[Scpg] David Holmgren's preaching a green gospel August 5, 2009

Wed Aug 5 07:49:35 PDT 2009

David's preaching a green gospel
Sarah Hudson
August 5, 2009

http://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/article/2009/08/05/100145_country-living.html
VISIT Daylesford and you might meet a giant of the green movement, 
writes SARAH HUDSON
He is a prophet to many, with a world-wide following.
To others, he is an idealistic hippy, verging on the leader of a green cult.
But in Daylesford, he's just the bloke next door.
When David Holmgren co-created the permaculture movement in the 
1970s, he never could have predicted the impact that his approach, 
which focuses on environmentally-sustainable self-reliance, would 
have on the globe.
"I've always played it pretty low key around here," says David, who 
has lived in Daylesford since the 1980s.
"I might have a certain status in a particular network, but in a 
rural community everyone sees you as just another bloke. I was a 
blow-in to the older residents."
Clearly, though, there is nothing average about David, with his 
creation more important now than ever.
For three decades he has preached the gospel of caring for the earth, 
from the importance of a self-sufficient home vegie patch and 
community connectedness, to the dangers of climate change, 
diminishing natural resources and peak oil, the need for renewable 
energy, and the effect of all this on the global economy.
In this way, permaculture has come to mean both an ecological design 
system and a loose lifestyle ethic.
"Although there's a mixed understanding of permaculture, it does make 
a big claim: it is still the best framework out there for dealing 
with unfolding global issues, from climate change to the economic 
crisis," he says.
"Permaculture has stood the test of time. It is alive and evolving, 
it's not fixed.
"The fact is when you live a self-reliant lifestyle you are doing the 
biggest and best thing to reduce your impact on the globe."
And apparently global citizens have been listening.
The book that started the movement, written by David and co-founder 
Bill Mollison - Permaculture One, published in 1978 - has been 
translated into six languages.
The eighth international permaculture conference was held in Brazil 
in 2007. The next will be in Africa, this year.
Zimbabwe has 60 schools designed using permaculture, while the system 
was used to redevelop Indonesian towns devastated by the 2004 tsunami.
 From Thailand to Cyprus, France to the United Kingdom, permaculture 
communities have flourished.
The word permaculture even exists in the Macquarie Dictionary.
"In many ways permaculture is much more extensive in other countries 
than it is here. The US and UK are the biggest, and Brazil and India 
have a lot," David says. "But in Australia more than anywhere else, 
permaculture has spread broadly into society.
"Here it is an agent of positive influence that's not necessarily 
labelled permaculture, but it's seen in everything from city farms 
and community gardens to Landcare and eco-villages."
As for his own involvement in the movement, he describes it as 
"ambiguous". "Even though I was the co-creator of the concept, in the 
earlier years I didn't have a lot to do with its spread," he says.
"Today I am just one of many permaculture elders who might be seen to 
represent permaculture. Its organisational structures were always 
loose, more of a network than an organisation."
David grew up in suburban Perth and says from the outset he was 
free-thinking. "My parents were politically radical. They taught me 
to question what I was told," he says.
After finishing school he travelled around Australia and ended up in 
Hobart, attracted by an environmental design course that had no fixed 
curriculum or timetable.
It was here he met Bill Mollison, whom he credits as being the 
charismatic driving force behind the permaculture movement.
After penning Permaculture One, David was largely involved with the 
development of small-scale permaculture projects around Australia, 
including his own home in Daylesford.
He has since divided his time between public speaking, his 
consultancy firm and extensive writing.
In 2002 he published the successful Permaculture: Principles and 
Pathways Beyond Sustainability and has published numerous e-books on 
the internet, including Future Scenarios: Mapping the Cultural 
Implications of Peak Oil and Climate Change, set to be published in 
the US later this year and being launched in Daylesford on August 9.
Among his many current projects is a survey of local food producers - 
as part of his Hepburn Relocalisation Network - which aims to promote 
the area's produce.
David says the movement has had its share of detractors, adding that 
he is often its chief critic.
"I'm always wanting to break down the movement's dogma, trying to get 
away from the toolkit approach - that it's only about passive solar, 
chook sheds and sheet mulching.
"Permaculture is a design system that encourages a deeper level of 
thinking to apply to any situation.''
Given that he's been preaching for three decades on the growing 
urgency of humanity's unsustainable consumption, is he optimistic 
about the future?
"I think it's a mix of optimism and pessimism.

"Permaculture has always been informed by a dire view of the state of 
the world.
"But it's always been focused on what you can do about it.
"I think recent events are providing an opportunity for people to see 
what is important, that relationships with people and a sense of 
connectedness with the community is more vital than possessions and 
consumption.''

	*	CHECKLIST
	*	Future Scenarios will be launched at the Daylesford 
Inn, Ballan Road, Daylesford on August 9. Monthly tours of David's 
home will begin on September 6. For details of all events, visit 
holmgren.com.au Farmers interested in the Hepburn Relocalisation 
Network survey can email HRN at holmgren.com.au

Weekly Times is not responsible for the content of external sites.

Driving force: David Holmgren describes himself as an elder of the 
permaculture movement. Pictures: Zoe Phillips

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