The Resilient Farm and Homestead, Revised and Expanded Edition: 20 Years of Permaculture and Whole Systems Design

This new edition of a book first published in 2013 takes a deep look into Falk’s 20 years of experience transforming an infertile patch of Vermont land into a thriving, sustainable example of a successful permaculture. He reflects on a variety of changes, especially economic and environmental emergencies that have affected the homestead. His book walks readers through the process of whole-system design, from site assessment and establishment to developing a fertile landscape, understanding food crops, sourcing functional fuel, designing adaptive shelters, and coping with building a homestead that will last in a world that’s falling deeper into environmental crisis. Falk’s insight is incredibly valuable and could be extrapolated onto a variety of situations, but it is heavily specific to his site and personal experience. The text is accessible; the writing style is conversational. Referenced sources throughout the text are few, but there is a valuable resource list in the appendixes. It would take, however, some legwork on the part of readers to connect the dots.