Reclaiming your power back from the world’s problems through self-reliance.

We have been trekking all day and just reached our camp at Triund Top in Himachal Pradesh. At dawn, we were laying on the grass outside and looking at this beautiful sky filled with shiny bright stars which no one can blink an eye from. It was pin-drop silence, and our minds were at peace.

I said, “So, here we are. A tiny dot in front of this entire universe, the only species on earth that controls every single thing that happens on this planet. Where are we heading?”

“Do you ever feel a tremendous amount of fear in your whole body when you think about our ever-increasing problems like hate crimes, climate change, food and water crisis in this world or for the type of future we hold? Is there any hope?” I said in a shaky voice, looking for hope.

My friend said, “I used to feel this a long time ago for my children and generations to come, but not anymore since I started my new journey. Permaculture gave me hope for my future!”

Manisha is 28 years old, left her stressful corporate job, purchased land and now lives there with her family of four near Chandigarh. She lives her life on the principles of Permaculture and also conducts Permaculture design courses where I met her first while attending it.

She grows 80% of her food, harvests her own rainwater, gets electricity from solar energy and lives a completely off-grid community farm lifestyle. They get all this abundance of food, water and energy almost free just through rain, sunlight and composting, i.e., returning nutrients back to the soil. They let nature heal and provide for them rather than depriving them of its resources.

According to the UN FAO (food and agriculture organisation), at current rates of soil loss and degradation, we have 60 years of crop harvests left if we continue living this current destructive lifestyle. After that, our soils can no longer create food for us. There is no life left in our soils. Due to a lack of nutrients, we fill the gap by using harmful chemicals and fertilizers, which contribute to increasing health problems and diseases.

“I think the primary challenges of the future are going to be access to clean drinking water, air and food to eat. Although the poor people are already experiencing climate change adversities and scarcity. But, we can save ourselves from societal collapse for the future by connecting back to our roots,” says Manisha.

What is Permaculture? Permaculture design integrates land, resources, people and the environment through mutually beneficial synergies–imitating the no waste, closed-loop systems. It studies and applies holistic solutions that apply to rural and urban contexts on any scale. It is a multidisciplinary toolbox including agriculture, water harvesting and hydrology, energy, natural building, forestry, waste management, animal systems, aquaculture, appropriate technology, economics and community development.

Permaculture (the word, coined by Bill Mollison, is a combination of permanent agriculture and permanent culture) is the conscious design and maintenance of productive ecosystems which have the diversity, stability, and resilience of natural ecosystems. It is the harmonious integration of landscape and people — providing their food, energy, shelter, and other material and non-material needs sustainably. Without permanent agriculture, there is no possibility of a stable social order in any field of interest.

It’s a philosophy of working with, rather than against, nature. It’s about creating food forests and being self-reliant. It’s a design for efficient land use and food security at all times.

Permaculture gives us a toolkit for moving from a culture of fear, pressure and scarcity to one of love, happiness and abundance.”- Toby Hemenway.

An educator, environmentalist and water conservator, Sagar smiles as he explains with excitement, “You know what? I believe we humans are not born to live like this. We are here to live in loving communities, helping each other unconditionally, be around nature every day and grow our own food as we are eventually a part of nature.”

He said, “This continuous longing for life, overconsumption, working day and night until we die is not human nature. It is a symptom of modern society and capitalism that has disconnected us from our true identity and our roots.”

“It is a cycle of extreme exploitation that has given the control and power of people to the destructive corporations and governments. To get it back, we need to learn how to design our spaces, aligning with Permaculture principles so that no external forces can control the food, water and resources we need to survive. We need to create this life which allows us to build a community of like-minded people and protect the environment at the same time.” He says with a twinkle in his eyes.

The tragic reality is that very few sustainable systems are designed or applied by those who hold power, and the reason for this is obvious and simple: to let people arrange their own food, energy and shelter is to lose economic and political control over them. We should cease to look at power structures, hierarchical systems, or governments to help us, and devise ways to help ourselves.

Everything made sense to me why these things were never taught in schools, and not promoted by any government. I learned that we’re only truly secure when we can look out our kitchen window and see our food growing and our friends working nearby. By being self-reliant instead of depending on governments and waiting for them to do something for us. Anyone can start this journey no matter what profession they are from. We are our only chance to save ourselves.

“Though the problems of the world are increasingly complex, the solutions remain embarrassingly simple.” – Bill Mollison.