Relative location
All elements in a system have a place. A careful placement creates connections between elements, which will increase the benefits we derive from them. The backyard pigs will produce manure. A composting area is therefore best placed nearby as well as the vegetable gardens, which will need the compost as fertilizer. Also the house needs to be near the vegetable garden for its occupants to have easy access to food.
Each element performs multiple functions
For instance a rice farm is not just a farm. It also provides shelter for other living organisms and will serve as nutrient provider for mammals and birds. This knowledge will help us design a better and more productive farm, which, in the end, will perform far better than being just a rice producing farm. A well designed farm becomes an integrated production area and, together with the surrounding land, a healthy poly-culture system.
Each function is supported by many elements
Producing compost will not only be supported by animal manure but as well by plant debris, beached seaweeds or grasses, human wastes, kitchen wastes, nitrogen yielding plant weeds…. and so on. Many elements will support the making of healthy organic fertilizers.
Energy efficient planning
We only have so many hands to help us and 24 hours in a day. Maximizing the use of our energy makes more than sense. If elements around us are well planned and worked out we will be less tired or exhausted. Imagine water to be available nearby the area where we need it; there will be no longer a need to fetch it far away, food crops can grow abundantly around the house and other services needed by the community can now be found nearby. If we are actively involved in the planning process (and not just leave it up to those in power) we can start making impressive changes where it counts most. Permaculture divides an area in zones from 0 to 5, in order of decreasing energy levels. Zone 0 being very busy and bursting with energy, while a zone 5 does not require our attention at all and serves as the wilderness area beyond human commerce.
Using biological resources
When making or constructing something, we should make (as much as possible) use of re-generative resources, which, if carefully managed, never run out of supply. There will be little need to buy materials at the hardware store when we construct our houses with bamboo, grasses, leaves or wood. Applying the appropriate technologies to improve durability and strength of these materials makes them very competitive with non-biological resources or high-tech materials.
Energy cycling
Making good use of energies that pass our eco-system will improve the overall quality of life. By trapping the wind, rain and water that runs through or off a mountainside, we retain its potential for the longest possible time on-site. A creek, which has been dammed at several levels, can function as a dam, an irrigation system, a pond and so on. In this example, the gravity of water will be used efficiently without further needing any extra energy (pumps).
