Austrian ‘Rebel Farmer’ Holzer and His Permaculture
Those who have studied permaculture will likely be familiar with the name Sepp Holzer. As a pioneer of permaculture in practice, Holzer is almost a household name in Austria, and his book, *Permaculture*, has served as an introductory guide for enthusiasts across the globe.
This June, I travelled deep into the Central Alps to visit Krameterhof, the farm founded by Holzer, where I joined over twenty students from around the world for a two-day guided tour and training course organised by the farm.
Over a decade ago, the elderly Holzer handed the management of this 45-hectare farm over to his son. The highly gregarious Josef Andreas Holzer led us through the intensive two-day course.
I. Learning from Nature
The Central Alpine region where Kramhof farm is located is relatively arid; rainfall is sparse and irregular, meaning a single heavy downpour can trigger flash floods.
While these are natural disasters, they are exacerbated by human activity: since the 18th century, the expansion of intensive farming and forestry led to the filling in of original ponds and lakes on the slopes to make way for food crops or commercial timber. The reconstruction of the ponds is intended to restore the local natural landscape and ecosystem, thereby mitigating the destructive impact of flash floods.
Beyond their function in flood prevention, the Nordic crayfish bred in these ponds are one of the farm’s primary sources of revenue.
In 2022, I spent more than six months conducting fieldwork on the aquaculture industry in the Sangyuanwei area of Foshan. This experience left me particularly interested in the self-sufficiency of integrated land-water circular agriculture. China’s traditional mulberry dike-fish pond system is a closed-loop system: the nutrient-rich pond mud is frequently used as fertiliser for the mulberry trees planted along the banks. Consequently, I asked the younger Holzer whether he composted his pond mud.
He gave a solemn “no”: “If I were to use the pond mud for composting, my heart would bleed.”
In intensive aquaculture, failure to clear the ponds in a timely manner leads to an accumulation of leftover feed and fish waste on the bottom. This often results in eutrophication, leaving the mud black and foul-smelling, which in turn triggers fish diseases. At Komehof Farm, however, the stocking density is low, allowing the pond’s natural ecosystem to remain largely in balance. An abundance of benthic organisms plays a crucial role in decomposition, ensuring the mud never becomes a threat to the crayfish and fish.
We continued winding our way along the mountain paths, where various terraces were staggered and nestled into the contours of the landscape, each serving a distinct purpose.
The farm’s cattle roam and forage freely across the slopes. Here, the younger Holzer has planted a valuable medicinal herb: *Gastrodia elata*. We were concerned that the cattle might graze on the Gastrodia, thereby impacting the farm’s revenue.
He explained with a touch of pride that his experiments had shown the cattle avoid the Gastrodia due to its bitter taste. Instead, they graze on other weeds, effectively clearing space for the herb to thrive.
Perhaps it was this abundance of seed-eating birds that attracted a pair of buzzards to make their home here. These buzzards do more than hunt small birds; they occasionally steal chicks from the farm—a kind of “payment” for their services. For the farm, golden eagles, which prey on adult chickens and geese, pose a far greater threat; the buzzards, in defending their territory, occasionally drive these eagles away.
During a visit to the farm, the way the two Holzers approach collaboration with animals is deeply impressive. In the fields of anthropology and cultural studies, multi-species ethnography has long been a common research methodology, aimed at observing the role non-human actors play in constructing social, economic, and political relationships, rather than viewing humans as the sole agents of action. Komehof Farm serves as a textbook example of multi-species collaboration, demonstrating how animals participate in the construction of an agro-ecosystem.
II. Respecting Limitations
The natural conditions at Komehof Farm are hardly idyllic; the climate is cold, with long, brutal winters. Caught unprepared, we found ourselves shivering even in the summer as we listened to the younger Holzer explain his agricultural philosophy. “If you want to pursue sustainable farming,” he emphasised, “you must avoid over-relying on modern technology to the point where you push the land beyond its limits.”
Many believe the Alpine slopes on which the farm sits are suited only for pine plantations and grazing, yet in reality, intensive livestock farming is one of the primary drivers of soil degradation in the Alps. Both Holzers reject the high-intensity exploitation of the land. By restoring traditional terraced pond systems, they have overcome the challenges of water retention on sloping terrain, while simultaneously creating a foundation for a diverse range of crops and livestock.
The younger Holzer also spoke of the limitations of the farmer. Rather than implementing rigid, blueprint-style master plans from the outset, they initiate small, experimental projects each year based on the farm’s current state. He believes that truly understanding a specific piece of land is a slow process; overestimating one’s own abilities or their understanding of nature often proves counterproductive.
In truth, the farm’s experimental projects often fail. However, because each project requires minimal investment, such failures do not result in significant losses. Once a project succeeds, it can be effectively integrated into the farm’s existing ecosystem, driving the farm’s prosperity.
For instance, the farm now has 72 ponds of varying shapes and functions. Interconnected to form a water network, these ponds utilise the difference in elevation to generate hydroelectric power, which is largely sufficient to meet the farm’s daily needs.
The actions of the two Holzers may seem rebellious, yet they are built upon a pragmatic foundation. Whenever they undertake “unconventional” experiments, they carefully weigh the economic benefits. In the course, the younger Holzer emphasised the importance of ecological diversity several times, but what I heard was not clichéd moralising, but rather pragmatic economic considerations.
He told us that diversification has saved the farm on several occasions. For example, after the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, radioactive particles drifted across Central and Western Europe, leaving people in Germany and Austria fearful of eating mushrooms. As late as 2021, Caesium-137 levels exceeding legal limits were still detectable in wild mushrooms in Bavaria, Germany. Many monoculture mushroom farms went bankrupt as a result.
Although mushrooms were one of Krameterhof’s primary products at the time, they successfully weathered the crisis through the diversity of their produce. Today, the business at Krameterhof encompasses aquaculture, livestock farming, fruit cultivation, beekeeping, forestry, mushroom cultivation, and the growing of aromatic and medicinal plants.
Although the latter has come to contribute far more financially than the sale of produce, he remains steadfast in maintaining the economic independence of each pillar. In his view, if agricultural production were subsidised by other revenue streams, it would eventually dwindle into a mere hobby, and the other two pillars would risk losing their very foundation.
III. Reflections
Perhaps, as the younger Holzer repeatedly emphasised, they may learn nothing at all. This is not only because the course lasts a mere two days, but because the model at Komehof Farm grew out of its own specific circumstances—and every individual and every farm is different.
Yet, perhaps there is something for everyone to take away. As a methodology, whether it is ‘recognising the limitations of the land and oneself to turn weaknesses into strengths’, or the embrace of pragmatic ambition, both serve as vital reminders for those new to farming. Even as a layperson in agricultural practice, I felt a profound resonance between these concepts and the methods of cultural research and artistic work with which I am familiar.
On the return journey, the surrounding pine plantations and dairy farms pulled me back to reality. In truth, monoculture and intensive production still dominate Austrian agriculture and forestry, and the influence of the permaculture championed by the Holzers remains limited. The younger Holzer’s insistence on a close kinship with nature, coupled with the farm’s idyllic landscape, could not help but strike me as something of a utopia.
Therefore, the following questions remain: while we certainly need to learn from nature, have we also fashioned nature into something isolated and detached—a panacea for our contemporary dilemmas? How can alternative agriculture move beyond being a mere spiritual refuge to gain wider recognition and adoption, thereby prompting the public to address the broader, systemic social issues surrounding agriculture?
There are no definitive answers yet, but the course at Komehof Farm has at least sparked further reflection.
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Editor: Ze’en