Permaculture in the margins: realizing Central European regeneration

Abstract

As the adverse effects of intensive, high-input food production are made increasingly obvious, alternatives are ubiquitous; these localized alternatives can also be a model for resistance, creating space for the negotiation of 'progress', particularly in marginal and peripheral places. Using an international permaculture site in rural Bulgaria as a case study, this article explores the permaculture 'web of mutually beneficial relationships' that are both social and ecological, informing a model for sustainable livelihoods in a transformational time. Introducing the work of permaculture co-founder Bill Mollison to the rural postsocialist transition studies of Stahl, Cellarius, and others, permaculture inspires progress re-defined through subsistence and creative response to change.

Keywords: permaculture, food systems, sustainable development, Postsocialist Europe