The History of Permaculture

Permaculture attempts to create sustainable ways to live and farm.

Permaculture is a radical approach to how people live and farm. Originating in Australia in the early 1970s, the permaculture movement developed innovative frameworks for creating sustainable ways of living. Members of the permaculture movement work to create practical and scientific methods of developing a harmonious working relationship with nature. Permaculturalists believe that by thinking carefully about the way they use resources, they can, by using less, get more out of life.

Origins

Permaculture came into existence through the intellectual collaboration of Bill Mollison and David Holmgren. Mollison was the senior lecturer in Environmental Psychology at the University of Tasmania, and David Holmgren was one of his students. Their first sketch of a theory of permaculture was published in 1976 in an article for Tasmania's "Organic Farmer and Gardener" newsletter. It was titled "A Permaculture System for Southern Australian Conditions.

Permaculture One

In 1978, Holmgren and Mollison produced their first book on permaculture, titled "Permaculture One - a Perennial Agriculture for Human Settlements." The pair state in the book's introduction that permaculture may have a wide impact "as the time seems ripe for such a synthesis in a world of famine, poisons, erosion and fast-depleting energy." The year 1978 also saw the first permaculture magazine, initially called "Permaculture."

1980s Growth in Permaculture

The Alternative Economic Summit of Austrailia in 1984 introduced permaculture to economics. Also during the 1980s were the first and second international conferences in Australia, the first permaculture design course in Nepal, India and Zimbabwe and the third international conference in New Zealand. The decade also marked permaculture's first feature on Australian television: Two programs featuring Mollison were commissioned, one titled "In Grave Danger of Falling Food" and the other "A Permaculture Garden Makeover."

Holmgren's Publications

Holmgren published "Ten Years of Sustainable Living at Melliodora" in 1995. The book set out in detail a model for a small permacultural farm. In 2003, Holmgren published the book "Permcaulture - Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability," followed by a promotional speaking tour. The book re-evaluated the design principles of permaculture; the new principles laid out in the book are those most commonly used today. The book made Holmgren the most prominent global authority on permaculture.

Permaculture and the Mainstream

Permaculture is now an important part of the environmental mainstream in Australia, with permaculturalists on national television and writing for major publications. In Australia, there are now national accredited certificate courses in permaculture and permaculture design. Holmgren says that permaculture's popularity is due to its nature as "a design system for sustainable living and land use that's concerned both with the consumption and production side and that's based on universal ethics and design principles which can be applied in any context."

References

• Permaculture Information
• Pacific Edge: A short and incomplete history of permaculture