United States
£ GBP
Have you read a little about permaculture, watched a few videos, or done an introductory course? Are you excited about the subject but unclear how to put it into practice for yourself? Permaculture Design: A Step-by-Step Guide is just what you need! In this unique, full colour guide, experienced permaculture teacher Aranya leads you through the design process from beginning to end, using clear explanations, flowcharts and diagrams. Whether designing a garden or farm, the steps offered help you identify how to create a more abundant, resilient landscape in your own specific situation. Permaculture Design: A Step-by-Step Guide is based on course worksheets which have been designed, refined and tested on students over time. Linking theory to practice, Aranya places the ethics, principles, philosophies, tools and techniques directly into the context of the process itself. While written for anyone with a basic grasp of permaculture, this book also has plenty to offer the more experienced designer. This guide covers; systems and patterns, land and non-land based design, site surveying and map making, project management, placement and integration, amongst many other topics. Please note that this book has been designed to be compact and easy to carry around as a reference. For this reason it focuses on the design process itself rather than duplicating the lists of plants and techniques already available in many other permaculture books.
Aranya has been experimenting with what permaculture can do since his design course epiphany in 1996. In the years that followed he designed a collection of gardens, along with a few other non-land-based designs, writing them all up to gain his Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design 2003. Since that time he's followed a teaching pathway, that now involves delivering on average ten two-week design courses a year. Along the way, he's met many amazing people that give him hope for the future and who in no small way have influenced the content of this guide. Aranya is also a long-term barefooter, certain that this helps him be more aware of nature, stay grounded and walk lightly on the Earth. He is the author of Permaculture Design: A Step-by-Step Guide.
"For most people, taking the permaculture design course is a major life event. It opens the door on a new way of looking at the world, a new way of being in the world. It affects you on so many levels that, however well you took notes, inevitably some of what you learnt passes you by. That's why Aranya wrote this book: so that people could go away from the design courses he teaches and have a reference to the design methods he's taught them. In effect it's a toolbox of permaculture design methods. So this book provides two useful functions. Its a useful primer to prepare you for the major life event that is a permaculture design course, giving you many insights into applying the design process. And if you've already done the course, it will consolidate and reinforce the many design skills you've learned, enabling you to put permaculture into practice on the ground."
– Patrick Whitefield, author, teacher and permaculture consultant
"The best designed detailed permaculture book I've got – I particularly enjoy the physical design and layout and I am starting to understand why things I've done before have not always worked (particularly around mapping!). The fact it is portable is so important to me as the time that I get to read books is normally when I'm travelling. Great it's not repeating much of the information covered in other core texts too."
– Lusi Alderslowe, apprentice teacher and diploma tutor
"I really enjoyed the read and know the advice will help me to clarify ideas and communicate designs as I put the designs online. Love the advice on slowing down, I've classically rushed a few times and the results both led to learning and act as reminders!"
– Nick Waitz, teacher
