Tools & Technology

The permaculture flower illustrates the core domains of permaculture.

Tools & Technology is one of the domains of permaculture. This domain covers topics such as:

Reuse and creative recycling 

Decentralized and context specific reuse or repurpose of materials through craft, rather than centralized industrial recycling

Hand tools 

Recovery and maintenance of traditional hand tools and skills

Bicycles and electric bicycles 

Human powered bicycles and assisted transport that improves the efficiency of the human body

Efficient and low pollution wood stoves 

Rocket stove and other stove designs using simple materials and local construction

Fuels from organic wastes 

Biodiesel, methanol, biogas, and wood gas for local cooking, electricity, and transport

Wood gasification 

Efficient and carbon neutral fuel for local electric power and vehicle transport

Biochar from forest wastes 

Charcoal soil improver and carbon capture

Cogeneration 

Use of fuel to generate electricity and provide heat for on-site use

Micro hydro and small-scale wind turbines 

Simple renewable technologies for remote and local grid power

Renewable energy powering the electrical grid 

Use of the electric grid as a "battery" for localized power generation

Energy storage 

Heat banks, pumped storage (water), compressed air, and other simple temporary stores of energy

Transition engineering 

Re-localisation of the maintenance, retrofit and redesign of infrastructure and technology