We're into acting now and it's: water

After five weeks of mind reshaping lessons, week seven was a taste of action. It wasn't just a slice of cake but a big half of the cake, I'd say, the topic was huge: water.

Now we all know how much water is important and all that, but when you get into water in the permaculture way it's different. Water is of course the beginning of all life, without it this planet would be dead, but under a designers view there's so much more than just water, we're not speaking only of drinking it or irrigating with it.

It's using waters energy. What as students and future designers we learn is to transform any type of energy in a resourse that lasts the longest and functions the most. The best example for this is waters energy. 

One can passify water to prevent erosion, and then make it move to oxygenate it, or move to produce power, transforming it, or so many other transformations. Thinking about water one actually understands the concept of transformation and the interaction between elements. Every single thought we can have about water is actually thinking of a transformation of water into something else.

The action come's in when you start thinking about earthworks, and how you can make water stay on your land or garden the longest using it in multiple ways. Swales, dams/ponds and tanks, just think of a way to have water walk by your side the longest path and you're into designing with permanence.

The concept that really blows one's mind is the possiblity to recharge the water table of any given piece of land and that there are many way's one can do it. The idea that stopping water, passifying it, and making it seep in and move around through the landscape, one can radically transform a barren hill into a lush food forst, is great.

The big thing though, is once you get into action you have a big sign on top your head saying be careful, you're not playing, you're interacting with one of the strongest energy resourses available, and thats a big responsability. We'll for sure do some errors, but the important thing is to know that we have to take it slowly and steadily.

the next week is taking us from water to soil and that needs no comment.