Holzer Permaculture is a branch of permaculture developed in Austria by Sepp Holzer independently from the mainstream permaculture. It is particularly noteworthy because it grew out of practical application and was relatively detached from the scientific community.
Introduction Sepp Holzer started reorganizing his father's property according to ecological patterns in the early 1960s after he took over the farm. As an adolescent, he conducted layman experiments with plants native to the area and learned from his own observations. Since having taken over his father's property, he has expanded it from 24 to 45 hectares, according to his methods, together with his wife. His expanded farm now spans over 45 hectares of forest gardens, including 70 ponds, and is said to be the most consistent example of permaculture worldwide. In the past he has experimented with many different animals. As a result of these experiments, there is a huge role for animals in Holzer Permaculture. He created effective methods of using ponds as reflectors to increase solar gain for passive solar heating of structures, and of using the microclimate created by rock outcrops to effectively change the hardiness zone for nearby plants. He has also done original work in the use of Hügelkultur, and natural branch development instead of pruning, to allow fruit trees to survive high altitudes and harsh winters.
Comparison to regular permaculture It is difficult to make out differences between the methods and practices of Sepp Holzer in contrast to the more scientific and theoretical permacultural mainstream. Nevertheless, here are some major points to consider:
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