The Permaculture Promise

What Permaculture Is and How It Can Help Us Reverse Climate Change, Build a More Resilient Future on Earth, and Revitalize Our Communities

Jono Neiger, Storey Publishing Softcover $16.95 (160pp), 978-1-61212-427-8

Featuring excellent photography and covering a broad range of subtopics within its genre, this book represents inspirational environmentalism at its best.

Permaculture is a practice that emphasizes not just sustainability but actual regeneration and active support of the environment. Using examples drawn from real life, with accompanying color photographs, this collection of brief essays outlines what permaculture is, how it may be practiced, and what good it does for humans and nature alike. A quick read, The Permaculture Promise covers a surprising amount of ground, from food production strategies to growing a socially healthy community.

However, it is a rough sketch at best, a philosophical outline of permaculture rather than an intensive handbook. While it does offer a few specific pieces of practical advice, such as a type of fish that thrives together with a certain species of plant or a certain cold-hardy pear variety, the book does not offer implementation strategies. The author has a way of making the projects herein sound fairly straightforward; for example, aquaculture, the practice of raising fish and vegetables symbiotically, seems simple when described as a system where fish waste and water irrigate and fertilize plants. However, practical utilization of these strategies seems likely to be fairly complex and may require consultation with professionals. This book succeeds best at presenting a bird’s-eye view of permaculture. It actively makes permaculture look beautiful, effective, and possible for the average person or community. Resources listed at the back of the book will allow those who find themselves inspired to continue their journey to permaculture.

The Permaculture Promise is a beautifully designed and highly readable book that is most likely to appeal to a younger adult audience. Activists looking for an entry point into more active sustainability practices or into eco-friendly farming, as well as farmers who are interested in engaging in permaculture, would do well to start here.