happiness. 
Additionally, as a goal, wanting what you have encourages more 
soul-nourishing behaviour.

A wealthy American woman who does volunteer aid work in a village in 
Guatemala said she can only stand to be there for two weeks at a time 
because the Indians are "too damn happy." That people living a dozen 
per dirt floored shack can find the happiness which eludes her "just 
becomes too confronting."

The holes in our hearts cannot be filled with stuff. They can only be 
filled with the love of ourselves and others.

2. Follow nature's example

Natural systems are always in dynamic balance with the whole. They 
serve to keep us connected, reminding us what is natural. Regular 
visits to more pristine wilderness deepens and broadens this 
connection, and anchors our souls against currents of cultural 
madness.

3. Context is everything

The context must be known in order to determine if a design is "good" 
or not. There are no universal solutions. There are approaches and 
patterns that can be applied to generate the optimum solution in a 
variety of contexts. Context is king in ecological design. In all 
cases the greatest efficiency-and performance as well-is achieved 
when the power of the tool is well-matched to the task at hand. 
Overkill is one of the saddest sources of waste in our society. 
Elimination of overkill does not mean sacrifice. The resources saved 
by using simple tools for easy tasks can be applied toward more 
difficult tasks. Using transportation as an example, walking would be 
used when adequate, bicycles for distances too long to walk, buses, 
trains, and carpooling for distances too long to bike or in bad 
weather, planes for speed or great distances.
By using a mix of transport modes instead of driving as much as 
average, my wife and I have saved about $180,000 in our 20 year 
driving lives-about what it cost to pay off our house. Cleverly 
matching the power of the tool to the task at hand is cheaper, 
healthier, lower impact, and more enjoyable-yet ultimately more 
powerful than any single solution.

4. Moderate and efficient resource use

Fossil fuels and electricity have severed the connection between 
energy source and consumer. One thin pair of wires can invisibly, 
silently channel an unbelievable amount of energy without creating a 
ripple of awareness. This has enabled our relationship with energy to 
skew way out of scale.

To put our energy use in a human, comprehensible perspective, try 
measuring it in units of energy slaves (Es). If you shackled a very 
fit slave to an exercycle, they could generate about 75 watts of 
power, twelve hours a day. This is about what a bike rider expends 
cruising on flat land. To make the math easier, we'll round it up 
generously to 100 watts = 1 Es This is a level of energy expenditure 
which an average American might be able to keep up for thirty minutes 
before collapsing. Now look around for energy slaves at work.

A Ford Expedition SUV-1700 energy slaves. Arranged on bikes four 
abreast (a bit wider than a standard ten foot road lane) and squeezed 
so there was just a few feet between the front wheel of one and the 
rear wheel of the next, the Ford Expedition would require a column of 
energy slaves nearly a mile long...

A great deal of energy and ingenuity has gone into hiding the supply 
and waste systems we use. Effective action follows awareness. Hiding 
certain things has caused an "unknowing," and our morals have 
developed without critical knowledge. Those who gain from increased 
consumption have gained tremendously. All others, especially future 
generations, have lost.
Natural designs strive for moderation and awareness in the employment 
of energy slaves as well in the use of other resources. When we 
weren't living in a cabin, our family has lived happily in tents or 
shacks for three of the last ten years.

5. Not too little, not too much: just enough

Voluntary poverty creates a safety net which precludes the worst 
excesses of modern life-by simply not having the money to fund 
wasteful ways of doing things, even if you are temporarily blinded 
into wanting them. Having money, on the other hand, means foregoing 
excess is only a matter of will.

Deficiency is stunting, excess is toxic and unbalancing. In most 
cases the optimal growth arises from just enough resources. This is 
true across a wide spectrum, from nutrition, to emotional needs, to 
national economies.

While green consumption is surely a slower path to ecological 
annihilation...Consuming less would be a far more effective step. In 
ecological design, you're best off to:

Choose the most inherently simple solution, then implement it as well 
as possible.
Market economies favor the exact opposite: marketers seek out and 
push the fundamentally most expensive solutions, with the option of 
shoddy execution or financing if you want to save money up front. 
This yields the maximum profit and use of resources.

6. Empower and require individual thought and action

Because natural solutions are context sensitive, it is up to the 
people facing a situation to figure out what to do about it and how. 
Natural solutions are generally less idiot-proof than current common 
practice. They both demand and reward user interaction.

Ecological design places ultimate responsibility for implementing 
sensible solutions with local people who have knowledge of local 
conditions. Also, many of the systems themselves require independent 
thought from users on an ongoing basis.

More than any other feature, it is the interaction of the user with 
the design that enables ecological design to be so much more 
efficient. For example, recycling requires more thought and action 
from people than if they put any solid they don't want in the trash, 
and any liquid they're done with down the drain. At least some user 
separation is key to tap the substantial economic and ecological 
advantages of recycling materials.

Many of the cycles in natural living environments are of such small 
scale that they can be maintained by a single individual. The short 
feedback loops in natural living environments both suggest and reward 
ecological living. The reward is usually in the form of better 
performance, lower cost, and ever-increasing awareness. Compounded 
over the years, the savings and awareness facilitate a significantly 
better quality of life. In contrast, the promotion of high 
consumption depends on perpetuating dissatisfaction. Buying into 
consumerism is certainly costly, generally dulls awareness, and 
yields little long-term fulfillment.

A ubiquitous but unspoken assumption in mainstream design is that the 
capacity of the system must almost never limit the user. This 
maximizes profits from sale and use of the system, and ensures that 
users will learn no conservative habits from the system.

Systems of moderate capacity tend to be cheaper and simpler to build, 
and to use less resources. What's more, bumping into the limits of 
system capacity system provides useful feedback, which raises 
awareness and promotes good habits.

7. True progress

True progress actually solves problems. Most of what is commonly 
called "progress" is the relocation of problems out of sight in space 
or time.
It is wiser to add new ways alongside the old, rather than completely 
and immediately supplant them. By the time the problems of a new 
technology are recognized, reinstating old methods where they were 
superior is often not feasible: traditional knowledge has been lost, 
and/or the resources which the traditional approach requires have 
been appropriated for other uses.

8. True comfort

The whole body changes in response to its environment. Head out into 
the wilderness and your skin browns and thickens, reaction to bug 
bites and poison oak lessens, your stomach shrinks, your feet 
toughen, your thyroid cranks the thermostat up or down to maintain 
comfort. At high elevation your lung capillarity and red blood cell 
count increase. Nerves in your cerebellum connect more intricately to 
perform all the calculations needed to keep your balance on rough 
terrain, your heart becomes slower and stronger.

Ecological design strikes a balance between short term comfort and 
long term comfort from a strong, adaptable, and adapted body. Shelter 
doesn't have to be so elaborate-and even the armchair feels better.

9. Natural Harmony

One aspect of the web of life is creatures eating each other. 
Another, making music together: finding and refining our part in this 
incredible, ever-unfolding, multimedia symphony.

John Todd & Nancy Jack Todd, From Eco-cities to Living Machines (1994)

* The living world is a matrix for all design
* Design should follow, not oppose, the laws of life
* Biological equity should determine design
* Design should reflect bioregionality
* Design should not be dependent on non-renewable energy sources
* Design should be sustainable through the integration of living systems
* Design should be coevolutionary with the natural world
* Building and design should help in healing the planet
* Design should follow sacred ecology


ZERI Design Principles, Lynn Margulis & Karlene V. Schwartz , Five 
Kingdoms: An Illustrated Guide to the Phyla of Life on Earth (1997)

1. No one species eats its own waste; whatever is waste for one, is 
food for another species belonging to another kingdom

If one species starts to eat its own waste it will deteriorate. When 
cattle farmers started to feed cows with waste from other cows they 
violated this principle - and it led to the outbreak of mad cow 
disease. Shrimp farmers made the same mistake when shrimps were fed 
their own waste - leading to white shrimp virus. A lion will eat an 
antelope, but would a lion consider the manure of the antelope. There 
are exceptions which confirm the rule; occasionally a dog may be 
spotted eating its own waste, though this is a matter of 
strengthening, challenging its immune system. If an animal were only 
ingesting its own waste, and behave as a cannibal, it would never 
survive. If industry were to re-use all its own waste, then it 
decreases its flexibility and increases the risk of failure.

The waste of one industry should be used as a value-added input for 
another industry.

If one species is fed its own waste, it will degenerate.

2. Whatever is a toxin for a species belonging to one kingdom will be 
neutral, or a nutrient, for another species in at least one other 
kingdom.

As humans we tend to classify things that are toxic only from a human 
point of view. We assume that anything that is toxic for us must also 
be toxic for all other species in every kingdom. In addition, we view 
viruses as universally dangerous. Cyanide and Arsenic are well known 
toxin for animals, but several plant species produce it and use it 
effectively as a defense against predators. Apples are rich in 
cyanide, and so are peaches, though none of these have to be labeled 
"dangerous - cyanide inside". If you have a problem with an old gold 
mine, and cyanide leaching, simply plant an apple orchard and over 
the years the toxins will be eliminated. Probably, the cyanide will 
be gone well before the lawyers will come to a final agreement 
settling on responsibilities and costs. We simply can not define 
toxins solely from the point of view of humans (animals), we need to 
assess the importance of toxins from all species belonging to the 5 
Kingdoms.

If one species eliminates toxins within its own system, it will degenerate.

3. Whenever highly complex ecosystems operate, viruses to remain 
inactive and even disappear without causing harm passing through at 
least 2 other kingdom.

The reality, though, is that viruses are kingdom-specific and can be 
eliminated if we apply the first design principle. The reason why the 
slaughter-house practice of boiling waste meat prior to feeding it to 
other cattle won't necessarily work is precisely because of the first 
design principle. The prion causing madcow disease could survive high 
temperatures. To eliminate the prion or a virus, the left-over waste 
meat must go through the other 4 kingdoms. The consumption of 
antibiotics is therefore detrimental over time. Indeed, this medicine 
could kill the virus but it causes a lot of collateral damage as 
well. One dosis of antibiotics reduces the intestinal flora's 
efficiency for a couple years, and chemotherapy can all but destroy 
the digestive system.

If we attempt to kill viruses within the same system, over time it 
will degenerate.

4. The more diverse and local the systems, the more efficient and 
resilient their operations. When systems are more efficient and more 
resilient, the more diverse and the more local they are operating.

A group of plants and trees in a temperate climate do not feel the 
need to bring some fungi from the tropics. The plants and trees in 
coexistence and in co-evolution with species belonging to the other 
four kingdoms will create the best, most effective system from within 
the boundaries of its own micro system. Relating this to our global 
economy we see that we want everything from everywhere at any place 
and time. We have increased the fragility of our own system because 
if one or two links break, the whole system could fall apart. The 
more local the activities, the stronger they are - and there will be 
much more flexibility as diversity increases. A system that is local 
will be more efficient and resilient. Companies are in search of 
local supply and better integration into the local economy. Whereas 
global (out)sourcing, supply chain management and customer relations 
are considered key components of a successful business, the capacity 
to be local globally requires a new wave of creative and innovative 
strategies.

If non-native species are forced to become part of the ecosystem, it 
will degenerate.

5. All kingdoms combined, integrate and separate matter at ambient 
temperature and pressure.

A spider makes its nylon-like fiber at ambient temperature and 
pressure, from diverse raw materials. The moment the tension drops, 
it starts disintegrating. The spider operates at ambient temperature 
and pressure with fungi in its guts, and bacteria to control the 
process, with plant components as food. The mollusk in the cold water 
produces a ceramic that is stronger than bullet-proof ceramic. In 
nature, no one knows how to make fire or change pressure at will, yet 
products from nature outperform human made artifacts. Industry has 
set up a supply chain management which delivers components within 
very precise and uniform parameters. All assembly and disassembly 
requires high temperature and pressure, causing pollution and 
entropy. It is considered that the use of chemistry, temperature and 
pressure speed up production and facilitates standardization. 
Creativity and innovation on the other hand is the only way to find 
the best of both worlds. If industry emulates the "all-inclusive 
approach" of nature, it will be able to produce more efficiently, at 
lower, cost-slashing energy needs. Whereas this seems impossible 
today, it is this type of creative approach that requires a passion 
for thinking out of the box. This requires taking risks. This is the 
unique role corporations must assume.

When matter is integrated and separated beyond the energy provided by 
the sun, without taking into consideration the specific involvement 
of each of the five kingdoms, the process will cause entropy.

When business understands the five kingdoms and the four design 
principles, as well as the principle of sustainability as defined 
before, then it will realize that there is a tremendous potential for 
creativity, innovation and leadership redefining the competitive 
framework of business for decades to come.

William McDonough & Michael Braungart, with Paul Anastas and Julie 
Zimmerman, Cradle to Cradle Design & the Principles of Green Design 
(2003)

1. Waste Equals Food.

Waste does not exist in nature because the processes of each organism 
contribute to the health of the whole ecosystem. A fruit tree's 
blossoms fall to the ground and decompose into food for other living 
things. Bacteria and fungi feed on the organic waste of both the 
trees and the animals that eat its fruit, depositing nutrients in the 
soil in a form ready for the tree to use for growth. One organism's 
waste is food for another and nutrients flow indefinitely in 
cradle-to-cradle cycles of birth, decay and rebirth. In other words, 
waste equals food.


Understanding these regenerative systems allows engineers and 
designers to recognize that all materials can be designed as 
nutrients that flow through natural or designed metabolisms. While 
nature's nutrient cycles comprise the biological metabolism, the 
technical metabolism is designed to mirror them; it's a closed-loop 
system in which valuable, high-tech synthetics and mineral resources 
circulate in cycles of production, use, recovery and remanufacture.

Within this cradle-to-cradle framework, designers and engineers can 
use scientific assessments to select safe materials and optimize 
products and services, creating closed-loop material flows that are 
inherently benign and sustaining. Materials designed as biological 
nutrients, such as textiles and packaging made from natural fibers, 
can biodegrade safely and restore soil after use. Materials designed 
as technical nutrients, such as carpet yarns made from synthetics 
that can be repeatedly depolymerized and repolymerized , are 
providing high quality, high-tech ingredients for generation after 
generation of synthetic products.

2. Use Current Solar Income.

Living things thrive on the energy of the sun. Trees and plants 
manufacture food from sunlight, an elegant, effective system that 
uses the earth's unrivalled and continuous source of energy income. 
Despite recent precedent, human energy systems can be nearly as 
effective. Cradle-to-cradle systems-from buildings to manufacturing 
processes-tap into current solar income using direct solar energy 
collection or passive solar processes, such as daylighting, which 
makes effective use of natural light. Wind power-thermal flows fueled 
by sunlight-can also be tapped.

This is already beginning to change the energy marketplace. The City 
of Chicago, for example, has committed to buying 20 percent of its 
electricity from renewable sources by 2006, which is spurring the 
local development of renewable energy technology. Indeed, the City 
recently opened the Chicago Center for Green Technology, an 
ecologically intelligent facility on a restored industrial site that 
houses companies involved in developing the local capacity to tap 
wind and solar power. Germany, meanwhile, has already harnessed wind 
power equivalent to 20 coal-fired power plants and the European Union 
plans to generate 22 percent of its electricity from renewable 
sources by 2010.

3. Celebrate Diversity.

 From a holistic perspective, natural systems thrive on diversity. 
Healthy ecosystems are complex communities of living things, each of 
which has developed a unique response to its surroundings that works 
in concert with other organisms to sustain the system. Each organism 
fits in its place and in each system the fittingest thrive. Needless 
to say, long term perspective is needed since even the introduction 
of an invasive species can enhance diversity for the immediate term 
while virtually destroying that diversity over time.

Nature's diversity provides many models for human designs. When 
designers celebrate diversity, they tailor designs to maximize their 
positive effects on the particular niche in which they will be 
implemented. Engineers might profit from this principle by 
considering the cradle-to-cradle maxim, "all sustainability is 
local." In other words, optimal sustainable design solutions draw 
information from and ultimately "fit" within local natural systems. 
They express an understanding of ecological relationships and enhance 
the local landscape where possible. They draw on local energy and 
material flows. They take into account both the distant effects of 
local actions and the local effects of distant actions. The point is 
this: Rather than offering the one-size-fits-all solutions of 
conventional engineering, designs that celebrate and support 
diversity and locality grow ever more effective and sustaining as 
they engage natural systems.

Kirk Gadzia, 10 Principles of Holistic Management

1. Nature functions in wholes.

The whole is equal to - not greater than - the sum of its parts and 
their interrelationships. To manage holistically, the emphasis is 
that the interconnections between the land, people, livestock, 
wildlife, water, etc. must be acknowledged. Likewise, rather than 
just looking at the economic or financial side of something the 
ecological and social implications should also be considered.

2. Understand the environment you manage.

Most farmers and ranchers fight nature. Nature always wins, so to 
find sustainability and success, comes when farmers and ranchers aim 
to mimic natural systems.

3. Livestock can improve land health.

With management and control of timing, livestock are a beneficial 
tool for land health.

4. Time is more important than numbers.

Control of time on the land is the critical factor. The amount of 
time is more important than the number of animals that are on the 
land. "You control overgrazing by controlling time, and the recovery 
period is more important than utilization."

5. Define what you are managing.

This means having a plan; taking stock of what the operation entails.

6. State what you want.

"Holistic management does not function without establishing goals and 
values that fit with the quality of life you are trying to achieve."

7. Bare ground is public enemy number 1.

Bare ground is an indicator of whether or not your land management 
practices are improving the health of the land.

8. Play with a full deck.

Landowners use all the tools available to solve problems and enhance 
their operations. This may include technology, rest, fire, and most 
importantly, human creativity.

9. Test your decisions.

Include all involved in the ranch or farm in decision making, so they 
have buy-in to the idea, and so that the decision has been 
objectively tested. "We routinely see money spent without testing."

10. Monitor for results.

Did what you do work or do more changes need to be made? That's what 
monitoring is all about - evaluating and improving for the future.

PERMACULTURE & ECOLOGICAL DESIGN PRINCIPLES - Summary Bullet Points

Bill Mollison, Permaculture: A Designers' Manual (1988) & 
Introduction to Permaculture (1991)

* Relative location
* Each element performs multiple functions
* Each function is supported by many elements
* Energy efficient planning
* Using biological resources
* Energy cycling
* Small-scale intensive systems
* Natural plant succession and stacking
* Polyculture and diversity of species
* Increasing "edge" within a system
* Observe and replicate natural patterns
* Pay attention to scale
* Attitude

David Holmgren, Permaculture: Principles & Pathways Beyond 
Sustainability (2002)

* Observe and Interact
* Catch and Store Energy
* Obtain a Yield
* Apply Self Regulation and Accept Feedback
* Use and Value Renewable Resources and Services
* Produce No Waste
* Design from Patterns to Details
* Integrate Rather than Segregate
* Use Small and Slow Solutions
* Use and Value Diversity
* Use Edges and Value the Marginal
* Creatively Use and Respond to Change

Sim Van Der Ryn & Stuart Cowan, Ecological Design (1996)

* Solutions grow from place
* Ecological accounting informs design
* Design with nature
* Everyone is a designer
* Make nature visible

Art Ludwig from Principles of Ecological Design (2003)

* Transcend market culture
* Alternatives to the conventional score board for success
* Follow nature's example
* Context is everything
* Moderate and efficient resource use
* Not too little, not too much: just enough
* Empower and require individual thought and action
* True progress
* True comfort
* Natural Harmony

John Todd & Nancy Jack Todd, From Eco-cities to Living Machines (1994)

* The living world is a matrix for all design
* Design should follow, not oppose, the laws of life
* Biological equity should determine design
* Design should reflect bioregionality
* Design should not be dependent on non-renewable energy sources
* Design should be sustainable through the integration of living systems
* Design should be coevolutionary with the natural world
* Building and design should help in healing the planet
* Design should follow sacred ecology

ZERI Design Principles, Lynn Margulis & Karlene V. Schwartz , Five 
Kingdoms: An Illustrated Guide to the Phyla of Life on Earth (1997)

* No one species eats its own waste; whatever is waste for one, is 
food for another species belonging to another kingdom
* Whatever is a toxin for a species belonging to one kingdom will be 
neutral, or a nutrient, for another species in at least one other 
kingdom.
* Whenever highly complex ecosystems operate, viruses to remain 
inactive and even disappear without causing harm passing through at 
least 2 other kingdom.
* The more diverse and local the systems, the more efficient and 
resilient their operations. When systems are more efficient and more 
resilient, the more diverse and the more local they are operating.
* All kingdoms combined, integrate and separate matter at ambient 
temperature and pressure.

William McDonough & Michael Braungart, with Paul Anastas and Julie 
Zimmerman, Cradle to Cradle Design & the Principles of Green Design 
(2003)

* Waste Equals Food
* Use Current Solar Income
* Celebrate Diversity

Kirk Gadzia, 10 Principles of Holistic Management

1. Nature functions in wholes
2. Understand the environment you manage
3. Livestock can improve land health
4. Time is more important than numbers
5. Define what you are managing
6. State what you want
7. Bare ground is public enemy number 1
8. Play with a full deck
9. Test your decisions
10. Monitor for results

Bill Hill, Sheep Grazier & Wisdom Broker

"Stop growing things that want to die & killing things that want to live"

Frank B. Dole (1915-2001), Darren J. Doherty's maternal Grandfather
'Life's Aphorisms' (see Off the Contour #12 for elaboration)
	*	'I'm to the left of Trotsky'
	*	'To Profit is to Steal'
	*	'Humans are just like Yeast: They eat all of the 
Sugar and Die in their own Shit!'
	*	'You need Rural Skills to Survive when the Shit Hits the Fan'
	*	'Listen Carefully'
	*	'Family First'
	*	'Pay off then Have'
	*	'Why Buy what you can Make Yourself'
	*	'The Rules of Labour'
	*	'Do the Hardest Job First'
	*	'Make Your Own Soap'
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