The Permaculture Earthworks Handbook: How to Design and Build Swales, Dams, Ponds, and other Water Harvesting Systems

by Douglas Barnes

Maximize your water harvesting potential with efficient, cost-effective earthworks

In the face of drought and desertification, well-designed, water harvesting earthworks such as swales, ponds, and dams are the most effective way to channel water into productive use. The result can be increased food production, higher groundwater levels, reduced irrigation needs, and enhanced ecosystem resilience.

Yet, due to a lack of knowledge, designers, and landowners often build earthworks that are costly, inappropriately sized and sited, or even dangerous. The Permaculture Earthworks Handbook is the first dedicated, detailed guide to the proper design and construction of water harvesting earthworks. It covers the function, design, and construction methods for nine main types of water harvesting earthworks across a full range of climates.

Coverage

Swales, ponds, dams, hugelkultur, net-and-pan systems, spate irrigation, and more Cost versus benefit of different earthworks Assessing site needs and suitability Soil types and hydrology Designing for maximum efficiency and lowest cost Risk assessment and safe construction Stacking functions and integrating earthworks into a design This practical handbook is the essential resource for permaculture designers, teachers and students, landowners, farmers, homesteaders, landscape architects, and others involved in maximizing the water harvesting potential of any landscape at the lowest cost and impact.

Douglas Barnes is a permaculture designer trained in Australia by Bill Mollison and Geoff Lawton. He has designed and built earthworks in North America, Japan, and Andra Pradesh, India. He lives in Tweed, Ontario in a passive solar house he designed and built, and he blogs at permaculturerelections.com.

Genres: Gardening, Nonfiction

195 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 1, 2017

Reviews

[Clivemichael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well described processes, good illustrations and thoughtful guide.

[Justin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author seem to know their stuff but does not give much detail in the areas I am most interested in. There are also very few pictures. It seems like you're better off watching a video series on the topic of your choice assuming one exists

[Joanne McKinnon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book for land stewards

If you are serious about on long term benefits to your environment, this book can guide you to make wiser decisions.

[Felicity Fields · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read a bit about water harvesting in other permaculture books, and this book is my first deeper dive into the practical how-tos of building earthworks to work with water on a property.

The book lives up to its "how-to" promise, so much so that at times I skipped ahead. I was reading for design principles and didn't need the step by step instructions on this read-through.

I did appreciate the section on the different earthworks equipment for hire and the detailed technical explanations of soil hydrology.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of my geekier reads of the year, but it taught me a lot about... earth. And dams. And landslides. And soil pores. And all the other nerdy stuff I only half understood. Still, this is a great guide for anyone looking to construct their own earthworks in a way that restores the land (or at least, doesn't harm it) while preserving human life. I'll have to come back to it if I am ever blessed with my own property to design.

[Gabriel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good introduction to the various forms of earthworks permaculturists leverage to deal with water on a site. Lots of good references for digging deeper and useful appendix that helps you calculate various useful metrics for your site.

[Joshua Morrow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good technical book, intermediate level read.