This package contains three separate
Sepp Holzer documentaries: "Farming with Nature," "Terraces and Raised Beds," and "Aquaculture."
All three of these videos are brought to us by
Green Planet Films is a non-profit distributor of Nature, Environment, and Human Ecology Films. Their mission is to advocate environmental education, with an emphasis on film, to an evolving global audience. They connect and engage viewers with filmmakers dedicated to documenting the precarious relationships between nature and humanity. Sample topics include deforestation,
water resources, ocean conservation,
sustainable fishing, renewable energies, climate change and other issues that affect humanity in the context of itself and nature.
Farming with Nature
This documentary features Sepp's interactions with the animals on his farm, specifically the heritage pigs that thrive in even deep snow and help loosen the soil for him. It gives a glimpse into his polycultures/guilds, which he calls plant families, and the roles they play. You will also learn about the various
income streams that Sepp utilizes: selling his fruit
trees in the earth they grow in, saving and selling seeds, selling produce locally, renting out cabins, and hosting seminars.
Terraces and Raised Beds
"Terraces and Raised Beds" covers the destructive effects of monocrops (specifically pine tree monocrops), the plant families (guilds) he plants around his fruit trees, how he creates terraces and why he creates those terraces, as well as his raised beds (
hugelkultur) and how and why he creates them. It features the creation of both a terrace and a large
hugelkultur garden. In it, he also discusses how he deals with government officials and regulations, for example, calling his terraces gardens instead of paths. the entire documentary shows the differences between conventional farming/forestry and Sepp's forest agriculture.
Aquaculture
This
video covers a wide range of water topics, not just raising fish. There is discussion of self-sustaining aquatic life that produces fish for market, how Sepp creates these ponds with both pigs and machinery, and the different types of ponds and water systems he employs on his
land. Not only are there deep ponds for fish, but shallow wetlands where frogs and other natural food for the fish naturally breed and naturally move to the deeper ponds. Sepp explains his use of pumps and pipes to generate power, pump clean water without any electricity, move water from one
pond to another to regulate temperature, and extend the growing season by spraying the crops with water. Sepp explains why he does not irrigate, and how he avoids it, as well as the role that stumps and rocks play in the creation of healthy aquatic ecosystems.