The G in GOBRADIME stands for Goals!
Today our focus is on you, the designer, and on setting clear, actionable goals for your permaculture design project.
Setting goals for permaculture design projects is super important, but sometimes this task is easier said than done!
Here are some tools to help you:
Tool #1: The Stakeholder Interview
Working through a set of questions and receiving feedback from stakeholders in your project will help you clarify your own goals as well as develop an idea of what you can realistically hope to achieve with the project.
Check out this article about interviewing stakeholders, and use the sample below to create your own, then conduct interviews of yourself and the other people who will be involved in your project.
Sample Interview Questionnaire on setting goals for permaculture design projects by Jude Hobbs (she was Heather Jo’s first teacher)
Tool #2: SMARTER Goals
When we start out as permaculture designers, there is a natural urge to rush it. Draw a map, scribble out some interconnected permaculture project ideas, and start digging!
But… don’t.
Make time to get your goals and priorities crystal clear. Inhale. Study. Refine. Revel. And create a set of SMARTER goals.
SMARTER stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound, Ecological, and Rewarding. SMARTER goals are an important strategy for taking your goals and translating them into a plan.
As you refine your goals, you’ll need to refer back to your ethical commitments, and consider the biological, socioeconomic, and personal/emotional costs and benefits, should these goals be accomplished. This brings us to tool #3:
Tool #3: Attitudinal Principles
In order to create a permaculture design, we have to become permaculture designers, and that means changing the way we view and interact with the world around us, starting with our attitude.
It’s not the only factor to consider; but it’s the easiest one to change. You’ll see the term, “attitudinal principles” in a lot of the permaculture literature, but it’s a bit of a misnomer; it’s not so much that there are clear lines between biological principles, socioeconomic principles, and attitudinal principles, but more so that all of these layers exist in all of the principles.
Imagine a seed, sprouting into a tiny baby plant. Think of the metamorphosis of your goals, into the planned set of actions (aka your permaculture design project), which transforms your goals into tangible, edible reality.
When setting goals for permaculture design projects, every action you take has biological, socioeconomic, and emotional impacts and factors to consider.
What happens if you consider each of your goals in life, through this lens? It ends up looking a lot like those permaculture ethics, yes? Biological factors connect to Earth care; socioeconomic factors connect to people care; and emotional factors connect to how adeptly we can share fairly and care for the future.
So, while there are several permaculture principles, including but in no way limited to the list below, that are commonly referred to as “attitudinal”, keep in mind the above-mentioned factors and see how many ways you can apply ALL the principles towards cultivating the sharpest, most adept designer’s mind you can muster!
Here’s a list of five of the most common attitudinal principles in the permaculture lexicon. Without further explanation, how would you interpret these? Can you see how they could help you shift your attitude, and perhaps open up new possibilities when setting goals for permaculture design projects?
- Make the least change for the greatest effect.
- The designer limits the yield.
- Information is a resource.
- The problem is the solution.
- Mistakes are tools for learning.
Want to learn more about this and other topics related to permaculture, sustainability, and whole-systems design? We offer a range of FREE (donations optional) online courses!
Relevant Links and Resources
If you’re interested in how to apply permaculture theory to the design of a healthy, happy emotional life, check out Heather Jo Flores’ free (donations accepted, as always) 3-day Emotional Permaculture workshop.
If you’re not already subscribed to the permaculture magazines, you should know that they are all excellent, and it’s a worthy investment, for sure. This free sample of Permaculture Design Magazine is all about decolonization.
