David Holmgren Continues to Grow the Permaculture Movement
David Holmgren is best known as the co-originator with Bill Mollison of the permaculture concept following the publication of Permaculture One in 1978. Since then he has developed three properties, consulted and supervised in urban and rural projects, and presented lectures, workshops and courses at a variety of events and venues in Australia and around the world. Holmgren’s writings over those three decades span a diversity of subjects and issues but always illuminate another aspect of permaculture thinking.
At home (Melliodora in Hepburn, Central Victoria), Holmgren is the vegetable gardener, silviculturalist and builder. Within the international and growing permaculture movement, he is respected for his commitment to presenting permaculture ideas through practical projects and teaching by example that a sustainable lifestyle is a realistic, attractive and powerful alternative to dependent consumerism.
In addition to his constant involvement in the practical side of permaculture, Holmgren is passionate about the philosophical and conceptual foundations for sustainability, which are the focus of his seminal book Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability. This book has influenced the development of Transition Initiatives around the world. More recently his Future Scenarios work has seen him recognized as a significant thinker about the “Energy Descent future.”
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Here are a few highlights from the interview with Holmgren:
- As the co-originator of the permaculture concept, he shares his definition of what permaculture is and what it is not.
- Highlights from his new book, RetroSuburbia: The Downshifter’s Guide to a Resilient Future.
- An unpacking of many economic ideas based around what Holmgren argues is the basic economic unit of society: the household.
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Transforming Suburbs: The Downshifter’s Guide to a Resilient Future was originally published in B the Change on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
