Book Description
Permaculture is a verbal marriage of “permanent” and “agriculture.” Australian Bill Mollison pioneered its development. Key features include:

Book Description
David Holmgren brings into sharper focus the powerful and still evolving Permaculture concept he pioneered with Bill Mollison in the 1970s. It draws together and integrates 25 years of thinking and teaching to reveal a whole new way of understanding and action behind a simple set of design principles. The 12 design principles are each represented by a positive action statement, an icon and a traditional proverb or two that captures the essence of each principle.

Holmgren draws a correlation between every aspect of how we organize our lives, communities and landscapes and our ability to creatively adapt to the ecological realities that shape human destiny. For students and teachers of Permaculture this book provides something more fundamental and distilled than Mollison's encyclopedic Designers Manual. For the general reader it provides refreshing perspectives on a range of environmental issues and shows how permaculture is much more than just a system of gardening. For anyone seriously interested in understanding the foundations of sustainable design and culture, this book is essential reading. Although a book of ideas, the big picture is repeatedly grounded by reference to Holmgren's own place, Melliodora, and other practical examples. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Empowering
Reading this book, although in the beginning a bit of a dense and sluggish read, was a major pivotal moment for me. Holmgren presents a visionary perspective and context of humanity's position, provides profound and thought provoking discourse on the underlying philosophies and patterns of permaculture design, and projects an image of an inspiring future and a path to get there with confidence.

Once I got to the second half of the book, the pace picked up and I felt positively engaged right through to the end. It has supplied me with valuable tools and concepts which I use and refer to almost daily, as I am confronted by the bull-headed, sometimes irrational, sometimes blatantly parasitic structures humanity has surrounded itself with.

But Homgren's greatest gift to me, from the end of the book, was his argument for not needing to denigrate our forebears' roles in the situation we find ourselves in today; especially as permaculture design provides us with some of the key tools of thought that will empower us in todays times of monstrous change. This really helped me to release any stress I was creating around blame, freeing up that mental space to be employed in creative problem solving.

A very intellectual book
This is a philosophical treatise on the underpinnings of permaculture. Not a gardening book as such, altho examples of gardening and landscaping are used to illustrate the theories. I found it enjoyable, but not light reading. I would reccommend it, if you have an intellectual craving for deep ecological understanding.

Excellent book on permaculture principles
I read this book and could see how this thinking about use and re-use, planning and observing will help not just my garden but my life.Really useful examples of each principle and in depth discussion of what they mean, how they can be applied in lots of cases.

Vital Contribution, see also Priority One, Other Books Below
This is for me a very important book, one of a handful that joins the Ecological Economics volumes crafted by Herman Daly and others, and also the Natural Capitalism endeavors of Paul Hawkin, Anthony Lovins.The author excels at rendering logical, sequential, and integrated concepts, all of which lead us to the inevitable conclusion--as the author intends--that human intellect, social networks, an appreciation for diversity as the foundation for cross-fertilization, and the enormous potential of the five billion poor--all suggest that a non-technological renaissance may be upon us, and that the bottom-up action of many minds could yet destroy the still-prevailing industrial, top-down control, centralizing of wealth through violence, and externalization of "true cost" to the unwitting public that no longer understands history or that the prevailing shadowy coalitions of bankers, corporate chieftains, private armies, spies, criminals, and terrorists.

My greatest surprise came at the very end, where the author provides a post-9/11 epilogue, and says:"There is abundant evidence that September 11 was an outcome of these shadowy coalitions, which link global energy corporations, US foreign policy, the global "intelligence community," Islamic fundamentalists, arms dealers, and illegal drug trade.Discussion of this bizarre symbiosis [elsewhere he puns on `Bush Laden'] remains beyond the pale of mainstream media....and is the best example of the paralysis of public discourse due to an absence of language to comprehend top-down thinking and bottom-up action as a new mode of power [sustainable community-oriented end-user driven values and behavior and investments].

Every page of this book offers up useful insights and compelling arguments for stopping the current immolation of the Earth and going back to 1491 and the holistic integration of systems ecology, landscape geography, ethno-biology, and cybernetics, along with the co-integration of ecological, cultural, economic, and political.Later in the book the author mentions the importance of integrating religion and science.

He is quite clear, quoting Stuart Hill, that first values must be defined, and only then can sustainable design begin.I have a note on holistic methods that use culture to integrate and promulgate psycho-social knowledge and wisdom with bio-ecological sustainable design.

The author provides a sharp critique of education today as reductionist, fragmented, rote, and disconnected from experience.In this vein, let me note that a World Bank official told me on the 21st of August that the CIA analysts that come to the World Bank in search of knowledge are "too young, lack knowledge, and have a propensity to put forward hypotheses (e.g. about Darfur and the region) that are frightening in their ignorance."On a positive note, while I have always been the #1 Amazon reviewer for non-fiction, I only entered into the top 100 and then the top 50 over-all, when Dick Cheney succeeded in frightening a significant portion of the population back into reading non-fiction.I consider it my sacred duty to be a human version of the Cliff Notes for all serious readers concerned about the future of the Republic.

The author specifies that the general public (that is to say, the 90% of us that have not looted the commonwealth but rather been subtly enslaved) is back to 1978 in terms of quality of life and sufficiency of income.All our hard word has enriched a few and left the Republic with bridges that collapse for lack of sustained investment in the public interest.

The author slams "just enough, just in time" logistics as unsustainable madness, and throughout the book, with both text and illustrations, shows how we must balance between "slow, steady, small" and "fast, random, big."

I liked the references to the role of the landscape as a means of storing energy, water, nutrients, and carbon.The author stresses the importance of understanding entropy (example from other work: water can be desalinated, but the energy cost, in the absence of renewable energy, is unaffordable over time).The author quotes Natural Capital many times, and I regard this book as a perfect complement to that strategic work--this is the operational, tactical, and technical counterpart.See also Priority One.

The author provides both maxims and principles in this book.

The maxims:
1. All observations are relative
2. Top-down thinking, bottom-up action
3. The landscape is the textbook
4. Failure is useful so long as we learn
5. Elegant solutions are simple, even invisible
6. Make the smallest intervention necessary
7. Avoid too much of a good thing
8. The problem is the solution
9. Recognize and break out of design cul-de-sacs

Permaculture design principles:
1. Observe and Interact
2. Catch and Store Energy
3. Obtain a Yield
4. Apply Self-Regulation and Accept Feedback
5. Use and Value Renewable Resources and Services
6. Produce No Waste
7. Design from Patterns to Details
8. Integrate Rather than Segregate
9. Use Small and Slow Solutions
10. Use and Value Diversity
11. Uses Edges and Value the Marginal
12. Creatively Use and Respond to Change

The author tells us that self-reliance is a form of consumer boycott and also a form of political action.

In addition to sustainable design, the author believes that maintenance engineering has a bright future.

He points out that recycling uses much more energy than re-use.

He notes that the failure of the elites to self-regulate their greed is a recurring problem (violent comprehensive revolutions are often set off when a precipitating outrage follows a long precondition of concentrated wealth and externalized waste).

The sins of the father will curse seven generation (similar to Native American concept of making consensual decisions that are known to be relevant seven generations into the future--what Stewart Brand calls the Clock of the Long Now.

The author emphasizes that the world's poor represent a vast pool of human resources and capabilities as well as (CKP's point) a four trillion dollar marketplace.

Other helpful books in this domain:
Priority One: Together We Can Beat Global Warming
The Clock of the Long Now: Time and Responsibility
Ecological Economics: Principles And Applications
Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution
The Manufacture of Evil: Ethics, Evolution and the Industrial System
Voltaire's Bastards: The Dictatorship of Reason in the West
Diet for a Small Planet
Faith-Based Diplomacy: Trumping Realpolitik
The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty Through Profits (Wharton School Publishing Paperbacks)

more abstract
it's not the nuts and bolts of how to do permaculture, it's the abstract basic reasoning that guides your thoughts when you come across something new. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Easily Available Right Now
Introduction To Permaculture is currently sold by Seeds Of Change seed company for the publishers' list price[...].I trial lots of seeds every year (zone 7)and can recommend three varieties they sell as truly remarkable- Zapotec Pleated tomato, Satsuki Madori cucumber, and Red Ruffled pimento pepper.

Read the review below this one
A lot of fellow americans it seems are rating other books authored by Americans on this subject higher than the two original books on this concept. If its not written expressly for the american market local consumers seem willing to ignore this and other outstanding titles. While there are books written purely for American and British Permaculturists these books are not necessarily better for people buying for that area. This book and its companion, A Designers Manual are too well written to be applied to just one region. These books are applicable to any climate or geology of any area of the planet, and that includes anywhere in the U.S. including Alaska and Hawaii. Read the reveiw below mine he explains more eloquently why this book and the more in depth version, Peramculture a Designers Manual, are perhaps the most important books you will ever read. The original and best books on Permaculture this book and, Permaculture a Designers Manual... if you are serious about helping the environment and saving money on your food bill at the same time then do yourself a favour and get one or both of these books.

Appeals to surprisingly broad spectrum!
A reviewer is well advised to be mindful of the arrogance that is intrinsic to criticizing another's work.

Intro to Permaculture is a book of breath-taking scope.I can only write with authority about thoseparts that apply to my middle-class, Mid-Western (US) frame-of-reference.

While reading the book, I carried it to work and to my daughter's soccerpractice.I have never had so many people ask, "What's that?",pick up the book and start leafing through it.*Every* person who pickedit up found some illustration that resonated with them and they startedreading.I never had THAT happen before.Observation #1, World-classillustrations that are well linked to the text.

This is a good book toread with a highlighter (pen).These are just a few of the lines Ihighlighted:

Chapter 1:

"-harmony with nature is possible only ifwe abandon the idea of superiority over the natural world.

-The core ofpermaculture is design...To enable a design component we must put it in theright place...Each important function is supported by many elements...Thekey to using biological resources is management...

-the importance ofdiversity is not so much the number of elements in a system; rather it isthe number of functional connections between these elements.It is not thenumber of things, but the number of ways things work....

-Edges areplaces of varied ecology.Productivity increases at the boundary betweentwo ecologies because resources from both systems can be used...There ishardly a sustainable traditional human settlement that is not sited onthose critical junctions of two natural economies."

Chapter2

"All designs that involve life forms undergo a long-term processof change; even the "climax" state of a forest is an imaginedconcept.

-The site is full of information on every natural subject, andwe must learn to read it...By observing the landscape we draw inspirationfrom the survival strategies followed by natural systems, and imitate themusing species of more direct use to us.

-external resources are oftencritical..in establishing a (biological) system...It is also important totake your own resources into account...skills

-Two properties, locatedonly a few miles apart, can vary in rainfall, wind speed, temperature, andrelative humidity...This important basic step can mean the differencebetween living in pleasant surroundings or in miserable conditions on aproperty that will probably change hands every few years.

-Vegetation hasa profound effect on microclimate.it is the planting and use ofvegetation (forest, woodland, windbreak, shrubs, and vines) that mostshapes the microclimate of the site.

-The most common errors in housesiting are: Building at the top of an exposed ridge or hill...Locating ahouse in the bush, setting up a conflict..for light, nutrients, andspace...Building..anywhere inevitable disaster threatens."

There area total of eight chapters and five appendices.In the past, I have spenttwice as much for books with half as much useful information (althoughnever from Amazon ;-) ).I feel that I got more than my money's worth.I(Joe) take full responsibility for any creative spelling cause by my fatfingers or spurious line "breaks" caused by my word processor.

EXCELLENT INTRODUCTION TO THE SCIENCE OF PERMACULTURE
Takes you from wo to go and is packed full of ideas.Great bedtime reading ... Read more

Book Description
Permaculture is a creative approach to abundant and fulfilling lifestyles. It is for everyone whishing to live sustainable and tread more lightly on the Earth.Permaculture is an ecologically sound approach to providing for our needs, including our food, shelter and financial and social structures. It is based on co-operating with nature and caring for the Earth and its people.Permaculture in a Nutshell is a concise and accessible introduction to the principles and practice of permaculture in temperate climates. It covers how permaculture works in the city, the country and on the farm and explores ways in which people can work together to recreate real communities.This inspiring book clearly describes how we can live fruitfully and sustainably and is essential reading for anyone wishing to reduce their environmental impact. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Exactly what the title says
Bought this book to give to my relatives who are dairy farmers.This book is a brief explanation of permaculture. It also has some good ideas such as an explanation of zones, and some of the other basic principles of permaculture.

Great for curious family members
As a recently certified Permaculture Consultant, I have found it harder to explain the overall concept to the curious (such as in-laws) than to potential clients (who have specific problems to solve). After a couple of tongue-tied attempts, I put together a quick definition suitable for small-talk and bought Whitefield's book for those who wanted to know more. This came in handy at a recent gathering where Betty, my 84-year-old grandmother-in-law, saw the book and read several chapters. In a few short pages, the book defines permaculture, sketches some of its history and principles, and gives examples of how it works in cities, gardens and farms. Grandma Betty got a kick out of the Britishisms and, despite her early skepticism ("how can back-lot gardens hope to feed the world's hungry?"), seemed satisfied with the explanations. Permaculture in a Nutshell has opened up a whole new area of conversation for us. Well worth it.

Perfect Intro to Permaculture
A wonderful introduction to permaculture, by an experienced writer (How to Make a Forest Garden) and practitioner. PN lays out the basic principles of permaculture theory in an easy-to-understand, no-nonsense manner, providing pertinent examples and diagrams for clarity when necessary. For more a more in-depth look at this fascinating, important subject, see Permaculture: A Design Manuel by Bill Mollison or Permaculture: Principles and Pathways by David Holmgren. Finally, a note one Whitefield's statisics. Despite what some have said, they are accurate. Read Natural Capitalism for verification.

Reinventing community
I'm perplexed as to why the Dutch reviewer is so dissatisfied with this little primer on permaculture.From where I sit, Patrick Whitefield has done a marvelous job of introducing the worldview and techniques of permaculture to beginners.

Permaculture is above all a new way of envisioning the world and our (human) relationship to it such that we become sensitive to the vast interconnectedness of species.To live and grow food permaculturally is to work with rather than against nature.The two cardinal principles of permaculture is that work is any need not met by the eco-system in which one dwells, and pollution is any output not absorbable by the eco-system.The permaculturalist seeks to design living and food-producing systems such that both work and pollution are minimalized.

Permaculture, which flows from the deep ecology sensibility that the world's natural resources are limited and in many cases nonrenewable, encourages us to rethink what we mean by community.Community isn't exclusively human, and it isn't a gridwork suburb carved out of the natural terrain.It's instead an environment in which "useful connections between different elements in a system" are recognized and nurtured "so that as many inputs as possible are provided from within the system, and as many of the outputs as possible are used within it." (p. 53)When you think about it, this understanding of community applies to human families, urban neighborhoods, bioregional groupings, and so on.Reenvisioning community in this way leaves a lighter footprint upon the earth and improves the quality of life for all species in the process.

Whitefield's book is a good starting place for anyone who wishes to simplify their life, nurture the good earth, and improve the lot of all species.Give it a read and rediscover what our ancestors knew but we've forgotten:that humans must live in harmony with nature or cease to live.

Start here for a sustainable life!
This is an informative, short and cheap general introduction to permaculture, the design of sustainable living. It has been re-issued due to popular demand. Experienced British permaculture designer and teacher Patrick Whitefield explains how permaculture can enrich our lives in the city, on the farm and in the community.

In brief, permaculture focuses on the conscious design of efficient ecological systems.

'Work = any need not met by the system.Pollution = any output not met by the system' (p. 14)

So it is immediately apparent that by careful design both work and pollution can be minimised. Nature, of course, does this without having to think about it, which is why permaculture systems attempt to emulate natural processes.

Though this book is less than a hundred pages long, it has enough detail to get you started on some serious practical projects. Theinformation on 'making a mulch bed' transformed my stony, undiggable back yard into a highly productive vegetable garden in just one growing season, with very little effort (and thankfully no digging!). The book also includes plenty of contact details for taking permaculture further, which, after reading Permaculture in a Nutshell, you will be unable to resist! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Great hands-on Permaculture book
This is my favorite Permaculture book so far.I've read several, but "Earth User's Guide to Permaculture" seems to have the most practical, hands-on information.It is presented in an easy to understand format, with exercises that will help the reader gain the necessary skills.A wonderful overview of Permaculture.

Excellent starting point for permaculture newbies
I stumbled across the Earth User's Guide to Permaculture when I was searching for good books on the topic as I was looking for material to help start our permaculture garden, and the good reviews I read online convinced me to buy it. And am I glad I did!

I only had a very general idea about permaculture, and most of it was "theoretical". There's a plethora of free information available online as to WHY permaculture, but there isn't much about HOW. This book is an excellent guide which addresses this need, explaining in a simple manner the varied and multi-faceted techniques and processes of creating and nurturing your own permaculture garden/farm.

The book is divided in to 6 main sections:
Part 1: An observing and appraising eye
Part 2: Ecological themes in permaculture
Part 3: Applying permaculture
Part 4: Adding resilience to design
Part 5: Social permaculture

The first two parts talk extensively on the WHY of permaculture, and the next three sections talk about HOW in detail.

If you are like me, a newbie to permaculture, this is the one book you should have on your shelf. I'm sure veterans too would find it quite useful.

Earth Users Guide to Permaculture
The author has had many years of international experience in training people
in all aspects of the permaculture philosophy and lifestyle.
With global warming making the whole issue more pressing, the book is
easy to read, covers all areas including disaster planning and shows how
fulfilling is is to tread lightly on the earth and regain control of basic
aspects of living. To become a permaculturist is to join a world-wide
movement of individuals determined to leave the world a better place.

Main book for permaculture
Well, I am no expert,but if one book were going to get me there, this is the one.Ithas everythingfromsuggested diagrams for planting your permacultureyard or acreage,to planting techniques for us late starters. If you only get one book on the subject, this is a good choice. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

There is nothing better regarding Sustainability
Bill Mollison represents the most successful attempt to mainstream practical home-scale sustainable design principles.I found myself needing to do an enormous amount of supplementary research to actually understand what bill was talking about, but to explain them in depth here would have taken away from the thrust of the book - which is mainly to show you example after example (many on every page) at sustainable principles of design put into practice.

The book remains the best book on sustainability written to date.There are some aspects of his system that are lacking that I will briefly draw attention to.Understand that I deeply appreciate his genius, but I want to just mention that these other things need to be integrated into his system to be fully fully sustainable.

1) He doesn't pay enough attention to seed saving and plant breeding.A loss of seed diversity and a re-invigoration of seed savers is essential to truly sustainable self-sufficient design.

See:
Seed to Seed - by Suzanne Ashworth and Kent Whealy
Breed your own Vegetable Varieties - by Carol Deppe

2) He very rarely mentions the role mushrooms and fungi can play in sustainability.

See:
Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the Worldby Paul Stamets

3) He doesn't stress the science behind it enough, which is fine, but leaves you asking sometimes... how do we know this is really ecologically sound?How can I NOT imitate mr. mollison but still create an ecologically sound system?Basically, Mollison's proscriptions are incredibly scientifically informed but not always scientifically explicit.

See:
Plant Ecophysiological Ecology
New Dimensions in Agro-Ecology
Smallholders, Householders: farm families and the ecology of intensive sustainable agriculture - by Rober Netting

4) In relation to the first point, he also doesn't stress the role that evolution plays in sustainability.This is a very complicated problem, see book.

See:
Evolutionary Conservation Biology.

These are not really criticism so much as signs of slight conceptual anal retentiveness on my part... Also please don't forget mollison's OTHER books which are incredible as well, especially the permaculture book of ferment and human nutrition.

Amazing book!
I bought this book many years ago and still find myself going back and re-reading it over and over.If you're new to the Permaculture thought process you will be knocked off your horse with the common-sense, integrated approach to gardening and farming systems.I attribute this book and the thoughts provoked by it as the catalyst in seeking integrations and aggregation on many different fronts.This will always be one of the books I will treasure.I wore off the cover and have punched holes in all the pages and keep it in a three-ring binder.

Ignore the Cost
The information presented in this book is worth a semester of agriculture, chemistry, and geography classes.

I was initially set back when I went looking for a copy of this classic and discovered that there wasn't a recent printing available and all of the ones on the market were over $100 at the time.Still, I wanted to learn about Permaculture and everyone said that this was the place to start.

I am extremely happy with my decision to buck up and fork over my money.This text is the source from which all others on the topic are written and they pale in comparison.

If you are someone who is looking to homestead, or currently doing so, this book will help you plan your own gardens, manage your land as a whole, and be able to assist others in the community.

Lastly, the book is a nice hardcover, the pages are thick for a tome of this size, and the print is nice and dark.The copy in front of me has been well thumbed, tossed around, and shelved on many occassions and is still holding up nicely.Only the corners are dinged up a little.

The Most Important Textbook in the World...
...and probably one of the most fun to read. I read the first 8 chapters while working on a permaculture site on Isla Ometepe in Nicaragua, and ordered it immediately upon returning home.

Bill Mollison carefully and beautifully lays out the theory and practice of Permaculture (permanent agriculture). Permaculture is a holistic design system that sustainably envisions, creates, and organizes the spaces that we as humans inhabit on this planet. It takes everything that I feel is good for the world-Green architecture, local food, water conservation, renewable energy, organic agriculture, etc.-and wraps them into one cohesive scheme for planning the spaces and manner in which we live.

For more information, check out the Permaculture Research Institute's page at www.permaculture.org.au, especially the quick video "Greening the Desert", which is an excellent introduction.

Wow! These ideas could change the world!
The author's enthusiasm is tangible, and sweeps you up. So far as the book is concerned, this isn't just about landscaping, farming, or gardening: it ties into absolutely everything in the world, including fractals as they appear in the flow of water and wind; it brings in Aboriginal legends, as you can see from the elaborate symbolism on the cover; it talks about economy, health, production, and everything. Everything is far-reaching, everything is connected. This is the most holistic book I've ever seen.

Not living in Australia or anywhere near it, I was a bit distressed when I saw that the book was from there. I was concerned that the book wouldonly tell of plant-communities involving exotic palms and tropical oddities which wouldn't apply to me in my cold, wet environment. To the contrary, the book actually embraces the whole world, not just Australia. This is clearly seen in the color plates, which (to my surprise) even had a photograph of a place I'd visited that very morning. While the book does talk about some species that are strictly Australian, most of its content is of worldwide usefulness, such as earth berms and other practical land-forms and configurations. ... Read more

Book Description
Permaculture experts Ross and Jenny Mars outline the steps to transform your garden into a productive living system. Modeled upon the development of Candlelight Farm, and illustrated with photographs, this guide encourages the reader to make positive steps towards reconciling human impact with nature – following the permaculture ideal.
Permaculture is based on the ethics of caring for people and our planet. It is about growing your own healthy food, being resourceful and environmentally responsible. Permaculture concepts and ideas can be applied successfully from small suburban units to large farming properties.
Getting Started in Permaculture delivers step-by-step knowledge for a variety of useful projects including: making herb fertilizers, compost, organic sprays for pest control, and much, much more. It also includes how to recycle your soft drink bottles, waste paper, and tires in a number of useful projects such as ponds, fruit fly traps, retailing walls, and solar stills.
As part of Permanent Publications Simple Living Series, this practical and accessible guide for gardeners of all skill levels serves as an ideal introduction to the world of permaculture. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

50 projects for your garden
After a brief discussion of what permaculture is and hopes to accomplish, the authors present 50 projects for your garden. Some of them are common garden structures and some are aimed at reusing tires and plastic soda bottles. Retaining wall, ponds, planting mounds from used tires. Waterers, slug traps for plastic bottles, newspaper planting pots.Making compost, liquid fetilizers, hot houses, cold frames, shade houses. A section on making paper, soap, and cleaners.

Not an indepth discussion of permaculture, but a basic get started projects book.
... Read more

Book Description
The Permaculture Way shows us how to consciously design a lifestyle which is low in environmental impact and highly productive. It demonstrates how to meet our needs, make the most of resources by minimizing waste and maximizing potential, and still leave the Earth richer than we found it. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

the best permaculture book for beginners
Regardless of one person's opinion about this book being dry, it is considered one of the best tried and true permaculture manuals out there. The illustrations are funny and poignant and the information accessible and aplicable to a modern world.
Also be sure to check out the forthcoming "Food Not Lawns" by Heather Coburn due out next Summer. It is sure to be among the best-ever urban gardening books.

a bit dry...
This being my first text on Permaculture, I was hoping to be awed and enthused after reading. Rather, I was a bit tired and dreary eyed. The book does contain many useful and convincing ideas. It also seems to have the depth of research I like in a text. Yet I could not wait to put the book down. It's common sense approach, not the revolutionary style I had come to link with Permaculture, left me wondering why I ordered it and if there is another trext more inspiring...

Look further before buying.

For anyone who wants to build a better world
What is permaculture? Permaculture is a way of life; it makes maximum use of resources by minimizing waste and maximizing potential; it is a tool for planet-repair; it is a way of creating wealth without causing environmental damage; it is about meeting our own needs without making the lives of other less pleasant; it is about limiting personal consumption but gaining more than you lose; it is about using technology when it is the best way to accomplish a task; it is developing interdependence with the community rather than self-sufficiency; it is about reducing the work required to meet a given end; it is about giving each of us the power to influence the world from our own home. Permaculture is not about getting away from it all but taking control of our lives where we are. It is a concept and a practice with global implications because it is possible under any culture, in any climate and by people with any skills. Permacultue invites you to take care of yourself, your family and your immediate community, and to care for your neighbors in the widest possible sense, all around the globe. Permaculture is based on sound economics while making our lives more harmonious with the needs of the planet.

Put in its simplest terms, permaculture asks people to put as much into life as they demand from it; but it starts with each individual because that is what is immediate and within our control and because only we have the power to affect the future by acting creatively for the good of ourselves and others.Permaculture starts in the home because that is the central point in time and space from which all daily occupations radiate. Designing the home to supply much of its own needs and to consume its own outputs would be a massive contribution to global cleansing. Thoreau, in his book 'Walden' reviews his two-year experiment in simple living as a counter to industrialization and commerce that have driven people into virtual slavery. His remedy was to concentrate on simple requirements to free up time and energy for our spiritual needs. Our house should provide health for the family, peace for the spirit and harmony with the environment - and that is what permaculture strives to attain. Think globally but act locally is a slogan that reminds us, not just of our duty, but of our personal ability to affect change for the better. Permaculture is best expressed in your own garden because gardening exhibits all the qualities of planet-care - it is small scale, local, ethical, and a personal responsibility that brings together all strands of our relationship with nature; it is a common bond between families throughout the world. Permaculture is best expressed through the individual because leadership is so vital to building a better world. Every parent is a leader; every adult and every child can become a leader. All it requires is to do something when you see something that needs doing and that something may be as simple as creating a garden along the lines described in this book.

This book shows us how to meet our basic needs while leaving the earth richer; it helps us to relearn the value of nature; it helps us to understand new ways of being wealthy; it helps us to create a productive lifestyle without causing environmental damage. Although the specifics of this book are for the British Isles, the principles and philosophies are universal. At present, the earth cannot keep up with our rate of production and consumption. We must deepen our understanding of the land and our relationship to it. This doesn't mean that we all have to become peasant or subsistence farmers; permaculture seeks more rewarding paths to paradise. This book helps us to design our lives efficiently, not just to feed and clothe ourselves better but to take as little as possible of the earth's space for the production of those needs; to do as little damage as possible to the environment and whenever possible to return as much as possible to nature.

David Bellamy starts his preface with these words. "I have four books in my library which form the cornerstones of my hope for the future: Marcus Porcius Cato's 'Treatise on Agriculture' (about 160 AD); Robert Sharrock's 'History of the Propagation and Improvement of Vegetables by the Concurrence of Art and Nature' (1660); Hans Jenny's 'The Soil Resource' (1980); and Bill Mollison's 'permaculture' (1988). I can now add this book to the collection, for it is of great importance. This is a spring-board text, which relaunches the wisdom of almost twenty centuries into the arena where it is most needed and from which it can be most effective - the rich countries of the temperate world."

At the 2002 Johannesburg World Summit for Sustainable Development, one resolution was to declare a Decade for Education on Sustainable Development starting in 2005. We must now start thinking about what should be included in the new curriculum. Permaculture should definitely be included.If you want to move away from the consumerist lifestyle; if you want to live by more enduring values; if you are looking for answers to the question 'What can I do about curing our world?'; if you are looking for ways to improve your health and to live more harmoniously with nature; if you agree with Edmund Burke that "for the triumph of evil it is only necessary that good men do nothing"; then this well may be the book you have been looking for. This book should be in the library of everyone interested in building a better world.

The Permaculture Way
I read this book about a year ago so I can't be too detailed. But I appreciated this accessible introduction to the entire field of permaculture as a philosophy. Not just focused on farm or landscapingdesign, Bell explicates deeper community design and planning that mollisonusually just suggests in passing. Particularily interesting was hisdiscussion of Community centered currency and exchange programs like BREADin Berkeley ... Read more

Book Description
Working entirely in harmony with nature, The Permaculture Garden shows you how to turn a bare plot into a beautiful and productive garden. Learn how to plan your garden for easy access and minimum labor; save time and effort digging and weeding; recycle materials to save money; plan crop successions for year-round harvests; save energy and harvest water; and garden without chemicals by building up your soil and planting in beneficial communities. Full of practical ideas, this perennial classic, first published in 1995, is guaranteed to inspire, inform, and entertain. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Great starting place
We bought this book because we had heard bits of information about permaculture and we didn't want to spend heaps of money learning about something which might not interest us.

Earth User's Guide to Permaculture has inspired us to get into permaculture in a big way.The information presented gives enough in the way of ideas to get the brain ticking over and to think how it can be applied in your own situation.We will buy another, more detailed book than this one, but this was perfect as an introduction to permaculture and to guide us in the direction we need to go.

I'd recommend this book to anyone with an interest in permaculture who isn't sure if it's for them.There's enough to get you thinking and to let you know if permaculture is for you.

Great ideas to put principles into practice
Morrow and Allsop offer an amusingly illustrated and practical response to other intellectually overwhelming tomes available on permaculture (e.g. Bill Mollison's "Designer's Manual"). For those readers who want an easy-to-follow and get-to-the-point manual for designing their property according to permaculture principles, this book is it.

The author breaks down the complex material in simple layered concepts, building each successive chapter on the previous, and gives the reader practical "labs" to help apply the concepts--even if you are just dreaming about property and don't own any yet.

About 1/3 of the book is foundational material on earth science: air, weather, soil, plants, etc. Starting with the basics, like observation and note taking, the author guides us step by step to help us understand the macro (the earth) and the micro (our backyard) world around us. The next 1/3 of the book helps you to start planning your own property based on the principles uncovered in the first 1/3. Photos and cartoon-like illustrations help flesh out the concepts.

My only complaint is that the latter chapters are too brief. The author does such a good example of explaining the material in the first 1/3 of the book that I was disappointed to find the material lacking on how to build a natural forest. The reader will need additional books (like Patrick Whitefield's How to make a Forest Garden) to fill in where the author is sparse here.

Despite what a previous reviewer has written, this book is neither preachy nor impractical. The notion to get rid of your car was briefly suggested in one place, about 3/4 ways through the book, and certainly not presented as an imperative--merely one idea among many possible solutions to pollution.

To suggest that the author expects us to emulate Vietnamese poverty is misleading and unfair. The author presents several excellent agricultural examples currently employed in Vietnam--if good examples of permaculture exist there, why not use them to illustrate your point? The author in no way implies that we must adopt the Vietnamese lifestyle as a whole to fullfill the permaculture ideal. Rather, we can take their best examples and adapt them to our own situation.

By the way, as a policitally conservative reader (to the "right"), I can confidently say the tone of the book is NOT leftist. Sound ecological principles are not "leftist". Good stewardship of the earth is a biblical and conservative notion.

Anyway, this is a fun, informative book, with LOTS of practical ideas that have inspired me and enlightened my dreams for my own permaculture homestead.

Permaculture, its own worst enemy
What a pity that a science which has as much to offer as permaculture should be so degraded by the radicalism of some of its proponents as to make it unsaleable to the mainstream of potential users, who will be turned away by its political philosophy. This book, while it offers some good ideas about design and planning, is tinged throughout by its greenie fringe. eg. what is the solution to weeds caused by vehicular pollution? Get rid of your car!

I bought this book to learn about sustainable agricultural practice, but found myself enmeshed in a diatribe of leftist sentiment. For those of us who do not wish to wear biodegradable clothes, or who do not believe that corporate profits are the result of greedy and unethical conspiracies, it is too tempting to disregard the entire subject of permaculture.

The proponents of this science need to accept that the majority of those citizens of the planet who have become accustomed to living in personal circumstances better than that of the "third world" are not going to go back to that lifestyle. While it might be a romantic ideal for some to live like a Vietnamese villager, not all would want to accept the poverty, short life expectancy and high infant mortality, to mention just three factors, which brand that country "third world". Permaculturists should abandon their politics and concentrate on promoting their science.

makes permaculture understandable and practicable
Rosemary Morrow lives in Eastern Australia and has taught permaculturedesign in India, Africa, Thailand and Cambodia. As a result of herconsiderable skill and experience she has written a first-rate, practicaland informative guide to sustainable living. Permaculture was firstdeveloped by Bill Mollison and Dvid Holmgren and has since spreadexponentially around the world. This book is a very practical guide to helpyou get started in your locality. While it has an Australian perspective, I have found the vast majority of it entirely applicable or easilyadaptable to a Northern hemisphere temperate context.I bought The EarthUser's Guide to Permaculture because I wanted to learn about Permaculturebut was intimidated by the price and sheer weight of the key textbook,Permaculture: A Designer's Manual, by Mollison. I was also unable toparticipate in a hands-on design course at the time due to work and familycommittments.What I found was inspiring. I have since completed thedesign certificate and am now teaching a university course in environmentalethics. There are several strengths to the Earth User's Guide. First, thereare plenty of excellent illustrations by Rob Allsop, so you can see as wellas read about the process and principles of permaculture design. The twentywell-chosen colour photographs compliment these. Secondly, the bookfocusses on two different real-life examples, a small suburban house and aneighty acre farm. Seeing permaculture in action in real places is veryhelpful. Third, the book avoids duplicating material that can be foundelsewhere and instead focusses on the practical. There are project ideashere that could take a morning or a lifetime to complete. As RosemaryMorrow writes in the preface, 'start now and let your life be enriched'.

An Engaging Primer
This is an excellent first read on permaculture. It covers nearly all the bases that Mollison's intro does (the daddy of the discipline) but brings the somewhat heady concepts down to a tangible, 'here's how you can do it'level.One of the things that I liked so much about this book is that theauthor doesn't assume (like many PC writings seem to do) that you live wayout in the bush somewhere, with acres and acres to work with, noinfrastructure, no other job, and heaps of people working alongside you.She has ideas for those folks, but also for the rest of us who maybe have asmall yard, a deserted lot, a community garden space, or just a stoop and alot of creativity. this is a good book. I recomend it highly. ... Read more

Book Description
The Basics of Permaculture Design, first published in Australia in 1996, is an excellent introduction to the principles of permaculture, design processes, and the tools needed for designing sustainable gardens, farms, and larger communities.
Packed with useful tips, clear illustrations, and a wealth of experience, it guides you through designs for gardens, urban and rural properties, water harvesting systems, animal systems, permaculture in small spaces like balconies and patios, farms, schools, and ecovillages. This is both a do-ityourself guide for the enthusiast and a useful reference for permaculture designers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

not impressed
didnt find it very practical or helpful - maybe I needed something with a bit more depth to it

A bit scant on any new ideas
Ross Mars does approach the subject from an assumption of complete ignorence from his readers, so he doesn't write over anyone's head- which is good, but it really seems a bit redundant to write yet anotherintroduction to permaculture. not a bad book, but you might as well spendyour money on something a little less superficial. (ie. Mollison's books;even Rosemary Morrow is a bit more thorough) ... Read more

Book Description
A chicken tractor is a bottomless, portable pen that fits over your garden beds. Just set it wherever you need help in your garden. The chickens peck and scratch the soil to clean your beds, eat pest bugs and weed seeds. Best of all, they provide eggs and meat with that old-fashioned flavor. Chicken tractors have helped thousands of gardeners have better gardens and taken chickens out of factory farms and put them in the garden where they are your personal helpers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (18)

Poor choice for title
I liked the information related to chickens but the title should almost have been "Gardening With Chickens, How to use chickens to build up your garden soil."

I didn't like the whole how to compost part of the book I bought it looking for ideas and plans on how to build chicken tractors for both layers and fryers. What I found didn't have the plans I was looking for while the book has much good information it does not stay on topic as far I am concerned.

If the title had been different I would have given the book 4 or 5 stars.

Some good ideas for the beginner but needs some major improvement.
This book has some really good, practical ideas for the beginniner.

If you are into chicken production for meat there is a fair amount of information on that topic.If you are into chickens primarily for egg production (which is most of us) you'll need to figure out how to adapt the use for that purpose.This will involve implementing a nesting area and exterior access door into the design to collect the eggs.This is not a huge deal for the creative, mechanical types but might be an issue for some.

The book is extremely redundant and reads like a babbling person talking in circles.Cloudy, the information is sometimes conflicting and lacking in sufficient detail.The author would have done well to hire true professionals to organize/edit the content and draw the diagrams.

I have built and currently use 5 chicken tractors.The author suggests that you can build these things for less than the cost of lunch by using scrap materials.In my experience most folks would very hardpressed to find the materials needed for free. If you buy all of the materials needed they cost around $100 each.

Two people can build 2 of these in about 7 hours if they have only a smidgen of experience with tools/carpentry.Building one takes about 4-5 hours.

A few notes from my experiences working with chicken tractors:

1.I have used 3' tall chicken tractors for piglets (up to 4 months of age) with excellent results by wrapping the chicken tractor with a stronger gauge wire than typical chicken wire.The pigs root a large hole every day.When I move the "pig tractor" I rake their poop into the hole then rake the soil back into the hole covering the poop. This eliminates 95% of the odor and, of course, fertilizes my garden.

2.This method does not work well for waterfowl unless you have sandy or other soil that drains very quickly. On my farm in the NC mountains, confined ducks and geese immediately create a muddy mess unless there is a drainage system in place under the waterer. Drainage systems are not practical for chicken tractoring.

3.Chicken tractors work great for chickens, turkeys, and guineas.Birds raised in a chicken tractor will produce more eggs and be much more content living in this type of environment than those accustomed to ranging.

4.The author states that the chicken tractor protects poultry from predators.In reality this structure offers little protection from anything other than birds of prey and dogs.I have lost plenty of chicken tractored poultry to fox, oppossums and raccoons.Keep a baited live trap next to your birds or plan to camp out with them every night.

Hope this helps...

Good luck and good farming!

buy or borrow -- lots of good information
Because of the reviews I read here, I didn't buy this book when I bought Salatin's Pastured Poutry Profits, now I wish I had.It has a lot of good information and is entertaining to read.I borrowed from the library and am considering buying one for our home library in the future. Andy Lee gives you some good examples in both the NE and NC of how he has raised chickens, for meat and eggs.He has a good background with lots of hand-on experience.He does this for his own food and for some money, these are not just pet "no kill" animals.I found the most interesting part to be his ideas on using a greenhouse to start chicks on the ground in hay under the benches in the spring, then after moving the birds out to tractors, making your greenhouse into a naturally fertized and mulched bed for summer vegetables followed by a fall brooder for another crop of egg laying hens that can overwinter there.He moves his greenhouses and tractors, leaving behind beautifully fertilzed mulched garden beds, that's the most exciting thing for me -- my wrists and arms hurt when I dig with a shovel!He also gives a good idea of costs, of course you may need to adjust for the year and place you live, but it does give a good basic plan to follow.If you want to know how exactly how to build a chicken tractor, follow the basic plans and get some wood and nails and tools and try to do it!They are good enough if you have common sense and want to use what you have on hand or can scrounge up!I gave this only 4 stars (it would be 4-1/2 if I could) just because everyone needs room for improvement, but that's the highest rating I usually ever give.Best of luck to everyone with their farming enterprises, we need to step away from Walmart and the rest!

Very good for the suburban gardener
I originally got some chickens because Martha Stewart said they love to eat crickets and here in the desert we have quite a problem with crickets.I found out that chickens are wonderful pets, not much trouble, very friendly and they have personalities.And they really eat bugs - best pest control you can have.I read this book on the concept of the chicken tractor and realized for the suburban gardener this is ideal.Hens eat bugs, grain, and vegetable scraps from the kitchen.Hens are great little composters, and they eat weed seeds and pests up to and including scorpions and baby mice and snakes.They don't need much except food and water, and protection from predators.We allow ours to roam a fenced in yard freely, and pen them up at night.This is a useful book if you just want a few hens and want to improve your soil (we don't move our hens around, once a year we take 4 inches off the soil in their yard and spread it around our trees and gardens.)The eggs are great - I like giving green eggs to little kids because they all have read Dr. Seuss.This book isn't for someone who is more interested in egg-laying or meat production on a large scale.And, by the way, we don't eat our hens.We are running a chicken retirement home - they don't lay eggs any more, but they still till, compost, eat weed seeds, and control pests.

has good concepts, but the steps and details are off
I used this book for some research and experiment ideas in agriculture.while it has some great general ideas and concepts, i found that the entire instructions for building the chicken tractor were lacking in detail and had conflicting drawings and steps.some required materials were not listed, and the process was vague.in reading the book, it seemed to me like a great book idea, but was very hastily presented and lacked thorough attention to detail.it looked very "thrown together".it is a book i recommend checking out from a library if you want some ideas, but i wouldn't waste my money purchasing it in hopes of practical steps for a chicken tractor.(the book might give inspiration, but YOU will have to come up with the practical details of trying and experimenting to build your tractor.)hint...lightweight and portable materials and use creativity to adapt their basic (and vaguely presented) tractor ... Read more

Book Description
This is an easy-to-use guide to selecting hundreds of perennial species. It is indispensable for growers and designers working in subtropical and warm temperate/arid climates, and also includes some cool-climate tolerant species. Permaculture Plants: A Selection details hundreds of common and unusual edible, medicinal, and useful plants. ... Read more

Book Description
Edible Forest Gardens is a groundbreaking two-volume work that spells out and explores the key concepts of forest ecology and applies them to the needs of natural gardeners in temperate climates. Volume I lays out the vision of the forest garden and explains the basic ecological principles that make it work. In Volume II, Dave Jacke and Eric Toensmeier move on to practical considerations:concrete ways to design, establish, and maintain your own forest garden. Along the way they present case studies and examples, as well as tables, illustrations, and a uniquely valuable “plant matrix” that lists hundreds of the best edible and useful species.
Taken together, the two volumes of Edible Forest Gardens offer an advanced course in ecological gardening—one that will forever change the way you look at plants and your environment. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A stupendous amount of relevant info under one cover
The more I use this book the more I realize how much is in here.There's not a time that I turn to the book for a specific piece of information and don't end up reading into other aspects that relate to the question at hand.The authors have chased down most any question to their logical, and integrated, extents.It's quite astounding that this much necessary and applicable information exists now under one cover.An essential reference for ecological land use. Many thanks to people dedicated enough to take the time and effort to share this much insight and information with the world at large.I am sure it will prove to be a crucial resource for survival many decades into the future. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Well, it's a nice idea...
Hey, guys. This manual describes the design of a small farm, listing all the plants and animals that have been introduced and the various earthworks that were carried out. The whole enterprise appears to be extraordinarily expensive and beyond the means of all but the well-to-do middle-class. Moreover, the large size of the property to feed a mere handful of people seems extravagant.

The author's views regarding what should be done and what shouldn't be done at times appears to be as much hearsay as anything. Some of it is blatantly absurd in the context: For instance, the farm relies heavily on the import of organic grain in order to feed the chickens. Far be it for me to recommend for or against purchasing this book; at least it allows one to daydream about having such a place, however unlikely it is (in my opinion) that permaculture constitutes a formula for a more sustainable world.

A site report from a master designer
David Holmgren, co-originator of the permaculture concept, has made a valuable contribution to ecological design by documenting the planning and construction of his 1 hectare homestead in Victoria, Australia. This large-format book details his site analysis using zone-and-sector and other permaculture tools, land use history, microclimate and soil types, and other criteria that guided his home-site selection, planting strategies, water systems, and passive-solar design.

Idealists may quibble with Holmgren's decisions to use nearby grid power (off-grid systems being far more expensive), small engines (indispensible to all farmers), and a farm truck (the only vehicle shown in the book), but these choices point to the real value of the work: what happens when sustainable design is attempted in the real world. Holmgren is honest about where he compromised and where he held fast. What distinguishes his efforts from a typical back-to-the-land farm is the use of sophisticated design tools that reduce energy use, conserve soil and water, emphasize perennial species and natural materials, and apply patterning tools to the overall design. One look at the design and implementation and it will be obvious that permaculture design offers a far better toolkit than conventional methods.

A fine field report from a master designer. I wish there were more such site reports from ecological designers.

Permaculture? It's not so hard after all.
This large format book discloses a lot of the more questionable claims of the Permaculture movement. Holmgren is neither a highly qualified nor a particularly scientific advocate of the system that he claims joint ownership of originating. In this book we discover that using Permaculture a small family may still possess two cars; it's okay to be on the electricity grid and any number of modern appliances from computers to light engines may be used in your 'Permaculture' system. Really the whole thing amounts to little more than recreational farming. I have rated this book as three stars because it is an important read for anyone interested in the truth behind the field. However, in general it is an unimpressive collection of notes from someone designing a small farm. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

permaculture in practice and thought
This is a small, personal and powerful book.In it the author takes you through his journey to permaculture and how he used it on the land he revitalized at Sol y Sombra in New Mexico.It is a good starting point for permaculture users who live in much drier climates than the typical semi-tropical ones depicted in most permaculture books.It is 151 pages in length.It is in no way a textbook, so the lessons have to be gleaned from the prose.But it is beautiful if nurturing land speaks to you.The Table of Contents:

Sol Y Sombra
Learning to Think Like the Land
Ethics and Design
Nets and Flows
Patterns of Life
Long Horizons
Starting on the Ground
Water in the Desert
Earth's Green Mantle
Where the Wild(and Tame)Things Are
A Circle of Friends
Reclaiming Hope
Afterword
I found this book very inspiring.One more book to help green the land. ... Read more

Book Description
The long-awaited exploration of permaculture specifically for cooler Northern Hemisphere climates is finally here! Already regarded as the definitive book on the subject, The Earth Care Manual is accessible to the curious novice as much as it is essential for the knowledgeable practitioner.
Permaculture started out in the 1970s as a sustainable alternative to modern agriculture, taking its inspiration from natural ecosystems. It has always placed an emphasis on gardening, but since then it has expanded to include many other aspects, from community design to energy use. It can be seen as an overall framework that puts a diversity of green ideas into perspective. Its aims are low work, high output, and genuine sustainability. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Wonderful Resource!
I just borrowed this book from the library because I was a little scared away by the high price. Now I know that I have to buy it. This is a fantastic book. I'm planning to start a small farm and have been reading about permaculture for a couple of years. If you live in a temperate climate, this is the best book on the subject. It is filled with diagrams and interesting details about how to establish a successful system. There is hardly anything that the book doesn't touch on. If you are a serious home gardener or you are looking to create a more sustainable farm, this book will be a well used resource.

Great textbook on Permaculture
I've only had a chance to glance through this and read
snippets, but I'm very impressed.A lot of information well
organized; it's like a textbook for a college level
Permaculture course.Seems comparable to, but easier to
understand and apply, than Mollison's Permaculture Design
Manual.I'm in the PNW US but I think this book will be very
useful here.Only compliant is the climate, etc maps of
britian rather than the US :-) ... Read more