Implementation of Permaculture Design to Achieve Food Self-Sufficiency in Mood Forest Farm, Hualien County, Eastern Taiwan

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic is a global health crisis that has hit more than 100 countries including Taiwan. The agricultural sector is one of the sectors that has experienced the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. One of the strategies and efforts that can solve it is food self-sufficiency through increasing production, diversifying local food, and developing sustainable agriculture. While in the process to achieve food self-sufficiency, there are also many challenges like intensive farming. Therefore, an effort is needed to improve the environment, the quality, and the safety of agriculture products through ecological balance. Permaculture is the system that uses natural principles between humans to live more productive with their environment. Through this concept, practitioners can be more productive with their environment. The study aims to analyze the implementation of permaculture design for food self-sufficiency on farm in eastern Taiwan. This study was used qualitative methods through interviews, participant observation, field notes, documentation to collect data. The result that practitioners integrate several designs based on principles and ethics of permaculture, including providing their food, fruit, vegetables, and livestock products. Practitioners also integrate elements into a multi-functional design, creative ideas to solve the problem that they face and make these efforts a challenge for them, such as bird kites and eagle poles for rice paddy pest problems. Thus, the concept of permaculture has been proven to increase productivity, harmony, and sustainability with the environment through the use of natural principles and human life.