Mission
The KPG seeks to regenerate low and mixed income areas by applying permaculture design to create resilient healthy communities, to spread the principles of permaculture through demonstration and education, and to advocate for the implementation of permaculture in the greater Knoxville region.
Vision
Human potential can reach its highest manifestation when basic needs of food, water, shelter, and sanitation are met through sound ecological processes creating a sense of safety, community, and self-worth. Faced with a future of both economic and environmental uncertainty, the Knoxville Permaculture Guild envisions communities reaching their highest potential by applying permaculture principles and design to meet basic needs that in turn, creates conditions for resilience that will last for generations.
We see the challenges before us as an opportunity to transform our culture into one that is good for the earth, good for the human spirit, and good for Knoxville communities.
Strategy
Our strategy is to implement professional permaculture landscapes in Knoxville’s neediest environments. Recipients grow their own fresh perennial fruits, berries, and herbs providing essential food that is the most expensive to purchase.
Permaculture landscapes are designed to be self-reliant requiring little human maintenance, are modeled after the ecology of the land, and include several layers of tree canopy.
We teach proper maintenance techniques to all partners which include minimal intrusions and utilize renewable resources. Recipients pledge to use the knowledge to maintain the landscape and will be paired with volunteer ‘permacorps’ members, who will teach them to maintain the landscape.