coll. - Permaculture: principles and pathways beyond sustainability

PERMACULTUREPrinciples & Pathways Beyond SustainabilityLANDBUILDINGDavid HolmgrenCo-originator of the Permaculture ConceptPERMACULTURE Principles & Pathways Beyond Sustainability David Holmgren was bom in Fremantle. Western Australia, in 1955. As a child of working class political activists he was greatly influenced by the social revolution of the late 60s and early 70s. While travelling around Australia in 1973 he fell in love with the Tasmanian landscape and joined the innovative Environmental Design School in Hobart. An intense working relationship with his mentor Bill Mollison, over the following three years, led to the Permaculture concept and set the course of his later life. As the young co-author of Permaculture One in 1978, David shunned the limelight and focu si on further developing his practical and design skills for a self-reliant lifestyle.

Since then he has written several more books, developed three properties using Permaculture principles, conducted workshops and courses in Australia, New Zealand, Israel and Europe. For the last 17 years he has lived and worked in Hepburn Springs, central Victoria. As a consultant designer he has developed a great expertise in the temperate landscapes of south-eastern Australia with a strong bioregional focus on his home territory. With his partner Su Dennett and their son Oliver he maintains their property, Melliodora as one of Australia's best known Permaculture demonstration sites. Over the last seven years he has been a driving force in the design and development of the Fryer's Forest eco-village. Within the international Permaculture movement, David is respected for his commitment to presenting Permaculture ideas through practical projects.

He teaches by personal example that a sustainable lifestyle is a realistic, attractive and powerful alternative to dependant consumerism. This book is the distillation of a life lived by the principles of Permaculture. To th e m em ory of H.T Odum (died 11 S ep tem b er 2002). PERMACULTURE Principles & Pathways Beyond SustainabilityDavid HolmgrenCo-originator of the Permaculture ConceptPermanent Publications Published by Permanent Publications Hyden House Ltd The Sustainability Centre, East Meon, Hampshire GU32 1HR, United Kingdom Tel: 01730 823 311 Fax: 01730 823 322 Overseas: (international code + 4 4 - 1730) Email: Web: www.permaculture.co.uk Original edition published in Australia, under the title: Permaculture: Principles & Pathways Beyond Sustainability by Holmgren Design Services 16 Fourteenth Street, Hepburn, Victoria 3461, Australia www.holmgren.com.au Copyright David Holmgren 2002. First UK edition 2011 The Process Over 25 years since the first conceptualisation of Permaculture, the pattern of work and practice behind this book reflects the principles within. This book was written over a four year period at Melliodora on a second hand Power Mac 9600 computer primarily using Clarisworks 5.

During that time the author was supported by the production from the property and occasional Permaculture courses, tours and consultancy. The major proof reading drafts were printed on second hand paper on a 10 year old laser printer. The editing, graphics and book production were done by other self-employed people in the local community. The original edition was printed and bound at Maryborough, a nearby regional centre by McPhersons, an Australian owned company on a Timson T32 offset press. The paper is Australian made, primarily from plantation and recycled sources. The cover is Australian made, from fully recycled sources.

No grants, subsidies or work for corporations or governments contributed to this book. Credits Editing: Janet Mackenzie, Ian Lillington Proof reading: Su Dennett, Catherine (ones Design and book production: Rob & Terttu Mancini Graphics: Luke Mancini from originals by David Holmgren Cover illustration & other Principle icons: Richard Telford Back cover photo: Christian Wild Printing and binding: McPhersons Printing Group Typeset in Novarese Book Printed in the UK by CPI Antony Rowe, Chippenham, Wiltshire Printed on paper from mixed sources certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. F S C www.fsc.org The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is a non-profit international organization established to MIX promote the responsible management of the worlds forests. Products carrying the FSC label Paper fromresponsible sources are independently certified to assure consumers that they come from forests that are managed FSC* C013604 to meet the social, economic and ecological needs of present and future generations. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 978 1 85623 052 0 All rights reserved. Foreword If the 'Permaculture Principles' that David Holmgren discusses in this extremely important book were applied to all that we do, we would be well on the road to sustainability, and beyond. Foreword If the 'Permaculture Principles' that David Holmgren discusses in this extremely important book were applied to all that we do, we would be well on the road to sustainability, and beyond.

Furthermore, we would be liberated from the lurking feelings of guilt that most of us feel when we reflect on what we are currently passing on to future generations. Permaculture is about values and visions, and designs and systems of management that are based on holistic understanding, especially on our bio-ecological and psychosocial knowledge and wisdom. It is particularly about our relationships with, and the design and redesign of, natural resource management systems, so that they may support the health and well-being of all present and future generations. What is particularly puzzling is that whereas all engineers people who work primarily with non-living materials learn about design principles, nearly all agriculturists, and others working with living systems, are still able to graduate without ever discussing principles of design, let alone having any unit devoted to this critical competence. It is the persistent lack of recognition of the importance of design, of the importance of mutualistic relationships and high biodiversity within sustainable ecosystems, and of the need to design managed ecosystems based on this awareness that is responsible for so many of the problems we currently face in natural resource management. Permaculture may be described in a diverse range of complementary ways.