PDC Principles & Ethics of Permaculture 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A community establishes a seed library where members contribute and borrow seeds freely. Which ethic does this most directly embody?
- Earth Care only
- People Care only
- Fair Share by redistributing biological surplus (Correct answer)
- None — it is a commercial activity
Correct answer: Fair Share by redistributing biological surplus
A seed library redistributes surplus genetic resources back into the community, exemplifying Fair Share by ensuring access rather than private accumulation.
Question 2: Which scenario best demonstrates the principle 'Use slow and small solutions' at a watershed scale?
- Building one large reservoir to supply an entire region
- Installing many small check dams up-slope to slow and sink water across a catchment (Correct answer)
- Pumping groundwater to supplement surface water supplies
- Channeling runoff quickly to a central treatment facility
Correct answer: Installing many small check dams up-slope to slow and sink water across a catchment
Many small interventions distributed across a watershed recharge groundwater and reduce peak flood flows more resiliently than a single large infrastructure project.
Question 3: A designer notices that a 'problem' blackberry thicket is stabilizing a slope, feeding birds, and producing food. Acting on this observation reflects which principle?
- Produce no waste
- Creatively use and respond to change (Correct answer)
- Use edges and value the marginal
- Obtain a yield
Correct answer: Creatively use and respond to change
Reframing the blackberry as a multi-functional resource rather than a pest demonstrates creative response to what the land is already offering.
Question 4: In permaculture, 'succession' is most directly relevant to which principle?
- Use and value diversity
- Creatively use and respond to change (Correct answer)
- Apply self-regulation and accept feedback
- Catch and store energy
Correct answer: Creatively use and respond to change
Recognizing and working with ecological succession—from pioneer species to climax communities—is a key way designers creatively use natural change rather than fighting it.
Question 5: Which statement correctly distinguishes permaculture 'principles' from permaculture 'ethics'?
- Ethics are design tools; principles are moral guides
- Ethics are the moral foundation; principles are practical design guidelines derived from them (Correct answer)
- Principles apply only to agriculture; ethics apply to all human activity
- Ethics were developed by Holmgren; principles were developed by Mollison
Correct answer: Ethics are the moral foundation; principles are practical design guidelines derived from them
Ethics (Earth Care, People Care, Fair Share) provide the 'why'—the moral compass—while principles provide the 'how'—practical, observable guidelines for turning ethics into design decisions.
Question 6: The permaculture concept of 'stacking in time' refers to which design strategy?
- Layering plants vertically in a forest garden
- Sequencing crops and species so something is always producing through the year (Correct answer)
- Building soil fertility in successive stages over many years
- Scheduling volunteer work shifts to maximize human labor efficiency
Correct answer: Sequencing crops and species so something is always producing through the year
Stacking in time means designing for continuous yield by selecting species with overlapping and sequential harvest windows so gaps in production are minimized.
Question 7: Which of the following best illustrates the difference between 'People Care' as a permaculture ethic versus conventional charity?
- People Care focuses on emergency food aid rather than long-term solutions
- People Care emphasizes building local capacity and resilience rather than creating dependency (Correct answer)
- People Care requires financial donations to be funneled through non-profit organizations
- People Care prioritizes urban food banks over rural agricultural support
Correct answer: People Care emphasizes building local capacity and resilience rather than creating dependency
People Care in permaculture means empowering communities with skills, resources, and systems that enable self-reliance, contrasting with aid models that can foster ongoing dependency.
PDC Principles & Ethics of Permaculture 5
A community establishes a seed library where members contribute and borrow seeds freely.
Which ethic does this most directly embody?