Ben Falk, M.A.L.D, developed Whole Systems Design, LLC, as a land-based response to biological and cultural extinction and the increasing separation between people and elemental things. Life as a designer, builder, ecologist, tree-tender, and backcountry traveler continually informs Ben's integrative approach to developing landscapes and buildings. His home landscape and the WSD studio site in Vermont's Mad River Valley serve as a proving ground for the innovative land developments featured in the projects of Whole Systems Design. Ben has studied architecture and landscape architecture at the graduate level and holds master of arts in landscape design degree. He has taught design courses at the University of Vermont and Harvard's Arnold Arboretum as well as on permaculture design, microclimate design, and design for climate change. He recently served on the board of directors at the Yestermorrow Design-Build School, where he also teaches from time to time. He is the author of The Resilient Homestead: Innovative Permaculture Systems for the Home and Farm.
Publishers Weekly- STARRED REVIEW: "This intelligent, challenging
book, rooted somewhere between back-to-the-land idealism and
radical survivalism, sees resilience as both planting and building
for the use of future generations, but also as preparing food,
water, shelter, and the human body and psyche for the onset of any
imaginable extreme emergency. The result is a comprehensive,
open-ended, theoretical and practical system for a
post-carbon-dependent life—including site design; water and
earthworks; perennial farming that integrates gardening, animal
husbandry, and soil building; energy; architecture; and personal
health—a system that is not only sustainable but restorative of the
biosphere. Readers just dipping their toes into sustainability may
be overwhelmed by Falk’s comprehensive vision and intimidating
appendices listing homestead vulnerabilities and crucial skills for
emergencies, but more seasoned 21st-century homesteaders, permies,
and possibly also survivalists will appreciate Falk’s realism and
his belief that 'the process is an enjoyable, vitalizing one, and
the results are staggering and humbling ... life wants to
live.'"
Foreword Reviews- "Permaculture can seem like a too-large umbrella
term attempting to bring together a range of concepts and
strategies, and many authors have tried to articulate the
discipline in an accessible way. Ben Falk stands out for this
highly successful effort at addressing how farmers and homesteaders
can select, design, develop, and manage resilient properties that
adapt to changing environmental conditions. Bringing his decade of
experience managing a ten-acre permaculture farm in Vermont, as
well as teaching about whole-systems design, Falk conveys the
importance of better-designed agriculture and systems in The
Resilient Farm and Homestead. Going beyond how-to advice on
vegetable growing or chicken coop management, he delves into topics
like fuel wood production, nutrient-dense food production, and
gravity-fed water systems, which rely on moving water downhill
instead of utilizing mechanical pumps. Natural strategies are
emphasized, like silvopasture, a practice that combines livestock
grazing and forestry to enhance soil protection and provide wind
protection for animals. The material, seemingly overwhelming in
scope, is presented artfully with numerous sidebars and bullet
points that break information into digestible chunks. For example,
a chapter on food production includes a chart on annual vs.
perennial labor and input costs, a diagram of a “living security
fence” made of black locust trees, and a list of storage options
for harvested vegetables. Particularly compelling are a number of
appendices, from a “resiliency aptitude quiz” to a crucial skill
list for emergencies to a vocabulary of concepts. Also useful, the
book’s abundant photography presents a bucolic, serene series of
images that make urban dwellers sigh with longing. Burlap sacks
brimming with potatoes grace one page, while a lush summer garden
pops from another. Farm volunteers are shown picking elderberries,
raising a timber-framed wall, and grafting fruit trees. Falk also
includes plenty of practical illustrations as well, such as a
drawing of how to grow rice in buckets, or a diagram of a
wood-heated hot water system. The combination of these inspiring
images and Falk’s deeply integrative approach provide a much-needed
permaculture guide that will likely kick off an array of reader
projects. The mix of resources, practical advice, and land design
offered here is a strong starting point for anyone interested in
regenerative agriculture and modern homesteading."
"With The Resilient Farm and Homestead, Ben Falk has definitely
planted the seeds of a positive, abundant legacy. This
book outlines the process of designing one's homestead with
not just the future in mind, but the imminently practical NOW!
This one is going on my shelf next to Helen and Scott
Nearing."--Mark Shepard, author of Restoration Agriculture
"Ben Falk extends the conversation about resilience to deep
resilience--resilience from the level of personal attitudes and
skills to the design and creation of the maximally
resilient homestead.The Resilient Farm and
Homestead weaves together permaculture theory as modified by
actual practice on a ten-acre Vermont farm with a
thorough preparedness guide for times of climate change and
greater uncertainties of all kinds and sizes. The book is greatly
enhanced by numerous glorious photos of permaculture
plantings as hedge rows, rice paddies, people swimming in
swale-enclosed ponds, fruit and vegetable harvesting, and
foraging sheep, chickens, and ducks. I particularly appreciate
that Falk tells us what didn't work as well as what did. This
book will be essential reading for the serious prepper as well as
for everyone interested in creating a more resilient
lifestyle or landscape."--Carol Deppe, author of The
Resilient Gardener: Food Production and Self-Reliance in Uncertain
Times
"Imagine. Honoring biodiversity in a place we each commit to for
the long haul is what it takes to address a rapidly changing
climate. Problem solved! Plant trees, let greenness thrive, learn
the ways of fungi, be joyful. Ben Falk provides the encouragement
and critical know-how to create your own food-producing sanctuary
in The Resilient Farm and Homestead. The time is now to engage
in healing the land and secure an ongoing future for generations to
come."--Michael Phillips, author of The Holistic Orchard
"The Resilient Farm and Homestead is a terrific
book. Simultaneously inspiring and practical, Ben Falk takes
you from the why to the how...a journey where you will create
a present and future filled with optimism and joy."--Shannon
Hayes, author of Long Way on a Little and Radical
Homemakers
"In The Resilient Farm and Homestead, Ben Falk gives us a
delightful and inspiring description of his years developing a
10-acre permaculture farm in the Green Mountains of Vermont.
Readers from regions outside New England, however, should not
assume that Falk’s practical, hard-won knowledge will not apply to
them. His discussions invariably transcend the specific
applications revealing principles which should be useful to
homesteaders everywhere."--Larry Korn, editor of The One-Straw
Revolution and Sowing Seeds in the Desert by Masanobu Fukuoka
"Ben Falk calls his book about reviving a wornout hill farm in
Vermont an example of resilience and regeneration; I call
it pure natural magic. Grow rice in New England? Yes. Heat
water to 155 degrees F on cold winter days at a rate of gallon
a minute by piping it through a compost pile? Yes. How
about dinner tonight of your own rack of lamb garnished
with homegrown mushrooms? Yes. Your choice of scores of
different vegetables and fruits even in winter? Yes. Plus, your own
dairy products from your own sheep. All the while, the
soil producing this magic, on a site once thought little more
than a wasteland, grows yearly more fertile and
secure from natural calamity."--Gene Logsdon, author of A Sanctuary
of Trees and Small-Scale Grain Raising
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