Sectors in a Permaculture Design

When we begin designing our own permaculture system, it’s essential to “work with what’s there” and design for our well-being and resilience in connection with the place. To do this, we engage in deep observation of our immediate surroundings and document what we “see.” A design tool often used in permaculture is the SECTOR DIAGRAM, which can be overlaid on our base map (with an indication of north, perhaps also the hemisphere, the scale, a legend, and the slope profile).

Sectors are energies that flow into our ecosystem from the outside, and as such are often beyond our control. The decisions we make within our ecosystem must be consistent with these energies if we want our design to be successful. We can position the various elements within our own system in such a way that they harness, allow to pass through, or block these energies, depending on our needs and the type of sector.

We’re talking about natural forces such as wind, rain, and runoff, or sunlight, but there are also more “invisible” and sometimes rather anthropocentric factors, such as a view of the ocean or a natural landscape, a high risk of fires, noise, or crime in the area, wildlife crossings, or potential pollution from a farmer using pesticides in the neighborhood.

Our goal when documenting the sectors that interact with our home system is to examine and analyze where we can “capture and store energy” —for example, by determining the best location for a family garden that needs sunlight or for a windmill that can generate energy from the regular breezes that blow across the property. At the same time, this provides us with key information on where we need to apply the principle “the problem is the solution, ” because that same sun can overheat our home during the summer months, and that steady wind can carry salt if it’s a sea breeze, which could harm our crops. so perhaps it would be better to install a pergola with a grapevine climbing up it that can provide shade and a cooler microclimate around the house in the summer (and grapes!) or a windbreak hedge that protects our orchard from the salinity carried by the sea air.

To represent the sectors, you can use a combination of text for non-directional sectors and a visualization with arcs or pie chart segments for those that are directional. If you have digital skills, you might use Photoshop, Sketchbook, Concepts, or Google Earth. Perhaps you know someone in your social network who is familiar with these tools and can help you (in exchange for services, goods, or money for their work). If not, a hand-drawn sketch is just as clear and attractive (and therapeutic!), and it can later be photographed so you can share it digitally.

The sector diagram, along with our observations of zones and slope, is a key element to observe, document, and analyze in our home system, as it provides us with key information regarding the energy efficiency of our design.