“The bigger they are, the harder they fall.” “Slow and steady wins the race.”
Small and slow systems are easier to maintain than big ones, making better use of local resources and produce more sustainable outcomes.
The snail is both small and slow, it carries its home on its back and can withdraw to defend itself when threatened. The proverb “the bigger they are, the harder they fall” reminds us of the disadvantages of excessive size and growth while “slow and steady wins the race” encourages patience while reflecting on a common truth in nature and society.
The Chikukwa Project
After decades of land mismanagement, the last natural spring of this region had silted over. A communal effort to restore them 20 years ago has culminated in the reinvigoration of the land, providing an example that’s spreading all over Africa. Core to the project has been slowing water run-off using techniques like contour planting, terraces, swales, and bunds, all made by hand. These reduce erosion, recharge the springs and rehydrate the soil, feeding orchards, crops and people.
‘The Chikukwa Project’ photo contributed by John Champagne and featured in the 2013 Permaculture Calendar.
Principle 9: Use small & slow solutions
Adventures in urban sustainability
Small home food gardens in our suburbs play such an important role in creating sustainable, resilient networks of diverse food producing spaces. By gently tending to our fruit trees and veggies, giving them time to grow organically at their own pace in rich living soils, we can create food with incredible vibrancy and nutritional value like no other – right at our own back door.
Photo taken in Wollongong, NSW Australia by Richard Walter, text by Alison Mellor and Richard Walter
Permablitz – changing the world, one garden at a time
At this winter permablitz we prepared the soil, and planted fruit trees and berries in this neighbour-shared food garden. Permablitzes are sociable and reciprocal working bees for installing edible gardens where people live, with free workshops, and shared food. They give homemakers and the city “a boost along the path of self-reliance and minimal ecological impact.”[Holmgren] They are relatively small events, with broad and lasting influence.
Photo taken in Melbourne, Australia and contributed by Michele Margolis, text by Adam Grubb.
“Our Seeds”, Sankranti (harvest) Festival
Local Seed Networks conserve local varieties, the basis of genuine local cuisine. Unlike frozen “doomsday” seed banks, they keep traditional knowledge about breeding, growing, and utilising food plant varieties alive within the community. Instead of being frozen in time the varieties themselves adapt to climate change. Small and slow solutions, such as the grassroots seed savers movement, can be more powerful than top down centralised strategies.
Photo taken at the Chinnakatte village temple, India by Michel Fanton, text by Jude and Michel Fanton
