|
Sepp
Holzer: "I
find it painful to watch all these farmers going broke and selling
their land for next to nothing, mostly to rich academic people who
know even less what to do with the land. If these farmers only knew
what they could do with their land! Nature has so much to offer, so
many possibilities!"
Sepp
& Veronika Holzer
|
| |
Video:
(37 minutes)
How an Austrian farmer simply observes nature and survives without
depending on subsidies, chemical fertilisers or pesticides of
any kind.
Sepp Holzer created an edible landscape at 1500 metres above sea
level - one of the few perfectly working permaculture systems
in Europe.
Between the pinetree monocultures of Austria he built a fishpond
system with his own water power station, planted 9000 fruit trees
of the most various kinds in connection with many other plants
to support each other (plant families). Thirty different types
of potatoes, many different grains, fruits, vegetables, herbs
and wildflowers are growing just about everywhere - in the forest,
on extremely steep hills, on rocky soil, on pathways, around ponds,
as well as raised beds. All of this he grows without the use of
any pesticides, herbicides or fertilizer. Holzer says: "I
couldn't understand that still everybody at the agricultural schools
told you these chemicals are useful. They drowned us in brochures
of the chemical fertilizers with the latest information on how
many kilos of which stuff you should get. But if you follow their
instructions you only have trouble, your purse is empty, you have
a lot of hard work to do, and you're destroying all this important
life in your ground, and your own health with it. Sorry, but I
really don't want to spoil my own land with this poison!"
Instead of using chemicals, he simply observes nature and finds
out which plants support each other. In autumn he collects many
seeds and stores them, and whenever he can, he throws this seed
mixture on his ground. Along pathways, on new patches of terraces,
anywhere. There is no square meter of ground with only one type
of plant. All plants grow together and support each other. No
plant or insect is unwanted. Diversity is a key word for Holzer,
not only on the level of plants but also on the economic level.
Holzer now has a lot of different sources of income. He sells
all the products of his land; fruit trees, fruits, grains, vegetables,
fish, and mushrooms, all guaranteed biological. Further, he sells
seeds of many of these plants including very rare ones. Next to
that, Holzer gives advice to farmers who want to change their
farms into permaculture places or people who want to build up
a permaculture garden. Sepp also gives guided tours over his own
property to interested people, who have a growing interest in
permaculture. He also gives seminars on old techniques such as
grinding your own grains, making your own bread and butter etc.
He also rents out his mountain huts for people who want to spend
time in nature as a holiday. So it looks like Holzer will never
be short of ideas, his economic success is an exception in the
whole area.
Most farmers in Europe are completely dependent on subsidies.
The EU supports farmers, especially in disadvantaged regions in
order to keep the cultivation of the land alive. The price is
high: 54.3 % of the EU expenses (=41 billion ECU) are flowing
into agriculture! 1997 it was 80 billion DM (even though the farmers
are only 4.4 % of the working population).
|
|