Science fiction influenced my thinking as a youth, especially stories that featured ecological limits (eg Dune and The Dispossessed). In the early 1970s, the modelling of the Club of Rome “Limits to Growth” report provided a context for the conception of permaculture – an ecological, creative and humane response to the Limits to Growth facing […]
You have a small block of land and you’d like to learn how you can live more sustainably. You live on a farm with chickens and an orchard and you’re interested in seeing how you can integrate permaculture design principles. You rent an inner-city apartment and you’re keen to see how you can live […]
The divide between the haves and the have nots has been highlighted by the impacts of the pandemic.[1] For those able to work online with a spacious and secure home base, and some financial resources to ride out the pandemic, life has mostly been tolerable. Consumption has continued online with delivery to the door. For […]
In partnership with Rabbit: a journal for nonfiction poetry we are thrilled to announce the launch of the 2020 Venie Holmgren Environmental Poetry Prize. Major prize: AUD$1000 All entries must be received by 11.59 pm EST, Monday July 20 2020.The winner will be announced in an online presentation on Sunday August 9 2020.The judges for […]
RetroSuburbia Online Permaculture: Innovation in Digital Publishing The behind the scenes thinking Our launch of RetroSuburbia: the downshifter’s guide to a resilient future as a “pay what you feel” online flip-book in response to the COVID-19 health and economic crisis has galvanised enthusiasm in permaculture and kindred circles. However, it has also raised some questions, […]
Yes, it’s true! Permaculture co-originator David Holmgren is launching an online version of his bestselling book, RetroSuburbia: The Downshifter’s Guide To a Resilient Future. About the launch RetroSuburbia: The Downshifter’s Guide To a Resilient Future is a book for this moment in history. Permaculture co-originator, David Holmgren and the team at Melliodora Publishing have decided, […]
As the COVID-19 pandemic first exploded across our globalised world, I found myself unsure of priorities in this time of pivotal change, even though I had been tracking information about Wuhan since January. Not because I didn’t know that a global pandemic of this scale was on the cards, or that it could overwhelm the […]
This is an extract from my book RetroSuburbia: the downshifter’s guide to a resilient future, a 550 page richly illustrated manual that has become a best seller since its publication in February 2018. The production and availability of this extract as a free and sharable download is part of our response the Australian bushfire crisis […]
In November 2019, David gave a video keynote address at Talk, Talk, Talk, which was part of the Lisbon Architecture Triennale in Portugal. The theme for the event was Agriculture and Architecture: Taking the Country’s Side. The other invited presenters were Carolyn Steel, Colin Moorcraft and Joëlle Zask and the event moderator was Sébastien Marot. […]
In this thoughtfully written document, David Holmgren, co-originator of the permaculture concept outlines that while devastating, the recent Australian bushfires provide an opportunity to come to terms with both the legacies of colonisation and the unfolding climate emergency in ways that empower bottom up householder and community level resilience. Here is the Executive Summary to […]
