All posts filed under: Sustainability

Social Permaculture, Landscaping the City

Published by VAGA Editor

The concept of permaculture was defined in 1978 by Bill Mollison and David Holmgren. Its origin is linked to the contraction of the words Permanent (in the sense of sustainable) and Agriculture. Permaculture landscaping is conceived as a discipline aiming to design sustainable environments in all its dimensions: social, economic and environmental. To this end, permaculture landscaping designs are framed in three ethical principles: caring for the earth: preserving the soil, forests and water as necessary for the development of all living beings. Caring for people: which implies satisfying basic human needs. Distributing the surpluses: inviting the surplus to be reinvested in the system so there is no waste and, it is shared. This are some general guidelines on the complexity of developing sustainable permaculture landscapes for human environments in urban settlements: Observe and interact: take nature as a reference, a large complex system of interrelationships, to create beneficial, integrated systems. Capture and store resources: given the current use of non-renewable sources, it is ideal to develop smart and sustainable ways to generate and store …

Social Permaculture: Off-Grid Living in Portugal

Published by VAGA Editor

Off-grid living and permaculture eco-tourism has become a viable solution that only seems to become more relatable to the needs of many millennials as time goes on… The desire to get out. It’s a complicated world we’re living in. One not only of unexpected election results but also a world today where no concept of time can catch up with the fleeting tails of the present moment. The incessant rate at which life seems to be passing by is thanks to our ever growing demands in technology and this speed that only seems to accelerate at an unstoppable force can become overwhelming. But beyond the flipbook momentum is also the humdrum lifestyle that is all laid out for us. The monotonous 9 to 5 office jobs that make us question whether we are living to work or working to live. That conflation of sameness met with the inability to chase the minute results in confusion as to why we allow our life to slip away rather than spending each waking moment living it. Suddenly, there …

food waste featured

The Perilous Food Waste Regime—Eyes Bigger than Our Stomach

Published by maya

Waste not, want not is how the old saying goes. The proverbial ideology that if one were to utilize commodity or resource in a wise manner, they will have enough in the long run. And in theory, it makes sense. However, in an era where suppliers are racing to meet the heightening demands of Western consumers, mama’s motto is lost in the dust. We want more; the bigger the better. Yet as we have the privileged access to a stocked fridge and fast ready meals at our greasy fingertips, we take it for granted, rabidly chewing a whole lot more than we can swallow. Research analysts have discovered that approximately one third of food produced around the world goes uneaten. That’s 1.3 billion tons that is lost or tossed in the dump every year. (source: FAO.org) The United States alone wastes up to 40% of their food, about 60 million metric tons of food that is tossed yearly, with an estimated value of $162 billion. About 40 million metric tons of it end up in municipal landfills, …