Fruitful brush with a father of permaculture
Holmgren’s philosophy lives on in Hobart home-shares, explains Carol Patterson
HE turned up one winter’s day in 1979 at our place in Arthur St, West Hobart, and stayed for six months: David Holmgren who, with Bill Mollison, had published Permaculture 1, A Perennial Agriculture for Human Settlements in 1978, to widespread acclaim.
The term permaculture was coined by David, and originally referred to permanent agriculture, but was expanded to stand also for permanent culture, integrating social aspects in a sustainable system of production. The focus was redesign of gardening, farming, animal husbandry and forestry through using the patterns and features in natural ecosystems.
Back then, five of us, Tony, Michael, Ian and Andrew and I, had scraped up a deposit on a house. It was an old, twostorey weatherboard rectory, on a north-facing quarter-acre block with large trees. We convinced the bank to lend us the cost of $40,000, although none of us had full-time jobs and two were full-time students. Our lawyer informed us of our purchase thus: “Dear Collective and Domestic contradiction Re: Commune — collective purchase I bring the following matters to the House Meeting: 1. Your foray into private ownership has been successful. 2. The system has received and acknowledged your documentation. 3. We have paid unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s. The State has not withered away. 4. I am enclosing herewith a Statement of my account and a Statement of monies received, ripped off and otherwise disposed of. I am writing this last sentence to avoid ending the letter with a preposition. Yours faithfully, P W Slicer.”
After our purchase, about a dozen groups of people, also looking for a way in to cheap housing, bought large old houses in the West and North Hobart areas. Like us, many were seeking an alternative lifestyle to the prevailing nuclear family model. Though we were beginner gardeners, with David’s design guidance, in no time we had garden beds overflowing with small fruit, tomatoes and seasonal vegetables. We found we needed a greenhouse, so Dave and Tony set up its construction as an Adult Education course: build your own greenhouse. The fee went to the purchase of materials and about a dozen participants turned up, resulting in a wonderful weekend building a very fine greenhouse with a chook house attached, with very satisfied participants. A year later, Tony and I and our toddler Gareth spent three months camping in southern NSW helping build Dave’s mother Venie’s off-grid mud brick house, with permaculture landscaped surrounds.
Permaculture, originating here in Tasmania, is now a worldwide movement just as apposite today as for our group of friends in 1979. Many of us share our houses with our families, because it is our children and grandchildren who are finding it impossible to afford to buy, or even rent. This is due to factors outside their control: the impossibility of saving a deposit as the housing bubble inflates prices; insecure casual and contract work; and low wages that have flatlined. Intergenerational family housing also supports ageing grandparents, reducing risk of social isolation, and for children who thrive in the extended family.
Government should seek to adapt restrictive building codes and regulations, while maintaining safety, to encourage this trend. Shared households is one way of housing the young, low waged and unemployed singles and families. As David promotes in Retrosuburbia, gardens supplement family food needs, reduce consumption and waste, and support the natural environment. It is a creative approach to addressing the shortage of affordable housing in our communities. Writer Dr Carol Patterson has conducted social research in education, health and aged care with the University of Tasmania and with local and interstate agencies. Her book State of the Heart and other stories will be published in early 2019.