Macnamara - People & permaculture: caring and designing for ourselves, each other and the planet

Published by
Permanent Publications
Hyden House Ltd
The Sustainability Centre East Meon
Hampshire GU32 1HR
England
Tel: 01730 823 311
Fax: 01730 823 322
Overseas: (international code +44 - 1730) Email: enquiries@permaculture.co.uk Web: www.permaculture.co.uk

Published in association with
The Sustainability Centre, East Meon, Hampshire GU32 1HR
Tel: 01730 823 167 Email: info@sustainability-centre.org Web: www.sustainability-centre.org
Permaculture Association (Britain), BCM Permaculture Association, London WC1N 3XX Tel: 0845 458 1805 or 0113 230 7461
Email: office@permaculture.org.uk Web: www.permaculture.org.uk

Distributed in the USA by:
Chelsea Green Publishing Company
PO Box 428, White River Junction, VT 05001 Web: www.chelseagreen.com

2012 Louise Macnamara
The right of Louise Macnamara to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyrights, Designs and Patents Act 1998

Cover design by John Adams
Front cover image by Red rockerz Design Studio/Shutterstock Back cover people star image by Jenny Solomon/Shutterstock

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, rebound or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of Hyden House Limited.

This project has received grant aid from:
The Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) funded by DEFRA and the EU.
The European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD): Europe investing in rural areas.

Looby has been teaching permaculture since 2002, and is partner of a leading teaching and consultancy partnership, Designed Visions. She runs full permaculture design courses as well as teacher training, advanced permaculture design and peoplecare courses. She has a passion for creative teaching methods and likes inventing participatory activities and games to enhance learning. Her degree in Human Sciences provides a wealth of perspectives to bring into her teaching and writing.

Looby travels to Nepal to support the Himalayan Permaculture Centre and has founded a Fair Trade business, Spirals of Abundance, importing organic cotton clothes and other Nepalese handicrafts (www.spiralsofabundance.com).

She has supported the development and growth of permaculture nationally through her input as trustee of the Permaculture Association (Britain) for 5 years (20012006) and was the Chairperson for two of these She is still an an active member of the permaculture community and is engaged with the education working group and is a diploma tutor.

She lives in Herefordshire with her partner Chris Evans and two daughters, Shanti and Teya. She enjoys singing, yoga, gardening and making all sorts of things from cakes to wine, and clothes to blankets.

This book is cause for celebration! Many of us have long hankered for the insights and principles of permaculture to be translated to serve all aspects of our lives. Looby Macnamara has been worth waiting for: she fills the bill with luminous clarity, lean eloquence and an exquisite knowledge of systems. Her opening chapters on Thinking like an Ecosystem should be required reading in every classroom from third grade through graduate school. Equally rewarding are her applications of permaculture to health, communication and the life of the mind. Its part of the genius of the book that all this, once you see it, can seem as natural as breathing.
Joanna Macy, author of Coming Back to Life, World as Lover, World as Self and co-author, Active Hope: How to Face the Mess Were in without Going Crazy

The application of permaculture principles and thinking to peoplecare has long been a vexed issue for permaculture activists, designers and teachers. In this book Looby Macnamara uses her solid grounding in permaculture to show that its principles and thinking can help us all be effective and hopeful in an age of change and challenge. In the process she draws in kindred ideas and influences from the field of peoplecare, making a significant contribution in the ongoing evolution of permaculture as a concept and a movement creating a better world.
David Holmgren, co-originator of the permaculture concept

Looby Macnamaras inspiring and groundbreaking book is a rich celebration of the interconnectivity of all life and is filled to the brim with the potential of our future growth and happiness. It is the very best of guidebooks: entertaining, instructive, nurturing and profound. It will become a constant companion and is one of those books you will want to give to everyone you know!
Glennie Kindred, author of several books on Earth wisdom, our native trees and plants, and celebrating the Earths cycles

We all have our dark moments of the soul, when we go deep into our individual beings and ask hard questions and sometimes get unwelcome answers. Are humans a plague on the planet? Can one person, when that one person is me, really make a difference? Can the juggernaut of consumer society be turned? Why should we single out our fellow humans for a special degree of care over, say, salmon, or whales? The answer is in this book. We take care of people because people matter, and because that is our nature as creatures who care. What we care about matters to the fate of the world, now as never before. If permaculture as a design tool is about making connections, this book is about how we reconnect ourselves to each other, to our inner selves, to our highest aspirations and, finally, to the cycles of life, of which we are just a small, but incredibly important, part.
Albert Bates, author and educator, The Farm Ecovillage Training Center, Tennessee USA

Thanks to Looby Macnamara for bringing us a heart-warming book which invites us to step from our comfortable sofa into a world of adventures, explorations and connec- tions and blesses us to return for a good rest and some quiet when we need it. She offers us the world as our playground not something we have to set straight, but some- thing we have the honour of engaging with. A roadmap for the joyful expression of our love for each other and this wild, beautiful planet we call our home.
Kosha Anja Joubert, president of the Global Ecovillage Network

People & Permaculture is a book of practical wisdom that can improve our lives, our relationships and our ability to act for our world.
Chris Johnstone, author of Find Your Power and co-author of Active Hope: How to Face the Mess Were in without Going Crazy

Land design is complex, but trees dont answer back! In my experience the most challenging aspect of any design is not which plants or elements to include, but how to work with my fellow humans, and create situations where each person feels valued and able to make their best contribution. Looby has done the permaculture community a great service with this book. It has helped me explore my own potential and think in new ways. Ive gained insight into how I can work more effectively with others and, in turn, move towards a more harmonious and abundant relationship with our amazing Earth. Loobys book is an important step towards our goal of personal, social and ecological well-being, and I urge you to read it.
Andy Goldring, CEO, The Permaculture Association (Britain)

Living in todays global climate can be fraught with fear, overwhelm and despair. Looby Macnamara effortlessly eases you out of that predicament and on to an upwardly-spiralling path of practical exercises, solutions and earth-based wisdom. People & Permaculture offers a pragmatic and holistic approach to transforming our relationships, not only with each other, but with nature as a whole. Its timing couldnt be more fortuitous; this book holds enough insight and inspiration to help us thrive throughout these changing times and create a brighter future for all. Essential reading for anyone who wishes to reclaim their most intimate connection to people, place and planet.