What is Permaculture?
“Permaculture is a philosophy of working with, rather than against nature; of protracted and thoughtful observation rather than protracted and thoughtless labor; of looking at plants and animals in all their functions, rather than treating any area as a single-product system”
Conventional farming threatens future food production by reducing biodiversity and contributing to environmental degradation which is why JustHope and our partner communities have chosen instead to invest in alternative practices. Permaculture is a farming approach that mimics natural ecosystems and is an alternative production method that can produce food with fewer resources in a sustainable manner. In practice, permaculture farms are organic, low-input, biodiverse and use techniques like intercropping trees, planting perennials, water harvesting, and resource recycling. Permaculture training builds farmers’ ability to devise feasible, simple, and efficient solutions to problems because it is rooted in local contexts and supported by local knowledge frameworks.
With farmers in Nicaragua facing severe crop loss due to climate change, our partners in Chacraseca decided to establish a Model Farm and Farmer Field School.
Here's how it works.
Program Objectives
- To create a permaculture training program that will raise awareness of permaculture techniques, their application in the various climates of Nicaragua, and their potential to improve local ecosystems.
- To create a working model farm that will showcase new ideas and techniques, host training programs, and serve as an educational community center.
- To support farmers in the application of permaculture methodologies at the household and production levels.
Program Phase |
Description of Phase |
Activities Implemented in Phase |
| Year One (2016) |
This phase is comprised of acquiring the location and establishing the proper foundation to initiate the project. In this first phase, we are putting a heavy emphasis on capacity building and training to prepare our full-time perma-staffers for community outreach activities.
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| Year Two (2017) |
Phase two is comprised of rapid scale up of the project including finalizing building phases and growth of personnel. During this phase, the educational curriculum will be implemented and follow-up will be conducted.
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| Year Three (2018) |
Phase three is primarily focused on graduating subsequent cohorts of farmers and following up with alumni to strengthen their permaculture initiatives to support economic security.
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Year Four (2019)
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Phase four continues to build upon the efforts of the previous phases while also expanding the reach of the project to include local and regional policy recommendations.
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Year Five (2020)
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The final phase of this model program includes evaluation, modification, and potential scale-up contingent upon results.
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