Permaculture zones and sectors in Cabiokid.
The key to efficient energy planning (which is in fact efficient economic planning) is the zone and sector placement of plants, animal ranges and structures. In the process your only modifiers will be local factors like market, access, slope, local climate and special soil conditions.
Zone planning means placing elements according to how much they are used or how frequently they need to be serviced. In creating zones, the starting point is a center of activity usually the house, or the barn, or the plant nursery business, or on a larger scale, an entire village.
This central area is then named as Zone 1.
The rule of thumb is to develop the area nearest the center of activity, get it under control, and then expand the edges.
Nearest the central area will be zone 2. It is the most controlled and intensively used area. it can contain the garden, workshops, greenhouses and propagation frames, small animals, fuels for the house (gas and wood), compost, mulch, clothesline, and grain-drying area. Essential small trees can also be placed here.
Zone 2 is still intensively maintained with dense planting (larger shrubs, small fruit and mixed orchard, widnbreaks). Structures include terraces, hedges, trellises, ponds. A few large trees are allowed with a complex herb layer and understorey. Plant and animal species that require care and observation are located in this zone. Poultry may be let into selected areas (orchard, woodlot) to range, and an area for one milk cow can be fenced in from the next zone.
