DemoSite HB Enviro Centre

Hawke's Bay 



The term permaculture (as a systematic method) was first coined by Australians Bill Mollison and David Holmgren in 1978. The word permaculture originally referred to "permanent agriculture" but was expanded to stand also for "permanent culture," as it was seen that social aspects were integral to a truly sustainable system.

The three core tenets of permaculture are:



Return of surplus: Reinvesting surpluses back into the system to provide for the first two tenets. This includes returning waste back into the system to recycle into usefulness.

Permaculture design emphasises patterns of landscape, function, and species assemblies. It determines where these elements should be placed so they can provide maximum benefit to the local environment. The central concept of permaculture is maximising useful connections between components and synergy of the final design. The focus of permaculture is not on each separate element, but on the relationships created among elements by the way they are arranged; the whole becoming greater than the sum of its parts. 


The core design principles of permaculture were derived from the science of systems ecology and study of pre-industrial examples of sustainable land use. 


Hawkes Bay Permaculture Group

Permaculture Hawke's Bay on Facebook 

Kotare Eco Village, Hawkes Bay

Permaculture in New Zealand 

NZ Permaculture Farm

Principles of Permaculture

Kahikatea Farm