Beginner-friendly

Foundations

Ethics, principles, and the permaculture mindset

What permaculture is, why it works, and the three ethics + 12 principles that everything builds from. The mental shift from extracting to cultivating.

Lessons

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Start · Lesson 1 ← Back to Academy

Level 100 Lessons

7 lessons · 50 min total

What Is Permaculture?

Permaculture is a design system for human settlements that mimics how natural ecosystems work. This lesson is the orientation — what permaculture actually is, where it came from, and why it's spreading.

8 min read

The Three Ethics

Earth care, people care, fair share — the moral foundation of permaculture. Every design decision flows from these three rules.

7 min read

Observe and Interact

The first design principle — and the most-skipped one. Spend a year watching your site before you change it. The mistakes you avoid by observing first are worth more than the year you "lost."

7 min read

Catch and Store Energy

Every resource that enters your site — sunlight, rain, wind, leaves, food scraps — should get used as many times as possible before leaving. The principle that turns gardens into accumulating wealth.

7 min read

Produce No Waste

In a permaculture system, "waste" is just a resource in the wrong place. Every output of one element should become the input of another. The principle that closes the loops.

7 min read

Use Small and Slow Solutions

Small systems are cheap to test, easy to fix, and forgiving of mistakes. Big systems require capital, expertise, and tolerance for catastrophic failure. The principle that keeps you in the game.

7 min read

Stack Functions and Use Edges

Every element in a permaculture design does multiple jobs. The borders between zones (sun/shade, water/land, garden/lawn) are the most productive places on the site. Two principles that compound everything else.

7 min read

Skill unlock

The Permaculture Mindset

Complete all 7 lessons to earn this skill and add it to your profile.