For a while now, when asked about the NI magazine topic I’ll be
tackling next, I’ve had to say: ‘permaculture.’ Invariably asked what
that is, I’ve had to say: ‘I have no idea.’ Extreme hairdressing? The
lifestyle of Siberia?
So how come I am starting to put together a magazine about
permaculture? Here I enter Donald Rumsfeld territory. What induces
anyone to learn anything new – before, of course, they know what it is?
How to decide between one unknown and the next?
Well, in my case the answer is relatively simple. The NI co-op voted
for it last summer – quite why you’d have to ask them. When presented
with the list of topics for editors to choose from, I knew least about
permaculture, and curiosity got the better of me.
I’ve now found permaculture popping up everywhere. In a series of what
seem like coincidences, I’ve been bumping into it in places as
disparate as the middle of London and the Brecon Beacons of Wales.