2.15 – Complexity and Connections

Module 2: Concepts and Themes in Design

Learning Objectives -- At the end of the video you should be able to:
- Summarize the effects of modern agricultural techniques: desertification
- Analyze the difference between permaculture designs and other agricultural techniques
- Define how we assess that our design systems are working

Brief Overview:

Permaculture connects disciplines, and the designs that come from it, like systems in nature, are wildly complex. Many other agricultural techniques—monocultures, slash-and-burn, seasonal tilling—destroy this complexity in order to create something simple to control. However, this simplicity results in less stable production, reliant on constant monitoring and inputs.

While some natural systems, such as the old deserts in Australia or flat marshlands, can be less complex, they are still chocked full of biodiversity, as they have been allowed to evolve over time. On the other hand, new desertification, as occurs through agriculture, happens too quickly for elements to adjust. In these cases, we can help by establishing (or reestablishing) connections we know will work in these particular climatic zones.

In reality, we could never understand all of the connections that are at play in a natural system or even in the ones that we create. But, we can supply what connections we do know and help the system to evolve and recover more rapidly. We can check how things are going by observing the yield, the happiness of the elements, and the stability of the system, and it should eventually be able to sustain itself, its own fertility and surplus.

Key Takeaways:

- Permaculture is a complex system of connections that occur between disciplines.

- Modern agriculture has destroyed stable, complex systems in order to create simple, controlled ones.

-These simple systems of agriculture are unstable and ultimately very destructive.

-We can play a positive role in revitalizing degraded areas by introducing connections we know to be beneficial.

-There are too many connections in ecosystems for us to understand all of the interworking occurring.

-We can check how a system is doing by monitoring the yield, happiness of components, and its stability.