Knowledgebase

Welcome to the Permaculture Institute of Thailand’s knowledge base. We are just starting it. Please be patient. It will be a digital warehouse of “best Practices”

Permaculture is a holistic integrated approach to designing stable, productive, natural, wildlife friendly farms that support adjacent ecosystems. It is a practice shared now in over 100 countries. The yield’s are stable and resilient food, “greater quality” and often “quantity” of nutrient rich foods than support our personal and planet health in total contrast to our current chemical and poison spray based agriculture food industry.

It is based on permaculture humanistic ethics, nature’s eco-system supporting principles and design approaches, taught in the Permaculture Design Course created by Bill Molission and David Holmgren and is based on the book “Permaculture a Designers Manual”.

If you have suggestions for more topics, additional functionality, images or info to add, contact us to add comments to the site.

Current Projects and Research:

Water Drought Proofing

Urban Food and Planing

Rice Paddy Aquaculture

Aquaponics

Coconut Tree/ Cow Pasture Regenerative Broad Acre Grazing in dry season

 

BOOKS:

Permaculture:A Designers’ Manual – Bill Mollision

The below are the chapters and topics of “Permaculture a Designers Manual” 
CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION TO PERMACULTURE –  1.1 – Permaculture Design Philosophy Section   1.2 – Ethics  Section   1.3 – Permaculture in Landscape and Society
CHAPTER 2 – CONCEPTS AND THEMES IN DESIGN  –  2.1 – Introduction Section 2.2 – Science and the Thousand Names of God 2.3 – Applying Laws and Principles to Design  2.4 – Resources 2.5 – Yields  2.6 – Cycles: A Niche in Time   2.7 – Pyramids, Food Webs, Growth and Vegetarianism   2.8 Complexity and Connections  2.9 Order or chaos  2.10 Permitted and forced functions Section 2.11 Diversity Section 2.12 Stability Section 2.13 Time and Yield Section 2.14 Principle Summary Section 2.15 References
CHAPTER 3 – METHODS OF DESIGN  –  3.1 Introduction 3.2 Analysis : Design by listing characteristics of components  3.3 Observation: Design by expanding on direct observations of a site 3.4 Deduction from Nature: Design by adopting lessons learnt from nature 3.5 Options and Decisions: Design as a selection of options or pathways based on decisions  3.6 Data Overlay: Design by map overlays  3.7 Random Assembly: Design by assessing the results of random assemblies  3.8 Flow Diagrams: Design for work places  3.9  Zone and Sector Analysis: Design by the application of a master pattern  3.10 Zoning of Information and Ethics  3.11 Incremental Design  3.12 Summary of Design Methods  3.13 The Concepts of Guilds in Nature  3.14  Succession: Evolution of a system  3.15 The Establishment and Maintenance of Systems  3.16 General Practical Procedures in Property Design  3.17  Principle Summary
 CHAPTER 4      PATTERN UNDERSTANDING – 4.1 – Introduction  4.2 – A General Pattern Model of Events  4.3 – Matrices and the Strategies of Compacting and Complex Components  4.4 – Properties of Media  4.5 – Boundary Conditions  4.6 – The Harmonics and Geometries of Boundaries  4.7 – Compatible and Incompatible Borders and Components  4.8 – The Timing and Shaping of Events  4.9 – Spirals  4.10 – Flow Over Landscape and Objects  4.11 – Open Flow and and Flow Patterns  4.12 – Validator Phenomena  4.13 – Dimensions and Potentials  4.14 – Closed (spherical) Models; Accretion and Expulsion  4.15 – Branching and its Effects; Conduits  4.16 – Orders of Magnitude in Branches  4.17 – Orders and Dimensions  4.18 – Classification of Events  4.19 – Time and Relativity in the Model  4.20 – The World we Live in as a Tessellation of Event-ism 4.21 – Introduction to Pattern Applications  4.22 – The Tribal use of Patterning  4.23 – The Mnemonics of Meaning  4.24 – Patterns of Society  4.25 – The Arts in the Service of Life  4.26 – Additional Pattern Applications  4.27 – References and Further Reading  4.28 – Designers’ Checklist
CHAPTER 5  – CLIMATIC FACTORS- 5.1 Introduction  5.2 The classification of Broad Climatic Zones  5.3 Patterning in Global Weather Systems: The Engines of the Atmosphere  5.4 Precipitation  5.5 Radiation  5.6 Wind  5.7 Landscape Effects  5.8 Latitude Effects  5.9 References  5.10 Designers’ Checklist
CHAPTER 6 –  TREES AND THEIR ENERGY TRANSACTIONS –  6.1 Introduction  6.2 The Biomass of the Tree  6.3 Wind Effects  6.4 Temperature Effects  6.5 Trees and Precipitation  6.6 How a Tree Interacts with Rain  6.7 Summary  6.8 References
CHAPTER 7 –  WATER  –  7.1 Introduction  7.2 Regional Intervention in the Water Cycle  7.3 Earthworks for Water Conservation and Storage  7.4  Reduction of Water Used in Sewage Systems  7.5  The Purification of Polluted Waters  7.6  Natural Swimming Pools  7.7  Designers’ Checklist  7.8 References
CHAPTER 8 – SOILS –  8.1 Introduction  8.2 Soil and Health  8.3 Tribal and Traditional Soil Classifications  8.4 The Structure of Soils  8.5 Soil and Water Elements  8.6 Primary Nutrients for Plants  8.7 The Distribution of Elements in the Soil Profile  8.8 pH and Soils  8.9 Soil Composition  8.10 Soil Pores and Crumb Structure  8.11 Gaseous content and processes in soils  8.12 The Soil Biota  8.13 Difficult Soils  8.14 Plant Analysis for Mineral Deficiencies; Some Remedies   8.15 Biological Indicators of Soil and Soil Conditions  8.16 Seed Pelleting  8.17 Soil Erosion  8.18 Soil Rehabilitation  8.19 Soils in House Foundations  8.20 Life in Earth  8.21 The Respiration of Earth  8.22 Designers’ Checklist  8.23 References
CHAPTER 9  – EARTH WORKING AND EARTH RESOURCES –  9.1 Introduction  9.2 Planning Earthworks  9.3 Planting after Earthworks  9.4 Slope Measure  9.5 Levels and Leveling  9.6 Types of Earthworks  9.7 Earth Constructs  9.8 Moving the Earth  9.9 Earth Resources  9.10 References
CHAPTER 10  –  THE HUMID TROPICS-  10.1 Introduction    10.2 Climatic Types  10.3 Tropical Soils  10.4 Earth Shaping in the Tropics  10.5 House Design  10.6 The Tropical Home Garden  10.7 Integrated Land Management  10.8 Elements of a Village Complex in the Humid Tropics  10.9 Evolving a Poly culture  10.10 Themes on a Coconut- or Palm-dominant Poly culture  10.11 Pioneering  10.12 Animal Tractor Systems  10.13 Grassland and Range Management  10.14 Humid Tropical Coast Stabilization and Shelter-belts  10.15 Low Island and Coral Cay Strategies  10.16 Designers’ Checklist  10.17  References
CHAPTER 11 – DRYLAND STRATEGIES-  11.1 Introduction  11.2 Precipitation  11.3 Temperature   11.4 Soils  11.5 Landscape Features in Deserts  11.6 Harvesting of Water in Arid Lands  11.7 The Desert House  11.8 The Desert Garden  11.9 Garden Irrigation Systems  11.10 Desert Settlement – Broad Strategies-  11.11 Plant Themes for Drylands  11.12 Animal Systems in Drylands  11.13 Desertification and the Salting of Soils  11.14 Cold and Montane Deserts  11.15 Designers’ Checklist  11.16 References
CHAPTER 12 – HUMID COOL TO COLD CLIMATES-12.1 Introduction  12.2 Characteristics of a Humid Cool Climate  12.3 Soils  12.4 Landform and Water Conservation  12.5 Settlement and House Design  12.6 The Home Garden  12.7 Berry Fruits  12.8 Glasshouse Growing  12.9 Orchards  12.10 Farm Forestry  12.11 Free-range Forage Systems  12.12 The Lawn  12.13 Grasslands  12.14 Rangelands  12.15 Cold Climates  12.16 Wildfire  12.17 Designers’ Checklist  12.18 References
CHAPTER 13 – AQUACULTURE-  13.1 Introduction  13.2 The Case for Aquaculture  13.3 Some Factors Affecting Total Useful Yields  13.4 Choice of Fish Species (varieties, food,health ) and Factors in Yield  13.5 Fish Pond Configurations and Food Supply  13.6 Farming Invertebrates for Fish Food  13.7 Channel, Canal, Chinampa  13.8 Yields Outside the Pond  13.9 Bringing in the Harvest  13.10 Traditional and New Water Polycultures  13.11 Designers’ Checklist  13.12 References
CHAPTER 14 – THE STRATEGIES OF AN ALTERNATIVE GLOBAL NATION – 14.1 introduction  14.2 Ethical Basis of an Alternative Nation  14.3 A New United Nations   14.4 Alternatives to Political Systems  14.5 Bio-regional Organization   14.6 Extended Families   14.7 Trusts and Legal Strategies  14.8 Developmental and Property Trusts   14.9 Village Development   14.10 Effective Working Groups and Right Livelihood   14.11 Money and Finance   14.12 Land Access   14.13 An Ethical Investment Movement  14.14 Effective Aid   14.15 Futures   14.16 References and Resources,
Plant List by Common Name.Plant List by Species Name.Glossary