Video from group n° 116

Welcome to the webpage of group 11

The topic we have decided to explore is the following : can permaculture replace intensive agriculture ?

Our paper

During the preparation of our video, we questioned a lot of people about permaculture, and noticed that only a few of them were informed about it. Indeed, the majority of them didn’t even know it and the rest only knew the bare minimal of it. Regarding the experts, the points of view were really different: some were optimistic about this cause and others told us that it would be difficult to implement this project widely.

First, we noticed that when we explained people the process, they seemed to be interested in permaculture. It can be explained by the fact that, currently, people tend to be more and more concerned about environmental issues and to consume more and more organic products. This is the reason why people could potentially be interested about our project: a permaculture kit.

The experts were not all sure about the potential success of our project, because they thought it can only be implemented on a small and personal scale. Yet, some of them truly believed that permaculture could be implemented on a large scale because some towns and suburbs have already decided to fight for environmental purposes. For examples, some cities such as Grenoble, which is governed by an ecologic party, have decided to replace lawnmower by sheeps in order to mow grass in public places. Hence, Paris has recently developed a new ecological agriculture method with pesticide-free products on the rooftops of its buildings. These examples highlight the fact that if people are likely to adopt some of these measures, they would agree to practice permaculture as studies have proved its benefits on environment and health.

       Despite the difference of points of view of the experts, we still believe our project is worth it. Indeed, the advantages of the kits are obvious: they would allow every one to produce their own biological food and to personally make one step forward in a ecological issue. Organic food would then be accessible and costless for everyone and this would be a major innovation. However, we understood, thanks to the different opinions of the experts, that a major step to implement permaculture is to widely promote it and to raise people’s awareness of the impact of intensive agriculture and of the importance of permaculture. 
       That’s why we think that, before selling our kits, we should make partnerships with local associations of permaculture or organic agriculture to start promotion campaigns. People must understand that in order to make our project successful, individuals should, by themselves, commit to this cause if we want to see positive consequences on a national or international scale.

       Therefore, it is important to understand that permaculture can be a relevant environmental progress, only if people really understand its stakes and concepts. Our main goal is based on the idea that individual engagement, and a growing awareness of the subject can lead to huge results on a community.