Permaculture is a term that probably seems foreign to someone outside of the farming, agriculture, or gardening business. The practice was created in mid-seventies, and is starting to gain more recognition and popularity in the United States. According to the Permaculture Research Institute Permaculture integrates people, land, animals, and the environment in mutually beneficial ecosystems. âPermaculture (the word, coined by Bill Mollison, is a portmanteau of permanent agriculture and permanent culture) is the conscious design and maintenance of agriculturally productive ecosystems which have the diversity, stability, and resilience of natural ecosystems,â Â Permaculture Research Institute Brent Hodges, an architect from Orleans, Indiana, has used the practice of permaculture to turn his yard into what he dubs a âfood forest.â