June 11, 2004: Throughout the world, suburbs
have been spreading, eating up valuable agricultural land
and making it harder and harder to farm close to population
centers. One of the most difficult problems facing regional
and town planners is how to allow development without sacrificing
valuable agricultural land. In Australia, the UN Habitat Award-winning
Crystal Waters Permaculture Village offers one set of answers
to that complex problem.
Located 100 km (62 mi) northeast of Brisbane, Crystal Waters
Permaculture Village is a community of 83 separate households
united in their desire to live a more environmentally friendly
life. Some residents work the land, others work off the property
in nearby towns, and still others are self-employed providing
goods and services to Crystal Waters and the surrounding region.
Now in its sixteenth year, the community is slowly evolving
into a model ecovillage.
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Map
of Crystal Waters.
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An ecovillage is a human-scale, full-featured settlement which
integrates human activities harmlessly into the natural environment,
supports healthy human development, and can be continued into
the indefinite future. Toward this end, Crystal Waters was one
of the world’s first villages designed according to the
principles of permaculture. The word permaculture, coined by
Bill Mollison and David Holmgren, is a contraction of two words,
permanent and agriculture.
But it involves more than just organic farming: it is a design
system for creating sustainable human environments by harmoniously
integrating landscapes and people to provide food, energy, shelter,
and other needs.
More than 230 people reside on Crystal Waters’ 259
hectares (640 ac). About 14 percent of the total land area
is divided into 83, 0.4-ha (1-ac) private lots. These lots
can be bought and sold on the open market. An additional 6
percent of the land belongs to the Crystal Waters Community
Co-operative and is commercially zoned; this area includes
the village center and visitors' accommodation. The remaining
80 percent—over 500 acres—is owned in common by
all lot holders and is available for sustainable agriculture,
forestry, recreation, and habitat. The common land represents
Crystal Waters’ primary approach to preserving valuable
agricultural resources.
Crystal Waters was designed and developed by Max Lindegger,
Robert Tap, Geoff Young, and Berry Goodman beginning in 1985.
During the design process, the most valuable agricultural
land was identified and reserved for the commons—no
private lots were sited in these areas. As Lindegger explains,
“the aim of Crystal Waters was to establish a sustainable
village by design. We wanted a place where agricultural land
and environmental assets could be preserved, a place that
would provide affordable freehold land and space to grow some
food."
"Some of the best soils on the east coast of Australia
exist near the city of Brisbane," Lindegger continues.
"We should be growing food on this land, but instead
we are growing ‘mushrooming’ suburbs, causing
food production to be pushed out further and further.”
Approval to use the common land is granted by the Crystal
Waters Body Corporate Committee, which manages the 'land use
licenses'. The committee consists of seven people elected
by the lot holders each year. The best agricultural land is
licensed to lot holders for farming operations. The Village
Farm raises biodynamic dairy cattle, pigs, and chickens on
common land for exclusive community consumption; common land
is also licensed for commercial agriculture. Other enterprises
operating on the Crystal Waters commons include community
orchards, aquaculture, and forestry.
Crystal Waters has an official ‘organic policy’.
This means that how land is used, both common and private,
must adhere to organic standards as defined by the current
Australian National Standard for Organic and Bio-Dynamic Produce.
Much of the agricultural activity at Crystal Waters takes
place on private lots in residents' back and front yards.
Many residents are fruit and vegetable self-sufficient and
some keep micro-livestock on their private lots as well. What
follows are brief descriptions of a few of the commercial
agricultural enterprises marketing to Crystal Waters and other
nearby residents. These enterprises operate on common land
and/or add value to products raised on common land.
Caring for the earth
Earth Care Enterprises is a Crystal Waters-based partnership
active in permaculture design, consultancy, and education.
Among their specialties is the exploration, research, and
development of exotic plant and animal species with economic
potential.
Since 1989, Earth Care Enterprises has leased 2 ha (5 ac)
of common land, called Earth Care Farm, for the cultivation
of bamboo, aquatic plants, and other crops. Species currently
propagated include bamboos, Chinese water chestnuts, lotus,
taro (Colocasia esculenta), tannia (Xanthosoma
sagittifolium), yam, cassava, arrowroot, Asian species
of the ginger family (Zingiberaceae), and miscellaneous
fruits, herbs, and spices. Many are sold as plants and some
are supplied as fresh foods to restaurants and retailers.
(Their website, www.earthcare.com.au,
provides color photos of most species.)
Earth Care cultivates over 30 species of bamboo, but the
two species primarily grown are Phyllostachys heterocycla,
the most widely cultivated bamboo in China and Japan (the
Japanese name is 'moso'), and Phyllostachys bambusoides
('madake' in Japanese). Both species have edible shoots and
are also used in building. Earth Care sells fresh bamboo shoots
and water chestnuts to restaurants and retailers in Sydney’s
Chinatown. “In the future, we’d like to market
Thai soup packs including all of the essential fresh ingredients
to fruit shops and local supermarkets,” says Earth Care's
Berry O’Connell.
A small-scale silvopasture system
Max Lindegger, one of Crystal Waters' original designers,
received Australia’s Centenary Medal for his work in
developing sustainable communities. Today, in addition to
a busy schedule of teaching and consulting, he runs a certified
organic farm on common land at Crystal Waters. The farm consists
of two, cell-grazing silvopasture systems, one combining Lowline
Angus beef cattle (a miniature breed) with pecan and kaffir
lime trees; the other combining sheep with citrus. Silvopasture
is a type of agroforestry mixing tree crops with forages and
livestock.
Lindegger believes that this system makes optimum use of the
land. On 2 ha (5 ac), he grows 120 pecan trees on a 10-meter
grid, 80 kaffir limes in rows, and grazes about 10 cattle and
a couple of calves. The pecans and kaffir limes were planted
in 1996; the Lowline Angus have been part of the system since
1999.
The 2 ha block is divided into 17 to 27 cells, depending
on herd size and pasture quality. The cattle graze each cell
for two to four days; individual cells rest from 40 to 90
days before being grazed again. Some of the surrounding steep
land is fenced off and used to attract beneficial, pest-controlling
insects.
In a silvopasture system the cattle, trees, and pasture exist
in a symbiotic relationship. The trees provide shade for the
cattle, reducing heat stress, compaction, and over fertilizing.
In this subtropical climate, Lindegger believes that the pasture
also grows better in partial shade.
Lindegger argues that cell or rotational grazing has numerous
advantages over continuous grazing. Compaction around gates
and watering points is reduced, manure is more evenly spread,
and tick and worm populations are kept in check by being periodically
denied access to their grazing hosts. Most important, cell
grazing fosters a more productive pasture of desirable forage
legumes and grasses, since livestock are forced to eat all
the available herbage and then move on, allowing the plants
to regrow, rather than selectively returning to their favorite
species again and again.
The dominant native grass in this area is kangaroo grass.
Before Lindegger took over these paddocks, the subtropical
pasture grasses kikuyu (Pennisetum clandestinum),
paspalum (Paspalum dilatatum), Rhodes grass (Chloris
gayana), and setaria (Setaria sphacelata) were
seeded, and Lindegger has sought to improve the pasture further
with rye and Japanese millet. As for legumes, he has seeded
a mix of perennial species, including white clover, alfalfa,
lotononis (Lotononis bainesii), shaw creeping vigna
(Vigna parkeri), and cardillo centro (a cultivar
of Centrosema pubescens).
In the spring, Lindegger overseeds with Japanese millet and
cowpeas; in the autumn, with annual rye and lupines. He uses
the grazing animals to help with the pasture renovation: while
the cattle are grazing a cell, he broadcasts the seed and
the cattle trample it into the ground. The plants are then
given four to six weeks to establish. To see if a re-seeded
cell is ready for grazing, Lindegger tries to pull up a rye
plant: if he can pull out the entire plant, it’s too
early. When reintroducing the cattle, he doesn’t allow
them to graze too hard their first time back. He ensures that
plenty of stubble is left behind and irrigates if there is
no rain.
Lindegger has had his soil tested every year since he started
farming this block. Following the recommendations, he’s
applied liquid lime, ground lime, and rock phosphate. He’s
also applied some biodynamic preparations. The results are
evident: whereas Lindegger initially had acidic soils with
a 4 percent organic matter content, he now has a balanced
soil with an organic matter content of almost 10 percent,
which is quite high for this region. As Lindegger says, “the
proof is in the pudding. The cattle have come through the
drought really well and in 2003 we harvested a good crop of
nuts.”
The sourdough bread that keeps the community
together
The Crystal Waters Sourdough Bakery grew out of Les Bartlett’s
desire to build a community wood-fired oven. He thought that
a communal oven could be used for communal meals, which in
turn would strengthen the community. Little did he know that
through working with the world famous oven builder Allen Scott
and various other sourdough bakers, he would become the first
Crystal Waters’ sourdough baker. The oven was built
in June 2001 and now bakes eight kinds of hand mixed, long-fermented,
organic sourdough bread weekly. The bakery is now the focal
point of Crystal Waters' Saturday market.
All flours used by the bakery are organic, stone-ground,
and purchased from local mills. Bartlett says that eventually
he’d like to establish a stone mill at Crystal Waters
and use grain grown on-site. The wood used to fire the oven
comes from fallen trees on and around Crystal Waters and from
sustainable forestry operations on common land.
Bartlett makes a point of only selling locally, and as much
as possible directly to the consumer. In addition to the Crystal
Waters’ market, he sells at three other nearby farmers'
markets and to the Maleny Maple Street Co-op, which emphasizes
local and organic products. Although there is an overwhelming
demand for the 350 loaves of Crystal Waters’ bread baked
weekly, Bartlett is not interested in expanding. Instead,
he’d like to help other communities establish their
own village bakeries.
Bartlett's primary goal is to produce good quality sourdough
bread for Crystal Waters. He laments how the industrial system—which
values speed and convenience—puts unhealthy, factory-baked
bread on the tables of faceless customers. “Many of
the additives in store bought bread are petrochemical-based,
and that’s what we’re trying to get away from.”
The cheese factory that was
John and Christine Hegerty started Mary River Cheeses out
of a desire to run a small, family business. They began researching
cheese making in 1998, and then built a cheese factory to
code in 2000. The facility was built in Crystal Waters' commercial
zone, adjacent to common land used for pasture, and was licensed
by the Queensland Dairy Authority for a little over two years.
Using milk sourced from Crystal Waters’ Village Farm
and other local dairies, they sold four kinds of cheeses,
including a feta marinated in olive oil with garlic and herbs.
They began by selling direct to customers at farmers' markets.
Soon they met chefs searching for quality ingredients and
began to sell to top restaurants as well. Although having
their cheeses used by high-end chefs was gratifying, the Hegertys
found that changing menus translated into inconsistent demand.
As John explains, “we could go six months on selling
to a restaurant, and then six months off.”
Mary River Cheeses won a silver National Dairy award and
several gold medals at regional shows, but the Hegertys found
they just couldn’t make money. “Making quality
cheeses wasn’t difficult. Selling them was the hard
part,” says John. They joined a group of small specialist
cheese makers in Australia that entitled them to consult with
Neal Willman, an expert cheese maker, teacher, and judge.
He told them they needed a larger pasteurizer to decrease
labor and increase efficiency, and also recommended they cut
down on variety and focus on one, high-quality, unique cheese
at a premium price.
In retrospect, the Hegertys see that to be successful, they
would have needed more capital—three or four times what
they had to invest—and more labor. Ultimately, time
spent in the cheese factory took away from family time. But
Christine looks on the bright side: “We lost money,
but the important thing is that the family survived. There’s
no use crying over it, because it was a great learning experience.”
Past lessons, future promise
Earth Care Enterprises and Max Lindegger’s organic
farm demonstrate good use of common land set aside for agricultural
purposes. The Crystal Waters Sourdough Bakery and the Cheese
Factory suggest how products raised on common land can be
processed and marketed locally.
More, certainly, could be done. Looking back on the evolution
of the community, Lindegger says, “I think as designers,
we left the common land at Crystal Waters a little bit hanging
because we were afraid of putting our opinion too strongly onto
the land. But these days I would establish a management plan,
rather than just saying ‘let’s protect the agricultural
land and people will come and use it.’ I think it would
be much more productive and desirable and perhaps would attract
people who want to come here and do serious agriculture."
If he has a regret, it's that relatively "few people are
taking the opportunity to use the agricultural land.”
Nonetheless, Crystal Waters is a working example of agricultural
land preservation without excluding growth. Crystal Waters
shows that with good design, development and agriculture can
be integrated. In light of suburban sprawl, we may have no
other choice. 
Kyle Holzhueter has studied natural approaches to agriculture
in Japan and environmental design in Australia. He plans to
study sustainable systems in graduate school with hopes of
developing a demonstration homestead and furthering the eco-village
movement in North America. He is currently a garden apprentice
at Sankanac Garden CSA of Camphill Village Kimberton Hills,
Kimberton PA.
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