Over the years there have been many Permaculture principles but today these are generally condensed down to twelve.These principles allow us to creatively re-design our environment and behaviour in a world of less energy and resources. They are universal – how they are applied vary greatly from project to project:

image 1. Observe and interact – “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”
image 2. Catch and store energy – “Make hay while the sun shines”
image 3. Obtain a yield – “You can’t work on an empty stomach”
image 4. Apply self regulation and accept feedback – “The sins of the fathers are visited on the children of the seventh generation”
image 5. Use and value renewable resources and services – “Let nature take its course”
image 6. Produce no waste – “A stitch in time saves nine“, “Waste not, want not”
image 7. Design from patterns to details – “Can’t see the forest for the trees”
image 8. Integrate rather than segregate – “Many hands make light work”
image 9. Use small and slow solutions – “The bigger they are, the harder they fall“, “Slow and steady wins the race”
image 10. Use and value diversity – “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket”
image 11. Use edges and value the marginal – “Don’t think you are on the right track just because it is a well beaten path”
image 12. Creatively use and respond to change – “Vision is not seeing things as they are but as they will be”