Permaculture Design Principle 1 – Relative Location

The first Permaculture Design principle is ‘Relative Location’, which states that every element (separate component in a design) is placed in relationship to another so that they assist each other.

In Permaculture our primary concern and focus is with the relationship between design elements, and how they interact, rather than with the individual elements themselves. By understanding the nature of the elements, and how they benefit each other, we can determine the optimum location for them so that they can work best together

All elements have inputs and outputs, and they can have many of these. By the correct placement of elements, we can create a relationship where the outputs of one element feed into the inputs of another element in our design, so that they support each other efficiently.

To know what the inputs and outputs of an element are, we have to understand its nature and properties. When we have done this, we can then determine the relative location where the element is best placed in our design.

In our designs, there are two broad categories of design elements that we need to consider:

• The new elements we choose to add, such as plants, trees, animals, and structures.

• Existing elements that are already present of the site. These include:
  • Trees and buildings
  • The real elements of nature such as sun, wind, rain
  • Various earth features such as soil type, slope/gradient, banks, gulleys, waterways, hills, and mountains.

Examples of the Relative Location Design Principle

Here are some examples which demonstrate the practical applications of the Relative Location principle:

1. Water Management

Placing water tanks uphill from a house allows gravity to aid in the downward flow of water, reducing energy consumption. Additionally, solar-powered pumps can utilise sunlight to pump water to elevated heights, transforming solar energy into potential energy, ensuring a steady water supply even during periods without sunshine.

2. Seasonal Shading

Planting deciduous trees on the sunny side of a house optimizes natural light and temperature control throughout the year. In the summer, these trees provide shade, keeping the house cooler. During winter, after the leaves have fallen, sunlight can penetrate through, offering passive solar heating.

In the southern hemisphere, such as in Australia, the northern and western walls of a house receive the most sunlight. The northern walls are exposed to the intense midday sun, while the western walls bear the brunt of the harsh afternoon sun. Planting trees along these walls can significantly enhance indoor temperature regulation, reducing the need for artificial cooling and heating.

3. Efficient Kitchen Garden Setup: Optimizing Layout for Sustainability

Locating a kitchen garden near the kitchen not only ensures easy access to fresh herbs and vegetables but also streamlines the recycling of kitchen scraps. These scraps can be effectively composted in a nearby worm farm, transforming waste into valuable worm castings. This highly nutrient-rich fertiliser can then be used to enrich the garden soil.

This arrangement connects the inputs and outputs of all three components—kitchen, garden, and worm farm—forming a closed-loop system. This system emphasizes recycling and reduces waste, exemplifying an efficient and sustainable gardening model.

4. Trellis Orientation

Positioning plant-supporting trellises north-south minimizes shading by ensuring that plants do not cast shadows on each other. This orientation maximizes sunlight exposure across the entire length of the trellis, thereby optimizing plant growth.

5. Natural Pest Control Using Wind Direction and Insect-Repellent Plants 

By utilising wind direction, insect-repellent plants such as wormwood can be strategically placed upwind of garden beds. This tactic masks the scent of vegetables from pests, reducing the reliance on chemical pesticides.

For instance, in Melbourne (Australia), where the winds are cold south-westerly in winter and hot northerly in summer, aromatic insect-repellent plants like wormwood or tree mugwort can be planted upwind of the garden beds, to the southwest or north, respectively. The wind carries the plants’ insect-repellent scent over the garden beds, protecting the crops from potential pest attacks.

Pests downwind are unable to detect the crops’ scent, which is obscured by the stronger repellent scent of plants like wormwood, deterring them from tracking the scent upwind to the food source. This method of companion planting, known as scent masking, is an effective technique.

The choice of wormwood (Artemisia absinthium), tree wormwood (Artemisia arborescens), or tree mugwort (Artemisia verlotorum) over other insect-repellent plants, such as tansy (Tanacetum vulgare), is due to their drought tolerance and evergreen nature, maintaining size and foliage throughout the year. This resilience makes them suitable for protecting winter crops, unlike tansy, which is less drought-tolerant and dies back in winter.

This example illustrates the importance of having a very thorough understanding of the properties of each element utilised in a design, which becomes even more important in our next design principle.

6. Synergistic Land Use: Integrating Fruit Trees and Chicken Runs

Planting fruit trees adjacent to a chicken run can create a mutually beneficial environment. Chickens can eat fallen fruit, which not only provides them with fresh nutrition but also helps prevent disease by reducing fruit rot. This arrangement also deters fruit flies that might otherwise be attracted to decaying fruit. Additionally, the roots of the fruit trees can extend beneath the chicken run, where they benefit from nutrient-rich soil enriched by chicken manure.

The leafy canopies of the fruit trees provide essential shade for the chickens during the hotter months, enhancing their comfort and well-being. Moreover, the chickens contribute to pest control; they naturally consume insects that fall from the trees, minimizing potential pest issues. This setup exemplifies a symbiotic relationship where each element supports the other, enhancing overall productivity and health in the ecosystem.

In summary, we can optimise our designs using the Relative Location principle by locating design element near other ones so that their inputs and outputs flow into one another, or where they interact with another element to bring about the desired effect.