What is resilience?
"The capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness." (Dr Google)
“Resilience refers to the ability of a system, from individual people to whole economies, to hold together and maintain their ability to function in the face of shocks from the outside” – Rob Hopkins (from The Transition Handbook).
So in simple terms, it means being able to take a hit and still keep going.
In the modern world we sell our labour and the use the money that we get to buy the necessities of life form a complex and interdependent system. Sometimes events can compromise the system, be they manmade like strikes, oil shocks or terrorist activity or as a result of natural disasters such as floods, bushfires, earthquakes or storms. I was around for the oil shocks of the 1980s and I can remember the flow on effects for the availability food and other goods. In addition, our food quite often comes from thousands or tens of thousands of kilometres away and such long supply lines can be vulnerable.
So, without labouring the point about modern society and its failings, if the systems which keep us supplied are vulnerable, rather than being vulnerable ourselves in turn perhaps it is better develop some resilience ourselves. That is to say, rather than just being consumers, we become producers as well.
One way to do this is by taking the Permaculture design principle No 8 to heart: integrate rather than separate. Looking at it another way, make sure that every function is covered by more than one element and every element has more than one function. So if the function is to provide food, it is best not to rely on just one veggie patch but have other sources such as home preserves, fruit trees, some self-watering containers and a small greenhouse as well. In this way resilience is improved such that if there is a failure of one veggie patch due to pests or disease or whatever, there are other food producing options.
Also, each element should perform more than one function for example, the greenhouse, while it is an element providing out of season food growing options also allows seedlings to be grown, provides a warm place to work during cold weather and can even help heat the house if it is built onto a northern wall, and rainwater can be harvested from its roof. Taken together, these two ideas can be used to provide a productive web, which increases our resilience.
So Where Do Zones Fit in?
The zone tool from permaculture usually used to work out where to place design elements for the most effective use and in its simplest form is a series of concentric circles starting from the house or structure (zone 0) and moving out through levels of decreasing frequency of human interaction to where human impact is minimal (zone 5). For example -
Zone 0 – Home: indoor production (sprouts/ferments), processing food, waste, water & energy collection, repairs and education, relax, work and where you practise reduced consumption and re-cycling.
Zone 1 – Nearest to the house, for elements that require frequent attention, or be visited often, e.g., salad crops, herb plants, soft fruit like strawberries or raspberries, greenhouse and cold frames, propagation area, worm compost bin for kitchen waste, etc.
Zone 2 – Farther from house the place for perennial plants or self-maintaining plants and elements needing infrequent work: mulching, pruning bushes, orchards, compost area, animals eg. poultry, rabbits, worm farm, bees
Zone 3 – Occasionally visited areas where main crops are grown, for domestic and for trade use. After establishment, care and maintenance is fairly minimal e.g., watering or mulching once a week or so. Self-fed animals (stock), seasonal crops e.g. corn, wheat, rice, pumpkin, bamboo.
Zone 4 – is the harvest forest where long term tree species are grown to produce firewood, mulch or timber to be used for sustainable building, complementary grazing animals can also share this zone at low stocking rates.
Zone 5 – is the indigenous conservation zone where plants native to the region are allowed to regrow into what would become natural forest.
These are the zones used in traditional permaculture, but in the urban and suburban space zone 2 is the outermost zone we are likely to have access to and certainly it is zone 0 and zone 1 where most of the contribution to our resilience is focused. This makes sense but by rethinking the zone tool in terms of the urban/suburban environment it can help us become more resilient by thinking and acting in those areas outside the border of our own house and yard.
Zones of Resilience
Here is a new way for urban dwellers to think about the zone tool, looking at activities which improve our resilience but are outside the traditional zone 0 and zone 1 we are used to working in. The zones are reviewed in association with food, water, waste, energy, economic/financial aspects, consumption, shelter and access to service. A matrix which summarises the zones for each aspect of our lives can be downloaded here.
Food
Zone 0 – preserves and other stored food/ seeds
Zone 1 – home garden/chook run/fruit trees/herb spiral
Zone 2 – Friends/neighbours garden, community garden/ school, church, business gardens/community orchard
Zone 3 – farmers market, community supported agriculture/foraged foods/food coop
Zone 4 – Independent groceries with regional focus/ IGA
Zone 5 – National chain supermarkets – Woollies/Coles
Notes: If some of the options mentioned here are not available to you like community gardens or CSA etc it might be worth checking to see if there are likeminded people around you who could help you set something up.
Water
Zone 0 – Internal water storage hot water tank/toilet cistern
Zone 1 – Rainwater tanks/bore/well/ swales on property rain garden/backyard pond composting toilet
Zone 2 – Friends/neighbours water tanks/storage, swales off property but nearby, water from neighbour’s roofs diverted to your tanks, access to friends’ amenities
Zone 3 – local streams, dams, ponds
Zone 4 – larger rivers
Zone 5 – reticulated water supply
Notes: It can be worth talking to your neighbours about diverting water from their catchment area (roofs) if they are not interested in installing tanks. This could benefit them during an interruption to water surfaces if you are prepared to share the rainwater you have harvested form their property.
Waste
Zone 0 – bokashi bin, greywater capture
Zone 1 – greywater re-use/constructed wetland/composting system/worm beds repair capacity/skills workshop
Zone 2 – neighbours repair capacity/skills/resources/tools/workshop etc
Zone 3 – freecycle; community composting/worm farming
Zone 4 - neighbours repair capacity/skills/resources/tools/workshop community recycling drop off depot
Zone 5 – Landfill/centralised waste collection
Notes: Setting up a community composting or worm farming resource can be a great way to interact with your neighbours.
Energy
Zone 0 – Solar electricity/solar hot water on house/passive heating/cooling strategies/insulation wood heater
Zone 1 – external solar panels/solar oven/ rocket stove
Zone 2 - wood supply for combustion heater/cooker, foraged fuel for rocket stove
Zone 3 – local energy project
Zone 4 – Reticulated electricity (renewables)
Zone 5 – reticulated gas and electricity (fossil fuel)
Notes: Setting up a local energy project is a lot of work but can be worthwhile in the end, improving resilience, reducing your reliance on fossil fuels and giving you another excuse to get together and work with those around you.
Economic and Financial
Zone 0 – home based employment/ online/work from home
Zone 1 – consulting /self-employment requiring work outside the home/the informal economy
Zone 2 – cooperative employment/informal economy
Zone 3 – paid employment within reach of public transport, Local Employment Trading Scheme
Zone 4 – paid employment requiring car, local currency
Zone 5 – paid employment away from home/travel/deployment, Community exchange system
Notes: the informal economy is where you trade and share skills with your friends and neighbours, money may or may not change hands or there may be a barter type arrangement. Whatever happens the trade “flies under the radar” in terms of the formal economy with no tax taken or given but both participants gaining from the exchange.
Consumption
Zone 0 – Skills and knowledge to enable repairs/home manufacture from produced materials
Zone 1 – Workshop and tools for repairs/stockpile of reclaimed materials/home produced materials, home manufacture of items
Zone 2 – Second hand materials from roadside/provided by friends & family etc.
Zone 3 – Men’s shed/second hand dealers/charity shops
Zone 4 – Small/local retailers and manufacturers
Zone 5 – National chain stores
Notes: Being able to repair rather than replace items means you don’t need to buy as much stuff, you can keep the stuff you have operating longer. But if you do have to buy stuff, sourcing it from a local supplier keeps your dollars in your local economy.
Shelter
Zone 0 – primary dwelling
Zone 1 - secondary dwelling on the property eg shed or tiny house
Zone 2 – access to shelter from friends/family in their house or tent/caravan on their land
Zone 3 – Tent/caravan on public land
Zone 4 - Air BNB
Zone 5 – public shelter/hotel/motel
Note: This is the sort of thing that needs to be ironed out beforehand if part of your resilience efforts rely on being able to live with other people in the short term. It would be an unexpected shock to just show up on their doorstep, and it is also reciprocal. If you plan to stay with others you should be able to offer your hospitality in return should they need it.
Access to Services
Zone 0 – phone, internet or post
Zone 1 – accessible by walking
Zone 2 – accessible by Bicycle
Zone 3 – Accessible by Public transport
Zone 4 – access requiring car/taxi
Zone 5 – access requiring Plane/ship
Notes: It is worth looking at the services you need now and into the future and start patronising them. This will reduce your travel needs as well as ensuring those services are still available when you need them.
Where to now?
Use the zone tool to assess the level of resilience you have once you move outside the borders of your own property and think about what your options are, then decide on the changes you need to make. To help you, a zones Vs aspects of resilience matrix can be downloaded here.
Sometimes it is about recognising a need like a community garden or orchard or community composting initiative or it may just be a case of organising a reciprocal short term stay agreement with friends or family outside your area. Whatever you decide to do, put plans in place and then carry them out, the time to start improving your resilience is now!
