Permaculture: A Designers' Manual [Hardcover]

Bill Mollison (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1988 | ISBN-10: 0908228015 | ISBN-13: 978-0908228010

Permaculture (permanent agriculture) is the conscious design and maintenance of agriculturally productive ecosystems which have the diversity, stability, and resilience of natural ecosystems. It is the harmonious integration of landscape and people providing their food, energy, shelter, and other material and non-material needs in a sustainable way. Without permanent agriculture there is no possibility of a stable social order. Permaculture design is a system of assembling conceptual, material, and strategic components in a pattern which functions to benefit life in all its forms. The philosophy behind permaculture is one of working with, rather than against, nature; of protracted and thoughtful observation rather than protracted and thoughtless action; of looking at systems in all their functions rather than asking only one yield of them; and of allowing systems to demonstrate their own evolutions.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 576 pages
• Publisher: Tagari Publications (December 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0908228015
• ISBN-13: 978-0908228010
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 8.4 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #18,569 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #3 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Agricultural Sciences > Agronomy
  • #27 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Gardening & Landscape Design > Reference

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

112 of 113 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars An inspiring book! March 19, 1999

By [e-mail]

For those of us searching for an ecologically responsible lifestyle amid urban and suburban insanity, Bill Mollison has a real and exciting answer. This book is full of helpful advice presented in a very readable way. (The only problem might be getting stuck in the chapters on climates that don't concern you; just skip them until later!) The groundwork philosophy of permaculture is laid first, and the book moves from there to the practical business of actually designing one. The emphasis is on letting various plant and animal species work together as much as possible, to form a basically self-sustaining system from which people can reap a continual harvest, not only of food, but of interest and self-respect. What a prospect! It is certainly a very different one from what we young people have been taught to expect from life! This volume is much more complete in both the philosophy and the practice than were the original "Permaculture One" and "Permaculture Two." It is also much less focused on the Southern Hemisphere, which is helpful for North Americans trying to visualize their own permaculture. I can only hope that more people happen upon this book as I did and are themselves inspired to create a fulfilling life for themselves and their children.

104 of 105 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Text Book for Permaculture Design Course August 6, 2000

By Permaculture Institute & Tagari Publications

This is the definitive Permaculture design manual in print since 1988. It is the text book and curriculum for the 72-hour Certificate course in Permaculture Design. Written for teachers, students and designers, it follows on and greatly enlarges on the initial introductory texts, Permaculture One (1978) and Permaculture Two (1979) both of which are still in demand over twenty years after publication. Very little of the material found in this book is reproduced from the former texts. It covers design methodologies and strategies for both urban and rural applications describing property design and natural farming techniques. Topics include:

design methods,

understanding patterns in nature,

climatic factors,

water,

soils,

earthworks and their use in earth repair,

techniques and design strategies for both urban and rural applications,

the temperate climates,

dry lands,

cold climates,

humid cool climates,

humid tropics ,

trees and their energy transactions,

aqua-culture,

waste management,

energy efficient architecture,

legal strategies and trusts,

effective working groups,

right livelihood,

money and finance,

ethical investment.

bio-regional organisation,

effective aid.

116 of 121 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Getting it all together February 10, 2000

By GENE GERUE

Amazon Verified Purchase

Bill Mollison is an ecologist of the first rank. In 1981 he received the Right Livelihood Award--the Alternative Nobel Prize--for his work in environmental design. He and David Holmgren coined the word permaculture; Mollison has devoted his life to teaching the concept. Permaculture is humans working with, not against, nature. It's about causing land, water, plants and animals to synergistically cause multiple benefits and to improve an ecosystem simultaneously. It maximizes functional connections so that the many parts become a whole. To create permaculture design is to make the strongest possible statement of our eco-values, a resounding vote against current agribusiness practices. I have four of Mollison's books--this one has it all plus 129 color photos and a gazillion drawings by Andrew Jeeves. Here is complete knowledge to create your personal permaculture, a place to work and live in harmony with nature, a place that will nuture your body and your soul.