Permaculture Rainwater Handouts: Calculations & Site Guides
TL;DR: This guide provides comprehensive resources for designing and implementing rainwater harvesting systems in permaculture, covering calculations, ethical considerations, and practical site assessment.
- Calculate rainfall and runoff for efficient water capture.
- Size your water tanks effectively for integrated designs.
- Master earthworks with simple, precise tools.
- Incorporate permaculture ethics and principles.
- Learn from successful water harvesting examples.
Why it matters: Effective rainwater harvesting is crucial for creating resilient permaculture systems, reducing reliance on external water sources, and promoting sustainable land management.
Do this next: Practice calculating your roof's rainwater harvesting potential using local rainfall data.
Recommended for: Permaculture designers, homeowners, and educators seeking to implement robust rainwater harvesting systems.
This resource compiles essential handouts for rainwater harvesting and permaculture classes, including calculations for rainfall/runoff volumes, tank sizing, tool-making, ethics, and site assessments. Key sections detail determining rain volumes on catchments in English/metric units with examples. Tank sizing exercises from Occidental Arts & Ecology Center guide integrated designs. Instructions for Bunyip and A-Frame water levels aid precise earthworks. Permaculture ethics/principles from Drylands Institute and Sonoran Guild provide foundational philosophy. PELUM handout introduces Mr. Phiri's water harvesting, inspiring slowing, spreading, and sinking flows. Site assessment checklists and reports enable thorough planning. Developed for education, these tools empower students and practitioners in designing resilient systems, blending quantitative analysis with ethical design for sustainable water use in permaculture.