iPad vs Kindle: should you get an e-Book reader?

Author
Pete Cooper

It's easy to dismiss e-Books as a fad - another gadget-dependent way for us to spend our hard-earned money. But the enormous environmental cost of conventional, 'dead tree' publishing should convince anyone to take a closer look at any technology that promises as more sustainable alternative. So that's what we asked our resident tech-wizard, Pete Cooper, to do...

Computers were my 'thing' when I was back at school and they were how I cut my teeth in the early part of my career; technical support jobs involving guiding people through how to do stuff on the computers they used at their workplace. I did technical support as a career for about 6 years, although I've been doing technical support for people that know I can do technical support for as long as I can remember.

In a former life however, I devoured paper books with reckless abandon, shunning the usual pursuits of people my age by chewing through pages of textual goodness and escaping into whatever was happening on the page. I love the smell of new books, more so than old. Dr Chris Johnstone's Find Your Power has a nice whiff to it, and the printed photos in Sepp Holzer's Permaculture give it an entirely different, but still pleasant, aroma. As is the case for many of us I imagine, I have limited space for books. It's a small house, and working from home with my wife (Emma Cooper, author of The Alternative Kitchen Garden ...and yes, that is our back garden on the front cover) means a sizable portion of the floorspace is already set aside for our respective offices. The sad truth is that my bookshelves are just about full.

I am confident, however, that I've found a good balance between the wired and un-wired worlds of reading: electronic books, or e-books. In the main, e-books have the same content as their printed  brethren, albeit with no paper, printing process or binding. These electronic book versions are simply files that are readable on computer screens, handheld book-reading devices (also known as e-book readers) and some mobile phones. As I write this in the summer of 2011, two of the most popular e-book readers are the Amazon Kindle and the Apple iPad, both of which I own and have used over the past few months. There are numerous (and increasing) other readers available on the market, but, as I haven't had long-term experience of them, I am not in a position to comment on them. What follows is, hopefully, a technobabble-free comparison and user review of the Amazon Kindle and Apple iPad. 

Key Differences: Kindle vs iPad

• The Kindle 3 has a 15cm (6") greyscale (black and white) LCD screen. The iPad has a larger 24cm (9.7") glass, full-colour touchscreen, which makes it over three times as heavy as the Kindle 3 whic is smaller and lighter, weighing in at 225g (8oz) 
• The glossy iPad screen is backlit with basic brightness control, the matt-finish Kindle screen doesn't have a backlight but does have a contrast control. 
• The Kindle has a small QWERTY keyboard and some navigation buttons to help you around the various menus and options. The iPad keyboard appears as part of the touch screen when needed (for example, sending an email or browsing the Internet), but it has no physical keyboard.  

Both:

• Come supplied with charging cables which, when connected to the USB port on your computer, can also be used to transfer things back and forth, be they e-books, music or whatever else. 
• Both devices can, in my experience, be charged from the USB port on a Solar Gorilla from my home in Oxfordshire, England on sunny days. Charging a device from solar power is all well and good in my little world, and it certainly saves on munching the juice coming out of the wall sockets.

Using iPad outdoors

Speaking of sunny days, the iPad is close to useless outside in the sun. Really, it's awful. The beautiful glossy, glass touchscreen is not fond of the sunshine, and all sunny days succeed in providing is a smeary a touchscreen. The Kindle, though, is great outdoors. The screen is not glossy, and performs far better than the iPad if you're outside on sunny days. It's far more conducive to sitting on the grass, lazing in a chair or hiding away in your garden shed, especially if you've spent the household food budget on a new Kindle and your partner isn't pleased.

Specs for iPad; specs for Kindle

The technology inside the iPad is far more advanced than the Kindle; the Kindle is designed to be an e-book reader, a job it does very well, whereas the iPad has e-book reading capabilities from one of its many thousands of applications. The Kindle has recently acquired very basic Internet browsing capability thanks to a free-to-download software update. Given the choice, I wouldn't use a Kindle for looking at web pages – for one, the colour aspect of the Internet is gone, you're surfing in shades of grey. The iPad is essentially more like a laptop or handheld computer than an e-book reader. The focus of the iPad is the overall user experience across all of the things it can do – an experience which, to me, is more intuitive than the Kindle, but this is entirely down to personal choice. Both Kindle and iPad have wireless (wi-fi) networking bits built-in as standard. 

iPad and Kindle Memory Capacity

Both of these devices have an internal memory for thousands of text-centric books, but neither have a camera-style memory card slot for upgrading. The more photos, diagrams and pictures an e-book has, the larger it will be. Photo-heavy titles like Ben Law's Roundwood Timber Framing are larger than epic text-heavy works like Patrick Whitefield's recently-updated The Earth Care Manual. Simon Fairlie's Meat is a great example of text-heavy small-memory book. Except for the front and back covers, there are simple-yet-clear diagrams accompanying the text, meaning a shorter download time and less of your storage space taken up. 

How readable is the text on an iPad or Kindle?

When you buy a paper book, it's typically arranged and printed to the publisher's specifications, even on this website, the text you're seeing has been formatted to be displayed in a readable style. Clever folks have already decided how far apart the words should be, how high the lines are etc. And therein lies the success: they get it right so you don't have to worry about it. However, with an e-book, you have a level of control over how you read your text. If you're familiar with changing the appearance of text in a document on a computer in, say, Microsoft Office or Word, then this is what you should expect from an e-book reader. Most readers, regardless of their origin, can change the size, spacing, and layout of the text. If you prefer large type, you can have it. If you like to have hundreds of words on a page with smaller text, no problem. Don't like the fancy font the text is shown in? Chances are you can change it to something simpler. You may find that reading on the bus is easier with more space between the lines. Once you've read a few e-books on a Kindle or iPad, you begin to know what works for you, and that's the key. The iPad has a clever function of being able to change the text background from white to sepia, giving e-books a bit of a nostalgic, aged look and being easier on the eyes late at night. 

Downloading PDFs on an iPad or Kindle

Both Kindle and iPad can display PDFs. Neither device does it absolutely perfectly, but the iPad does a far better job at it and the Kindle is limited to showing shades of grey. Again, the PDF function is a fairly new addition to the Kindle via a free software update. As a reader, you are restricted to how the PDF is laid out by the publisher. There is little or no change to this layout that you as a reader can make as t he clever design folks have made the PDF to look like the paper version of the book.

e-Book Availability

Over time, publishers will make new and old books available as downloads, both from places like the Green Shopping e-books page and the relevant online stores for Kindle and iPad. Amazon's Kindle store has a larger range of books than Apple's iBooks store by virtue of it having a head-start by over a year. Both have a large selection of free-to-download books. The first Kindle-native e-book from Permanent Publications is Chrissie Sugden's Grounds For Hope and is available for immediate download from both Green Shopping and the Amazon Kindle store. Even with Amazon's relatively fast shipping, there's a lot to be said for immediate fulfillment. That's another key difference between paper books and e-books – spur-of-the-moment impulse purchases are just that, they're typically delivered to you in less than a minute and you don't need to constantly listen for delivery trucks. 

iPad, Kindle and e-Book Prices

Expect to pay considerably more for an iPad than a Kindle; typically, a basic iPad is about three-and-a-half times the price of a standard Kindle. E-book prices will vary from title to title, but are largely similar across the various formats, so you won't normally pay a premium.

iPad Durability; Kindle Durability

The price difference has had a practical impact on how I treat each device, however. My Kindle is light, portable, and crucially I don't feel the need to wrap it up in cotton wool to protect it. My iPad, however, has an after-market protective cover. I am far more wary of where it's used and stored and I wouldn't dare throw it in a rucksack like I would with a Kindle.

Where can I buy an iPad, Kindle and e-Books?

You can buy a Kindle direct from Amazon.com for domestic or international shipment and selected high street and online retailers. As a resident Limey, I bought my Kindle direct from Amazon.co.uk. You can buy an iPad from the Apple store online, via their retail stores and also at other 3rd party retailers. In both cases, the prices are largely similar from place to place. In my experience, Amazon are cheapest for iPads and Kindles, though pricing in each territory will vary slightly. An interesting recent development is the arrival of an ad-supported Kindle, which is available for a lower price ($25 less) than the standard (ad-free) version, though currently only available to North America. Called the Kindle with Special Offers & Sponsored Screensavers, it displays special offers and sponsored screen savers when you're not reading. There are clearly pros and cons to this new version, though it might be worth looking into if you're impervious to advertising and on a tighter budget. The screen savers on the standard version are portraits of well-known authors and other innocuous/uncontroversial book artwork. 

How Big is the Carbon Footprint? - Packaging

Both companies have made thoughtful decisions on reducing packing weight and wasted space. Both product boxes are small and well-packed, with the Kindle packing verging on minimalist. At the time of purchasing, both of my devices has card outers and no blown polystyrene inside. The Kindle tray was recycled card and I don't recall any plastic being used. My iPad packing tray was marked as PET and can be readily recycled where facilities exist. Less wasted space in the box means more efficient packing, which means fewer cargo shipping containers in the long run. Ultimately, each device was designed in the USA, manufactured and assembled in China and then shipped to its destination, so bear this in mind if you are mindful of the embodied carbon of each device.

Conclusion: What's the best e-reader?

Within the confines of an article about e-books, it's fair to say the extra stuff the iPad can do make it more suitable for people who are less voracious book consumers and want more of a computer experience with email, web browsing and the like. If I wanted a device primarily for reading text-heavy e-books, I'd get a Kindle. It does the job very well and I'm completely happy with it. Whether or not e-books are appropriate for the permaculture movement remains to be seen: there are compelling and rational arguments for and against, something which I'll go into more detail with in a future article.

If I've achieved what I set out to do, you're read this far and learned a bit (or a lot) about the basics of Kindles and iPads. I could talk for hours on this subject but I will close by asking you to leave any outstanding questions in the comments below if you've got that spooked look on your face after reading this, and I will do my best to answer them. For now, however, I am going to shut down my computer, grab my Kindle, go outside in the sunshine and read a book...

For further information log on website :
https://www.permaculture.co.uk/articles/ipad-vs-kindle-should-you-get-e-book-reader

Turning an Old Playground into a Veg Garden

Author
Phil Moore

Laya Point Permaculture have transformed a forgotten tarmac playground into a raised bed veg garden, with the tarmac walkways serving as a thermal solar store.

What was once an empty school playground is now home to a series of veg beds, with thermal solar storing pathways.

Hopscotch and handball markings remain with the North/South/East/West compass still visible in the centre of the playground, now with veg beds moving outwards in a radial pattern, like the rays of the sun.

Laya Point Permaculture, based on the site of an old country school in Cumbria, continues with education but in a very different vein. Alongside their growing space they recently ran a weekend residential on myco-scaping for gardens and smallholdings - growing edible and medicinal mushrooms and integrating them into mutually beneficial systems.

The school yard plot began back in November 2012 with spray paint, string and tape measure in hand. A digger came in to break the surface and scoop out most of the hardcore from each bed over the course of two days. In March of 2013 Nicole and Tom of Laya Point, with a team Wwoofers, pick axed away the rest of the stone and tarmac and shaped out the beds before adding scaffolding planks. By 14th July of the 32 beds were ready to go.

As well as the scaffolding plank beds, there are six beautifully put together stone wall beds. With this and the remaining 12 beds the playground plot was finished in October 2013.

Good planning was essential in auditing and channelling their energies. Nicole expands on the design process:

"The design is exactly as we planned it on paper. We did a scale drawing and worked out the width of the paths and beds that we thought would be the easiest to work with and get the wheel barrow through. We also wanted plenty of direct paths across the site. So although it is a patterned design we were able to move around it easily. It took us a few days to measure it out but it was worth the time planning properly. Planning also enabled us to estimate the quantity and cost of our materials."



An unintended consequence is that the tarmac acts as a heat sink helping warm the raised beds. At 200 feet above sea level and with cool winds, the Lake District can get chilly. 

Nicole, who is also a member the Ulverston Permaculture Project group, recounts the early days of her new series of veg beds.

Brian, her neighbour, and regular dispenser of garden lore and wisdom, assuaged her early garden woes, telling her, "Don't be a gardener if you're bothered by failures!".



Learning the ways of the gardener Nicole beautifully articulates how time and experience are often the best teachers:

"Spring time sowing is an act of faith for those of us not raised in the ways of gardening. Sowing seeds requires so little effort at first, just a spare moment to sift the compost and sand together into a tray and then to gently press a single seed into each module. The slow start which originally fanned my fear of failure no longer seems to weigh on my mind. Watching the process it is obvious that the seeds want to grow - just in their own time. These basics aren't in any book. Time on the ground, literally, is the best way to learn when, and how, to do the jobs that make up gardening."



As well as the playground plot, Nicole and Tom have a nascent forest garden, the beginnings of a pond and plenty of composting.

Nicole and Tom are Laya Point Permaculture based at The Old School in the stunning Cumbrian Lake District hamlet of Ulpha. Keeping an active site with Wwoofers Laya Point also run courses. To find our more: www.layapoint.com

For further information log on website :
https://www.permaculture.co.uk/readers-solutions/turning-old-playground-veg-garden

Snake Oil: How Fracking's False Promise of Plenty Imperils Our Future

Author
Rozie Apps 

A critical look at the oil and fracking industry from both an economic and environmental stance.

Author: Richard Heinberg

Publisher: Clairview Books

Publication year: 2014

RRP: £10.99

Buy now

"While we tend to think of money as the prime mover of the economy, in fact it is energy that gets things done. More and cheap energy translates to a more complex society with a growing economy; less energy, and more expensive energy, translates to a stagnant or shrinking economy that sheds complexity."

To me, this sums up Snake Oil: How Fracking's False Promise of Plenty Imperils Our Future. Energy is pivotal in today's society, with a range of techniques, and all controversial. This book explores one technique, fracking, and looks at how society's need for energy has lead to some shocking actions.

Richard Heinburg, a senior fellow at the Post Carbon Institute, fills the pages with facts and figures about fracking in the US, giving a unbiased explanation of the growing industry that is beginning to hit the rest of the world.

The reader is taken on a journey through the history of fracking, the ups and downs of both the opposition and the 'frackers'.
We are shown the figures for economic growth and oil and gas production rates, but also the devastation left behind in previous fracking communities: fracking companies give compensation to towns but in several examples the cost to repair the damage to the roads from the passing lorries equates to much more than is actually received in compensation. There is also the long-lasting pollution of water to take into account. The job growth myth is also explained, along with the real figures behind the fracking boom.
The biggest eye-opener is when Richard reveals how production from shale gas wells decline 80-95% after 36 months. This is due to 'sweet spots' (where there is a huge amount of gas). When fracking companies estimate the amount of shale gas areas can produce, they don't take into account that these 'sweet spots' are only a small proportion of the area and will be used up after a few years. After this period, it takes a lot more time, energy and money to extract the gas, basically making the shale gas more expensive to extract than its profit. There is even examples where horizontal drilling has been suspended because the cost of drilling is more than the sale of the shale gas /oil.

Richard also explains that it takes all the drilling that the industry can do to keep production steady and that there is no excess of gas, just a constant effort to maintain levels. Basically, shale gas is not a sustainable energy that we can rely on for the future.

An Energy Information Agency (EIA) report in March 2012 showed oil production had been overestimated for 12 years, and oil prices had been underestimated 62% of the time while natural gas prices had been underestimated by 70.8%.

I believe Snake Oil: How Fracking's False Promise of Plenty Imperils Our Future, is a book that needs to be read by all. It is not an anti-fracking book, or specifically for environmentalists, but a well laid out exploration of the fracking industry with some shocking information that everybody needs to know.

With the most throrough analysis of this industry ever taken, this book proves that fracking should not be the way forward for the energy industry. Even if you have no care for the environment, this book shows that a dependence on shale gas and oil drilling comes at a great cost. The evidence shows that in less than 50 years, shale gas will peak and the decline will be quick and dramatic, leaving society unprepared.

Rozie Apps is assistant editor at Permaculture magazine.
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For further information log on website :
https://www.permaculture.co.uk/book-reviews/snake-oil-how-frackings-false-promise-plenty-imperils-our-future

A Sanctuary of Trees

Author
Fiona Sanderson 

Fiona reviews A Sanctuary of Trees, a book helping to teach its readers how to live a more meaningful life with wood. Practical and thoughtful, it will prove a good read for all those who enjoy working with, or simply being around wood.

Author: Gene Logsdon

Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing

Publication year: 2012

RRP: £14.99

Buy now

‘Contrary’ is a word that has followed Gene Logsdon; several of his previous books consider how to be a ‘contrary farmer’ and lead a ‘contrary life’. I suspect many of us can identify with the benefits and comforts of being contrary. Taking another look at the way people do things and wondering why is just one of those benefits.

If you wanted to lead a more ‘contrary’ lifestyle, well Gene Logsdon’s back catalogue could take you all the way from gardening self sufficiency on two acres, through aquaculture, the influence of farming on creativity, small scale grain cultivation, to nothing more ambitious than being happy and content with life as it is. At least, that is one of the messages I got from his latest book, my best read of 2012.

A Sanctuary of Trees is a simple and practical book about living with wood. Chapters consider how to start up your own woodland, how much timber it might produce, what you can use it for, and how much wood it takes to keep warm. You’ll also find advice on wildwood food, green woodworking, how to find useful woods in the suburbs, and wood stove efficiency comparisons from someone who has clearly tried out nearly everything. 

As a guide to wood, it is clearly reliable as well as useful. But this book is so much more than that. It is a gentle philosophy of life that recognises how good things can be when humans take a minor part in an ecosystem, rather than choosing to dominate it. He reflects on decades of experience of woodland management and concludes it’s best to resist the impulse to weigh in with your sleeves rolled up, crashing around with an intent to improve. “The most profound lesson the trees have tried to teach me is patience,” he says. Use the trees’ lifespan, rather than your own, as a measure for woodland management and, in the end, he reflects that there is little difference in tree growth and yield in woodland areas where immense effort goes in to thinning and brush clearance, and areas where nature is left alone. 

In particular, I found his thoughts on the beauty of wood, the magical architecture of trees, and the value of tranquillity so appealing, so persuasive that I was inspired to think again about my own contrary life in a city and whether there are more ways I could live closer to wood. “The real work of humans is to make sure that woodlands are not turned into more concrete or corn,” he says, “Nature can handle the rest.” I loved his perceptions of humanity striving to fit into straight lines, flat surfaces, square corners as running counter to nature. As he says, “Straight lines end; circles are forever. The earth is round.” Finding use in the curves and shape, in life, as well as wood, is natural, human. Actually, it’s not contrary at all.

Save £2.00. Buy The Sanctuary of Trees from Green Shopping for just £12.99. Also available from Chelsea Green Publishing in the USA.

More resources

More books on woodland:
The Woodland Way by Ben Law
The Woodland Year by Ben Law
A Wood of Our Own by Julian Evans

Watch: A Woodland Awakening - The Importance of Trees
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The Organic Medicinal Herb Farmer

Author
Joan Bailey

Learn how to farm medicinal herbs, from growing and processing, to species, choosing land and seed, and packaging for customers.

Author: Melanie and Jeff Carpenter

Publisher: Chelsea Green

Publication year: 2015

RRP: £27.99

Buy now

While there are a multitude of books on farming, few if any discuss medicinal herbs. Peg Shafer’s The Chinese Medicinal Herb Farm (Chelsea Green, 2011) was one of the first to do so in great detail.

The Carpenters however, can set their tome – The Organic Medicinal Herb Farmer – next to it with the confidence they have created a new classic in the same realm.

In it they cover medicinal plants native to the Americas and beyond, while offering extensive information on all aspects of building a successful farm business. Medicinals remain a relatively new arena, but one with great potential for experienced and novice farmers alike.

Most people, the Carpenters write, understand the idea of local food, but local medicine remains revolutionary. They aim to change that while improving the economic, environmental and physical health of farming communities.

Existing farmers are encouraged to take advantage of a new market that would diversify their crops and incorporate perennials which don’t need to be replanted regularly and that attract a wide variety of beneficials.

Beginning farmers will discover not only the information they need but also the kinds of questions they need to pose in order to get off to a good start.

The book is broken into two parts: the growing and processing of herbs, followed by which herbs to grow. It sounds simple enough, but the Carpenters manage to press between these two covers everything from choosing land, creating a business plan, setting seeds and the machinery needed to do so, right through growing, harvest and final packaging before shipping.

Marketing is also included. All of that is couched in discussion of current and possibly changing regulations, how to ride market fluctuations and labor costs. The Carpenters share mistakes, successes, and what they would do differently if they could. Trained on Melanie’s mother’s medicinal farm, they keep meticulous records, a habit which paid off ten-fold. They quickly learned which cover crops were most effective, how much weeding costs in terms of time and labor, and which plants thrived in a wild setting versus a shade house.

Like any good farmer, they are as thoughtful in the business office as they are in the field. Lists of questions every grower, whether established or beginning, should ask dot the pages as do tables illustrating examples of records or plants to pair. Stunning photographs of their farm, equipment, fields and staff at work further illustrate their points.

The list of 50 herbs at the end offers basic plant information including life cycles, planting considerations, growing conditions, propagation, medicinal uses, harvest specifications, pests and diseases, post harvest considerations, yields and pricing.

The plants listed here are those the authors find a steady demand for in the market. For growers looking to diversify their income stream, add perennial crops that would also attract beneficials, or create a local medicinal movement, The Organic Medicinal Herb Farmer will surely prove an indispensable tool for years to come.
Joan Bailey writes about food, farming and farmers’ markets in Japan www.japanfarmersmarkets.com

For further information log on website :
https://www.permaculture.co.uk/book-reviews/organic-medicinal-herb-farmer

Gardening Myths & Misconceptions

Author
Patrick Whitefield 

A beautifully presented book debunking the many myths of gardening. Evokes a 'big sigh of relief'.

Author: Charles Dowding

Publisher: Green Books

Publication year: 2013

RRP: £9.95

Buy now

This is a book that can evoke big sighs of relief, along the lines of ‘Thank God, I don’t have to do that any more!’ Even more satisfying is to get the seal of approval for something you already don’t do. For me it was garden hygiene. According to the author all that business of washing your seed trays, pots and modules each winter to prevent the carryover of disease has a purely historical origin: in the big country house gardens that used to employ a lot of under-gardeners, there wasn’t much to be done in the winter, so the head gardeners had them washing pots rather than sit around idle. There’s no biological reason for doing it.

Charles Dowding is one of the leading gardeners of our times. In particular he’s the champion of no-dig vegetable gardening. Not only has he spent his life growing vegetables but he also has a questioning, radical mind and is the first to contradict accepted practice if it conflicts with his own experience. He’s written many books about gardening but this one is different. It’s not a general guide, which tells you all you need to know and what you need to do. It tells you what you don’t need to do, and it will be as interesting for experts as for beginners. 

It’s only short but it punches well above its weight because it leaves out all the stuff everyone’s agreed about and homes in on those points that are debatable. Is watering best done in the evening? Is it worthwhile to whitewash your greenhouse in the summer? How important is crop rotation in a small domestic garden? Does companion planting reduce plant diseases? He’s not dogmatic and to many of these beliefs he gives a ‘partly true’, or ‘true but misleading’. And for each myth that he explodes he gives a clear explanation of why it isn’t true. 

Being the great no-dig man he is, a lot of his myths have to do with the supposed benefits of digging and if the book has a fault it’s perhaps an over-emphasis on this. But even if you’re already a committed no-digger you’ll still find plenty of gems here on every aspect of vegetable gardening. A small hardback, the book is beautifully produced and would make a good present for any gardener.

Patrick Whitefield is a permaculture teacher and author. See patrickwhitefield.co.uk

Further resources

Watch: Charles Dowding and no-dig bed experiments
Watch: Charles Dowding and the benefits of a hotbed
Books from Patrick Whitefield

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The More Beautiful World Our Hearts Know is Possible

Author
Thomas Smith

Rather than fighting our way to social change, in his new book Charles Eisenstein gives us a new story and a visionary insight into an infinitely complex and interconnected world where small actions can help a more beautiful world of abundance to come to fruition. A book of empowerment and hope for the thinking activist.

Author: Charles Eisenstein

Publisher: North Atlantic Books

Publication year: 2013

RRP: £17.99

Buy now

Charles Eisenstein has come far since he was forced to self-publish his transformative breakthrough tome, The Ascent of Humanity, with The More Beautiful World Our Hearts Know Is Possible seeing him return with a beautifully-nuanced, accessible, and thoughtful exploration of a new narrative of interbeing and interconnection, to transcend our Cartesian, dualistic, technological and control-based culture.

While Eisenstein’s last book, Sacred Economics, focused his thinking around separation onto the sphere of economics and the spirit of the gift, here we return to the awe-inspiring and all-encompassing scope found in The Ascent of Humanity, which drew on a bewildering array of fields such as ecology, anthropology, archaeology, evolutionary biology and quantum physics to explore a paradigm shift to a new holistic world view.

Much of the text found in the new publication consists of an easy-going and thoughtful dialogue with critics – both external critics who, for example, have questioned his air-based travel choices, and his internal voices of separation and cynicism, which constantly query whether he is simply falling victim to, in his ironically-chosen words, 'New Age puffery' in naively asserting the possibility of a new ontological paradigm, a new story of the self and of the people.

Eisenstein spent much of his twenties working in Taiwan as a translator and, while there, immersed himself in eastern spiritual thought, particularly daoism, a fact which comes across strongly as the philosophical foundation for the book. His work dovetails neatly with permaculture, not least with the influence of daoism also strongly evident in 'father of permaculture' Bill Mollison’s early thought and daoist principles such as wu-wei (non-action), being core to another permaculture classic, Fukuoka’s One Straw Revolution. Eisenstein, echoing Fukuoka, informs us that “There is a time to act, and a time to wait, to listen, to observe. Then understanding and clarity can grow. From understanding, action arises that is purposeful, firm, and powerful.”

The More Beautiful World Our Hearts Know Is Possible turns conventional thinking on reality and social change upside-down, an approach which for many leads to burnout and sees change as coming from the old story of planning, force and overtly-political movements. Charles does not assert that there is never a time for struggle and violence. Simply, “All things have their place in this world: the buck struggles against the wolf, and sometimes he gets away. It is just that, because of our ideology, we apply the mentality of fighting, struggling, and warfare far beyond its proper domain.” Instead, we get a visionary insight into an infinitely complex and interconnected world where, while these things may have their place, even the smallest actions, such as care for a loved one, can ripple chaotically and help a more beautiful world of abundance to come to fruition.

Often, to paraphrase David Mitchell, the author of Cloud Atlas, we can feel powerless to enact effective positive social and environmental change in any way, feeling like a mere drop in a limitless ocean of global woes. Thankfully, The More Beautiful World Our Hearts Know Is Possible reminds us, as Mitchell did, that while this may be an existential truth, equally the story can be turned on its head, with the ocean consisting of a multitude of small drops, each connected to the next in myriad ways. “Enlightenment,” Eisenstein assures us in this important book, “is a group activity.”
Tom Smith holds an MA in Sociology and Philosophy, a Permaculture Design Certificate, and lives at An Teach Saor (The Free House) a permaculture small-holding in Galway, Ireland.

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Further resources

Connected -  be an agent of change
Check out The World We Made by Jonathon Porrit, Forum for the Future
Hope springs in the darkest hour

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Edible Perennial Gardening

Author
Jennifer Lauruol

An attractive book filled with a range of edible perennials for any size permaculture garden, with a warm introduction and useful directory of plant sources.

Author: Anni Kelsey

Publisher: Permanent Publications

Publication year: 2014

RRP: £14.95

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I read this very attractive book with interest, as I am always looking for ways to explain gardening with permanent edible plants to my garden design clients.
Anni Kelsey usefully describes how to grow and manage a rich polyculture of edible plants in a small suburban English garden. She explains the theory with reference to the late Japanese pioneer of polyculture Masanobu Fukuoka, and to the works of current practitioners Martin Crawford, Dave Jacke and Eric Toensmeier. This helps the reader understand the concepts and accept Anni's enthusiastic 'wild is beautiful' approach. 

Written in an engaging yet erudite style, Anni recounts her experiences of several years in the manner of a neighbour sharing a cup of tea. This record of how she transformed her damp and shady suburban garden into a perennial polyculture invites the reader to ‘have a go’ without fear of failure. Banished is the spectre of allotment perfectionistas keeping military order on perfect vegetable plots. This is helpful; some of my clients now feel drawn to this style of gardening thanks to Anni’s honest description of her experiments.

The most useful part of the book, after the warm invitation to simply get going, is the directory of plant sources and the instructions about which elements are needed to create a successful perennial polyculture.

As a planning tool I felt that leaves, roots and tubers were well covered; I was disappointed, however, by the small amount of information on edible flowers, even though this is covered elsewhere in the literature. Flowers communicate beauty so effectively I felt more emphasis should have been given to this element to help neighbours and newcomers understand and accept the polyculture style more readily.

I liked the very useful list of plants and suppliers. Latin names appeared in the text descriptions but were absent in the appendix. In my experience Latin names are still the nomenclature of choice with online nurseries and plant suppliers both in the UK and on the Continent, so I hope a future edition would include them the appendix.

Viewed through the eyes of most of my mainstream clients and workshop participants, the book might appear rather far to one end of the ‘wild’ spectrum of gardening styles. Many of the people I teach and design for do not have the botanical knowledge or experience to be able to differentiate amongst such a large number of plants in close proximity, and would be intimidated by the complexity. These people are interested in the idea of layered gardening, but need time to learn a palette of wild edible plants and acquire a working knowledge of the families which domesticated vegetables belong to before being able to make use of this book with confidence.

I find Edible Perennial Gardening an excellent addition to my own library of permaculture and forest garden literature, and I recommend it to readers who already have a working knowledge of botany, foraged wild edibles and basic vegetable gardening.
Jennifer Lauruol is a permaculture designer at www.carpe-diem-gardens.co.uk

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For further information log on website :
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Making Money from Holly, Ivy & Mistletoe

Author
Ben Law

Ben Law shares how he makes money from his holly tree at Christmas time and how growing your own mistletoe can also be profitable.

I have a holly tree at Prickly Nut Wood which is for many reasons, is very valuable to me. It is a large mature tree and provides plenty of berries that are important bird food over the winter; When I arrived at Prickly Nut Wood, its bark was being devoured by rabbits and I took action to aid its recovery; The berries are a welcome flash of colour amongst the winter stems of deciduous tree; but also, it has a very high economic value.

Our native holly (Ilex aquifolium) is dioecious, meaning it bears male and female flowers on different trees. The holly tree I refer to is female as male trees do not produce berries. Prickly Nut Wood's holly tree has produced an abundant crop of red berries every winter for the past 23 years.


^{(Large female holly at Prickly Nut Wood)}

I prune the holly usually around the end of the first week in December. Using a long arm pruner, (which I also use for the apple trees), I cut off a number of boughs of berried holly and then store them in my workshop which is cool and will keep the holly fresh.

As December draws on, the birds begin to strip the tree of its berries - I bundle up my holly and deliver it for sale the week before Christmas when finding berried holly can often be challenging. I usually earn around £40 in total for my holly bunches. Over 23 years that equates to £920. If I manage another 30 years at Prickly Nut Wood, the holly tree will have earned me £2120 and will still be growing to provide an income for the next woodland dweller. An oak could not fetch near to such a fee in 53 years of growth.

Ivy and mistletoe can also be harvested and sold. Ivy can be cut when it hangs in long garlands and these can be attractive in wreaths, as can the berries but like the holly, the berries are an important winter bird food, so harvest sparingly.


^{(Mistletoe and berries)}

Mistletoe can be cultivated as well as found in the wild. It uses the nutrients of the tree it grows in and is partially parasitic, which means it takes some of the energy from the tree. I harvest my mistletoe from a number of trees locally but I am now seeding some of my own apple trees and will begin cultivating mistletoe in them. Once established the mistletoe responds well to a hard prune and this can be carried out at the same time as you would prune the apple tree - cutting a cash crop while you carry out your winters pruning.


^{(Bunches of mistletoe stand out in winter, these are growing on Lime)}

If you then use your apple prunings as scion material for grafting new apple trees, you are adding real value to your winter’s fruit tree pruning experience - stacking functions.

Mistletoe is usually spread by birds (in particular the mistle thrush) who eat the berries. As the seed passes through the bird, it sticks to the bark of the tree where it lands. The white casing around the seed is like a natural glue making it easy to transfer berries to the tree you want to cultivate it on. The key to success is ensuring the berry is ripe, so avoid the seasonal festive mistletoe and wait until March before transferring the berries.

For further information log on website :
https://www.permaculture.co.uk/articles/making-money-holly-ivy-mistletoe

Traditional Beekeeping: the Bee Hotels of Switzerland and Germany

Author
Katy Runacres

Katy Runacres is researching traditional smallholding methods in Europe. This week she has been exploring beekeeping and particularly the beautiful 'bee hotels' found in Switzerland and Germany.

Beekeeping was and still is a very important aspect of European smallholding and farming.

I have researched a number of different types of bee house and beekeeping techniques from various regions of Switzerland and also the Black Forest region of South Germany.

Beekeeping was vital for many farms and even today lots of families use the products from bees in their everyday life. Small scale farmers could use wax for candle making and the honey for eating and for making medicinal herbal medicines. Today, Switzerland still uses lots of honey in healthy food such as the traditional Bircher Muesli, invented by a doctor to improve the health of his patients. Also it is still used in main stream medicine and relaxation remedies.
In the Alpine region of the Berner Oberland, Switzerland, you will often see traditional bee hives. In the Alpine villages such as Adelboden and Frutigen up in the mountains much small scale independent farmers and smallholders have a large beehive at the bottom of their land, garden or field.

The Alpine regions tend to have a traditional design that everyone follows. It is usually a small brown shed with a painted front. The front is painted in all different bright colours and has lots of openings on the front for the bees to access the hive. Inside the beehive it is separated into sections - the main section for the bees to live and produce honey in and the quartered off part for the beekeeper to make observations and notes from. Also this area for the beekeeper is used for storage of equipment.

These type of beehives are also nicknamed 'Bee Hotels' as they can be quite elaborate with decoration on the front to make it look like a building as you will see in one picture. The bright colours on the front are thought to attract the bees as they appear like bright coloured flowers. 




Conversely, in the Black Forest area of Germany the approach to beekeeping is rather different. Farmers would work often as a cooperative and have communal beehives to use for the whole community. Honey was an expensive product that could be traded for items not available or easily produced in the region. The beehives were of a very different design, a more natural shape that imitates how bees nest in the wild. They are called straw skeps. They are straw baskets placed upside down with the entrance for the bees being a single entrance underneath the basket. They are good in that the shape allows the bees to create more natural combs. This makes happier, healthier bees but they are difficult to use. It is difficult to see inside the hive to check for any pests or diseases and is not possible to harvest honey without destroying the skep.



If you would like to discover more about different smallholding methods go to http://thegoodlifeinpractice.wordpress.com/

Katy is a 24 year old smallholder, blogger and cook. She currently smallholds in Switzerland including keeping chickens, but will return to her native Suffolk, UK later in the year. Katy is a member of the Suffolk and Essex Poultry Club and has a diploma in Countryside Management. 

Further resources

Apiculture and permaculture: keeping bees
Smallholding Methods Across Europe: Fruit Drying
Keeping bees in towns and cities
We also recommend: Natural Beekeeping by Ross Conrad and Top-Bar 

Beekeeping by Les Crowder and Heather Harrell.
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For further information log on website :
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