The original concepts outlined in this website were developed by permaculture co-originator David Holmgren and were first published in the Essence of Permaculture in 2002, the precursor to his full length book Permaculture: Principles & Pathways Beyond Sustainability published later that same year. The icons used in the book, and featured in this website, were a collaborative design effort by David and graphic artist Richard Telford.
David Holmgren and Richard Telford at work in 2005
Richard continued to work with David and his partner Su Dennett after the icon designs in producing the Principles Teaching Kit (2005/2010) along with a series of eBooks beginning with the case study of David and Su’s property ‘Melliodora’ (2005), followed by Trees on the Treeless Plains (2006) and Collected Writings (2007).
Richard proposed the Permaculture Principles website in 2007 as a way to introduce the concept to a wider audience and make these publications more widely available online. This coincided with David Arnold’s idea to produce a Permaculture Calendar, using the icons as a theme for each month. The calendar concept and website were launched together at the 9th Australian Permaculture Convergence in Sydney, March 2008.
Inspired by Trish Allen’s Rainbow Valley Farm presentation at the convergence, Michele Margolis went on to develop the Permaculture Diary. Richard worked with Michele to produce the Diary together with the Calendar. The diary continued to be published until 2012, the same year that David Arnold handed the co-ordination of the Calendar over to Richard.
Not long after the launch of this website Richard purchased a small block of land in Seymour (Australia) to begin a project which illustrates the application of these principles to the redesign of a suburban home which he called Abdallah House. Richard and his family moved into the house in mid 2009, where he continues to add to the blog, host tours, maintain this website and designs permaculture publications.
Sales of products from this website support the authors/producers directly and provide a modest income for Richard that he uses to finance the further development of the website and Abdallah House. Net proceeds (revenue less expenses) are tithed (a 10% donation) to Permafund, which redistributes funds to permaculture projects worldwide.
CREDITS: I’d like to thank some people for their support in establishing and maintaining this website: David Holmgren, Oliver Holmgren, David Arnold, Jenneka Kylstra and Michele Margolis. I’d also like to thank some of the many people who helped make translations for the website: Grifen Hope, Antonio Scotti, Richard Wallner, Kristen Lagadec, Nicolas Salliou, Patricia Bourguignon, Juliano Riciardi and Teresa Dominot – along with anyone else that I may have missed… may all your gardens be bountiful!
Saving the best for last… I’d especially like to thank my partner Kunie Yoshimoto and two boys, Kai and Sen, for their support and patience with me. They give me the strength to continue with this work.
- Richard Telford
