“In an animal or a plant, 99 molecules in 100 are water… An organism is a pool in a stream of water along which metabolites and energy move through ecosystems.”
-WV Macfarlane
Shortage of uncontaminated freshwater is one of the biggest challenges we will face in the coming years. Extremely wasteful and destructive practices, particularly in agriculture, are to blame. Permaculture designs seek to limit the use of irrigation by slowing water flow and promoting percolation into the soils. This is accomplished through systems of rainwater catchment, berms and swales, ponds, irrigation ditches and appropriate plantings for the appropriate water availability.
Permaculturists plant crops and direct water along contour lines so that water is captured and infiltrates into the soil. We use a simple A-frame to trace the contour lines on the property and we use heavy machinery to sculpt the land when it will reduce our need for energy in the long-term.
An A-frame is simply constructed from two equal lengths of wood with a cross-piece which is equal distance from the peak (shown below). You must then mark the location of the plumb line and reverse the A-frame so the legs are in the identical position. Mark the plumb line once again (it will be different this time unless you are on perfectly even ground). The point between these two marks is your level mark. Your A-frame is now calibrated. Contours can be pegged out by moving the A-frame until the plumb line meets the level mark. Mark the two leg positions and repeat, lining up the A-frame with the last leg, as you make your way across your landscape.
