P Oscar

I live in a remote part of Australia where access to external inputs such as free woodchips, mulch, or compost is virtually nonexistent. Living on less than AU$20,000 (approximately US$13,000) a year, we’ve had to adopt a highly resourceful and adaptive approach to our permaculture design and daily living. This budget doesn’t allow for idealistic or high-cost solutions—it demands creativity, careful observation, and a commitment to working with what is already present on the land.

Our climate is extreme and variable—marked by prolonged droughts followed by intense flooding. Summers can reach highs of 45°C (113°F), while winters dip to -10°C (14°F). These drought–flood cycles can persist for many years—sometimes an entire decade. The soil is shallow, with less than half a metre of rocky basalt overlaying a dense clay base. Not the kind of environment most would associate with fertile food forests.

When we purchased the property during the height of a ten-year drought, we invested in an excavator for AU$1,000 (about US$650) per day to dig swales along the contour lines. At the time, there was barely any rain to capture, and the fruit trees we planted quickly died in the scorching summer heat—despite daily bucket watering.

Instead of fighting the land, I began working with it. I allowed the “weeds” to grow—hardy pioneers like native acacias and eucalypts that required no input and no encouragement. Over time, I transplanted similar species from other parts of the property. These resilient trees became the backbone of the system.

When the rains finally returned, I chopped and dropped these hardy trees into the swales. This transformed the swales into what I call hugelswales—a hybrid of traditional swales and hugelkultur beds. Into this growing system we introduced our livestock—sheep, geese, Muscovies, ducks, chickens, horses, and cattle—by fencing them into temporary enclosures along the swales. Their manure became a key source of fertility in this evolving system.

We also began cultivating edible fungi in the hugelswales: oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus) and red wine caps (Stropharia rugosoannulata). These not only contributed to yields but also helped break down woody material and enrich the soil with fungal networks.

I adopted Mark Shepard’s S.T.U.N. method—Sheer Total Utter Neglect—to establish a diverse range of fruit and nut trees. I planted widely from seed and cutting, with zero pampering. If a tree couldn’t survive, I chopped it and added it to the hugelswale as biomass. What endured was strong, well-adapted, and ultimately productive.

Our greywater is gravity-fed into the main kitchen garden swales, keeping them hydrated year-round. In winter, after leaf fall, livestock are rotated through the orchard swales. They graze the understory and fertilise the soil, essentially performing all the maintenance.

Each year brings abundance—though what thrives varies with the seasons. In hot years, it’s figs and pistachios; in wetter or cooler years, blueberries and walnuts do better. Not everything produces every year, and that’s okay. The diversity of planting ensures that something always does. I've also included marginal or climate-extreme species, so I'm content with whatever nature offers.

The only real inputs now are time, observation, and pruning. Plants showing signs of disease or chronic stress are culled and returned to the system as mulch. In this way, every plant contributes—either by producing food or by feeding the soil.

Filling swales with biomass prevents erosion, improves water retention and accelerates soil formation. Many of the trees we used are considered “invasive,” but I don’t view them that way. If a plant can thrive in these conditions without assistance, that’s a sign of ecological value. These plants improve the soil, provide shade and organic matter, and eventually become food for future crops. Letting so-called weeds grow is a strategy, not a compromise. They’re early successional allies in the regeneration of land and soil.

There are certainly faster ways to build abundance—especially with access to commercial compost, mulch deliveries, and expensive tools. If I had an unlimited budget, I might have gone that route. But permaculture isn’t about building a perfect system with endless resources. It’s about designing with what’s available.

Humans have grown food using only what they could carry or forage for thousands of years. That legacy of resilience and ingenuity is still relevant today. The modern narrative often suggests that self-sufficiency is expensive, but I believe otherwise. With patience, observation, and the willingness to let nature lead, you can build systems that are not just sustainable—but abundant and regenerative.

On our 100-acre property in south-east Australia, I manage a flock of 20 Dorper ewes—alongside goats and cattle—entirely on natural forage. Dorpers are polyestrous and frequent twinners, allowing each ewe to raise up to six lambs over a two-year period. My aim has been to develop a self-sufficient, low-input grazing system that works with the land’s natural patterns while building long-term resilience in a climate that fluctuates between semi-arid drought and high-humidity wet seasons.

The terrain ranges from rocky ridges to moist lowlands, supporting a wide diversity of forage. In the higher areas, acacia, eucalyptus, and tagasaste (tree lucerne) dominate; in the lower zones, blackberry and willow are abundant. Following rainfall, thistle, chicory, dandelion, plantain, fat hen, and wild brassicas proliferate. During dry periods, native lomandra, saltbush (atriplex nummularia) and African lovegrass become key feed species. Our sheep also browse fruit trees—including mulberry, wild plum, and apple—which I propagate from cuttings and plant widely across the property, alongside tagasaste and willow. I’m keen to trial thornless honey locust as a fodder tree, but it's currently unavailable in my region.

Although sheep naturally prefer grass, I’ve trained mine to browse by running young ewes with goats. Once browsing behaviour is established, it becomes embedded in the flock culture and is passed on to new animals. As a result, the sheep thrive on forage that is often undervalued or avoided in conventional systems.

I don’t buy feed. Instead, I provide nutritional support through locally available resources. Kelp, collected from nearby beaches, is hung on fences for free-choice mineral access. I also grow wormwood, oregano, garlic chives, and other medicinal herbs along fencelines, allowing the sheep to self-medicate without damaging the plants. These are offered most actively during the three days prior to the full moon, when parasite activity typically peaks.

Our climate is highly variable, with hot summers, frosty winters, and dry or wet cycles that can persist for a decade. Despite these extremes, the Dorper flock has remained productive and resilient without chemical drenches. In an area known for high parasite loads—particularly Haemonchus contortus and liver fluke—I manage parasite pressure through a combination of herbs, minerals, and strict culling of susceptible animals. Routine chemical drenching often leads to resistance in parasite populations; by contrast, selection within the flock has led to greater natural resilience over time.

Rotational grazing is my main management tool. The property is divided into four paddocks, and the sheep are moved every full moon following herbal treatment. This results in a 12-week rest period per paddock, which helps to break parasite cycles and allows forage species to recover.

While our primary focus is meat production, the Dorpers are multipurpose. My children milk the quieter ewes, who produce rich, sweet milk—though I personally prefer goats for ease of milking. We collect the wool during shedding; while not ideal for spinning, it’s excellent for felting, insulation, and crafts. We also tan our own sheepskins and have bred a range of fleece colours for added value and diversity.

Sheep can be managed regeneratively on browse, even in marginal or non-traditional grazing landscapes. By designing with local ecology in mind and closing resource loops, it is possible to create a resilient, low-input livestock system that challenges the assumptions of conventional grazing models.

Lawren Richards wrote:I have a similar problem but with invasives rather than grass. Large animals are not an option for a variety of reasons. My first major invasive was knapweed; I tackled as much by hand (pulling it up) as I could for 5 years; in the last 2 years it’s been superseded by chicory. More than an acre of the stuff. I’ve been pulling it up by hand, but lately just clipping it to try to get ahead of it going to seed.  Property is a steep 2.5 acres. I’m intrigued by the rabbit idea, but would they eat knapweed & chicory?

Guinea pigs and rabbits can eat knapweed and chicory, but I have found it difficult to use a mobile pen on steep land.

I know you said large animals are not an option, but sheep and goats would thrive on knapweed and chicory and they're very good at navigating steep slopes.

I have trialled various animals for sustainable lawn maintenance over the years and found guinea pigs to be the most effective for high-use areas such as lawns designated for sports and picnics. Housed in a movable cage and repositioned daily, guinea pigs efficiently graze all vegetation within 24 hours. Unlike rabbits, they do not dig, allowing for an open-bottom enclosure. Their manure is dry, odourless, pelletised, and inconspicuous, making it ideal for areas where we walk barefoot.

Geese and Muscovy ducks are effective grazers; however, their manure is wet, sticky, and malodorous, making them unsuitable for areas near the home. I still use them in other parts of the property.

Sheep are efficient lawnmowers with similarly inconspicuous manure but would occasionally nibble garden plants. I use sheep in orchards post-leaf fall, where they contribute to weed control and fertilisation. While they typically avoid bark, they occasionally prune small branches. I cannot use them when trees are in leaf.

Horses and cattle are effective in lawn management, yet their manure and tendency to browse on garden vegetation presented challenges. Like sheep, I use them in orchard systems following leaf drop and in areas with well-established gardens. But be mindful of their size. They can easily push over smaller trees.

Goats and donkeys are incompatible with gardens due to their destructive behaviour, including defoliation, ringbarking of trees, and consumption of virtually all vegetation. I do love them, and they are very useful in other contexts (like clearing forested areas and woody weeds), but they are unsuitable in close proximity to gardens.

Rabbits, while potentially useful, cannot be bred on our property due to the release of biological controls (e.g., myxomatosis) by the Australian government to manage feral populations. A neighbour’s attempt to breed rabbits ended in total loss.

We use guinea pigs as a practical alternative to rabbits for dual purpose lawn maintenance and meat production. It is practical to keep small animals for butchering during periods when meat stores are low and there is insufficient time to process a larger animal. I am able to butcher them on my own, and my children can do so independently as well. As we live completely off-grid with a very small (1kW) solar power system, our access to electricity, and therefore freezer space, is limited. Consequently, maintaining live animals as a source of fresh meat is a valuable strategy. In this context, they serve as our version of fast food. We do not buy any feed for them. They live on grass, kitchen garden scraps and tree fodder during dry times (mulberry, tagasaste, acacia).

Don Ritter wrote:Doesnt Australia have many MILLIONS of feral donkeys that are wreaking havoc there? Someone was just remarking about one more bad situation for Australia....

Yes, feral donkeys can be a problem in Australia. But for permies, the problem is the solution...

https://youtu.be/ircmbPxfaK0?feature=shared

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-11-04/grazier-using-wild-donkeys-to-regenerate-land-in-legal-battle/104445766

I have used donkeys for livestock protection with mixed results.

I initially put donkeys in the same paddock as poultry and they trampled and killed some chickens, and broke into the poultry house and ate wheat, which resulted in bloat.

Secondly, I put donkeys in a large paddock with chickens in a smaller, portable yard within the larger paddock, with solar powered electrical netting. This was moderately successful, with no losses due to predation, however the donkeys soon learnt that whenever the electrical current in the netting was disturbed (touching grass, lack of sunlight etc), they could push through the fence, with the same results as above. They did prevent any predator from entering the paddock, which in my area is mostly foxes, wild dogs and feral cats. They also tried to kill my dogs and domestic cats (and they were very tame donkeys).

Donkeys are very intelligent and curious animals. My donkeys learnt how to unscrew a screwtop barrel of chicken feed. They will get into everything, and eat literally everything... trees, ornamental plants, anything that was once a plant (e.g. paper, books, cardboard, cotton clothing etc).

Lastly, I let the donkeys run with the sheep and goats during lambing and kidding. We have not had any losses due to predation, as they are very effective at preventing predators from entering any paddock they are in (including domesticated animals).

I have also used donkeys to eliminate unwanted weeds and improve pasture. In south east Australia, we have an invasive grass called African lovegrass, a low quality stock feed that is difficult to contain or remove, as seeds drift in on the wind. But lovegrass does not like excess nutrients or shade. I have used donkeys to strip a paddock of lovegrass and deposit manure, which resulted in improved pasture of clover, plantain, wild brassica, dandelion and Kikuyu spontaneously growing from the residual seed bank. I then planted it with tagasaste, mulberry and acacias to provide tree fodder and shade, so hopefully the African lovegrass won't return.

Donkeys need regular hoof trimming if they are contained or on soft soils and additional minerals if they don't have access to trees to browse. They also need the company of other donkeys. Donkeys make wonderful pets and companions with the right care and management.

Yes, BA is British Alpine. I am in temperate south east Australia.

Another good resource:
https://goodlifepermaculture.com.au/urban-goat-keeping/

I have had all the different breeds of milking goats at different stages over the past 20 years and found Alpine goats to be the best producers with the most docile, compliant temperaments. My Nigerian Dwarf goats always escaped way more than the taller breeds and were much more cheeky. Cute, but not practical. As I have gotten older, I have reduced my goat numbers significantly. I only have British Alpine. I have kept BA goats in milk continuously for over 7 years. I have even bypassed the need for kidding and the difficulties of managing a buck. BAs are prone to "precocious udder", where they start to produce milk without being in kid. I started milking my does when they presented with precocious udder and milk production increased all the way up to peak lactation (5-8 litres per day). The first doe I tried this with is in her second year of lactation and still producing well. They don't jump and are happy in a confined space as long as they have food, shelter and the company of other goats. They truly are the most amazing permaculture survival animals.

I use chickens to kill of Kikuyu. It's a very hardy running grass. I have found that if I continue to cycle chickens through several areas, they eventually kill the entire root system. This takes time and patience, but is healthier for the chickens, and reduces the feed bill. I have 3 runs. I will leave 12 chickens in a 12x12m section for 1 week, then move them to the next section. By the time they return to the same section, new grass and weeds have grown, meaning they constantly have access to greens. Over a 3 month period, they will have depleted the energy stores in the root system of the grass and it will be mostly gone. I mulch the 3 sections to use as veggie gardens for one season and then I cycle the chickens back through, as some grass and weeds inevitably come back. Doing this consistently eventually kills all the residual roots and seeds and makes beautiful soil that I never have to dig.