Living LandscapesDESIGN
Module 02 / 25
A design reflects choices about whose needs to meet, what to care for, and how to use resources. Permaculture’s ethics give those choices a direction. The principles help you think through how to act on them, from arranging the elements of a garden to organizing shared work.
In this module, read Mollison’s account alongside Practical Permaculture, then use Holmgren’s twelve principles and the video to compare the approaches. Pay attention to how each expresses the relationship between values and action. That comparison will prepare you to explain the reasoning behind choices in your own design.
What you’ll learn
Use your own copy, buy the book, or borrow it through a library when possible. If you are local to me, contact me about borrowing a copy. You can also contact me for information about digital or other access to assigned readings.
If your edition uses different page numbers, contact me and we can match the correct section.
For articles, excerpts, videos, and other resources, use the links in the lesson. If a video player does not load, try its source link. If you cannot access a reading or media resource, or it has no link, contact me with the module number and resource title.
Ask about books, readings or media access ↗Book reading
Bill Mollison
Chapters 1 and 2
Read the assigned Mollison chapters alongside the shorter supporting resources in this module. The Deep Green pages in Design Exercises 1–10 provide additional commentary on Mollison’s principles.
Book access & editionsBook reading
Jessi Bloom and Dave Boehnlein
Pages 13 to 17: ethics and transitional choices
Pages 18 to 31: principles reference
Book access & editionsRead
justlists.wordpress.com
Use Holmgren’s list as the second account in your comparison with Mollison. Look for ideas they share and differences in how they express them.
Open resourceWatch
YouTube
As you watch, relate the principles to the choices a designer makes. Keep the readings beside you so you can connect the discussion with the principles you are comparing.
If the player does not load, use the source link.
For this module, compare Mollison's and Holmgren's principles. When you begin the Design Exercises in Module 6, use that comparison to explain a design choice, including a tradeoff between human needs and ecological effects.
Compare Mollison and Homlgren's principles. What are your observations on how they differ?
Save written notes as a document or PDF. For paper maps or handwritten notes, use a clear photo or scan. You can combine related work in one file.
Attach your principles-comparison notes.
Email the address listed under “Get In Touch” on my contact page. Do not use the contact form. Include the Permaculture Design Course, Module 2, and “Principles comparison” in your subject or message.
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