Permaculture as Ethnoecological Design Science at the Appalachian Institute for Mountain Studies

Permaculture is an ecological design science and sustainability movement grounded in the recognition that economic viability and social justice are fundamentally interrelated with fully functioning and healthy ecosystems. Permaculture guides the re-design of human systems for production, consumption, and inhabitation according to an understanding of basic ecological principles. The cross-fertilization of ethnoecology with permaculture is a timely project as socio-environmental crises deepen. Both permaculture and ethnoecology have a shared interest in the applied realm and ongoing histories of working collaboratively with Indigenous and local peoples on conservation and ecological restoration projects. This paper will present a case study in which insights from ethnoecology are being used to inform permaculture design at the Appalachian Institute for Mountain Studies, Katuah Bioregion, USA.