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Miraculous Abundance: One Quarter Acre, Two French Farmers, and Enough Food to Feed the World

Perrine Hervé-Gruyer,

Charles Hervé-Gruyer

4.02 · Rating details · 190 ratings · 29 reviews

The Bec Hellouin model for growing food, sequestering carbon, creating jobs, and increasing biodiversity without using fossil fuels

When Charles and Perrine Herve-Gruyer set out to create their farm in an historic Normandy village, they had no idea just how much their lives would change. Neither one had ever farmed before. Charles had been circumnavigating the globe by The Bec Hellouin model for growing food, sequestering carbon, creating jobs, and increasing biodiversity without using fossil fuels

When Charles and Perrine Herve-Gruyer set out to create their farm in an historic Normandy village, they had no idea just how much their lives would change. Neither one had ever farmed before. Charles had been circumnavigating the globe by sail, operating a floating school that taught students about ecology and indigenous cultures. Perrine had been an international lawyer in Japan. Each had returned to France to start a new life. Eventually, Perrine joined Charles in Normandy, and Le Ferme du Bec Hellouin was born.

Bec Hellouin has since become a celebrated model of innovative, ecological agriculture in Europe, connected to national and international organizations addressing food security, heralded by celebrity chefs as well as the Slow Food movement, and featured in the inspiring Cesar and COLCOA award-winning documentary film, Demain ("Tomorrow"). Miraculous Abundance is the eloquent tale of the couple's evolution from creating a farm to sustain their family to delving into an experiment in how to grow the most food possible, in the most ecological way possible, and create a farm model that can carry us into a post-carbon future--when oil is no longer moving goods and services, energy is scarcer, and localization is a must.

Today, the farm produces a variety of vegetables using a mix of permaculture, bio-intensive, four-season, and natural farming techniques--as well as techniques gleaned from native cultures around the world. It has some animals for eggs and milk, horses for farming, a welcome center, a farm store, a permaculture school, a bread oven for artisan breads, greenhouses, a cidery, and a forge. It has also become the site of research focusing on how small organic farms like theirs might confront Europe's (and the world's) projected food crisis.

But in this honest and engaging account of the trials and joys of their uncompromising effort, readers meet two people who are farming the future as much as they are farming their land. They envision farms like theirs someday being the hub for a host of other businesses that can drive rural communities--from bread makers and grain millers to animal care givers and other tradespeople.

Market farmers and home gardeners alike will find much in these pages, but so will those who've never picked up a hoe. The couple's account of their quest to design an almost Edenlike farm, hone their practices, and find new ways to feed the world is an inspiring tale. It is also a love letter to a future in which people increasingly live in rural communities that rely on traditional skills, locally created and purveyed goods and services, renewable energy, and greater local governance, but are also connected to the larger world. ...more

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Paperback, 272 pages

Published March 23rd 2016 by Chelsea Green Publishing Company (first published September 10th 2014)

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· 190 ratings · 29 reviews

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Apr 17, 2016 Adam Shand rated it it was amazing

Shelves: permaculture

I loved this book but it’s not a how to book, it’s a story of a family learning to farm.

What I most enjoyed about this book was that it appealed to my sense of beauty and possibility in a way that other market gardening books haven’t. Like those books this is a description of a working farm, of people working the land to earn their living. Unlike those books this book won’t teach you how to farm, what it might do (and what it did for me) was rekindle the belief that earning a living from a farm ...more

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Sep 22, 2019 Danni rated it really liked it

Miraculous Abundance is a call to action for the Western society to change it's ways when it comes to producing food. Focused on combining many of the elements of permaculture, organic gardening, Persian market gardens, and other small scale/traditional farming, the author encourages readers to think small. Small scale, microfarming like that happening at the author's farm provides a greater amount of food and soil health while still supporting full time labor.

I found the message hopeful and ...more

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May 20, 2018 Eva Arrhenius rated it really liked it

A very inspiring but somewhat idealistic book. This is not a manual although I’m very interested in the upcoming manual as the few insights given are very interesting. It gives a new take on what the future could look like. You also get a good overview of other sources of information about permaculture sustainable farming organic growing and locally sourced food. It’s definitely food for thought.

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May 18, 2019 Victoria Grace rated it really liked it

Shelves: analog

A pleasure to read, with optimistic and beautiful ideas for the upcoming climate apocalypse. It's arranged in a scattershot manner, but there were lots of little asides and half-ideas that made me think "I want to try that!" which is the point of reading farming books, anyway.

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Apr 29, 2019 Jess rated it really liked it

Interesting and inspiring for anyone dipping into permaculture.

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Nov 26, 2016 Jessica rated it liked it

Shelves: farming, gardening

Perrine and Charles Herve-Gruyer both had successful careers, but wanted to spend their days closer to the land. They were also concerned about where their food came from, so they decided to become farmers. Through trial and error they transform a small piece of land in France into a wildly productive food business. This book explores their farming philosophy and some of the the issues they've encountered and overcome. My main complaint about the book is that it's not a straightforward story of Perrine and Charles Herve-Gruyer both had successful careers, but wanted to spend their days closer to the land. They were also concerned about where their food came from, so they decided to become farmers. Through trial and error they transform a small piece of land in France into a wildly productive food business. This book explores their farming philosophy and some of the the issues they've encountered and overcome. My main complaint about the book is that it's not a straightforward story of their farm. That is interspersed throughout the chapters on various topics/issues/philosophy/etc. It is an interesting book, just not exactly what I was expecting. But the biggest point is that they show that you can make a living on a a quarter acre of land if you plan well and use permaculture ideas - they commission a study to see exactly how much work and production goes into one 1/4 acre section of their farm and the results are astounding (pg. 118-121 for specific data). Definitely an interesting book and the color photographs really make the book because you get to see the spaces they've transformed.

Some quotes I really liked:

"Slow Food is often criticized as elitist. But that criticism is totally blind to the real issue. It is not important whether you or I or anyone else in the United States ever gets to eat some specific artisanal food. What's important is that it exists, that there is one small corner of the planet still unconquered by Kraft or Nabisco or Monsanto, one little rural holdout inhabited by a few hardworking people who still know what quality is and have a passion for producing it." (p. x of the Forward)

"Here is a definition of this system adapted to our latitudes, from Patrick Whitefield: 'A forest garden is a garden modeled on natural woodland. Like a natural woodland, it has three layers of vegetation: trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants. In an edible forest garden the tree layers contains fruit and nut trees, the shrub layer soft fruit and nut bushes, and the ground layer perennial vegetables and herbs. The soil is not dug, and annual vegetables are not normally included unless they can reproduce by self-seeding. It is usually a very diverse garden, containing a wide variety of edible plants.'...If we abandon an agricultural area, it is the forest that will return naturally. Maintaining open space requires constant effort. The central role of the tree is becoming better appreciated. It fulfills a plethora of ecological functions, creates soil, promotes microclimates conducive to life, and stores carbon. It also beautifies the landscape and provides countless human services." (p. 128-9)

"Traditional agriculture was labor intensive, industrial agriculture is energy intensive, and permaculture-designed systems are information and design intensive. - David Holmgren" (p. 147) ...more

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Oct 02, 2016 Laurie rated it really liked it

I read this book slowly over many weeks, mostly in the evenings before bed. And each return to the book brought me a step closer to imagining and envisioning the next place that my husband and I decide to live. We will move; that is a given. And we will take with us our desire to garden.

In our current location, we grow tomatoes on our deck in Earth boxes; the deer and other suburban animals would raid our garden otherwise. Indeed, due to it being a dry summer, the squirrels - for the first time I read this book slowly over many weeks, mostly in the evenings before bed. And each return to the book brought me a step closer to imagining and envisioning the next place that my husband and I decide to live. We will move; that is a given. And we will take with us our desire to garden.

In our current location, we grow tomatoes on our deck in Earth boxes; the deer and other suburban animals would raid our garden otherwise. Indeed, due to it being a dry summer, the squirrels - for the first time in almost 30 years - brazenly raided our tomatoes on the deck, leaving us in a maddening race with them to see who would harvest the tomatoes first. We won occasionally and only at the expense of pulling a tomato just as it was getting ready to turn colour. Interestingly, for this and other reasons it turns out that it's not always prudent to wait till tomatoes are red before picking them. But I digress…

This book is eye-opening for describing the pending food crisis and a viable solution to it. Indeed, we are already in a global food crisis, though many of us have not felt the consequences. Based on the work at their farm, La Ferme du Bec Hellouin or The Bec Hellouin Farm, Perrine and Charles Hervé-Gruyer have developed a lifestyle that is food-sustainable, earth-sustainable, human-sustainable, as well as family-sustainable.

In other words, they prove the point that it is possible to microfarm a small area of land, feed a family on the produce, live a satisfying life, and earn sufficient income on which to live. Don't take my word for it; however, if this approach interests you in the least then go get yourself a copy and soak up their experiences and allow yourself to find motivation and support in their ideas.

For further inspiration you can view their video on Permaculture or view some of their numerous videos about this entire process on their French site.

Lest you think this is utopian or a bit too idealistic, consider my in-laws, who had a large fruit and vegetable garden on their property on Cape Cod, an island off the coast of Massachusetts. For years, grandchildren picked blueberries and strawberries, and any number of children, children-in-law, and grandchildren picked vegetables in the garden "down below", so called because it was behind the house, nestled into an indent in the land. While this harvest did not feed a family (nor was it meant to), it could have, and that is my point and the point of Perrine and Charles.
...more

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Mar 31, 2019 Leif rated it really liked it

What are you getting into? Miraculous Abundance is less a book of instructional material and more a plea for accompaniment and story of trials and successes. It's a quite strikingly nerveless and beautiful book that entertains the history and practice of permaculture, microfarming, and biomaterials. There are dashes of exoticism here and there, which are a little moony, but more foundational is the actual practice of small-farming for market production.

On top of the subject matter, Hervé-Gruyer What are you getting into? Miraculous Abundance is less a book of instructional material and more a plea for accompaniment and story of trials and successes. It's a quite strikingly nerveless and beautiful book that entertains the history and practice of permaculture, microfarming, and biomaterials. There are dashes of exoticism here and there, which are a little moony, but more foundational is the actual practice of small-farming for market production.

On top of the subject matter, Hervé-Gruyer is impassioned and in full conversion mode. Much of the text is justification, context, and a call to arms about the merits of market permaculture. After realizing that instruction in face to face contexts wasn't going to answer H-G's ambitions for the spread of permaculture, the family accepted scientific study of their methods and he began to compose the text of this book (as well as others, I would suspect). The writing is thoughtful and genuinely moving, and made all the more pleasant by forsaking high theory for the accessibility of direct conversation.

Throughout all, Hervé-Gruyer is relatively frank. Their family came into the permaculture business with many resources, and it still was a hard, long slog. All of the context of extreme positivity regarding methods should be read against the backdrop of the intense and continuing work that is a small farm, along with the financial concerns that drive many away. And it is exactly that reason why permaculture is so focusing for the authors: it helps people cope through adversity, it has a history of success, and it demonstrates the will and practice to address current concerns about climate change and carbon buildup. As the authors (mostly Charles) stress, while they haven't had many vacations, they love the farm and the work, and wouldn't have it any other way.

Find this at your local library or, alternatively, you can see more at their website, where up to date information can be found. As a primer in the world of permaculture, this could be the right book for you! ...more

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May 31, 2017 Dee rated it it was ok

I don't know if it was a translation problem or what, but I had trouble with this book. I wish it had been easier to read. I kept waiting for the authors to explain and show their system for their wonderful garden. Instead, it felt like a history of different types of intensive farming.

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Jun 28, 2017 Josie rated it liked it

Shelves: france, agriculture

The agricultural side was interesting, and I'm glad this project/farm exists, but I didn't find the organization of the book to be well done.

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Sep 18, 2019 Kurt Achin rated it really liked it

I am on a life tangent, perhaps a permanent life reboot, in the direction of regenerative/organic farming. What started as a late-in-life desire to do something that makes sense globally and delivers meaning and fulfilment to me personally has been rendered into sharper focus via the body of literature by intellectual agrarians who wield distilled truth in the simple language of the farm. Wendell Berry, Gene Logsdon, and other old school farmer/authors have produced a canon of farmer literature ...more

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Nov 02, 2019 David Rudin rated it really liked it

With a lot of Chutzpah, this French husband and wife team created their own world on a small farm in Normandy. This book is not a how-to book but rather a manifesto for the alternative agriculture/permaculture world. Perhaps their greatest contribution is in motivating others, as in the following advice:
"So prepare your project meticulously. Give yourself time—several years. Move ahead gradually. Start by cultivating a garden, putting yourself in the skin of the professional you aspire to ...more

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Oct 13, 2017 Brandi rated it it was amazing

Another permaculture + gardening book I ended up adding to my permanent shelf of food-growing resources. It took me a few months to finish this well-researched and well-written tale because I was taking notes and rethinking my own home gardening methods. Charles and Perrine Hervé-Gruyer tell an honest tale of what it was like to transform a patch of land in the French countryside into a highly productive farm using biointensive methods and without reliance on fossil fuels--including their ...more

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Jan 14, 2020 Moe rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Manifesto not method

This lengthy book is a manifesto, and a lifestory. Inspirational, interesting and raises questions as well as answers. I was disappointed at first when I began, and realised it was not a practical book. However, I'm glad icarried on as it is truly a great read.

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Apr 10, 2018 Cathy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Great concept, well executed, but not very fully explained

The Farm at Bec Hellouin is just the kind d of farming we need more of-- ecologically friendly, intensive methods. This book does not go very far in describing the methods, however. We must await the next book for that.

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Jun 05, 2018 Veronika Bond rated it it was amazing

A beautiful and inspiring book!

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Oct 27, 2019 Nicolas rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Un beau récit sur la création d'une ferme maraîchère innovante.
La dernière partie relève-t-elle d'une utopie ?

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Oct 07, 2017 Lisa Kay rated it liked it

I was looking for more practical and less theoretical application of farming/gardening. It did help me get a better understanding of permaculture though.

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Aug 08, 2017 Meggers222 rated it it was amazing

Permaculture primer that is as much a great story as it is a how-to primer

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Aug 25, 2017 Luta rated it it was ok

Poorly written. Great ideas and implementation.

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Sep 18, 2016 Kara rated it liked it

I was hoping for more how and less sermon

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Feb 15, 2017 Sam DeSocio rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2017, agrarian

A good book following the life and thoughts of the Herve-Guyer families as they work on their Microfarm.

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Nov 15, 2016 Correen rated it it was amazing

It took awhile to start but then what a fascinating read! Perrin and Charles Herve-Gruyer built and have continued to operate a micro-farm in France using a permaculture method that allowed to start poor soil and develop it into a market enterprise. They started with a quarter of an acre and have grown but now beyond their ability to farm it using no motorized machinery. They are now highly successful, provide produce for famous restaurants, sell products in their farm store, and fill regular ...more

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Jul 12, 2016 Paige rated it it was amazing

This book is an amazing guide to bio-dynamic farming and permaculture! While most of the book is scientific, the authors (a married couple from France) tell the story of how they created their biodynamic farm. Truly a wonderful book! Also includes photos of their farm, garden layouts, etc. I thoroughly enjoyed this and have bought my own copy.

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Apr 11, 2016 bibliotekker Holman rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Again, I only read a portion of this fine book since I've read many "how we did it" living off the land books like this before. The difference being that this one is set in France and offers the unique lens that affords. A good read. If you haven't read one like this before, this is a good one to start with.

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