Interview with Bill Mollison

Find our films about permaculture at www.ecofilm.de
I made this Interview with Bill Mollison, "Father of permaculture", at the International Permaculture Conference in Motovun, Croatia in june 2005. Sorry about the sound trouble that pops up sometimes.
Mollison talks about the future of the earth, permaculture, life and death, community, spirituality, Fukuoka, GMO...
He´s quite a special personality, see yourself :-). In his lectures - if people went to sleep (according to him), he would throw a chair through the room, to wake everybody up.
Thanks to PJC (kzbin.info/door/ks5g..., we do have subtitles now. You can find his transcript of the interview here:
www.vankalpermaculture.org/200...

[@joansmith3492]

You did your duty Bill Mollison. We are all grateful to you. RIP

[@justin8037]

They gave me an advertisement for lawn fertilizer on a Mollison video. This man Despised lawns!

[@vivalaleta]

What a valuable human being he was. Thank you, Bill. You led the way.

[@elizabethflynn8455]

What a great man! Thank goodness he saw what was happening and warned us. Love you,Bill.

[@melovescoffee]

I so love his dark, down to earth sense of humor. We will miss you, Bill but we will carry on. Anger, fury... exactly right! I'm also averse to the eternal babble about community and spirituality that plagues permaculture. All permaculture is to me is growing the best food i can while preserving the ecosystem and pulling in as many people as i can to open up their eyes. I already am community as i don't live in a damn box. Community is what naturally happens when you connect with people. I already see the world in all it's glory, i don't need spirituality to guide me to some 'path'. I have a warm place to sleep, cook and educate myself and my hands in the soil as long as there is light. Life.

[@xxtranZerxx]

The fact is that all of the community and spirituality babble comes along when people get together, grow their own food and truly observe and work with nature. But I agree, to each his own and the real objective is to get others to adapt the same lifestyle.

[@Tpb247]

@@xxtranZerxx you missed the whole point. To get others to adapt the same lifestyle means you are imposing your rules on them thereby creating a community. Bill was averse to that. You contradict yourself. I hope you are not making others miserable by your actions.

[@growpermaculture2197]

​@@Tpb247 This is getting silly. You don't have to "impose" anything, nor did she say anything to that effect. People voluntarily join activities they are interested in. Now in order to have a viable community that does not blow up they all need to agree to certain rules. Of course if you have been on the receiving end of too much poor control then you may be very averse to any rule that you did not make yourself, which is not uncommon. Good rules and good control is nice and makes life easier and pleasant. (I mean that in its most basic form as in when you make food you don't burn it, drop it on the floor and so on. When you talk with people you let them finish before you reply, when you ask people to do something you let them finish that task before giving them a new one. You don't run around spreading negativity just because you feel bad. You don't leave your dishes and cooking mess for others to work around. Etc, etc.) As far as spirituality, that is a very personal thing where some people realize there's more to them and or life than just a body while for others that must not, can not be. Personally I've found that regardless of that being true, when we reduce man to mud his survival potential is greatly reduced. Typically through the kind of ideas which leads to having lower values/standards since "man is just mud" and it does not matter what you do to him. I've never seen Bill saying what you claim, but then I never met him never mind knew him. I have found that it is easy to read a lot into what people say when they actually did not say anything of the sort. I have a near friend who will "dub in" something I did not say, especially when she is upset. People misread because of misunderstanding, in fact I think that a high percentage of trouble/problems come from this. Bill was a man who came to some fantastic conclusions that is benefitting mankind, and for that I'm very grateful.

[@Tpb247]

@@growpermaculture2197 I don't think you really got Bills message. But I am happy you still got some good take aways.

[@steveszmidt4318]

​@@Tpb247 Bill mastered his subject and advanced it to the benefit of all. But like with anyone else that does not mean everything he said on every subject is automatically optimum. He had his experiences, like the rest of us. I for one certainly don't agree with his talk about how bad communities are, if you use the definition of a community. Certainly there are communities I don't agree with or like but any group sharing something automatically, to that degree, becomes a community. It can be a tight closed one or a loose and open community spread wide. How it does is up to its members. There's a tendency to do an a=a on things and community has a lot of different connotations associated with them. Just like politics, money and religion being charged subjects where people often think more with emotions than logic. So we clearly have some different view points here, but we do all agree that Bill made some fantastic work.

[@JohnDoe_88]

First time I've heard this guy and one minute in and love him

[@bluearmyjarun]

at the first moment you think it is just an old grumpy man, but if you listen carefully, whole lot of wisdom comes out. in 20min no journalist can give his whole life and learning's to public, but thank you for a small peek in his thoughts.

[@braidenianniello771]

I didn’t realize how freaking intelligence he was . What a real person .

[@codelicious6590]

This one ideal, "I started it knowing I wouldn't finish it but that others after me would carry it forward" This one idea is what we as a species need more of! If any of us give a shit for anyone else at all that is.

[@ade6219]

Bill I'm going to miss you my friend. You gave to me so much via permacultue. Rest in peace mon......Gaia permaculture.

[@craigmetcalfe1749]

I feel all at once proud to be Australian and proud to be part of the future. The way Bill spoke and wrote those things that are necessary, I need to resist thinking quickly about and ruminate on in order to create somewhere that's nice to live in for myself, my family, my friends and the earth. RIP

[@eemoogee160]

I hope Australians become inspired by Bill to create a sustainable system. We could use one about now ...

[@QuiChiYang2]

1st time I've seen this, he is advanced. I'm mad as he'll, but had the wool pulled in front of my attentions. Now, im actively, violently, protective of what my family eats. Thank you Mr. Mollison for all that you have done. RIP among the maggots, microorganisms, worms & soil you nourish on planet earth.

[@dungeonmaster6292]

Why would you say RIP to an irreligious man?

[@TheDancelow]

@@dungeonmaster6292 because he did morebfor this planet than most religious organizations.

[@bjaminf113]

That man is a legend, thanks for posting this!

[@B30pt87]

I LOVE THIS GUY! And not just because of his outstanding permaculture work.

[@birdkitchen6054]

he was such a teacher and motivator thank you for all you have done

[@cremebrulee6667]

I like this guy. Very genuine.

[@michaellohre1470]

Thanks for posting this. He's one of a kind, and his fire will be missed but it already caught in a lot of other people so it will also be carried.

[@dorokaiyinvil5705]

It will 🦅

[@xyzsame4081]

Geoff Lawton was not very impressed with the course and teachings of Bill Mollison. But whenever he used the principles he found them to be correct, and that they were true. So then he started to pay VERY CLOSE attention and started to MINE speeches and written texts of Bill for insights. Things that went over his head when he heard and read them the first time. Geoff talked at a converence and explained the principes of permaculture.

[@katshura007]

Yes I just started bill course on permaculture design course released in 2005 and noticed his style of teaching was pretty much rambling and storytelling. And I can see he really is the son of the ages he live in. I saw comment on how crude he was at talking. But nevertheless I found in every story and his rambling great wisdom. It's subtle, you have to be in the right mindset when listen to him. But it goes to everything really.

[@acommunistdwarf]

So much grateful for how you channeled that anger Bill! This so much resonates with my feelings, a great man, would love to wander around with him

[@heidiembrey4917]

I love this man with all my heart. My hero and the only human I've ever looked up to. I miss him.

[@dungeonmaster6292]

He's grotesque and disgusting. Good information though

[@TheDancelow]

@@dungeonmaster6292 based on? Cause he doesn't like religion? He is right, avoid religion, it's a plague on humanity

[@dungeonmaster6292]

@@TheDancelow he's an idiot to see all the order and structure of the world and also deny a Creator.

[@ebbaneezafeelgood2094]

O man im laughing and crying Rip mate

[@TheDancelow]

Thanks Bill. Rest in peace. You showed us the way, we shall continue your work

[@HFTLMate]

What was or is your motivation for practicing Permaculture Bill: well its very simple, it's anger... and actually fury. I have no other motivation Fury about? Bill: Uh, the senseless destruction tha tis on the earth, and the way people in poverty and hunger are treated, the global monetary system and its ignorance, and just generally the fact we can do so much better and we don't. we just ignore it. It makes me very angry. I dont think anything else will keep you going, as I have been doing, like anger.

[@andrewparry1474]

Yeah I thought that was the greatest introduction!

[@andrewparry1474]

I've been watching so many hours of Geoff Lawton, and I realised that I have never seen Bill in a video. Wow, show me two people who approach things more differently hahaha. Both highly effective greats!

[@dungeonmaster6292]

Monetary/banking/finance system are the issie. Banksters are demonic. These people who reject spiritual nature of man will never see that

[@estebancorral5151]

I would honor Bill's request to have his remains fed to maggots. The maggots would be used to treat patients that need to have necrotic tissues removed. This act would be the gist of permaculture in practise.

[@xyzsame4081]

As for patenting seeds (permaculture seed banks) - that is the old school of thinking, you are not outsmarting "they system" you would be playing by their rules. Vindana Shiva got that right. She worked to outlaw that and to have those legal practices reversed. The Indian government had to give in after a public awareness campaign. And that covers ALL seeds, including those that would be redeteced lazter. I remember her saying that she once got a handful of a plant, I think form pakistan or the border region - sorghum or wheat or something like that. A staple. They carefully cultivated those plants and recently (when she gave that interview) delivered a full ton of seed to farmers in Pakistan where it had come frrom. That is also the beauty. That Farmers of both nations work together on soemthing life affirming while their governments are on the edge with each other.

[@gregcolby4512]

Loved Bill - this video just shows that all of us are human adn flawed adn not one of us (despite our supposed 'legend' status, has the market cornered on truth. Anger will get you so far - but it eventloualy eats us u inside and we become bitter old recluses - despite Bill's claims - Love is far more powerful a motivator than anger -

[@cosmicnights]

One of my few gurus. Sucks he's gone.

[@stevemcguinness9930]

Thank you so much Bill. R.I.P with the maggots 👍

[@warrenconnors5481]

Bill was a genius...

[@thomasellis8586]

I love his droll wit! Especially when asked what will happen after he dies: "I'll be eaten by maggots, and fade back into the land..."

[@shanekonarson]

Legend ! REST well ! Duty done !

[@jasonsha6844]

This bloke was a very smart bushman .......

[@js4540]

Maybe he meant he was ACTUALLY spiritual instead of justifying it....and loved enough that the lack of love in others is what made him so angry.

[@dungeonmaster6292]

Naw dude this guy was an atheist or secular humanist. Totaly rejects the biggest part of humanity and nature: that we're spirits first and flesh 2nd

[@Peter111ization]

If he gets saved and finds himself living in a garden of Eden eating from the Tree of Life, he might change his mind and like living an eternal life.

[@CroatianExperiencewithSanda]

Among other things, I love the fact that you filmed this in Croatia.

[@ecofilm]

It was a fantastic journey to a most beautiful region of Europe.

[@eemoogee160]

I'm interested in translating this into Korean and add subtitles. Would anyone want to help out by helping transcribe some of this interview? Even native speakers might have trouble understanding everything he's saying.

[@pjchmiel]

I will work on transcribing this in English, I'll send you a message once I've completed it.

[@pjchmiel]

Jeff, I've transcribed this entire interview, you can find it posted here: www.vankalpermaculture.org/2005-bill-mollison-croatia-interview-transcript/

[@sourcecreator2222]

@@pjchmiel THANK YOU

[@eemoogee160]

@@pjchmiel Hey, look at you! I should go ahead and fulfill my part of the bargain.

[@eemoogee160]

@@pjchmiel How did you know my name??? 😆

[@js4540]

Very intelligent man

[@nikibrand1035]

What an inspiring man. I have just finished his design manual, it is the blue print to solve all the world’s problems. But the question is how do we educate those in power to stop supporting industries like Monsanto and BHP and start supporting the work of permaculture?

[@toddm6916]

Its not about educating them.

[@vvdv3444]

RIP

[@jasonsha6844]

fuuuk i'm pissed off but i try to plant something every weekend sorry bill we try hope your soul fly's through enternal bliss R.I.P cobber love what you did...............................

[@cafekiva7892]

"Anger and Fury..." My favorite line in this one is where he bashes this nonsense about (managed) 'community.'

[@dungeonmaster6292]

How tf are you going to accomplish anything without management? 😒

[@jonathanrebouillat4576]

Does anybody can tell me what is he saying between 2:41 and 3:07 ? Thank you !

[@urbanpermie6307]

He believes the same as aborigines. His body will be consumed by maggots and disappear into the surrounding countryside.

[@kevinbuxton8577]

Does anyone know what book he is referring to at about 10:20?

[@ralph5664]

the one straw revolution - masanobu fukuoka

[@floriebrown2089]

He said he prefers some one else but I did not get the name?

[@foobargorch]

The Power of Duck: Integrated Rice and Duck Farming - Takao Furuno

[@petehill8885]

would it be best to bury him in zone 2 or 4?

[@urbanpermie6307]

There is no zone system in Australia. Tasmania is cool temperate, so whatever that is lol

[@rando9574]

hahaha !

[@BigDave1125]

they were referring to permaculture design zones not hardiness zones, and i believe the correct answer would be on the edge of zones 1 and 2 so u can visit him everyday to thank him for his lifes work....

[@cosmicnights]

4 for sure!

[@cosmicnights]

4 for sure!

[@HomelessRomantic]

epic human being RIP

[@Tossdart]

I covered my part Bill. Getting worse for wear but hope to cover another part. I hope u find eternal garden not just maggots sorry on that one.

[@cati_vllz]

it seems that humanly he was not an exemplary person. I have no respect for people who have feelings of anger with people with things, with eternal life. It seems to me that there were like dark clouds inside him

[@dungeonmaster6292]

@@cati_vllz yes this guy is no exemplar even if his information was valid and useful

[@Charlie-Em]

REST IN POWER ALELUYA

[@TheWayWalker]

He speaks the language of the deciever What is your motivation? "fury" "If you are a sheep you deserved to be slaughtered", "avoid eternal life", "avoid anything spiritual" I hope his heart changed toward the end of his life to accept the love of his creator. Thank you though for giving me a glimps into the heart of this man.

[@jond532]

8:55 who are they talking about here? what is his book?

[@jond532]

it was fukuoka and takao furuno

[@tomaspartl6368]

RIP Bill

[@anandaramlochan4312]

the words at 12:15 onward I need to transcribe this

[@jasonsha6844]

D.M.T spirit mollical sorry Bill you will have to keep going mate.........time space ceases and you become part of the oneness the dreaming the dream time the spirit world is when you go home R.I.P.

[@mcl6107]

G ZUS

[@organiccleanfoodconnection]

Well he’s right about America and GMO. Railroad carts that are to be filled with non-GMO are filled with GMO because that’s all we grow. My channels dedicated to 30 years of being drifted and nearly dying from chemicals. Animals land trees grass everything must die so we can continue this dead system of growing toxic garbage. I continue to grow food here and hopefully a food forest open the eyes of the blind.

[@chicken-noodlesoup4519]

My relative

[@theklfword]

Rest In Maggots

[@atomicfireball100]

rip

[@js4540]

He had a lot of care for someone so angry and less then spiritual. I wonder I'd it wasn't an inside joke of his.

[@AllenCarrol-uq8sc]

No, he was intelligent and enlightened enough to have the utmost contempt for all the religious charlatans of the world. Religion is garbage and nothing but a cope.

[@cati_vllz]

it seems that humanly he was not an exemplary person. I have no respect for people who have feelings of anger with people with things, with eternal life. It seems to me that there were like dark clouds inside him

[@bradenmcdaniel2456]

Poor man

[@xyzsame4081]

He "hates" spirituality. (wouldn't that be organized religion and people that hide behind a set of convictions). Does not believe in an afterlife. And it is anger and fury (about the destruction of the earth) that drives him to go forward with permaculture. - Well he could have been very hedonistic given his age then and not give a damn about future generations. Being angy comes from a deeply spiritual place even if no specific set of rules is attached to it. Do unto others ... Be stewards of the earth. The story of Adam of Eve (if you do not take it literaly) is intereresting and it is also relevant that they lived with ease in a Garden Eden and had a surplus. Only after they ate from the furit of knowledge (what is good and bad - i.e. they started to have such ideas and set their standards, very much unlike animals) they were driven out of paradiese and in the future would have to labor for their food.

[@carolleenkelmann4751]

Anger is a waste of energy.- unless it is set to a purpose but does it bring good fruition? One has to be able to step back from anger to find the answers through observation.. I don't think he spent all his time being angry and furious. A clear thinker, in spite of his anger.

[@uncannyvalley2350]

Religion ironically is based around cosmology, the Zodiac, understanding the seasons in order to know when to sow and harvest, when to cross a sea. Spirituality is the abstracted form of religion, and ultimately boils down to "do what I say because I'm better than you" The Venn Diagram is a circle 🔵

[@pookah9938]

and slowly you dissolve into the surrounding country...

[@11GW]

very depressing what happened to his land and is view on humanity ... profits will be the end of us :(

[@steveunderhill5935]

Ashes to ashes and dust to dust. You can guarantee Bill is now maggots.

[@Stewart7516]

He doesn't seem very happy 😕

[@ecofilm]

I can understand this impression. I think he was pretty frustrated with the state of the earth. Also, he didn´t like people with camera´s like me - and he definitely didn´t need to be nice if he didn´t feel like it ;-) During the conference, though, I saw him laugh a lot. I remember a funny theatre piece about worms and compost, where he almost fell over laughing - he was the loudest in the whole audience. Also at night, in the bar, after a few beers and surrounded by permaculture friends, he seemed extremely happy.

[@Stewart7516]

@ecofilm I feel like his student Jeff Lawton is a much better spokesperson and better with people.. if your going to change minds you need to be good with people. Just my opinion

[@ecofilm]

I totally understand. Bill Mollison was THE pioneer - and at that time - age 77, he was tired, and probably pretty frustrated about the state of the world. But he was so greatful that so many people - like Geoff - took over and would bring the knowledge into the world.

[@Stewart7516]

@@ecofilm well he definitely left a positive impact on the world as a whole, that's for sure

[@mrweasel]

I am amusing at the start he is taking the piss?

[@SHANONisRegenerate]

No

[@mrweasel]

@@SHANONisRegenerate I am pretty sure he has got a very dry sense of humour. haha love it

[@3Sphere]

Boy did he get a surprise when he found out that the soul is eternal. No maggots for Bill! It'll be even more of a shock when he finds out that he has to reincarnate again and again, God and Jesus are real and that his reward for doing such good work is that he has to come back to this evil planet! Damn. But Permaculture is progressing apace so if he waits 50 or a hundred years, he can incarnate right into an advanced Permaculture forest.... Heh.

[@TnrtRW]

What a bitter man/ surely we can do better than this inspite of the times we live in

[@stephseckold4324]

you obviously never met Bill. If you don't understand Australian dry humour, it's hard to get what appears to be attitude. He's serious alright but his delivery is also tongue-in-cheek

[@Mrmaverickism]

shame he couldnt see he was doing HIS work and his mind was polluted to hate the grand creator. He was a shepherd who couldn't recognize his own sheep!

[@ecofilm]

I must admit I was a bit shocked as well, when I spoke to him at the time. He was pretty des-issusioned - which I can understand though. In his talks at the International Permaculture Conference, if he had the impression that people didn´t listen or got sleepy, he would throw a chair through the hall. So everybody was awake again ;-) He was a great guy. Crazy but great.

[@dungeonmaster6292]

@@ecofilm pure hubris. This man is not a great example

[@katshura007]

@@ecofilm interesting

[@cati_vllz]

it seems that humanly he was not an exemplary person. I have no respect for people who have feelings of anger with people with things, with eternal life. It seems to me that there were like dark clouds inside him.

[@asbuiltmusic]

This interview is fascinating. Though, there are certain words I don't understand. For sure, it is worth putting subtitles in English. Can somebody here, or at @ecofilm help? I offer translating it to Spanish later.

[@ecofilm]

Sorry, we´re too busy for doing that - but if anyone in the permaculture community wants to help out by typing the subtitles - send them to "[e-mail]" and I´ll upload them - thanks!

[@JonDoe-zx8oq]

RIP