Permaculture
Writings
Featured Writings
Writings by David Holmgren
Published 2 months ago
It is with great sadness that I acknowledge the death of a man who has perhaps done more than anyone else...
Writings by David Holmgren
Published 11 months ago
In this final chapter of the climate series, David Holmgren asks us to accept uncertainty and be open to divergent approaches....
- Part of: Climate Series
Writings by David Holmgren
Published 12 months ago
David believes that society needs radical transformation toward frugality and resilience- and solutions must come from grassroots sources, not governments...
- Part of: Climate Series
Writings by David Holmgren
Published 1 year ago
David shares his views on rural resistance to renewables, EMRs and the shift in values of the Greens....
- Part of: Climate Series
Writings by David Holmgren
Published 1 year ago
The renewable energy transition faces substantial obstacles from geopolitics & resource constraints, while scientific debate about these issues is being suppressed....
- Part of: Climate Series
Writings by David Holmgren
Published 1 year ago
A lifelong dissident, David Holmgren sees bureaucracy as a huge roadblock to achieving grounded climate solutions....
- Part of: Climate Series
By Year
By Topic
2025
Part Sixteen: Returning to the Roots
David Holmgren November 6 2025
Part Fifteen: Collapsology, Disaster Capitalism, and Other Rabbit Holes
David Holmgren October 23 2025
Part Fourteen: All Electric Mania, Airwaves Pollution and Green Political Degeneration
David Holmgren October 9 2025
Part Thirteen: Renewable Tech Obstacles and the Woke Revolution
David Holmgren September 26 2025
Fire in Our Hearts – Report Introduction
David Holmgren September 16 2025
Part Twelve: Bushfire, Covid and Disaster Capitalism
David Holmgren September 11 2025
Part Eleven: Permaculture Activism
David Holmgren August 28 2025
Part Ten: RetroSuburbia in Action
David Holmgren August 5 2025
Part Nine: A way around the climate commons tragedy
David Holmgren July 31 2025
Part Eight: Digging in for the Long Haul
David Holmgren July 17 2025
Part Seven: Modelling mitigation and the rise of adaptation
David Holmgren July 3 2025
Part Six: Peak Oil and Climate: two faces of Energy Descent Janus
David Holmgren June 17 2025
Part Five: Climate communication and earthworks for the future
David Holmgren June 5 2025
Part Four: Becoming Rooted to Place
David Holmgren May 22 2025
Part Three: Fire, Water, Trees & Houses
David Holmgren May 8 2025
Part Two: Life in the Weather
David Holmgren April 22 2025
Trump’s Tariffs: madness or medicine?
David Holmgren April 22 2025
Permaculture: weathering 50 years of climate change
David Holmgren April 10 2025
The Los Angeles fires: climate emergency, public policy and community preparedness failures
David Holmgren January 31 2025
The Garden: Visionary Growers and Farmers of the Counterculture by Matthew Ingram
MegU January 25 2025
2024
Saving Warners Track: Jackeys Marsh Forest Festival Aftermath 1983
David Holmgren September 24 2024
Fresh Ways to Think About our Environment
David Holmgren August 18 2024
A table of many stories
David Holmgren August 7 2024
Where did all the wombats go?
David Holmgren May 23 2024
Koalas: A Conservation Conundrum
David Holmgren May 7 2024
Vale Joan Webster OAM
David Holmgren March 29 2024
Shades of Green: Finding a middle path through the Forest
David Holmgren February 29 2024
2023
Vale Dave Griffiths: Central Victorian pioneer tree planter
David Holmgren November 28 2023
Vale Ross Mars: Persistent Permaculture
David Holmgren November 14 2023
Dictator Dave’s National Water Plan, and more modest musings
David Holmgren September 14 2023
Phil Gall: Permaculture Pioneer
David Holmgren May 16 2023
Covid through a permaculture lens
David Holmgren April 18 2023
Genetically Engineered Armageddon: a tale of two realities
David Holmgren April 6 2023
Is wood smoke the new evil?
David Holmgren March 7 2023
Fusion Futures
David Holmgren January 12 2023
2022
Flood Landscapes Revisited October 2022
David Holmgren October 25 2022
Remembering Dan Palmer
David Holmgren August 11 2022
2021
A review of three books: Futuresteading, The Good Life and Costa’s World
David Holmgren December 7 2021
Protesting Permaculture: the last five weeks and the last five decades
David Holmgren November 27 2021
Autonomy and Solidarity in a Covid mad world
David Holmgren November 25 2021
Pandemic Brooding: Brown Tech in New Clothing
David Holmgren October 1 2021
Pandemic Brooding: Can the Permaculture movement survive the first severe test of the energy descent future?
David Holmgren September 11 2021
The Politics of Permaculture by Terry Leahy
David Holmgren August 22 2021
How Everything Can Collapse: A Manual for Our Times
David Holmgren February 9 2021
The Problem is the Solution: but solutions can turn back into (the same old) problems
David Holmgren January 24 2021
2020
That Mulberry Tree
David Holmgren November 3 2020
Stephen emails David: a collaboration
MegU October 20 2020
RetroSuburbia Roadmap
David Holmgren September 24 2020
RetroSuburbia, Energy Descent, Degrowth and TEQs
David Holmgren September 8 2020
The Class Divide in a Time of Pandemic: a Permaculture Perspective
David Holmgren May 12 2020
The Problem is the Solution: how permaculture-designed household isolation can lead to RetroSuburbia
David Holmgren March 31 2020
RetroSuburbia Bushfire Resilience Extract
David Holmgren February 13 2020
Bushfire Resilient Land and Climate Care
David Holmgren February 4 2020
2019
The Apology: from baby boomers to the handicapped generations
David Holmgren March 14 2019
Reflections on fire – February 2019
David Holmgren February 21 2019
The wind where the willows were
David Holmgren January 15 2019
2018
RetroSuburbia Rollout
David Holmgren November 6 2018
Degrowth in the Suburbs: A Radical Urban Imaginary
David Holmgren October 25 2018
Foreword to Degrowth in the Suburbs: A Radical Urban Imaginary
David Holmgren October 25 2018
Permaculture, Collected Writings and Julian Assange
David Holmgren August 30 2018
Is David Holmgren on Facebook?
David Holmgren June 21 2018
David reviews Heartwood by Rowan Reid
David Holmgren May 8 2018
The Melbourne Model
David Holmgren April 23 2018
2017
Feeding RetroSuburbia
David Holmgren September 24 2017
Vale Rod May
David Holmgren May 30 2017
Futures framework for RetroSuburbia: limits to growth, energy futures and energy descent scenarios
David Holmgren May 12 2017
2016
Vale Toby Hemenway
David Holmgren December 23 2016
Keith Roby Memorial Lecture
MegU November 16 2016
A Short Personal and Global History of Retrofitting the Suburbs
David Holmgren November 8 2016
A History from the Future
David Holmgren September 2 2016
2015
Beyond the WAR on invasive species
David Holmgren August 11 2015
2014
Vale Vries Gravestein
David Holmgren October 30 2014
Permaculture Activism and the Future
David Holmgren October 24 2014
Reverence for the bunya bunya
David Holmgren May 19 2014
Food for thought, security and sovereignty
David Holmgren March 29 2014
Crash on Demand: interviews and a summary
Maureen February 10 2014
Crash on Demand, the discussion so far
Maureen February 6 2014
2013
Crash on Demand: Welcome to the Brown Tech Future
David Holmgren December 12 2013
Bushfire (Wildfire) from a permaculture perspective
David Holmgren October 22 2013
Vale Errol Mutch
David Holmgren October 16 2013
Permaculture Pocket Knives
David Holmgren October 2 2013
Monet’s Garden at Melliodora
David Holmgren August 11 2013
Household economy counts (full text)
David Holmgren August 2 2013
Retrofitting the suburbs for Sustainability
David Holmgren June 24 2013
Why I haven’t been flying (much)
David Holmgren May 16 2013
2012
A chance meeting
David Holmgren January 22 2012
Personal Histories
David Holmgren January 15 2012
2011
An Energy Descent Action Plan
David Holmgren October 26 2011
Weeds or Wild Nature: A Permaculture Perspective
David Holmgren April 1 2011
Press Release: Urgent need to recreate flood resilient rivers and floodplains
David Holmgren January 12 2011
Bee keeping for the energy descent future
David Holmgren January 3 2011
2010
Aphorisms for Permaculture activists, APC10
David Holmgren September 13 2010
Money vs Fossil Energy: The battle for control of the world
David Holmgren June 21 2010
2009
Bushfire Resilient Communities and Landscapes
David Holmgren July 1 2009
2005
Garden Agriculture: A revolution in efficient water use
David Holmgren December 1 2005
Firewood: Sustainable and appropriate energy source
David Holmgren January 19 2005
Retrofitting the suburbs for sustainability
David Holmgren January 1 2005
2004
Invasion Biology: Critique of a pseudoscience
David Holmgren August 1 2004
Permaculture in Japan: Foreign import or indigenous design?
David Holmgren June 1 2004
2003
Permaculture: Integrating theory and practice
David Holmgren November 1 2003
Biomass fuels from sustainable land use: A Permaculture perspective
David Holmgren November 1 2003
Compost toilets and Permaculture design principles
David Holmgren September 1 2003
What is sustainability?
David Holmgren July 1 2003
Do we need nature?
David Holmgren June 1 2003
2001
Upper Spring Creek restoration project management report
David Holmgren July 1 2001
1997
Weeds or wild nature?
David Holmgren February 1 1997
Filter Writings by Topic
All Bushfire Energy descent Land management Obituaries Permaculture history Permaculture living Permaculture musings Political & social Publishing RetroSuburbia Reviews Suburban resilience
Part Sixteen: Returning to the Roots
November 6 2025
Part Thirteen: Renewable Tech Obstacles and the Woke Revolution
September 26 2025
Fire in Our Hearts – Report Introduction
September 16 2025
Part Twelve: Bushfire, Covid and Disaster Capitalism
September 11 2025
Part Eleven: Permaculture Activism
August 28 2025
Part Ten: RetroSuburbia in Action
August 5 2025
Part Nine: A way around the climate commons tragedy
July 31 2025
Part Eight: Digging in for the Long Haul
July 17 2025
Part Six: Peak Oil and Climate: two faces of…
June 17 2025
Part Four: Becoming Rooted to Place
May 22 2025
Part Three: Fire, Water, Trees & Houses
May 8 2025
Part Two: Life in the Weather
April 22 2025
Trump’s Tariffs: madness or medicine?
April 22 2025
Permaculture: weathering 50 years of climate change
April 10 2025
The Los Angeles fires: climate emergency, public policy and…
January 31 2025
The Garden: Visionary Growers and Farmers of the Counterculture…
January 25 2025
Saving Warners Track: Jackeys Marsh Forest Festival Aftermath 1983
September 24 2024
Fresh Ways to Think About our Environment
August 18 2024
A table of many stories
August 7 2024
Where did all the wombats go?
May 23 2024
Koalas: A Conservation Conundrum
May 7 2024
Vale Joan Webster OAM
March 29 2024
Shades of Green: Finding a middle path through the…
February 29 2024
Vale Dave Griffiths: Central Victorian pioneer tree planter
November 28 2023
Vale Ross Mars: Persistent Permaculture
November 14 2023
Dictator Dave’s National Water Plan, and more modest musings
September 14 2023
Phil Gall: Permaculture Pioneer
May 16 2023
Covid through a permaculture lens
April 18 2023
Is wood smoke the new evil?
March 7 2023
Fusion Futures
January 12 2023
Flood Landscapes Revisited October 2022
October 25 2022
Remembering Dan Palmer
August 11 2022
A review of three books: Futuresteading, The Good Life…
December 7 2021
Protesting Permaculture: the last five weeks and the last…
November 27 2021
Autonomy and Solidarity in a Covid mad world
November 25 2021
Pandemic Brooding: Brown Tech in New Clothing
October 1 2021
Pandemic Brooding: Can the Permaculture movement survive the first…
September 11 2021
The Politics of Permaculture by Terry Leahy
August 22 2021
How Everything Can Collapse: A Manual for Our Times
February 9 2021
The Problem is the Solution: but solutions can turn…
January 24 2021
That Mulberry Tree
November 3 2020
Stephen emails David: a collaboration
October 20 2020
RetroSuburbia Roadmap
September 24 2020
RetroSuburbia, Energy Descent, Degrowth and TEQs
September 8 2020
The Class Divide in a Time of Pandemic: a…
May 12 2020
RetroSuburbia Bushfire Resilience Extract
February 13 2020
Bushfire Resilient Land and Climate Care
February 4 2020
Reflections on fire – February 2019
February 21 2019
The wind where the willows were
January 15 2019
RetroSuburbia Rollout
November 6 2018
Degrowth in the Suburbs: A Radical Urban Imaginary
October 25 2018
Foreword to Degrowth in the Suburbs: A Radical Urban…
October 25 2018
More Writings
Vale Dave Griffiths: Central Victorian pioneer tree planter
David Holmgren November 28 2023
Back in the 1980s when fellow permaculture enthusiasts were beginning to try their hand at design consultancy, I would mention some of the substantial impediments with the analogy of imagining how architects would work if there was nobody skilled in all the different building trades.
RetroSuburbia Rollout
David Holmgren November 6 2018
Retrosuburbia is more than just a book – it is a wholehearted celebration of empowered do-it-yourself and do-it-ourselves culture. With the book now into its second print run, the retrosuburbia team is focusing on complementary ways of getting the ideas out there: we are calling this the ‘Retrosuburbia Rollout’.
A review of three books: Futuresteading, The Good Life and Costa’s World
David Holmgren December 7 2021
It’s not often I comment on the constant flow of new books about green lifestyle, growing and wellbeing but three recently released titles had me thinking about the issue of communicating the good news to inspire and motivate people to adopt and adapt ideas for more resilient and low impact living.
