Health and the environment in ecological transition: the case of the permaculture movement

Laura Centemeri (1)

1 LAMES - Laboratoire méditerranéen de sociologie

In this contribution my aim is to discuss how the permaculture movement promotes, through its concepts and practice, an understanding of human health as inseparable from the health of the environment-primarily intended as the health of the soil-and strictly dependent on the re-grounding of human subsistence activities within the environment of proximity This process of re-grounding should not be mistaken for self-sufficiency in providing for basic needs. Individual self-sufficiency is repeatedly defined as a pointless goal in the most influential writings on permaculture. Permaculturists are neither survivalists nor " peakists ". The re-grounding of individual subsistence activities within the environment of proximity has the aim of sustaining the emergence of self-reliant communities. Moreover, this practical re-grounding should be combined with a more engaging individual and collective process of " re-inhabitation ". By this term, introduced by American bioregional thinkers, permaculturists refer to a normative orientation of all life activities towards doing what is best for the long-term health and viability of one's own place of life.

Domaines: Sociologie

Laura Centemeri. Health and the environment in ecological transition: the case of the permaculture movement. The Relationship between Environment, Health, and Disease Toward a Multi-Spatial and Historical Approach, In press. ⟨hal-01613420⟩