Permaculture is Permanent Agriculture.

Uncle Bill (Photo credit: London Permaculture)

"To empower the powerless and create a 'million villages' to replace nation-states is the only safe future for the preservation of the biosphere. Let interdependence and personal responsibility be our aims."

Bill Mollison, an Australian jack-of-all-trades, developed an agricultural systems strategy after extensive research on the Tasmanian aborigines. He and David Holmgren coined the phrase permaculture (permanent agriculture), while attempting to create an "interdisciplinary earth science with a potential for positivism, integrated, and global outreach" (Mollison ix).     

Permacultural aspect: helping animals in a veggie garden; harnessing and maintenance (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The agricultural system that he developed involves a comprehensive paradigm shift that includes the development of an ethical and moral approach to the natural world. The foundation of this ethics begins with the adoption of a "sophisticated aboriginal belief system." By looking towards the aborigines, we can develop a more holistic approach to the world around us. Mollison summarizes this belief in his book Permaculture: A Designer's Manual:

English: permacultural aspect: co-operating niches at a small scale – photo made on an organic farm on the Swabian Mountains in Germany (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

"Life (according the aboriginal people of Australia) is a totality neither created nor destroyed. It can be imagined as an egg from which all tribes (life forms) issue and to which all return. The ideal way in which to spend one's time is in the perfection of the expression of life, to lead the most evolved life possible, and to assist in and celebrate the existence of life forms other than humans, for all come from the same egg" (2).

With this belief system, which is inherent to Mollison's form of permaculture, the "prime directive of permaculture" can be met. This directive is acceptance of responsibility for our own existence and that our offspring (1).

English: The permaculture food spiral. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Mollison's vision reaches into the world of politics and economics, providing a comprehensive solution to the environmental crisis that is threatening our biosphere.  

English: Permaculture Course Welcome (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Some interesting stuff on Copywrite of Permaculture. 
There has been contention over who if anyone controls the legal rights to the word permaculture, meaning is it trademarked or copyrighted, and if so, who holds the legal rights to the use of the word.

For a long time Bill Mollison claimed to have copyrighted the word, and his books said on the copyright page, "The contents of this book and the word PERMACULTURE are copyright." These statements were largely accepted at face-value within the permaculture community.

However, copyright law does not protect names, ideas, concepts, systems, or methods of doing something; it only protects the expression or the description of an idea, not the idea itself. Eventually Mollison acknowledged that he was mistaken and that no copyright protection existed for the word permacultureIn 2000 Mollison's US based Permaculture Institute sought a service mark (a form of trademark) for the word permaculture when used in educational services such as conducting classes, seminars, or workshops.
The service mark would have allowed Mollison and his two Permaculture Institutes (one in the US and one in Australia) to set enforceable guidelines as to how permaculture could be taught and who could teach it, particularly with relation to the PDC. The service mark failed and was abandoned in 2001.

Also in 2001 Mollison applied for trademarks in Australia for the terms "Permaculture Design Course" and "Permaculture Design".

These applications were both withdrawn in 2003. In 2009 he sought a trademark for "Permaculture: A Designers' Manual" and "Introduction to Permaculture", the names of two of his books. These applications were withdrawn in 2011. There has never been a trademark for the word permaculture in Australia.
Permaculture Quotes There are many definitions of Permaculture – here’s a small collection and some related quotations….
“Permaculture is an integrated, evolving system of perennial and self-perpetuating plants and animal species useful to man.”
Bill Mollison and David Holmgren – 1st definition of Permaculture

“Permaculture is defined as consciously designed landscapes which mimic the patterns and relationships found in nature, while yielding an abundance of food, fibre and energy for the provision of local needs…more precisely I see Permaculture as the use of systems thinking and design principles that provide the organising framework for implementing the above vision”
David Holmgren ‘Pathways to Sustainability’ 2004

“Observe Nature thoughrully rather than labour thoughtlessly”
Masanoby Fukuoka ‘One Straw Revolution’

“It is our collective responsibility to protect and nurture the global family, to support its weaker members and to preserve and tend to the environment in which we all live”
Dalai Lama

“The only basic and comprehensive answer to the colossal harm that our present industrial system is causing to the global environment – harm that could lead to the extermination of all life on earth – is to replace it with a sustainable system – geared largely to the non-polluting, life-enhancing products of the living world”
Robert A de J Hart ‘Forest Gardening’

“Be the change you want to see happen”
Mahatma Gandhi

“Permaculture is that art of the possible
Graham Bell ‘The Permaculture Garden”

“Great civilisations have almost invariably had good soils as one of their chief natural resources”
Nyle C Brady ‘Nature and Properties of Soils”

“Permaculture is revolution disguised as organic gardening”
Graham Burnett ‘Permaculture – A Beginners Guide’

“Adopting permaculture in your garden could be the first step towards limiting your personal consumption and planning your life to become more creative as time goes by”
Graham Bell, ‘The Permaculture Garden’

“Is it all worth it? If we do our best to heal the Earth and make our place in her a sustainable one, is there a good chance that we will succeed?…to my mind that’s the wrong question. Even if we could answer it – and we can never know anything about the future for certain, it would beg the question How do I want to live my life? So my answer to the question..is that I want to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem”.
Patrick Whitefield ‘Earth Care Manual’

“It is time for all of us to make changes about how we live our lives and to follow a path of the heart. By following our intuition and inpiration we encourage our own acts of heartfelt genius and boldness. This makes us feel alive and vital, gives us a great purpose and harnesses parts of ourselves we may have neglected or didn’t even know we had. We no longer feel overwhelmed by the way the Earth’s resources are managed, but recognise that change is in our hands, yours and mine, the hands of extraordinary people who have made a leap of understanding and are determined to make a difference. We become part of the change by becoming part of the solution.”
Glennie Kindred ‘Earth Wisdom’

Images @ Eminpee Fotography - CHIVES