Permaculture is a design system for sustainable living and land use that is being applied to every aspect of life, but it is best known in its application to food production, at scales from the garden to the farm.

Many projects start with a champion: someone who believes enough in an idea to take those perilous early risks. In our community that was Natalie Meyer. She was the team leader and able to draw on the resources of the Nimbin Neighbourhood and Information Centre…

What is permaculture? Is it gardening, is it chooks and composting, or as one concerned Japanese mother put it ‘angry people growing vegetables’? It must be something more. How did two plant lovers in Tasmania create something that grew so big?

Grapevines hanging from the ceiling, trees growing inside, passionfruit within an arm’s reach of the bed – Anneke van Tholen’s greenhouse home takes the term living with nature literally.

Creator of the permaculture principles calendar and the permaculture principles symbols that are used throughout this magazine.

This year is International Year of the Family Farm, and two recent reports, from United Nations and European constituencies, make the case for a return of support for smallholder farmers.

The concept behind this work is to transform greenwaste into something useful by weaving a simple bowl. Random weaving is a traditional Japanese basketry technique used mostly for ikebana flower arrangements where the design evokes delicate birds’ nests. In this technique the material is simply…

An attached greenhouse is a great feature in any permaculture design because it serves so many functions and is a great way to integrate zone one and zone zero. Your greenhouse can become not only a growing space but also a living space.

Many wild plants are considered weeds in Australia, but their medicinal uses are powerful. They flourish in abundance, enabling people of all kinds to use simple and effective medicine while ‘weeding’ our landscapes.

Deep ecology has its origins in the ideas of Norwegian ecophilosopher Arne Næss. His ideas include the concept of Gaia: that this planet we live on is a living earth; that all living things are part of the web of life; and that we humans…

Castlemaine in Central Victoria has a long history of permaculture and it’s no accident that Growing Abundance (GA) emerged here. GA is a great example of people in a country town combining to grow and share sustainable food. Each element of GA performs many important…

I grew up on a city herb farm in Brisbane, my dad’s business. While I had heard about permaculture plenty of times, I first understood what it meant when I was eighteen and spent time with the Brookmans at the Food Forest, in South Australia….

Carly McMahon gives us the rundown on how to turn your clothing trash into funky treasure

In 1994 Robyn Francis acquired a compacted cow pasture to create permaculture’s first purpose-designed education centre and demonstration farm as a living learnscape of permaculture in practice. Djanbung Gardens has trained, inspired and empowered many thousands of students and visitors from around the world.

In 2011 the long established Permaculture International Ltd registered the business name Permaculture Australia (PA) to allow it to transition into the role of representing permaculture on a national level. PA is already operating as a national body in three ways:

Robin Clayfield has just released the third edition of this book. The information is drawn from years of experience in gardening, cooking, design, research, teaching and creating. This is a tome of information, covering everything from permaculture principles and ethics, through hands-on practical gardening advice,…

Wild, abundant, full of wildlife. Some parts neat, lots messy! Always jobs to do – subtropical, so heaps of biomass to turn into compost. Alive. Quiet spots to sit, with garden sculptures and installations. A heaven for people and animals to rest and be in….

I am so happy that you are holding this magazine in your hands and reading it. It has been a long time in the making, growing from pip to peach, and here it is present in the world, sitting in your hands.

This year is International Year of the Family Farm, and two recent reports, from United Nations and European constituencies, make the case for a return of support for smallholder farmers.

Food forests are production systems that try to mimic nature. Rather than growing trees in grass, we aim for a variety of plants of different shapes and sizes among the trees. Like natural forests, food forests include layers from the ground up. By selecting plants…

Permaculture design is about solving whatever real problems people have. My clients are mostly mainstreamers, so their problems aren’t of a vegetable nature. They are; ‘My children don’t listen to me’, ‘I’m always rushed’, ‘Life is such a chore’. If good design creates cared-for, surplus-sharing…

We live in an old weatherboard, painted pale turquoise. The whole garden is full of fruit trees, edible vines, currants, berries, vegetables and flowers. When we’re in the front yard, people walking by often stop to tell us how much they like it.

Shiitake mushrooms are the yummiest variety, in my opinion. They’re also the most expensive in the shops, and it’s virtually impossible to find organic ones, at least where we live. Solution: grow your own.

I am a sustainable building designer, with clients Australia wide. In my work I express commitment to simplicity, beauty and sustainability, underpinned by core values of permaculture. With clients, I prioritise passive solar design, use of local and recycled materials, and minimum ecological footprints with…

When visiting the Autumn Farm property it’s hard not to feel like you’re in a 1992 SBS screening of a foreign film, set in the heart of a family-run farm, breathing in the warmth of the grass and feeling the rays of the sun on…

I assist in the running of Food Connect, a business based in Brisbane which turns its back on the supermarket system, brings farmers together and distributes what they grow straight to families (see www.foodconnect.com.au). The business model has branched out to most Australian cities.

I think that if any of the readers of this magazine were asked if they ate local food most would say ‘yes, I shop at the local farmers’ market, grow my own vegies, swap with friends and support local businesses’. I would have said the…

I could not believe how easy this is to make. Now I never buy ricotta, it just doesn’t compare to what I make at home. This is best made with whey (a by-product of cheese production) but failing that use full cream un-homogenised milk.

I’ve spent the last seven years wandering the world, teaching people from all walks of life how to use plants to dye cloth. I didn’t carry dye materials between countries because most plants yield some kind of colour and it’s better to investigate local species…

Decide what size and shape you’d like your flags.