Sepp Holzer
Encyclopedia
Josef "Sepp" Holzer is a farmer, author, and an international consultant for natural agriculture. After an upbringing in a traditional catholic rural family, he took over his parents' mountain farm business in 1962 and pioneered the use of ecological farming
, or permaculture
, techniques at high altitudes (1100 to 1500 meters above sea level) after being unsuccessful with regular farming methods. Called the "rebel farmer" because he persisted in these practices despite being fined and even threatened with prison for practices such as not pruning his fruit trees (unpruned fruit trees survive snow loads that will break pruned trees). He has also created some of the worlds best examples 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 Hugelkultur and natural branch development instead of pruning (see Fruit tree pruning) to allow fruit trees to survive high altitudes and harsh winters. He is currently conducting permaculture ("Holzer Permaculture
") seminars both at his Krameterhof farm and worldwide, while continuing to work on his alpine farm. 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.
He is author of several books, works nationally as permaculture-activist in the established agricultural industry, and works internationally as adviser for ecological agriculture.
He is the subject of the film The Agricultural Rebel directed by Bertram Verhaag.
Ecological farming
Ecological farming is recognised as the high-end objective among the proponents of sustainable agriculture. The goal of ecological farming is not only sustainable food production, but is to optimise the provision of ecosystem services, both in the design of the farm and by significant reduction of...
, or permaculture
Permaculture
Permaculture is an approach to designing human settlements and agricultural systems that is modeled on the relationships found in nature. It is based on the ecology of how things interrelate rather than on the strictly biological concerns that form the foundation of modern agriculture...
, techniques at high altitudes (1100 to 1500 meters above sea level) after being unsuccessful with regular farming methods. Called the "rebel farmer" because he persisted in these practices despite being fined and even threatened with prison for practices such as not pruning his fruit trees (unpruned fruit trees survive snow loads that will break pruned trees). He has also created some of the worlds best examples of using ponds as reflectors to increase solar gain for Passive solar heating of structures, and of using the microclimate
Microclimate
A microclimate is a local atmospheric zone where the climate differs from the surrounding area. The term may refer to areas as small as a few square feet or as large as many square miles...
created by rock outcrops to effectively change the hardiness zone
Hardiness zone
A hardiness zone is a geographically defined area in which a specific category of plant life is capable of growing, as defined by climatic conditions, including its ability to withstand the minimum temperatures of the zone...
for nearby plants. He has also done original work in the use of Hugelkultur and natural branch development instead of pruning (see Fruit tree pruning) to allow fruit trees to survive high altitudes and harsh winters. He is currently conducting permaculture ("Holzer Permaculture
Holzer Permaculture
The Holzer Permaculture is a branch of permaculture developed independently from the mainstream permaculture in Austria by Sepp Holzer.It is particularly noteworthy because it grew out of practical application and absolutely detached from the scientific community.Sepp Holzer started reorganising...
") seminars both at his Krameterhof farm and worldwide, while continuing to work on his alpine farm. 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.
He is author of several books, works nationally as permaculture-activist in the established agricultural industry, and works internationally as adviser for ecological agriculture.
He is the subject of the film The Agricultural Rebel directed by Bertram Verhaag.