The journey so far... 44 YEARS OF PERMACULTURE
IT ALL BEGAN in a flat in South Yarra, Melbourne in 1977. Alice and I had recently married, had conventional jobs and lives, and restless spirits looking for . . . what?
One day ABC radio was playing in the background, and an interview came on with two academics from Tasmania talking about their new concept called permaculture. Was it the first time that word was on the ABC? On any program? David Holmgren and Bill Mollison changed our lives at that moment. We made a decision to escape the city and seek a self-sufficient lifestyle in the country. The word sustainability had yet to be coined!
We bought four hectares of bare, degraded south-facing farm land 80km NW of Melbourne in February 1978 (for about a year’s average salary!). We learned down the track that it was Wurundjeri country. We then began what is probably closes, we’re reflecting on our story with a few tips and observations for EG readers who might be setting out today. A few things have changed!
