--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Permaculture is a philosophy of working…" description: "\"Permaculture is a philosophy of working with, rather than against nature; of protracted and thoughtful observation rather than protracted and thoughtle..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcb/bill-mollison-4213_agriculture_permaculture-is-a-philosophy-of-working_3192429.png" --- # Permaculture is a philosophy of working with, rather than… ![“Permaculture is a philosophy of working with, rather than against nature; of protracted and thoughtful observation rather than protracted and thoughtless labor; and of looking at plants and animals in all their functions, rather than treating any area as a single product system” quote by Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcb/bill-mollison-4213_agriculture_permaculture-is-a-philosophy-of-working_3192429.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcb/bill-mollison-4213_agriculture_permaculture-is-a-philosophy-of-working_3192429.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcb/bill-mollison-4213_agriculture_permaculture-is-a-philosophy-of-working_3192429.png) > “Permaculture is a philosophy of working with, rather than against nature; of protracted and thoughtful observation rather than protracted and thoughtless labor; and of looking at plants and animals in all their functions, rather than treating any area as a single product system” [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Permaculture emphasizes collaborating with nature through careful observation and multifunctional design. **In simple terms:** Work with nature, not against it. Key Takeaway Design systems that serve many purposes. Themes sustainability design ecology Mood inspirational practical Type educational environmental When to use this quote - garden planning - community farms - urban green spaces Key Concepts systems thinking holistic management Questions to Reflect On - What natural patterns can you observe locally? - How can you integrate multiple functions into one space? A Different Perspective Implementing such designs can be complex and costly. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Agriculture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agriculture/) [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Labor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labor/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Observation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/observation/) [Permaculture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/permaculture/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Plant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plant/) [Plants and animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plants-and-animals/) [Thoughtful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thoughtful/) ## Related quotes > [Permaculture is a design system for creating sustainable human environments...Permaculture uses the inherent qualities of plants and animals combined with the natural characteristics of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/permaculture-is-a-design-system-for-creating-sustainable-human/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [Permaculture is an integrated, evolving system of perennial and self-perpetuating plants and animal species useful to man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/permaculture-is-an-integrated-evolving-system-of-perennial-and-self/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [My whole philosophy is working smarter and not harder. And making sure I'm using little effort and getting a huge effect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-pettis/my-whole-philosophy-is-working-smarter-and-not-harder-and-making-sure/) [Anthony Pettis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-pettis/) > [Best part of my job is fulfillment. When I see that, that we're creating value, that we're helping improve people's lives, and we benefit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-koch/best-part-of-my-job-is-fulfillment-when-i-see-that-that-we-re/) [Charles Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-koch/) > [I have a very strict philosophy that if you're not working out, you're getting fat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-melfi/i-have-a-very-strict-philosophy-that-if-you-re-not-working-out-you-re/) [Theodore Melfi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-melfi/) > [Let God operate in thee; Hand the work over to Him and do not disquiet thyself as to whether or no He is working…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/let-god-operate-in-thee-hand-the-work-over-to-him-and-do-not-disquiet/) [Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) > [The vaccinations are not working, and they are dangerous.. We should be working with nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lendon-smith/the-vaccinations-are-not-working-and-they-are-dangerous-we-should-be/) Lendon Smith > [Nature is a self-made machine, more perfectly automated than any automated machine. To create something in the image of nature is to create a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/nature-is-a-self-made-machine-more-perfectly-automated-than-any/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [“If you are working inwardly, Nature will help you. For the man who is working, Nature is sister of charity; she brings him what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-i-gurdjieff-2/if-you-are-working-inwardly-nature-will-help-you-for-the-man-who-is/) [G.I. Gurdjieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-i-gurdjieff-2/) > [Permaculture is the conscious design and maintenance of agriculturally productive ecosystems which have the diversity, stability, and resilience of natural ecosystems. It is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/permaculture-is-the-conscious-design-and-maintenance-of/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [The worst thing about permaculture is that it's extremely successful, but it has no center, and no hierarchy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/the-worst-thing-about-permaculture-is-that-it-s-extremely-successful/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [I confess to a rare problem - gynekinetophobia, or the fear of women falling on me - but this is a rather mild illness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/i-confess-to-a-rare-problem-gynekinetophobia-or-the-fear-of-women/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [Anarchy would suggest you're not cooperating. Permaculture is urging complete cooperation between each other and every other thing, animate and inanimate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/anarchy-would-suggest-you-re-not-cooperating-permaculture-is-urging/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [I probably lead a very spoiled life, because I travel from people interested in permaculture to people interested in permaculture. Some of them are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/i-probably-lead-a-very-spoiled-life-because-i-travel-from-people/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [“Each such cycle is a unique event; diet, choice, selection, season, weather, digestion, decomposition and regeneration differ each time it happens. Thus, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/each-such-cycle-is-a-unique-event-diet-choice-selection-season/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) ## More by Bill Mollison > [There is one, and only one solution, and we have almost no time to try it. We must turn all our resources to repairing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/there-is-one-and-only-one-solution-and-we-have-almost-no-time-to-try/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [Women spend the money of society on its goods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/women-spend-the-money-of-society-on-its-goods/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [Wealth is a deep understanding of the natural world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/wealth-is-a-deep-understanding-of-the-natural-world/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [That we don't design agriculture to be sustainable is totally eerie. We design it to be a disaster, and of course, we get a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/that-we-don-t-design-agriculture-to-be-sustainable-is-totally-eerie/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [Why is it that we don't build human settlements that will feed themselves, and fuel themselves, and catch their own water, when any human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/why-is-it-that-we-don-t-build-human-settlements-that-will-feed/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [Anything that's left that's remotely like wilderness should be left strictly alone. We have no business there any more. It's not going to save…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/anything-that-s-left-that-s-remotely-like-wilderness-should-be-left/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [The important thing is not to do any agriculture whatsoever, and particularly to make the modern agricultural sciences a forbidden area - they're worse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/the-important-thing-is-not-to-do-any-agriculture-whatsoever-and/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [The tragic reality is that very few sustainable systems are designed or applied by those who hold power, and the reason for this is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/the-tragic-reality-is-that-very-few-sustainable-systems-are-designed/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [We are surrounded by insurmountable opportunities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/we-are-surrounded-by-insurmountable-opportunities/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [Though the problems of the world are increasingly complex, the solutions remain embarrassingly simple.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/though-the-problems-of-the-world-are-increasingly-complex-the/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [I can easily teach people to be gardeners, and from them, once they know how to garden, you'll get a philosopher.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/i-can-easily-teach-people-to-be-gardeners-and-from-them-once-they/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [If you get someone who looks after himself and those around him, that's a deep ecologist. He can talk philosophy that I understand. People…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/if-you-get-someone-who-looks-after-himself-and-those-around-him-that/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [You can't cooperate by knocking something about or bossing it or forcing it to do things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/you-can-t-cooperate-by-knocking-something-about-or-bossing-it-or/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [Women are the holders of all knowledge, everything a man knows he stole from a woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/women-are-the-holders-of-all-knowledge-everything-a-man-knows-he/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [Another thing I find extremely eerie is that when people build a house, they almost exactly get it wrong. They don't just get it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/another-thing-i-find-extremely-eerie-is-that-when-people-build-a/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) [Explore all 114 Bill Mollison quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) ## More Agriculture quotes > [Advances in technology will continue to reach far into every sector of our economy. Future job and economic growth in industry, defense, transportation, agriculture,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-bond/advances-in-technology-will-continue-to-reach-far-into-every-sector/) [Christopher Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-bond/) > [To husband is to use with care, to keep, to save, to make last, to conserve. Old usage tells us that there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/to-husband-is-to-use-with-care-to-keep-to-save-to-make-last-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [As the first Member of Congress from western Washington to serve on the House Agriculture Committee in over 50 years, I am proud to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-larsen/as-the-first-member-of-congress-from-western-washington-to-serve-on/) [Rick Larsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-larsen/) > [Conventional agriculture has never succeeded in feeding the world, and it's never produced anything good to eat. For the future, we need to look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-barber/conventional-agriculture-has-never-succeeded-in-feeding-the-world-and/) [Dan Barber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-barber/) > [I would say my fraternity was nothing but a bunch of farm boys; we weren't really in the whole fraternity scene, but yeah, that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-bryan/i-would-say-my-fraternity-was-nothing-but-a-bunch-of-farm-boys-we/) [Luke Bryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-bryan/) > [I grew up in Italy, and our country is a country of great agriculture and food produce. It wasn't like I was urban and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabella-rossellini/i-grew-up-in-italy-and-our-country-is-a-country-of-great-agriculture/) [Isabella Rossellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabella-rossellini/) > [Farmers, get out your sense of humor. Congress meets to relieve you again next week.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/farmers-get-out-your-sense-of-humor-congress-meets-to-relieve-you/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [Because Iran understands Afghanistan far better than Americans do, making Iran a partner in a long-term effort to transform Afghan agriculture makes sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kinzer/because-iran-understands-afghanistan-far-better-than-americans-do/) [Stephen Kinzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-kinzer/) > [Sara Scherr and Jeff McNeely have given us a thoughtful, sensible book about a topic of great importance to the world. There is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ismail-serageldin/sara-scherr-and-jeff-mcneely-have-given-us-a-thoughtful-sensible-book/) [Ismail Serageldin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ismail-serageldin/) > [People want development, modern thinking. They want to encourage and support research in agriculture and other fields.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharad-pawar/people-want-development-modern-thinking-they-want-to-encourage-and/) [Sharad Pawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharad-pawar/) > [Growing corn, which from a biological perspective had always been a process of capturing sunlight to turn into food, has in no small measure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/growing-corn-which-from-a-biological-perspective-had-always-been-a/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [When politicians talk of loan waiver, they are accepting that agriculture is not economically viable. They are giving a wrong signal that farming is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-s-swaminathan/when-politicians-talk-of-loan-waiver-they-are-accepting-that/) [M. S. Swaminathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-s-swaminathan/) > [Nitrogen-based fertilizers, which came into wide use after World War II, helped prompt the agricultural revolution that has allowed the Earth to feed its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tatiana-schlossberg/nitrogen-based-fertilizers-which-came-into-wide-use-after-world-war/) [Tatiana Schlossberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tatiana-schlossberg/) > [Agriculture is one economic activity that does not obey the laws of demand and supply.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/agriculture-is-one-economic-activity-that-does-not-obey-the-laws-of/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [More than a mere alternative strategy, regenerative agriculture represents a fundamental shift in our culture’s relationship to nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-eisenstein/more-than-a-mere-alternative-strategy-regenerative-agriculture/) [Charles Eisenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-eisenstein/) [Browse all 889 Agriculture quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agriculture/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Permaculture is a philosophy of working with, rather than against nature; of protracted and thoughtful observation rather than protracted and thoughtless labor; and of looking at plants and animals in all their functions, rather than treating any area as a single product system", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bill Mollison" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/permaculture-is-a-philosophy-of-working-with-rather-than-against/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Agriculture" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/permaculture-is-a-philosophy-of-working-with-rather-than-against/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcb/bill-mollison-4213_agriculture_permaculture-is-a-philosophy-of-working_3192429.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcb/bill-mollison-4213_agriculture_permaculture-is-a-philosophy-of-working_3192429.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcb/bill-mollison-4213_agriculture_permaculture-is-a-philosophy-of-working_3192429.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Permaculture is a philosophy of working with, rather than against nature; of protracted and thoughtful…” — Bill Mollison", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Bill Mollison", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Permaculture is a philosophy of working...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/permaculture-is-a-philosophy-of-working-with-rather-than-against/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/permaculture-is-a-philosophy-of-working-with-rather-than-against/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```