Recently, many environmental problems faced by farmers or practitioners in the agricultural sector. The solution that provides an ecological and sustainable way for farming systems and has potential as one eco-friendly approach is permaculture concept. Permaculture is the system that uses natural principles between human live more productive with their environment. It is the harmonious integration of landscape and people providing their food, energy, shelter, and other material and non-material needs in a sustainable way. Taiwan has high natural resources and biodiversity, diverse landscapes, and abundant agriculture, it is a great opportunity and potential to implement permaculture concept in a sustainable and ecological manner. The research objective is to identify the impacts on the environmental, social, and economic aspects of applying permaculture and their social challenges on every farm. The research was conducted in Mood Forest farm (Pinghe Village, Hualien County), Xikou-Ecological farm (Xikou Village, Hualien County), and The Mirage CSA Base (Hsinchu City). This research was used qualitative methods through interviews, participant observation, field notes, and documentation to collect data. The data collection analyzed and results obtained of four main themes, including the meaning of permaculture for practitioners’ life, ecological, social, and economic development, and the challenges faced difficulties practitioners in every farm. In ecology development, there are four main techniques that practitioners use to integrate permaculture design, including soil and fertilizer management, water management, pest and diseases of plant management, and livestock animal management. Meanwhile, in social and economic development, there are impact of practitioner’s techniques to social aspect such as sharing activities, the mindset and belief of practitioners, and to create income from their elements that has economic value. Lately, understanding challenges difficulties faced practitioners in every farm.
Thus, I conclude that each practitioner from a different farm expresses the meaning of permaculture in different ways and found an emotional journey has been described by these three permaculture farms in integrating permaculture design from the beginning to the present. Based on ecological development aspects in integrating permaculture design, it turns up those practitioners in every farm have applied techniques based on permaculture principles, so Practitioners do not damage the surrounding nature and environment, create new functions and multi-functional, utilize resources present in a balanced and sustainable way. Based on social development aspects, these three farms are realized that the techniques were applied to make them be productive and able to create income from elements that have economic value. In addition, all practitioners have the mindset and belief in both nature and the people around them while integrating this permaculture design. Therefore, they prove to make close with nature and the people around them easily. Every practitioner's technique in applying permaculture design also has referred to permaculture ethics. While about the challenges faced by practitioners in integrating permaculture designs are efforts to solve the problems in the farm. I found the challenge difficulties in their farm such as a pest of rice paddy control in Mood Forest, soil management in Xikou-Ecological farms, and water management also limited labor in The Mirage CSA Base. The practitioners are constantly making efforts to get succeed in facing their challenges difficulties. Even though they often have experienced failures and are affected by other inhibiting factors during the process.

CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Background 1
1.2 Research Objectives 3
CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORY 5
2.1 Permaculture 5
2.1.1 The Meaning of Permaculture 5
2.1.2 The Principles and Ethics of Permaculture 6
2.2 Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) 7
2.3 The Previous Permaculture Research 8
2.4 Family Farming 9
2.5 Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) 12
2.6 Retired People in Agriculture 13
CHAPTER 3. METHODOLOGY 15
3.1 Research Areas 15
3.1.1 Mood Forest Farm 16
3.1.2 Xikou-Ecological Farm 16
3.1.3 The Mirage CSA Base 17
3.2 Research Question 17
3.3 Research Procedures 18
3.4 Data Collection 19
3.4.1 Interview 19
3.4.2 Participant Observation 20
3.5 Data Analysis 23
3.6 Research Limitation 24
3.7 The Roles of the Researcher 25

CHAPTER 4. RESULT AND DISCUSSION 27
4.1 The Meaning of Permaculture for Practitioners’ Life 27
4.1.1 Mood Forest Farm 27
4.1.2 Xikou-Ecological Farm 29
4.1.3 The Mirage CSA Base 30
4.2 Impact on Ecological, Social and Economic Development 32
4.2.1 Ecological Development 32
4.2.2 Social and Economic Development 46
4.3 Understanding Challenges Difficulties Faced 53
4.3.1 Mood Forest Farm 53
4.3.2 Xikou-Ecological Farm 57
4.3.3 The Mirage CSA Base 59
CHAPTER 5. CONCLUSION 63
5.1 Conclusions 63
5.1.1 The Meaning of Permaculture for Practitioners 63
5.1.2 The Impact of Permaculture Design on Ecological, Social and Economic Development 63
5.1.3 Understanding The Challenges Difficulties of Integrating Permaculture Design 64
5.2 Recommendation for Future Research 64
REFERENCES 65
APPENDIX 71

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