Rowe Morrow, at home in her “passive energy” designed sunroom. In 2021 she was awarded an Order of Australia medal for Services to Permaculture.
Story and photos by Linda Moon
Local permaculture expert, Rowe Morrow, has adapted her home to reduce her impact on the environment, cope with climate change, flooding, heat, drought, fire and rising energy and food costs. She provides inspiration and guidance for how we can too.
Key Points:
- Environmental issues, global warming, rising costs and resource shortages are among the biggest threats facing Australians.
- Permaculture offers a way to meet our needs cheaply, care for the environment and protect ourselves against disasters.
- This peek inside the home of permaculture expert, Rowe Morrow, shows us how to conserve energy, manage water and meet our essential needs without spending a fortune.
Rowe Morrow has just returned from a refugee camp in Bangladesh dealing with severe breakdowns in energy and water supply amidst unrelenting 42°C heat and the second worst air pollution in the world. Forty years of teaching permaculture in some of the most challenged communities on Earth has taught the zesty 81-year-old how to survive on little. In fact, her development work led her to permaculture. She found the sustainable design system ticked many boxes. It meets human needs, cares for nature and subsequent generations and reduces reliance on industrial agriculture (all of which are intricately linked).
She has seen the degradation of land across the world. From our local perspective, though, what should we do?
The permaculture pioneer, teacher, trainer and author urges us to consider the impact of further climate disasters and plan ahead. “We don’t know what they will be but they will almost certainly affect food supply,” she warned.
Her other recommendation is to do whatever we can to cut ongoing bills like energy, gas and water – they are only likely to increase. Ideally, back up water, food and energy for emergencies. Oh, and she prefers the term “adaptation” to “resilience.”
Bay tree and strawberries in Rosemary’s garden during winter. In small gardens food plants can be grown in pots, wheelbarrows and other containers.
How to adapt your home inexpensively
Rowe’s Katoomba home is educational and illuminating; crammed with practical, energy saving, eco-friendly inspiration. More importantly, it features frugal ideas and practices many of us can follow.
Rowe purchased her property ten years ago. After creating her permaculture design, she set about implementing the changes she wanted.
Rowe’s permaculture design for her property. Start by assessing the strengths and negatives of where you live. (Drawing by Meg McGowan)
Sticking to a budget enables her to save for retrofits. “If I have any surplus, I do things a bit at a time,” she said. “It feels far less like a huge outlay.”
Another strategy is using local secondhand and recycled materials. This has included reuse of all materials from renovations to her property. From recycled timbers, rock, concrete, glass and other materials, she’s constructed a pergola, studio, paths, window seats and more.
“These things are in and around us all the time,” she said. “It’s a matter of being alert. It’s also having the ethic that I don’t want to draw down on new materials.” Another part of her ethos is employing local trades people.
Rowe’s “crazy paving” [left] was created from concrete from the old Katoomba Bowling Green, obtained from an old leveling business. The rocks for a stone wall [right] came from the same business.
How to bring in the sun
Another strategy to cut costs is to use the free warmth of the sun.
Like most old homes in the Blue Mountains, Rowe’s was poorly equipped for the cold and other environmental challenges. With no northern windows, it was dark as well as cold.
The two issues, she said, are how to get heat in and hold it in without using fossil fuels.
To get the natural heat of the sun in, she installed old windows and a window seat in the north-facing room. The window seat was fashioned inexpensively from a secondhand table from Vinnies (used to create the base and two end pieces) and thick, old shop glass.
The east-facing solid back door was replaced with a secondhand glass one which lets in the morning sun. What was once a dark laundry and bedroom is now the bright, cosy heart of the home. By spending most of her time in what is now a sunroom she keeps the heating bills down.
Previously a laundry and a bedroom, this north and east facing room has been opened up and converted into a sunroom to minimise heating costs and reliance on fossil fuels.
How to hold heat in
Throughout the house, the thickest insulation possible has been installed – in the ceiling over the top of the existing insulation, and under the floors. With these combined measures sunlight is usually enough to keep her sunroom warm for long periods without additional heating. It also helps hold in any heat generated from heaters.
Locally made Roman blinds roll down at night to cover the windows and glass door, providing extra insulation.
Roman blinds for holding in heat at night.
To protect against the cold westerly winds the Blue Mountains is prone to, she has double-glazed the west-facing windows. Outside, in the garden, a dense border of bushes (facing west) offers more protection as a windbreak.
Insulation measures can be creative. In the outdoor studio, for example, she’s used old doors from the house: installed as walls with additional insulation stuffed in between.
Energy efficient heaters
When additional heating is needed, (such as on those cold, winter Mountain days) she has a reverse cycle unit in the sunroom and a wood-fired slow combustion heater in her living room. Today, it’s dour and wintry, hovering around 5°C, and the reverse cycle electric heater is on, powered by rooftop solar panels.
Rowe’s strategy is to use electric powered appliances in the day while the solar panels are generating energy. In the late afternoon she usually lights the wood-fired heater and opens up the doors to warm the bedrooms. The wood heater can also be used for cooking and boiling water for tea. “I’ve done three course meals on this,” she revealed. Because the kitchen is located between both living areas, it receives warmth generated from either room.
Wood from dead trees, felled branches and refuse is collected through summer.
This combination of insulation, sunlight, energy-efficient heating and behavioural strategy, has meant her energy costs are negligible. Her last electricity bill was minus $60.
The well-used slow combustion heater and firewood stacked close to the house for ease of use.
Creating flexible spaces and light
Having the ability to close off rooms and spaces or open them up is another strategy to conserve heat and energy.
Before moving in, she knocked out some of the inner walls and put in several sets of secondhand double doors to promote light, flexibility and accessibility. “All rooms can be closed off to be compact and use less energy. A further advantage is gaining dimension. Rooms look bigger when you can see through glass doors,” she explained.
A double glass door installed between rooms has many advantages.
Another bonus: having doors between rooms allows her to use space flexibly. “It can be used for lots of things,” she said. This ranges from granting greater privacy to guests to promoting airflow and cooling during hot spells.
Installing windows, window seats and glass doors on external walls has introduced more natural light into the house. This reduces artificial lighting and improves mood.
[Left] A window seat installed in the bedroom using recycled materials allows in greater light and connection with nature. [Right] Secondhand double glass doors create light and space in the living room and can be opened to the garden.
Food security
Rowe recommends making maximum use of any space you have to grow food. Her narrow, roughly 600 square metre block, houses two veggie beds, a small glasshouse, herbs, fruit trees and vines including plum, cumquat, weeping mulberry, fig, lemon, kiwi fruit and grapes.
Rowe constructed this small glasshouse from old shower doors and other materials collected from the free area of the local tip.
Her experience overseas with food insecurity taught her that people die from lack of dietary carbs. She prioritises growing three types of cool, temperate climate root crops including potatoes and New Zealand yam.
A netted row of raspberries. Protecting food against possums, rats and birds is essential. Also prioritise what grows well in your climate.
As backup, Rowe stores surplus garden foods and bulk amounts of non-perishable staples like rice and lentils. In the kitchen she opted for “open shelves”. Having everything visible means less wastage and fewer hiding places for bugs like cockroaches and moths.
Timbers from the laundry were sanded and reused in the kitchen to make open plan benches and shelving that encourage less wastage.
She makes her own fertilisers. And to feed the soil, she has a compost bin, two worm farms and grows Azolla in water-filled containers and ponds. Azolla is a nitrogen-fixing aquatic plant and is added to the garden. Leaves are saved to use as mulch. Leaves and clippings also contribute to compost, which is returned to the garden beds.
Three forms of homemade fertiliser. [Left] Aquatic plants grown in a tub. [Right] A compost brewing close to the veggie beds. [Bottom] Rowe scattering wood ash on the garden.
A central tenet of permaculture is locating things for ease of use. The compost, for example, is positioned near the veggie beds. Her shed is sited in the centre of the garden.
Rowe uses a long strip of wood attached to the edge of the netting on her veggie beds and raspberries. “It’s easier than lots of clips.”
Managing water on the property
In creating a site management design, Rowe wanted to manage water on her property to have it available for domestic use, fire, drought, heat and the garden.
“I catch water from all buildings,” she said. Water coming off her studio diverts into two tanks via an underground pipe. The tanks supply water for drinking, the bathroom, laundry and toilet. An estimated 22,000 litres a year flows off the studio roof – half her annual use.
Even the garden shed collects rainwater. A pipe collects the water and diverts the water underground then drops it at the plum tree.
Flexible piping from the gutter of the shed transports water to the garden. All water is controlled and collected in some fashion.
Rowe has made many measures to control the flow of water on her property. “When I bought the place I realised water flowed through the block from one street to the other. It would run through the back gate, down along the paths, then to the back door and around the side and out,” she said. “It [water] used to come up to the back doorstep.”
Measures to slow and absorb water: terracing and mulched soil.
To counter this, she started at the top of her property, breaking down and distributing the flow of water into smaller usable parts, planning for everything from drought to flooding.
She built terraces and rubble drains to slow and hold water. Swales also help direct water flow and store it within the soil.
[Left] Swales intersect the property and transport excess water to the garden where it’s needed. [Right] Close-up of part of Rowe’s rubble drain which carries out the same function.
A pergola at the back is topped with Laserlite® – clear, corrugated polycarbonate sheeting. Without gutters, rain falls from the Laserlite® into deep rubble drains, so storing water in the soil. From the rubble drains, mulched areas and spaces between pavers on her land, it sinks into the earth.
“I focused on building up the carbon in my soil to hold water,” she added. “Because I knew in drought, the plants would have to get water from the soil as much as possible. So I use soil carbon as water storage.”
A carbon-rich soil can hold two and a half times more water than a sandy or drier one, she said. To build carbon into the soil, add lots of organic materials – like leaves, compost and garden clippings.
The front pond helps hold water in the land.
Other measures include building a small lip at the front of her property along the edge of the road, and shallow ponds to hold any overflow of water into the gardens.
At the back of the property, a larger pond beside the water tanks absorbs overflow from the tanks. The pond also acts as a reservoir for water. Instead of putting water tanks beside the house, she placed them at the highest point of the land (near the road) to benefit from gravity.
The two tanks along the fence-line at the highest point of the property and the backyard pond created to catch overflow.
The front pond, and a third, small pond at the back of her home, clean her kitchen, laundry and bathroom grey water (piped from the house, through a filter, to the pond). Cleansing is performed by nature and the forces of wind, water and sunlight. Working with these elements are sand and aquatic water cleaning plants. These absorb toxins and pollutants. Once the water level rises in the ponds, it can seep back into the soil.
Small pond filled with aquatic plants for detoxifying and cleaning grey water and a pergola constructed with secondhand timber.
In the Blue Mountains the movement of contaminated household water into natural waterways (through leaky pipes and storm water) is a serious problem for the environment. With heavy rain, runoff from hard surfaces also contributes extensively to flooding, erosion, landslides and other issues.
By making her land more absorbent and slowing down the flow of water, Rowe has reduced the impact of flooding on the land below her property. “I’ve been able to manage it for the benefit of myself and the natural environment.”
[Left] Rowe’s gently sloping backyard as it was, and [Right] now.
“The principle is to store water up high.” – Rowe Morrow.
Manage excess heat, bushfire and drought
Storing water in the soil, tanks and ponds has multiple benefits. It makes Rosemary’s home less vulnerable to ember attack during bushfires. In addition there’s water available for fighting fire. Having so much water means her local microclimate is warmer in winter and cooler in summer.
Maintaining vegetation on her land is another layer of protection because plants are composed mainly of water. To further minimise fire risk, the windbreak on her western-facing perimeter features local plants with less oil-rich, non-combustible leaves. Concrete paths close to the house also helps protect her home from flammability.
(NB. To learn more about the flammability of different plants, Lesley Corbett has written a highly recommended book: Safer Gardens – Plant Flammability & Planning For Fire
The CFA (Country Fire Authority) in Victoria have also created an excellent resource for landscaping for bushfire which you can download here > )
For more information about how to prepare your home for fire check out the fact sheets on the RFS website here
West facing windbreak of non-flammable native shrubs and trees.
Soaker hoses have been placed strategically in the front garden. “When there’s likelihood of fire I put them on and soak the soil which protects it from ember attack,” she said.
On hot days she cools her house by opening the doors and windows. She says covered verandahs and shade plants are particularly critical in summer: “air is cooled under them.” In periods of drought, she uses water strategically, protects crops from wind and mulches more heavily.
Pergolas extend from the buildings for shade, rain capture and outdoor living.
How diversity helps us survive
Planting native plants and creating wildlife zones at the front and back of her property has attracted diverse species. “I wanted it to feel like you’re almost in the bush,” she said. “Birds do a lot of feeding and living here. I’ve seen goannas here.” Recently, a male bower bird built a nest at the back.
Planting native plant species within wildlife zones has brought a bower bird nest to the back of Rosemary’s property.
Water and homes for birds, lizards, bugs and other wildlife, is encouraged. Rocks are great habitat for lizards.
The strategy is to introduce diversity into our domestic environments; in our water sources, food and energy supply, and other resources essential to life. “Reduced diversity drives disaster,” Rowe said. “We’re going to a state where systems break down through disasters. Diversity is a major strategy for survival.”
Habitats for possums, lizards and insects, improves diversity.
Her home has diverse supplies of water, which is otherwise vulnerable to toxicities and shortages. Rather than one species of potato she grows several. She also has different forms of power and heating at home.
The off grid studio at the back of Rosemary’s home was once a garage, and mostly built from secondhand materials.
Using this principle she converted a garage in her backyard into an off-grid studio able to power lights, electricity, radio and phone off a 12 volt solar system. “If the power goes off, life still goes on,” she said. Amazingly, apart from the ®Laserlite verandah roof, the construction was sourced from second-hand materials. The solar panels are also secondhand and cost her only $1,000.
Glass partition on the studio verandah is an old shower door. Nifty, cheap and effective.
The glass partition on the verandah of the studio blocks cold air and wind and lets the light through. It’s better for plants and pleasant for sitting. Having many places and microclimates, Rowe can enjoy her home, increase her options and keep the bills down.
“Diversity is the secret of survival and adaptation to a changing world” – Rowe Morrow.
Have a purchasing policy
Living a simple, thrifty life keeps the bills down and is better for the planet. “Cut out things that are unnecessary or bad for the earth,” Rowe advised.
Her shopping list is very small. It includes inexpensive staples like rice, lentils, nuts, legumes, fruit, vegetables, yoghurt, butter and multi-purpose liquid cleaner (from the Food Co-op). Using refillable containers helps spare Earth’s resources.
A further win for her bank account, carbon footprint and health is being located within walking distance to town.
Flowers are also essential to Rowe’s garden and wellbeing.
Healthy mindset and body
Rowe has found Buddhist philosophy helpful in acquiring a mental state that “puts her wants to bed” and enables her to live with less. Reducing consumerism is also great for the planet.
Along with regular gym visits, the energetic 81-year-old walks a lot to promote her health and mobility. Gardening, eating less processed food and being part of several community groups and purposeful international projects also helps maintain her health.
Think simply, she said. “Keep your mind clean and fresh. Do what you can, don’t obsess. Try to keep your mind clear of conspiracy and alarm and know when you’re well off.” Small lives lived well can have huge impacts.
Rowe Morrow is a Quaker and believes in service to humanity.
More about Rowe Morrow
Born in Perth, Rowe originally trained in agricultural science, which she found lacking in ecological basis. A former research scientist for the Department of Agriculture and then a development worker in developing countries, she discovered permaculture while searching for solutions to help people in Lesotho who were hungry. In 1986 she completed her PDC (Permaculture Design Certificate) and has been teaching permaculture – arguably one of Australia’s best exports – ever since.
She considers permaculture to be ‘sacred knowledge’ which needs to be shared with others. This has taken her to post-war Vietnam, Cambodia, Uganda, Ethiopia and other countries. She continues teaching permaculture to disadvantaged international communities and is passionate about teaching the next generation to offer quality permaculture.
A pioneer and leading figure in permaculture, Rosemary is one of 26 contributors to Permaculture Pioneers – stories from the new frontier.
Her books are iconic to the field. They include The Earth Users Guide To Teaching Permaculture and The Earth Restorer’s Guide To Permaculture (which is endorsed by the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration). The UN Decade (2021 to 2030) is a rally to protect, restore and revive ecosystems around the world to counteract climate change, biodiversity loss and enhance human life and nature.
A NOTE ON PREPARING FOR BUSHFIRES:
Bushfire behaviour is always unpredictable, with increasing impacts on properties, landscape, buildings and gardens. Specific local onsite consideration is required at all times, rather than reliance on more general advice. The Association of Bell Clarence & Dargan Inc (ABCD Inc) has compiled some excellent resources and produced comprehensive videos on how to prepare your home and property for bushfires
CHECK FIRST WITH COUNCIL TO SEE IF YOU REQUIRE DEVELOPMENT CONSENT:
In the Blue Mountains landscaping, construction of ponds, retaining walls, drainage works and pruning and removal of trees (that are not exempt development) are subject to development controls and/or development consent requirements. Residents are advised to contact Council’s Website or utilise Land Use Advice service to confirm any regulatory requirements prior to commencing any construction or vegetation pruning/removal projects.
A-Z of Development | bmcc.nsw.gov.au
https://www.bmcc.nsw.gov.au/development/planning-rules
Take Action:
- Evaluate your home and lifestyle.
- Create ways to reduce costs, power and your impact on the environment, and make a plan.
- Dig into Rowe’s books for more detailed information about permaculture.
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This story has been produced as part of a Bioregional Collaboration for Planetary Health and is supported by the Disaster Risk Reduction Fund (DRRF). The DRRF is jointly funded by the Australian and New South Wales governments.
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