Designing Our Mountainside Homestead: A Practical Guide to Permaculture Living
- Anna Axisa
- 6 days ago
- 5 min read
Some people saw an uninviting hillside, we saw the opportunity to build a home.
When people see our property now, they often say, “You’re living the dream.” But this dream began with a steep hillside, a few rough sketches, and a lot of learning as we went. We had no formal design training, just a clear intention to live closer to nature and build a life that could sustain our family in every sense of the word.
What we have today is a living system that works with the land, not against it. Every garden bed, waterway, and animal enclosure has a role to play. This design wasn’t built overnight. It grew, layer by layer, as we learned how to let the property shape us as much as we shaped it.
If you’ve ever wondered how to begin your own homestead or permaculture garden, the key is to start small and stay observant. You don’t need a large acreage or a big budget. You just need curiosity, patience, and a willingness to let nature lead.
Driveway entry and road access around property.
Drop off point for dump trucks delivering compostable resources such as wood chip, sawdust and dairy manure.
Multi-level compost terraces incorporating pig and chicken systems. Piles at different stages. Nutrient run-off is directed onto grazing terraces below.
Tropical tree plantings.
Beehives face north, bees pollinate crops and surplus honey is harvested.
Grazing terraces.
The homestead and kitchen garden, featuring medicinal herbs, flowers, perennials and seasonal crops. Social areas, children’s entertainment and temporary worm-packing shed.
Tank water storage. Solar powered pump transports water from large capacity dams to fill. Water is fed back down the hillside by gravity, to service lower systems including gardens, animals and worm production.
Small herd mixed species grazing, holistically managed, using solar powered electric fencing.
Intensive garden terrace features 14 netted raised beds for pest sensitive annual vegetable crops. Embankments planted out with fruiting trees including tropical peaches and apples, nectarines and berries.
Animal shelter/milking shed.
Food forest. Ducks provide fertiliser, natural pest control and meat and eggs.
Chain of ponds. Terraces slope slightly backwards and in towards a central gully. Small ponds start high in the gully and flow into each other, connecting with the large dam below.
Worm cultivation. Windrow mounds on the ground are covered by shade cloth material.
Small gully ponds, or charge points, slow the water after rain, holding it in the landscape for longer (water retention). Surrounding vegetation creates an edge for biodiversity.
The largest dam, the family’s favourite place to hang out, canoe and catch fish.
Fruiting trees.
Nutrient rich water cycles through the worm system and irrigates trees, crops and pasture.
Lower pastured areas for cell grazing.
Seasonal creek at the bottom property boundary.
Start With Water and Flow
Water was our first priority. Living on a slope meant every drop that hit the ground wanted to rush downhill. We needed to slow it down and make it useful before it left the property.
We added a series of ponds and terraces that catch, hold, and filter water through the landscape. These ponds now support frogs, birds, and beneficial insects. They also keep the soil moist for longer periods, reducing how often we need to irrigate.
A solar pump lifts water from the dam to the top of the hill, where gravity feeds it back through the gardens, animal paddocks, and worm farms. It’s a simple loop that works year-round with minimal maintenance.
Use Animals as Helpers
Every animal on our property has a job. The pigs and chickens work the soil, eating pests and turning over organic matter. The cows and goats graze mixed pastures in rotation, helping to build soil health while producing manure for compost. Ducks move through the food forest, keeping pests down and fertilising as they go.
Animals are part of the nutrient cycle. They create fertility, and in return they thrive on the healthy land they help maintain. If you’re setting up your own small system, even a few chickens or a worm farm can make a huge difference. You can [buy compost worms here] to start creating rich, living soil straight away.
Plant for Abundance and Diversity
Our food gardens sit near the house, where we can tend them easily each day. They’re surrounded by fruit trees, herbs, and flowers that attract pollinators and create a natural balance. Further down the slope, tropical trees and perennials provide shade and food for both us and the animals.
We planted our beehives facing north to capture the sun, and they repay us with honey and healthy pollination across the property. Every layer of planting supports another. When you design your garden this way, it becomes self-sustaining over time.
Compost, Worms, and Soil Health
Healthy soil is the foundation of every productive system. We make our own compost using a mix of dairy manure, woodchips, and garden waste. This feeds directly into our worm farming operation, which turns compost into rich castings that we use across the garden.
If you’re new to soil building, start small. A simple compost bin or worm farm is enough to begin improving your soil right away. You’ll find step-by-step instructions and inspiration in the Homegrown Healthy Living book, or you can get started with a worm farm here >
Working With What You Have
Not every property looks like ours, and that’s the point. Permaculture isn’t about copying a layout. It’s about understanding your space and designing for what it needs. If you live on a small block, start with a compost system, a few raised beds, or a worm tower.
If you have more room, think about how water, animals, and plants can work together to create balance. Each new addition should serve more than one purpose: shade, food, pollination, or soil improvement.
The key is to work slowly. Observe, adjust, and learn from what the land tells you. Mistakes are part of the process. What matters is that you keep going.
Living Lightly and Learning Along the Way
Our mountainside homestead continues to evolve. We add, adjust, and sometimes start again. That’s part of the beauty of living this way — it’s not about perfection. It’s about connection.
Creating your own permaculture setup, no matter how small, is a way of caring for the earth, your family, and yourself. It teaches patience, gratitude, and resilience.
If you’d like to see how we built our system from the ground up, you can read our full story in Homegrown Healthy Living available now through our online shop. And if you’re ready to begin your own soil journey, get your worms and start turning food scraps into fertile ground for growth.
