Chapter 1

In search of meaning

The origins of

Permaculture

The System Evolves

Permaculture was, and is, a good idea. But many good ideas have flowered and died. Why has this system not died, but vastly expanded? Essentially, any idea has to be let loose in society, and if it can be actively taught, then it is clearly explained and available to many people. From 1975-1985, I gave dozens of seminars and lectures on the subject. We had a text (Permaculture One) by 1978, and it sold well, and I spoke at many ‘alternative’ conferences, so there was solid ground support; no place was too obscure for me to visit, and I even attended house meetings in Melbourne; almost private seminars for as few as a dozen people.

Very early on, people asked for designs for properties, a request which at first terrified me, and although I drew them up, I did not charge for them; one of my earliest (I think first) was for friends Gil and Meredith Freeman, in Thornbury, Melbourne. This evolved over many years, and lives today. We outlined it in 1975. By 1978, I had helped the Maryborough Council develop sewage lagoons, incorporating plants and wildlife, and at that time also designed for properties throughout rural Victoria. I regarded this period as my own field training, and my designs were either free, or cost the amazing sum of $300, plus a share of travel costs.