Unlocking Regeneration: when reconnecting to the context provides a key to work through an impasse
Last week I led a large international group of about fifty people, speaking different languages, all belonging to the same organisation but at different hierarchical levels, in a profound reflection on collective identity. The objective, which started from a need to regenerate meaning and belonging, was to experience a moment of reconnection together in order […]
Walking with systems: learning curve 2 – Grande Traversée des Alpes part I – 2022
On the strength of this first solo experience, I’m setting myself a new challenge: crossing the Alps from north to south. I plan to walk the GR5 from Lake Geneva to the Mediterranean ten days a year for three years. I’ve learnt a lot from the previous year: a short first stage with little climbing, […]
Walking with systems: learning experience 1
The most brilliant concepts can be very simple and yet difficult to assimilate. That’s how I felt when I discovered the systems approach and the work of Donnella Meadows. Powerful but complex. It took me a long time and a lot of miles to understand. Every summer since 2021, I’ve gone walking alone in the […]
Permaculture, Organisations and Management | Conclusion
So here ends our exploration of Holgrem’s 12 Permaculture principles, and how they can apply to the world of organisations and management. They have proven highly useful and creative as a bridge between natural ecosystems and human, socio-systems; indeed, permaculture being a nature-inspired design system, it creates a ‘space for thinking’ about how Nature operates […]
Permaculture Principle #12: Creatively use and respond to change
Nature never sits still Natural ecosystems are basically flows of energy and matter, forever evolving and transforming, cycling and recycling. They are constantly adapting and responding to change, creatively using it to nurture their thriving. A human cell will adapt its activity according to the nutrients, water and oxygen available in its environment. Our cardio-vascular […]
Permaculture principle #11: Use edges and value the marginal
Edges are the richest, most productive spaces in the natural world In Nature, edges tend to be places of trade, where elements of both ecosystems exchange their goods and create new, unprecedented wealth. The edge of a forest is a place where light is more accessible, thus enabling species that could not otherwise develop to […]
Permaculture Principle #10: Use and Value Diversity
Nature is diverse by nature Imagine a non-diverse natural ecosystem: you can’t? Well, precisely. Or if you can, it probably conjures up images of death, of desolation – the opposite of a typically thriving ecosystem, full of vitality. The natural world is, by essence, diverse; it is made up of lots of different elements having […]
Permaculture Principle #9: Use small and slow solutions
Reminder: Life on Earth is 3,8 billion years old Permaculture is a design method that seeks to mimic Life, as it unfolds through natural ecosystems. It is based on the premise that life as we know it is the result of 3,8 billion years of R&D, of trial and error that consistently eliminated forms that […]
Permaculture Principle #8: Integrate, rather than segregate
Wholeness is one of the main attributes of Nature In Umberto Eco’s famous novel “The Name of the Rose”, William of Baskerville reflects on why they failed to understand early enough what was really going on in the abbey, and tells his young mentee (my own paraphrase): “We understood crucial things, young Adso, but remained […]
Permaculture Principle #7: Design from patterns to details
Patterns are a central feature of the systemic nature of life on Earth There is something magical about patterns: you can’t see them, yet they orchestrate everything that you see happening around you. From bare ground, a primary forest starts with pioneering plants, then shrubs, then pioneering trees, then longer-living trees, then really big trees […]
