> Quote: "If people would only realize that if one leads
a life in
> cooperation with nature and not against it, then nobody in
the world
> need die of starvation."
>
> Friday, August 24, 2001
>
> By Reuters
>
> RAMINGSTEIN, Austria--In the coldest part of Austria, a
farmer is
> turning conventional wisdom on its head by growing a
veritable Garden of
> Eden full of tropical plants in the open on his steep Alpine
pastures.
>
> Amid average annual temperatures of a mere 39.5 Fahrenheit,
Sepp Holzer
> grows everything from apricots to eucalyptus, figs to kiwi
fruit,
> peaches to wheat at an altitude of between 3,300 and 4,900
feet.
>
> Once branded a fool, fined and threatened with imprisonment
for defying
> Austrian regulations that dictate what is planted where, he
is now feted
> worldwide for creating the only functioning
"permaculture" farm in
> Europe.
>
> Permaculture, an abbreviation of permanent culture, is the
development
> of agricultural ecosystems which are complete and
self-sustaining.
>
> "Once planted, I do absolutely nothing," Holzer
told Reuters. "It really
> is just nature working for itself--no weeding, no pruning,
no watering,
> no fertilizer, no pesticides."
>
> His 110 acres of land in the mountainous Lungau region in
the province
> of Salzburg are classed by European Union directives as
unfit for
> agricultural cultivation due to the steep gradient and poor
soil.
>
> When Holzer inherited the farm (then 44.5 acres) 39 years
ago, it was
> only used for the grazing of the family's cows and sheep. He
carved
> terraces out of the steep inclines (like the ancient Incas
and Maya of
> South and Central America) to stop erosion and trap
rainfall.
>
> He rejected the use of pesticides and fertilizers, which he
considered
> poisonous, and the concept of monoculture--the cultivation
of just one
> plant type over an expanse of land --because he believed it
sapped the
> soil of all nutrients.
>
> Instead, he began growing a host of timber and fruit trees,
shrubs and
> grasses all mixed up together.
>
> "Everyone said I was mad, and I had to pay numerous
fines because the
> authorities said that it was illegal to plant such a
combination,"
> Holzer said.
>
> "When I bought this patch of land off a farmer, it was
not fit for the
> cows and sheep grazing on it. People scoffed that I was
neglecting my
> land, but now they come to harvest cherries from June to
October."
>
> "This is the worst type of soil, which just goes to
prove that there is
> no bad soil, just bad farmers," he added.
>
> PROOF IS IN EATING OF PUDDING
>
> Most of the plants Holzer and his wife Vroni grow at his
"Krameterhof"
> holding are not meant to flourish in Alpine conditions,
according to
> experts.
>
> In winter, the temperature can fall to below minus 22
degrees
> Fahrenheit, and a blanket of snow lingers into May. Snow can
even fall
> in the height of summer.
>
> Holzer said he found agricultural textbooks and his own
years at
> agricultural college virtually useless. "I followed
their advice
> initially, but my trees started dying off. I then realized
that I had to
> eradicate from my memory all that I'd learned at
college," he said.
>
> Enlightenment came one winter during one of Holzer's routine
moonlight
> strolls when he noticed that the only apricot tree faring
well in the
> harsh winter conditions was one he had forgotten to cut back
according
> to ministerial regulations. Unlike the pruned trees whose
main lower
> branches snapped off under the weight of snow, the
"neglected" tree's
> branches were intact. Their unrestricted length had allowed
them to
> droop with the tips touching the ground for support while
the snow slid
> off, Holzer found. Allowing natural vegetation to grow
around the trunk
> provided further support and nourishment for the tree.
>
> "If people would only realize that if one leads a life
in cooperation
> with nature and not against it, then nobody in the world
need die of
> starvation," he said.
>
> LET NATURE TAKE ITS OWN COURSE
>
> Holzer's philosophy is that nature knows best and needs
negligible
> interference from Man. "We're born into paradise but
are destroying its
> foundation, the soil. The soil can look after itself;
there's no need
> for Man to tamper with it."
>
> Giant stone slabs pepper the landscape and serve as
incubators by
> absorbing the sunlight and giving off warmth. The trees do
their part as
> well in keeping the ground warm. Fallen foliage helps keep
frost from
> reaching the roots. Tree stumps dot the plantations to
regulate
> irrigation. Like a sponge they soak up water and later
distribute it.
> Animals too have a role in the Holzer ecosystem. Scavenging
pigs till
> the soil in place of a tractor, while grass snakes were
reintroduced to
> keep voracious slugs and mice in check.
>
> Holzer is modest about his achievement which has led to
projects in more
> than 40 countries and lectures on "the elimination of
poverty in
> agriculture." He has rejected suggestions that he
should have his method
> of permaculture patented. "I would consider that as
theft from nature.
> It's not my possession. I got it from nature and have an
obligation to
> pass this knowledge on," the bearded 59-year-old said.
>
> INSPIRATIONAL, BUT ECONOMICALLY VIABLE?
>
> Holzer says his method of organic farming produces a much
higher quality
> of crops than conventional farming and at a fraction of the
cost and
> effort. He says his rare strain of grain contains 12 times
the goodness
> of conventionally grown grain and as a result fetches a
price 100 times
> higher.
>
> His success means that he no longer lives directly off the
crops in his
> sprawling garden or the rare fish in his Alpine ponds and
lakes. People
> pay to pick their own fruit from his land, experts visit to
study
> "Holzer Permaculture," and the man himself
regularly holds seminars when
> not in a far-off country such as Colombia solving chronic
problems of
> the soil. And only one thing has so far stumped the man with
green
> fingers. "Bananas," he said with a shrug of his
burly frame. "They
> froze. It's no surprise as they need an average temperature
of 30
> degrees. But I'm still working on it."
>
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