This piece was first published as an opinion piece in Water, Vol 32, No 8 December 2005, the Journal of the Australian Water Association.
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The Problem is the Solution: but solutions can turn back into (the same old) problems
David Holmgren
January 24 2021
In the early years of promoting permaculture to food gardeners, Bill Mollison used to quip, “you don’t have a snail problem, you have a duck deficiency”. Mollison’s penchant for changing the perspective on a known problem, and identifying how it might represent an unacknowledged resource, reflects ecological thinking: identifying empty niches that can be filled to make gardens or any other (eco)system more resilient and productive. Often the perceived problem can be interpreted as a message from nature – nature’s first step in correcting imbalances.
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