Permaculture 2: Practical Design for Town and Country in Permanent Agriculture

by Bill Mollison

Permaculture Two delves deeper into the concept of "consciously designed agricultural systems." Author, Bill Mollison, describes new approaches and solutions that have evolved around the world. Ways in which plants can modify climate and many forms of pollution are discussed. Highly productive, low-energy systems, are made clear, in this fascinating book that offers some concrete solutions for saving Mother Earth.

"...If there is a single claim, that I could make, in order to distinguish Permaculture from other systems of agriculture, with the notable exception of keyline concepts, it is that Permaculture is primarily a consciously designed agricultural system ... a system that combines landscape design with perennial plants and animals to make a safe and sustainable resource for town and country. A truly appropriate technology giving high yields for low energy inputs, and using only human skill and intellect to achieve a stable resource of great complexity and stability."

"Permaculture Two is about design, not gardening or livestock per se but as elements in a system intended to serve man, and the ends of good ecology ... Good teachers have nothing to give but enthusiasm to learn; they cannot with the best will in the world, give their students knowledge. Thus it is ‘how’ to design, rather than designing your site which I am attempting here ..."

"... both individual and competitive enterprise, and ‘free’ energy have faiIed us. Society is in a mess; obesity in the west is balanced by famine in the third world. Petrol is running out yet freeways are still being built. Against such universal insanity the only response is to gather together a few friends and commence to build the alternative on a philosophy of individual responsibility for community survival.”

Contents
Design in Landscape
Soil Improvement
Broadscale Techniques
Design for Difficult Climates
Structures
Waterworks
Free Range Poultry Design
Permaculture and Community

Genres: Gardening, Nonfiction, Agriculture, Horticulture, Ecology, Reference, Plants

150 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1979

About the author

Founder and director of the Permaculture Institute, Bill was the most experienced Permaculture teacher and designe. He taught and developed projects from the Arctic through Sub-tropics and Equatorial regions of the planet. There are few countries left in the world where he has not personally planted the seeds of Permaculture. The Peoples of the Pacific, South East Asia, South Africa and seven Amazonian language groups have been inspired by and acted on his teachings, embracing Permaculture as a dynamic tool. He gave courses in the drylands and developed projects with Native Americans, Indigenous Australians, tribal women of the Deccan, Kalahari, San groups and Pima people of the Sonora. In the USA, Europe and Scandinavia, Bill lectured and helped to develop ecological designs for urban and rural properties, including many city-farms and CSA’s (Community Supported Agriculture).


Bill Mollison had been vitally concerned with the environment for over 40 years. His many roles included: scientist, naturalist and University professor. Later he became a vigorous campaigner against environmental exploitation which lead him to develop Permaculture as a positive solution.

Bill had devoted his energies towards designing sustainable systems, writing books and articles on Permaculture, and most importantly teaching.

Reviews

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an amazing resource from the seventies. It's also amazing that more of these proven techniques for saving energy through design and increasing the yields of any type of land have not been widely adopted in the last 40 years.

Compared to the first book, this one is much more designer friendly as well as readable. The downside for me is that he does not address temperate climates such as mine. That's OK though, it is truly more important for the people in arid climates to realize the massive potential they have for taking advantage of the positive elements of their environment and eliminating the negatives.

The other trick to reading this is to realize that he is designing in Australia and so when he is giving designs with a northern exposure, that would translate into a southern exposure here in the northern hemisphere. There are many ingenious designs for anyone with any size of property to develop.

I would also highly recommend watching his five part series on YouTube called "Global Gardener". This is a great introduction to the concept of permaculture and the breadth of its applications. There is actually a cold climate section to that series which I appreciated.

When you want more information find your nearest Permaculture Research Institute (PRI) resource.

We really could feed everybody on the planet, reverse desertification, and live less stressful and more fulfilling lives. Who wouldn't want that?

[Barb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting information but the specifics are more applicable to the arid climate of Australia where Mr Mollison hails from than our maritime climate.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Permaculture Two: Practical Design for Town and Country in Permanent Agriculture" has the form factor and feel of a workbook.

P2 (as I will abbreviate it) doesn't have the sheer scope and conceptual integration of "Permaulture: A Designers' Manual", but that lack makes it smaller and more manageable. The structure is similar: introduction and early forms of the design approaches, followed by general practices, then particular difficult situations and elements (including here structures, waterworks, and poultry), and finally ending on community and social concerns.

Some of the material is particular to Australia, but much of that could be adapted to other biomes and climates: you need schedules and lists like these, even if these aren't the right ones. There are perhaps too many lists made too sketchily, reading more like a catalog than prose, yet without the comprehensiveness to stand as a reference.

It is a touchstone along the way, written with urgency to get the information out to the surrounding community. Suggestions, hypothesis, conventional knowledge, and personal experience are all freely mixed. It's full of ideas that are still being worked out.

What is it's status these days? Is it useful in itself or more of a historical document, interesting to those concerned with how permauculture emerged but not for current practioners? My view is that it's still a solid supplement: it's not the introductory book, nor the reference, but indeed a kind of study guide, useful for seeing applications and different framings that enhance the main idea.

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I realize now that I am setting myself up for issues when I read permaculture books, because as much as I care about the principles, these are all bigger properties, where they are talking about things that I could not possibly incorporate here, and in Mollison's case focused on Australia with a totally different flora and fauna. However, for anyone with interest in engineering or architecture, or with a bigger property, there is a lot here. He is not the most fluid writer, and he comes off a bit grouchy, but there are reasons for that.

[Bettina Gies · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good in depth introduction to the concept of permaculture.