Permaculture Research Handbook (online)

The Permaculture Research Handbook

The Permaculture Research Handbook is aimed at those with some knowledge of permaculture but no research background who want to undertake a permaculture research project, whether as diploma apprentices, undergraduates, volunteers, or just for fun. The Handbook uses the SADIMETS model of seven straightforward steps (survey, analyse, design, implement and maintain, evaluate, tweak, and share) to guide the reader through the research process, from the first project idea to a published final report. 7 experienced permaculture designers and researchers collaborated to produce the handbook. It is free to download.

Permaculture activist magazine

Permaculture Activist Magazine

I'm not sure how well known this American magazine is amongst Digest users so I thought I'd give it a little plug. The August issue is on experimentation in permaculture and the copy deadline is 1st June so you still have time to submit an article if this inspires you. 

The magazine aims to supply information that enables people everywhere to provide for their own & their communities' needs for food, energy, shelter, & to design decent lives without exploitation or pollution & from the smallest practical area of land.

Permaculture learning as community of practice (#journal)

Learning in the Permaculture Community of Practice in England: An Analysis of the Relationship between Core Practices and Boundary Processes

This article utilizes the Communities of Practice (CoP) framework to examine learning processes among a group of permaculture practitioners in England. The research found that permaculture practitioners are informally bound together by shared values, expertise and passion for the joint enterprise of permaculture, thus corresponding to a CoP. It found that core practices (situated learning, mutual engagement, joint enterprise and shared repertoire) are strong but also that boundary processes are active, enabling learning and interaction to take place with other learning systems, although this tends to be restricted to those with similar perspectives. This, and the strong cohesion and identity of the CoP, leads to some insularity. This research shows that the potential for the permaculture CoP to integrate with the conventional Agricultural Knowledge System is limited due to its insularity and self-reliance, in that the Permaculture Association fulfils the role of information provision and network facilitation.