Permaculture is a design science. Design is critical.
Consideration of the big picture, and creating a framework which works to your benefit is the purpose of the design.
You can certainly utilize some
permaculture techniques on a site. This may or may not work the way you expect, because it was not designed into the larger systems.
Take the raised beds for example... Why are they in that location? Is there a different location that would have been better? Are there more multi-functional elements which could be in that location instead? Why are they raised? Would a different planting technique work better? What elements are interacting with these beds, and what effects are they having on each other?
Here's a quick example from my
experience:
Before I took my
PDC, I allowed a housemate to build an annual garden at the bottom of my small property. He used good techniques, and applied a lot of human labor. It produced some food. But as I learned more, I realized that it was not functioning correctly given the system that it exists inside of. This year, inspired by the success of the rest of the design, I decided to completely redo this lower area so it was designed properly. I am 100% certain that this bottom region will be more productive now that it is integrated properly.
Without the PDC knowledge, I think I would have struggled with the un-designed system in it's malfunctioning state. Which would have only
led to frustration.
You can take
Geoff Lawton's online course if you can't find a PDC near you, or don't want to travel.