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The Top Five Features for Designing Your Property Using Permaculture

By Tanner Sagouspe, Rise Writer
Last Updated: Apr 13, 2025

In the last article in this series, we looked at the benefits of having your property designed by a permaculture expert.

Today, we are looking at some of the technical frameworks that go into the designer’s report. While every design is unique, we’ll focus on the top five design features as they pertain to permaculture. 

Table of Contents

  1. Topography
  2. Hydrology
  3. Lighting
  4. Hardiness zone
  5. Bioregional Analysis
permaculture topography
Photo Credit: Permaculture Research Institute

Topography

First, the permaculture designer examines the property as a whole, which includes its topographical features. These can be as subtle as a slow decline over 100 feet of length, or as drastic as the rocky face of a cliff. Even though a home may look identical to the one next door, the land could be telling a different story.

The land is essential to the designer because it gives hints as to how specific weather changes will affect the property as a whole. If your house is at the top of a hill and the dry brush is below it, a spark and gust could quickly ignite the hillside. And sometimes homes will remain untouched, only to be taken out by the mudslide generated by a lack of vegetation and heavy rain.

What is the importance of elevation on your property? By knowing the topography, the designer will be able to place features around the elevation of your site. For example, directing rainwater from the roof to a barrel lower than your gutter and higher than your garden will make gravity do the hard work of moving the water.

Understanding the topography also lays the foundation of the design, and other design features begin to fall into place.

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Article By

Tanner Sagouspe

Tanner Sagouspe has a Masters in Environmental Management and is a Permaculture Designer who promotes tackling the climate crisis at home.

Tanner Sagouspe