This year, Fruitful Commons is exploring the 12 Permaculture Principles and connecting them to our work and the work of our partner projects. The third principle, “Obtain a Yield,” emphasizes the importance of meeting our own needs while caring for the Earth and for others.
A common example is the advice given on airplanes: put on your own oxygen mask before helping someone else. The idea is simple: we are better able to support others when we are healthy, grounded, and sustained ourselves.
This lesson is especially important for people who dedicate their time to community care. We see many volunteers and project leaders give generously of their energy. “Obtain a Yield” reminds us that caring for ourselves is not selfish, it strengthens our ability to serve over the long term.
In garden design, this principle shows up in practical ways. It can mean planting quick-growing crops like radishes and peas alongside long-term investments like fruit trees, which may take five years or more to produce. The short-term crops provide food and improve soil health while supporting future harvests. It is also motivating to be able to harvest early! For kids, fast growing plants like sunflowers are especially fun and satisfying to grow.
In leadership, “obtaining a yield” also means making sure volunteers and community members are supported through their work. This can include access to education, shared harvests, skill-building opportunities, and community activities such as clothing swaps.
At Fruitful Commons, we also work to apply this principle by supporting community leaders financially. In 2021, we partnered with Festival Beach Food Forest and received the Thriving Cities Challenge grant to pilot a green workforce initiative. This funding allowed FBFF to hire their first-ever paid staff for community organizing, site management, and assessment. This supported the forest to scale up its impact, accelerate regenerative design and implementation, and work towards sustainable systems and higher yields.
Many community-led agriculture projects rely entirely on volunteer labor. While this reflects strong community commitment, it can also place strain on individuals and limit participation to those who can afford to work without pay. By compensating leaders, we help widen access to this work and support long-term sustainability. In this way, leaders are better able to “obtain a yield” from their efforts and remain nourished by their work.
We are continuing to expand this green workforce initiative and strengthen our advocacy for grassroots organizations creating vibrant green spaces in Austin.
To support this work, please consider donating during Amplify Austin Day on March 4–5. Your support helps sustain community leaders and grow rad green spaces for everyone!
👉 Read the full blog series on our website to dive deeper into this principle, explore practical examples, and follow along as we unpack all 12 permaculture principles this year.
