Catch and Store Energy

The second Permaculture Principle is Collect and Store Energy. But why is this the second, and not the last? We can do lots of things without energy, right?

When you only consider energy such as electricity, wind, or solar then yes, these can wait. But these are not the only source or use of energy on a permaculture farm.

Let’s not forget about People Energy. No, I don’t mean go out and capture people and keep them locked up. This has been done, with disastrous results, which goes completely against the second ethic, Care For People. Instead, I suggest that we consider how we take care of others who come to our farm and help make it a success. For example, we pay for the food for our 2 workers. They cook their own and go to the market, but we pay for the food. And I’m not talking about making them buy the cheap stuff. Recently they couldn’t find any good tomatoes in the market, so they ordered a box from an organic farm, 50 miles away. They were way more expensive than the market ones, but the flavor and nutritional quality were much better. Good tasting food in the belly of a worker is storing energy. The energy they will need for their work and the energy that is stored in their minds which we call “goodwill”. Speaking of goodwill, when we want them to do something, we usually suggest or ask them to do it. We don’t order them to do it. When they have finished the job, even if it was not up to standard, or what we wanted, we thank them for their effort. When it needs correcting, instead of saying what is wrong, state how doing it a certain way would make it better, then let them do it. This is an efficient use of your energy. It keeps you from getting angry, which is a huge misuse of natural resources, and builds that people energy, goodwill.

How do you capture and store energy?

At Pan Gaia Permaculture we have created a PDC (Permaculture Design Certification) course that reflects the above. 

Join us on April 2, 2022 for an interactive, online Permaculture Design Certification course (PDC).