Permaculture in a Nutshell: 1 - Softcover

Patrick Whitefield

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1856230031 ISBN 13: 9781856230032

Publisher: Permanent Publications, 2012

Synopsis

Permaculture is a creative approach to abundant and fulfilling lifestyles. It is for everyone wishing to live sustainably and tread more lightly on the Earth, and provides an ecologically sound approach to providing for our needs, including our food, shelter and financial and social structures. It is based on co-operating with nature and caring for the Earth and its people.

Permaculture in a Nutshell is a concise and accessible introduction to the principles and practices of permaculture in temperate climates. It covers how permaculture works in the city, the country and on the farm and explores ways in which people can work together to recreate real communities. This inspiring book clearly describes how we can live fruitfully and sustainably, and is essential reading for anyone wishing to reduce their environmental impact.

This hugely popular publication is now in its 9th edition. Small and concise, Permaculture in a Nutshell gives a grounding in permaculture, after which you can either move on to more detailed reads suggested at the end of the book, or run off to get started in your permaculture practice!

About this title

Review

This excellent little book serves as a very good introduction to the subject, covering all the basic elements of the subject, as well as illustrating it with examples more relevant to this climate than many of the Australian books. It is an excellent little book to give to people who know nothing about permaculture. It is beautifully illustrated and is the only permaculture book that you can fit in your back pocket (if you have large back pockets). --Rob Hopkins, Co-founder of the Transition Movement

After a short but compelling introduction to the key issues, the bulk of the book is divided into explorations of the subjects which most people will be keen to learn about: 'In The City', 'In The Garden', 'On The Farm' and 'In The Community'. Permaculture In A Nutshell gives plenty of useful ideas on urban solutions. Perhaps best of all, this book makes you want to act. Clearly written, full of easily applied suggestions and complete with a section giving details on further reading and useful contacts, this book should be required reading for all budding permaculturists. --Rob Weston, Permaculture magazine

Though this book is less than a hundred pages long, it has enough detail to get you started on some serious practical projects. The information on making a mulch bed transformed my stony, un-diggable back yard into a highly productive vegetable garden in just one growing season, with very little effort (and thankfully no digging!). The book also includes plenty of contact details for taking permaculture further, which, after reading Permaculture in a Nutshell, you will be unable to resist! --R. Griffiths, Permaculture magazine

About the Author

Patrick Whitefield (11th February 1949 27th February 2015) was an early pioneer of permaculture, adapting Bill Mollison s teachings with a strong Southern Hemisphere bias to a cooler, maritime climate such as the British Isles. He wrote a number of seminal books, Permaculture in a Nutshell (1993), How to Make a Forest Garden (1996), a new edition of Tipi Living (2000), The Living Landscape (2009), How To Read the Landscape (2014) and his magnum opus, The Earth Care Manual (2004), an authoritative resource on practical, tested, cool temperate permaculture.

Patrick was born in Devizes, Wiltshire and brought up on a smallholding in Somerset. He qualified in agriculture at Shuttleworth College, Bedfordshire and after several years working in agriculture in the Middle East and Africa, he settled in central Somerset.

Patrick has appeared in several BBC TV programmes, made popular YouTube videos and was a consulting editor of Permaculture magazine since its launch in 1992. Patrick taught many permaculture and other practical courses with his wife, Cathy, and was one of the first teachers in the world to develop an online Permaculture Design Course.

After Patrick s death, there were obituaries in The Telegraph, The Guardian and on BBC Radio 4, and tributes to him from all over the world on social media. Patrick Holden from The Sustainable Food Trust wrote, "It is only towards the end of his life that the wider significance of permaculture ideas began to emerge... the true significance of Whitefield s ideas was not adequately acknowledged during his lifetime, but his influence will survive him..."

Edition details

• Publisher: Permanent Publications
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 1856230031
• ISBN 13: 9781856230032
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 96