How The Design Process Works

 

(Joan Tippett's Holocene model of Permaculture Design that I've selected for use in our Permaculture Planning Process)

 

This process is structured in a series of steps, focusing at first on the BIG IDEA then small details, analyzing the existing situation, deciding what the group needs (goals, elements and activities), then working out how to achieve those goals in a sustainable way. This design process can employ a sliding scale of participation, from a full scale community design process to a professional designer using templates to gather and analyze information.

 

There are ten types of templates which have been developed for broad design, and three for detailed design. These are:

·         Quality of Life Values Template.

·         Observation Template.

·         Resource Inventory Templates (Within The Project).

·         Project Inputs And Outputs Template.

·         Goal Formation Template.

·         Future Economic Elements and Activities Template.

·         Local Resource Inventory Templates.

·         Limiting Factors Templates.

·         Analysis Of Elements Templates.

·         Design Information Charts.

·         Analysis of Components of Elements templates (Plant, Structure and Technology, and General).

For group work, the templates can be copied onto large sheets of paper. Small pieces of paper can be used with these charts to build up a mind map of the group's ideas, using "bluetack" to stick the papers down. It is also possible to use the templates to cut out charts with separate pieces of paper for each major section, or branch of the template. These can be used to build up a large mind-map with participants. This process allows for flexibility, as pieces of paper can easily be moved around and changed. The use of large templates, colour, symbols, string and small pieces of paper for recording ideas helps people try new combinations of ideas. When using large templates in this way, the template can be tailored to the needs and interests of the group. Symbols or objects can be used instead of words to represent ideas.

 

The design process encourages integration of information. One of the principles of permaculture is stacking in space and time. This process gives tools for integrating many different types of information into an ecological design. The fact that this process is structured in a step-by-step way makes it possible to collect a lot of information and organize it in a way which makes it useful for design.

 

The brainstorming processes start with each individual writing (or sketching) their ideas down on small pieces of paper, all of which will be included in the initial building up of the template. This allows every member of the group to have a part in the discussion (often a problem with large group processes), as well as allowing all ideas to be placed "in the picture" for consideration. Once a full picture of the thought process of the group has been built up, ideas can be consolidated, refined, and adjusted to best represent the ideas of the whole group. The use of mind-map structures in the templates encourages creative thinking and making connections and associations between ideas. At the end of the session, the large chart can be copied onto a blank template to record that stage of the design process. Each template is revisited at some point in the design process, to allow feedback loops between information and ideas from different stages of the design to be developed.

 

Once information about the project, area and goals has been collected, and the list of future economic elements and activities has been decided upon, permaculture principles are applied to these elements and activities, by filling in Analysis of Elements Templates and Design Information Charts for them. There follows examples of a Resource Inventory and an Analysis of Elements Template, filled in during a permaculture course in South Africa.

 

Detailed information about the land is then collected, including making a base map. The land is analyzed in terms of zones, sectors, soils and vegetation. Overlays are used to build up a physical design. This includes designing for sectors and a water harvesting plan (if applicable). A plan for wildlife areas includes habitats to be protected, areas for developing as wildlife zones, and corridors to be developed between various habitats. Information for a physical design is built up in layers.

 

The information from the templates is then used to plan the relative location and patterning of future elements on the land, in a process called Bubble Map. Elements from the Future Economic Elements and Activities Template are written or sketched on pieces of paper, and grouped in the guilds which were determined using Design Information Charts. These guilds are then placed on the overlay of zones and sectors on the base map, and are moved around and discussed until the designers are happy with their relative location on the land. The bubble map is the stage where you COMBINE the information in the DESIGN INFORMATION CHARTS and the ANALYSIS OF ELEMENTS TEMPLATES with the information about the LAND itself (collected during observation). The use of pieces of paper and bluetack encourages a sense of flexibility to try different ideas which could be lost if going straight into drawing and writing on the paper. Discussion during the bubble map process is centred on how the changes proposed will affect the land, and how to apply permaculture principles, such as Stacking in Space and Time, Pattern Application and Edge Effect, to the design.

 

The Bubble Map is combined with the previous steps of design on the land (windbreaks, water harvesting and waterworks, wildlife areas, etc.) and a plan for access routes, to produce a rough sketch of the future design. After discussion, this rough sketch can be consolidated into a broad design for the land.

After the broad design has been completed, detailed design for sections of the broad design can be carried out. The detailed design is the stage at which the elements which have been placed in the broad design are planned in more detail, looking at issues such as : species, smaller pathways, fencing, minor waterworks and irrigation, structures and shapes and sizes of buildings.

 

As the broad design has been completed before this step, the designer can be reasonably certain that the placement of elements will work well in terms of energy, zoning, conditions on the land, what the people involved want, productivity, recycling and beneficial relationships.

 

The same principles and methods used in the broad permaculture design apply to detailed design. Much of detailed design can be done by staking out and marking elements on the ground, and by using Analysis of Components of Elements Templates.

Following the design, an action plan for implementation is devised, including financial planning, assigning areas of responsibility and roles, and working out priorities and timing.