Permaculture permeates the planet - one path to a sustainable future

The vision of a sustainable future for the planet is one shared by many - and more and more people are getting involved as time goes by.

One of the approaches to preserving a healthy planet for future generations that has become codified, if you will, and has spread throughout the world, is permaculture.

Permaculture has been defined in various ways. The following is taken from The Permaculture Association (U.K.) website:

Permaculture combines three key aspects:

1. an ethical framework

2. understandings of how nature works, and

3. a design approach

The idea of permaculture is to create communities that are self-sufficient, prosperous and respectful of values that will enable the community and the planet to exist in perpetuity.

Here are a couple of other useful links:

Permaculture Canada

Permaculture U.S.

At some point in the near future I would be interested in looking into the evolution of "permaculture| as a movement to date.

Is this something that is centrally organized on a global basis? I don't know why it has that feel about it.

Is this a globalization initiative dressed up like a "small is good" philosophy?

What caught my eye is the "design approach" to sustainable living.

To what extent does design imply art? To what extent does design imply imposing a prescribed lifestyle? Is there design going on here that is "outside the box"? To what extent is the design creating the box, if at all?

I would love to look into this more thoroughly.