Can we turn our modern suburbs into productive powerhouses?
In this exclusive live session, David Holmgren, the co-originator of permaculture, reveals how to transform any living space—from high-rise apartments to suburban blocks—into a resilient, high-yielding ecosystem. Drawing on 40+ years of practical experience at Melliodora, David breaks down the RetroSuburbia framework for a future of energy descent.
Topics covered:
🌿 The RetroSuburbia Strategy: Why the suburbs are the best place to survive and thrive.
🌿 Passive Water Harvesting: How to stop “wasting” rain and start using it.
🌿 Soil Building 101: Turning dead dirt into a nutrient-dense foundation.
🌿 Integrated Systems: Managing productive gardens and small livestock in small spaces.
🌿 Resilience Tactics: Practical low-carbon living for the modern household.
You can watch David’s presentation in its entirety here:
2 thoughts on “David Holmgren: 40 Years of Permaculture Wisdom – Dr. Elaine’s Soil Food Web School”
That was brilliant. We are doing a pilot in Innisfail with some tech around technical waste management for the circular economy but getting the community to think communal through Retrosuburbia is something I hadn’t really dug into deeply but this is just perfect. They have a phenomenal permaculture community garden and the council is very green focused so this is an incredible plus to the community projects we can put on the table.
Sounds good