The shortest definition can perhaps be found in the works of Bill Mollison, the man who coined the concept of permaculture together with David Holmgren and received the Right Livelihood Award in 1981 for “developing and promoting the theory and practice of permaculture”. In his book, ‘Introduction to Permaculture’, he writes: “permaculture is a design system for creating sustainable human environments”.
According to Mollison, the result should always be “ecologically and economically sound”. The term permaculture itself is a contraction of the words permanent and agriculture.
Permaculture is based on the diverse, complex and productive interrelationships and patterns found in nature and aims to develop practical, long-lasting agricultural systems.