Self-explanatory emergency water-station in my front yard. People can keep the cups, or toss em in the basket to be washed and reused.
Beloved Coleman jug courtesy of my parents and the 1960s. Vintage stuff ftw!!!
At first I was thinking of this as an example of the second ethic of Permaculture design, care of people and all other living things. But then I realized that it has ALL THREE of the Permaculture ethics.
•Care of the earth: using durable everyday items that are still good, and refraining from purchasing new unnecessarily. (The plastic cups were on their way to landfill; a friend who gets boba tea every day gave them to me and I have tried to find a use for them.)
•Care of people and all other living things: trying to help do my part to make sure people stay hydrated, and also, any water that splashes onto the ground is helping other species.
•Limit consumption and share surplus: I’m sharing a resource that I have extra and can spare. And I am voluntarily self-limiting my consumption by not purchasing a separate thermos jug just for me. Instead, sharing my same old one with the community. Another surplus resource I’m sharing is time. Since I work mainly at home and in my immediate neighborhood, I have the luxury of time to be able to monitor this water station.
In addition to being a good example of all three ethics … This water station also embodies the permaculture design principle of “stacking functions.” One of my favorite of the 12 permaculture design principles. Everything in my yard not only serves its direct purpose, but also additionally serves as a demonstration site for my permaculture design & education services. I sometimes refer to my yard as my 3-D business card or design showroom.
Another function I’m stacking here is emotional/mental wellbeing. By being surrounded with many beloved everyday objects from our childhood that I find beautiful, I get a lot of joy and comfort. Also in the realm of emotional well-being, the various little micro-amenities in my yard help me keep an eye on the emotional and mental health of my neighborhood and community.
Notice how I get personal benefits and they don’t take away from any of the community benefits. And vice versa, the fact that there are multiple community benefits doesn’t take away from my personal benefits.
As I mention in the videos that I recently posted on my TikTok and YouTube channels, this is one of many low-stakes experiments in my front yard. What I call “porous property.” It includes things like the corner benches, and the little beach-toy lending library. Helping to raise the level of trust and compassion in our society, where it often seems like people’s willingness to trust is on the wane nowadays.
Doing things like this takes a little bit of leap of faith. You have to trust that most people won’t vandalize or steal. And also, you have to be willing to face the possibility that that is what might happen. But if we start with low stakes like this, it’s not as risky.
Wow, it’s amazing how much ended up coming out of just a little water-station. What we do makes a bigger difference than we think. Feel free to share your examples! And thank you so much for following my page.
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