Research Questions

Phase 1: Who are they? And where are they?

Do you have friends who are permaculture designers? Kindly send us the following information:

a) Complete name

b) E-mail address

Please e-mail to jabezjoshuaflores@gmail.com

Thank you!

My GoGetFunding Campaign for Permaculture Research in the Philippines

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Research Proposal

I updated my research proposal to create a 4-phase research project until 2019. Below is the new title of the research and the introduction:

DESIGNING FOOD SECURITY:

THE APPLICATIONS OF PERMACULTURE IN

SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE—

CASE STUDIES IN THE PHILIPPINES

Food security is a multidimensional issue that encompasses agriculture, human nutrition, and public health as well as economics and governance. In a survey conducted in the Philippines by the World Food Program in 2015, the main reasons for food insecurity were low income and the absence of a stable job. Other reasons include climate change-related calamities that caused damage to crops and infrastructures.

Permaculture is a design-based solution that can address food insecurity in the Philippines. It is a regenerative design framework based on whole systems thinking, observation of natural patterns, creative use of multifunctional components, biomimicry, and the application of ecological design principles in, but not limited to, the management of food systems. Permaculture designs around the world vary in appearance and in scale, from a single household to an entire community, yet all designs emphasize the use of locally available resources (natural and social capital) to create resilient and sustainable living systems that are food secure.

Strong social networks and the internet have played a significant role in permaculture information dissemination and the promotion of permaculture design courses (PDCs). In a study published by Ferguson and Lovell in 2013, the practice of permaculture has been observed to spread fast internationally in recent years. But unlike in other countries, permaculture has never been formally studied in the Philippines. Today, the largest gap in Philippine permaculture research is the lack of data on the location and status of local permaculture projects. In this regard, scientific research is needed to justify the adoption of permaculture design in local food production systems as a practical means to achieve food security.

  

Significance of the Study

As a holistic design framework, permaculture incorporates achieving food security with sustainable agriculture practices, biodiversity conservation, resilience, climate change adaptation and mitigation as well as strengthening the social fabric in rural and urban communities. Conducting permaculture research will help address national priorities such as Sustainable Development Goal 2 (Zero Hunger), Aichi Target 7 (sustainable management of agriculture, aquaculture, and forestry to ensure biodiversity conservation), and sustainable agriculture and rural development goals. The study will be the first comprehensive scholarly work in the Philippines to investigate, evaluate, and compare the current status of permaculture projects across the county. The results of the study can be used as an extensive source of data for future research on food security, sustainable agriculture, and permaculture.

Objectives of the Study

The general objectives of the study are to gather baseline data on the multiple functions of permaculture design system components and to determine how its practitioners and stakeholders evaluate their personal food security status in relation to their permaculture design.

The research will be divided into four phases each addressing a specific objective:

1)     to identify permaculture designers all over the country and create a database of their respective project sites;

2)     to profile permaculture sites and create a comprehensive inventory of local permaculture designs and the key system components interacting within its system;

3)    to determine the food security status of individuals in permaculture sites in relation to the design of key system components;

4)    and to mainstream the permaculture design concept for food security and sustainable development via new media.

I will be starting Phase 1 of the research this June. If you can refer to me any Philippine-based permaculture practioners/designers, please let me know by sending me an e-mail at jabezjoshuaflores@gmail.com. Thank you!

Data Gathering Day 2: Preliminary Survey

Today I have found 96 Facebook Pages on "Permaculture" and 98 Facebook Groups on "Permaculture" using the Facebook search bar. There are 12 pages and 5 groups based in the Philippines.

For my preliminary data gathering, I administered a quick 9-question permaculture awareness survey using Google Forms and posted it on Facebook.  You can also answer the survey below.

Why do Permaculture Research? Rationale of the Study

SUSTAINABLE BY DESIGN: APPLICATIONS OF PERMACULTURE PRINCIPLES IN THE DESIGN OF DIGITAL AGROECOSYSTEM LANDSCAPES FOR FOOD SECURITY AND THE ADVANCEMENT OF ECOLOGICAL AGRICULTURE PRACTICES IN THE PHILIPPINES

 

Permaculture is an ethics-based, green ideological framework that focuses on the design of sustainable living systems. It includes alternative agriculture practices (such as organic, biodynamic, natural farming, etc.), ecology-based engineering and green architecture, and indigenous knowledge systems compiled and packaged into a holistic approach by two Australians, Bill Mollison and David Holmgren, in the 1970s. Permaculture was conceptualized as a response to the Green Revolution and its direct and indirect consequences on the environment. The sudden rise in population puts pressure on the environment to produce more food. Given this, attention to the design of food production and living systems is crucial. Decades later, the practice of permaculture has reached the Philippines and have spread fast among netizens via tightly-knit networks on social media, like Facebook, and yet is largely ignored by mainstream agriculture, the academe, and policymakers as a practical solution to food security, climate resilience, and community solidarity. Unfortunately, permaculture is often reduced to a fad for small-scale farming enthusiasts and alternative living hobbyists. To gain more knowledge and generate new data on the spread, practice, and evaluation of permaculture, the study will conduct a nationwide survey of both self-proclaimed and trained permaculture designers and document and evaluate their social networks, communication strategies, farm systems, technologies and on-site practices.  

There are no official documented records of either permaculture practitioners or sites in the country. A major reason for this is the lack of standards and assessment tools that could determine what can qualify as a permaculture practice or project. And because there are no standards to consider, methods and practices may vary from one site to the other depending on the practitioner’s background or personal interpretation of permaculture. The scale of the practice (personal space, house, farm, or community level) is also unknown. Information transmitted via social media channels is a main source of permaculture knowledge and the identification of focal nodes (or key persons) is crucial to determine the level of knowledge of the members within the social network. The network nodes (members) then become focal nodes themselves creating a virtual landscape filled with permaculture design practices expressed in digital content such as status updates, blogs, photos, and videos.

The study aims to create a comprehensive Philippine permaculture database and reference book consisting of an inventory of online social groups, typologies of practitioners, and maps and characterizations of project sites. Also included is the documentation of the design, methods, and practices employed by these practitioners. The data obtained will be used to craft a systematic assessment of permaculture design. A documentary film on Philippine Permaculture will be released to mainstream the concept to the general public. All of these outputs can be used to formalize permaculture research and become the foundation for future studies.   

Data Gathering Day 1: Who and Where are They?

Social media is the starting point of permaculture research.
 
To start my data gathering, I will be using Facebook as my primary search tool to find permaculture groups in the Philippines. Today, I will be listing down all the Facebook pages and groups on permaculture that I could find.

Steps:
1. Identify all the Facebook pages and groups on Facebook using the "search" bar.
2. Identify which pages and groups are from the Philippines
3. Identify Facebook friends who like/belong to those pages and groups
4. Analyze social network using software
5. Identify focal nodes
6. Identify communities