The Rebel Farmer

Book excerpt: Once regarded by society and his fellow farmers as a controversial oddball, Sepp Holzer is now recognised as an important agricultural innovator whose influential permaculture ideas have spread beyond his home country of Austria to bring him international acclaim. Holzer himself is modest about his ideas which he regards simply as "Nature's wisdom" and is happy to share his knowledge and experience. In high demand for seminars and lectures, Holzer has aroused a new interest in farming and has inspired even non-farmers to take over old farms and to manage them based on his ideas of permaculture. Holzer' s aim is to develop and promote farmers who are able to live in harmony with nature, to recognise its cycles and symbioses and to treat their land, soil and fellow living creatures with respect. He believes in the urgent need for farmers to re-learn how to produce good natural foods rather than mere nutrients. The roots of Holzer' s permaculture extend back to his childhood when he first became an observer of nature. Through observation and experiment, Holzer came to realise that Creation is perfect and that nature is always right. He realised that the key to agricultural success was diversity based on natural symbioses and mutual promotion of plant varieties rather than monotonous monoculture. Holzer recognised the important relationship between animals and plants and how each affects the other and put this knowledge to use on his farm. Holzer points out that every plant and animal has its purpose in creation and that problems only arise when humans try to steer their fates in the wrong direction. Over the years, the farm at Krameterhof has played host to students and scientists alike, keen to learn from Holzer' s example and Holzer himself has become involved at an international level working in development aid in Colombia, Costa Rica and Africa.