A History from the Future eBook

Description

The retrosuburbian economy that is central to the story is already growing wherever folks are making incremental changes for the better, to their houses, gardens and lifestyles. In his upcoming book RetroSuburbia: A downshifters guide to a resilient future, he draws on his decades of experience of living and inspiring others to redesign their lives with permaculture and voluntary simplicity.

David Holmgren draws on his Future Scenarios work to paint a picture of how simple household and community level strategies can build resilience to the hard emerging realities of economic contraction, peak oil and climate change.

This edgy but inspiring story suggests we have lots of work to do now, to survive and thrive this, or a myriad of other possible local and global scenarios. This story shows one way the 21st century could play out in central Victoria. It is grounded in the possible and probable but gives hope for a prosperous way down. David Holmgren believes that what people do at home really can help shape the future for the better.

You can read an excerpt of the essay here.

A5 pdf file – 22 pages with colour pictures

David Holmgren is best known as the co-originator with Bill Mollison of the permaculture concept following the publication of Permaculture One in 1978. Within the growing and international permaculture movement, David is respected for his commitment to presenting permaculture ideas through practical projects and teaching by personal example, that a sustainable lifestyle is a realistic, attractive and powerful alternative to dependent consumerism. As well as constant involvement in the practical side of permaculture, David is passionate about the philosophical and conceptual foundations for sustainability, which he explored in Future Scenarios: How Communities Can Adapt to Peak Oil and Climate Change (2009), and Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability (2002). RetroSuburbia: the downshifter’s guide to a resilient future (2018) is his manual for practical action. With an increasingly high profile as a public speaker, David Holmgren provides leadership with his refreshing and unorthodox approach to the environmental issues of our time. David lives with his partner Su Dennett at “Melliodora”, a one-hectare (2.5 acre) permaculture demonstration site at Hepburn Springs, Central Victoria, Australia. Visit his web site at holmgren.com.au.