Rosemary has worked in many dangerous countries, including war-torn Cambodia while the Khmer Rouge were still active; Uganda after the civil war in the north and AIDS epidemic, and more recently in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kashmir. Despite seeing little hope in any of these regions, she says “that’s every reason to be there”.
She visits places and people where tools for survival are needed, and teaches people how to restore their land iusing permaculture, so that they and their environment are healthy.
Rosemary has written the iconic Earth User’s Guide to Permaculture, and Earth User's Guide to Teaching Permaculture, both of which she has given translation rights away for free, so that more people can access this necessary information.
Rosemary told the university:
“I am convinced that everyone must know about global warming in order to take steps to prepare their lives. I believe this is a human right. So sometimes I am bitterly unhappy and other times deeply satisfied. But it’s more about service than self-satisfaction.”
Rosemary's Commonwealth Scholarship allowed her to study agriculture at the University of Sydney. Her studies took her to the Sorbonne in Paris, and TAFE in Reading, UK, but it was the holistic approach of permaculture. based on ethical living and sustainable agriculture that offered the best solutions for the people and environments that Rosemary worked with.
Rosemary also co-founded the Blue Mountains Permaculture Institute (BMPI) with Lis Bastian, a community development specialist. It is a not-for-profit, teacheing strategies to further social, environmental and economic resilience. Its non-formal education opportunities are accessible to everyone.
“We need to provide an alternative for the big climate breakdown that is coming – drought, bushfires, more cyclones, more floods – and permaculture’s provide the basis for a more robust model.” Rosemary Morrow
Congratulations to Rosemary and thank you for your continued hard work.
