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A
film about the sustainable use of water by Austrian farmer Sepp
Holzer.
Water – the foundation on which all life depends. A precious
but much abused resource. Ironically, it is also under-utilised.
In agriculture its potential goes far beyond irrigation.
Lungau, Austria.
For
40 years the Holzers have farmed 45 hectares of mountainside.
Remarkably they produce cereals, vegetables and fruit at altitudes
up to 1500 metres. The key to their success? ...permaculture
- farming in harmony with nature. Unlike monoculture, it produces
healthy crops, free of chemical residues. But at the same time
it enriches the soil - naturally. Sepp Holzer knew that water
had a wider role to play than just irrigation. He realised it
would complement his own permaculture philosophy. The result
- a delightful landscape of interwoven terraces and ponds -
and a healthy income.
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Video: (30 minutes)
Sepp Holzer doesn't irrigate his plants - he prefers Nature to do
it for him. He doesn't think much of artificial irrigation.
"If I irrigate, I have to fertilise. Too much Irrigation washes
out the soil's nutrients. The nitrogen evaporates and all the other
nutrients are washed into the ground water, and the plant is left
behind without nutrients. Then I have to feed nutrients again, and
then I have to irrigate again. That's a vicious cycle which will never
stop, and it costs a lot of money, too.
"If I don't irrigate, the soil protects itself naturally. That
is, the plants use less water by folding their leaves a little, they
look rather withered, but they open up again when there is dew and
rain. When it rains the soil is prepared to receive - the humidity
increases, the soil opens up and soaks up the rain. That's natural.
But when it's dry the soil protects itself so it won't dry out. If
I irrigate it, I deceive it. It will open up, but then will dry out
even faster! Then I have to take care of my plants, they become dependent
on me, addicted to me.
"If you have the proper vegetation, the plants regulate themselves
wonderfully. You need plants with deep, medium and flat roots. Deep-rooted
plants bring up moisture and nutrients from 3 to 4 metres depth and
sweat it out on top. They give shade to the plants with flat roots,
so they won't dry out. That's the exchange – one plant helps
the other. You needn't worry about it being too dry or too wet, if
you work in harmony with the earth."
That's permaculture
- working in harmony with nature. It's very rewarding.
Sepp Holzer's
childhood dream has been realised. His Krameterhof has become a Garden
of Eden. A garden whose inhabitants, animal and vegetable, are like
a team – his team, supporting each other.
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