--- title: "10 Needs Quotes By Bill Mollison" description: "10 Needs quotes by Bill Mollison. Plus more from Bill Mollison and more Needs sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/445/bill-mollison-4213_government_we-don-t-have-to-suppose-we-need-oil-or_1861942.png" --- > [We don't have to suppose we need oil, or governments, or anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/we-don-t-have-to-suppose-we-need-oil-or-governments-or-anything/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/445/bill-mollison-4213_government_we-don-t-have-to-suppose-we-need-oil-or_1861942.png) > [The value of land must, in the future, be assessed on its yield of potable water. Those property-owners with a constant source…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/the-value-of-land-must-in-the-future-be-assessed-on-its-yield-of/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/608/bill-mollison-4213_constant_the-value-of-land-must-in-the-future-be_1005070.png) > [To accumulate wealth, power or land beyond one's needs in a limited world is to be truly immoral, be it as an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/to-accumulate-wealth-power-or-land-beyond-one-s-needs-in-a-limited/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03e/bill-mollison-4213_immoral_to-accumulate-wealth-power-or-land-beyon_1159561.png) > [You should never have gotten to the stage where you could see the last ancient forests! Just get out of there right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/you-should-never-have-gotten-to-the-stage-where-you-could-see-the/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/951/bill-mollison-4213_ancient_you-should-never-have-gotten-to-the-stag_694518.jpg) > [Sitting at our back doorsteps, all we need to live a good life lies about us. Sun, wind, people, buildings, stones, sea,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/sitting-at-our-back-doorsteps-all-we-need-to-live-a-good-life-lies/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/456/bill-mollison-4213_bird_sitting-at-our-back-doorsteps-all-we-nee_1719028.png) > [There is one, and only one solution, and we have almost no time to try it. We must turn all our resources…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/there-is-one-and-only-one-solution-and-we-have-almost-no-time-to-try/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf3/bill-mollison-4213_chance_there-is-one-and-only-one-solution-and-w_10416.png) > [The greatest change we need to make is from consumption to production, even if on a small scale, in our own gardens.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/the-greatest-change-we-need-to-make-is-from-consumption-to-production/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4f/bill-mollison-4213_bullets_the-greatest-change-we-need-to-make-is-f_3221852.png) > [Permaculture is the conscious design and maintenance of agriculturally productive ecosystems which have the diversity, stability, and resilience of natural ecosystems. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/permaculture-is-the-conscious-design-and-maintenance-of/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/41a/bill-mollison-4213_agriculture_permaculture-is-the-conscious-design-and_1218705.png) > [What is proposed herein is that we have no right, nor any ethical justification, for clearing land or using wilderness while we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/what-is-proposed-herein-is-that-we-have-no-right-nor-any-ethical/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99a/bill-mollison-4213_clearing_what-is-proposed-herein-is-that-we-have_2898132.png) > [Security can be found in renunciation of ownership over people, money, and real assets; to gain, keep or protect that which others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/security-can-be-found-in-renunciation-of-ownership-over-people-money/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18c/bill-mollison-4213_access_security-can-be-found-in-renunciation-of_2503886.png) ## Other authors on Needs ## More by Bill Mollison > [There is one, and only one solution, and we have almost no time to try it. We must turn all our resources to repairing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/there-is-one-and-only-one-solution-and-we-have-almost-no-time-to-try/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [Women spend the money of society on its goods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/women-spend-the-money-of-society-on-its-goods/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [Wealth is a deep understanding of the natural world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/wealth-is-a-deep-understanding-of-the-natural-world/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [That we don't design agriculture to be sustainable is totally eerie. We design it to be a disaster, and of course, we get a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/that-we-don-t-design-agriculture-to-be-sustainable-is-totally-eerie/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [Why is it that we don't build human settlements that will feed themselves, and fuel themselves, and catch their own water, when any human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/why-is-it-that-we-don-t-build-human-settlements-that-will-feed/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [Anything that's left that's remotely like wilderness should be left strictly alone. We have no business there any more. It's not going to save…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/anything-that-s-left-that-s-remotely-like-wilderness-should-be-left/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [The important thing is not to do any agriculture whatsoever, and particularly to make the modern agricultural sciences a forbidden area - they're worse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/the-important-thing-is-not-to-do-any-agriculture-whatsoever-and/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [The tragic reality is that very few sustainable systems are designed or applied by those who hold power, and the reason for this is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/the-tragic-reality-is-that-very-few-sustainable-systems-are-designed/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [We are surrounded by insurmountable opportunities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/we-are-surrounded-by-insurmountable-opportunities/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [Though the problems of the world are increasingly complex, the solutions remain embarrassingly simple.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/though-the-problems-of-the-world-are-increasingly-complex-the/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [I can easily teach people to be gardeners, and from them, once they know how to garden, you'll get a philosopher.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/i-can-easily-teach-people-to-be-gardeners-and-from-them-once-they/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [If you get someone who looks after himself and those around him, that's a deep ecologist. He can talk philosophy that I understand. People…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/if-you-get-someone-who-looks-after-himself-and-those-around-him-that/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [You can't cooperate by knocking something about or bossing it or forcing it to do things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/you-can-t-cooperate-by-knocking-something-about-or-bossing-it-or/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [Women are the holders of all knowledge, everything a man knows he stole from a woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/women-are-the-holders-of-all-knowledge-everything-a-man-knows-he/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [Another thing I find extremely eerie is that when people build a house, they almost exactly get it wrong. They don't just get it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/another-thing-i-find-extremely-eerie-is-that-when-people-build-a/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/bill-mollison/#itemlist", "name": "10 Needs Quotes By Bill Mollison", "numberOfItems": 10, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We don't have to suppose we need oil, or governments, or anything.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bill Mollison" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/we-don-t-have-to-suppose-we-need-oil-or-governments-or-anything/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/445/bill-mollison-4213_government_we-don-t-have-to-suppose-we-need-oil-or_1861942.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/445/bill-mollison-4213_government_we-don-t-have-to-suppose-we-need-oil-or_1861942.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/445/bill-mollison-4213_government_we-don-t-have-to-suppose-we-need-oil-or_1861942.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We don't have to suppose we need oil, or governments, or anything.” — Bill Mollison", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The value of land must, in the future, be assessed on its yield of potable water. 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Just get out of there right now, because the lessons you need to learn are there. That's the last place you'll find those lessons readable.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bill Mollison" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/you-should-never-have-gotten-to-the-stage-where-you-could-see-the/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/951/bill-mollison-4213_ancient_you-should-never-have-gotten-to-the-stag_694518.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/951/bill-mollison-4213_ancient_you-should-never-have-gotten-to-the-stag_694518.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/951/bill-mollison-4213_ancient_you-should-never-have-gotten-to-the-stag_694518.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You should never have gotten to the stage where you could see the last ancient forests! 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Cooperation with all these things brings harmony, opposition to them brings disaster and chaos.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bill Mollison" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/sitting-at-our-back-doorsteps-all-we-need-to-live-a-good-life-lies/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/456/bill-mollison-4213_bird_sitting-at-our-back-doorsteps-all-we-nee_1719028.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/456/bill-mollison-4213_bird_sitting-at-our-back-doorsteps-all-we-nee_1719028.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/456/bill-mollison-4213_bird_sitting-at-our-back-doorsteps-all-we-nee_1719028.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Sitting at our back doorsteps, all we need to live a good life lies about us. 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They want to; we need to give them this last chance to create forests, soils, clean waters, clean energies, secure communities, stable regions, and to know how to do it from hands-on experience.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bill Mollison" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/there-is-one-and-only-one-solution-and-we-have-almost-no-time-to-try/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf3/bill-mollison-4213_chance_there-is-one-and-only-one-solution-and-w_10416.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf3/bill-mollison-4213_chance_there-is-one-and-only-one-solution-and-w_10416.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf3/bill-mollison-4213_chance_there-is-one-and-only-one-solution-and-w_10416.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is one, and only one solution, and we have almost no time to try it. 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Hence the futility of revolutionaries who have no gardens, who depend on the very system they attack, and who produce words and bullets, not food and shelter.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bill Mollison" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/the-greatest-change-we-need-to-make-is-from-consumption-to-production/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4f/bill-mollison-4213_bullets_the-greatest-change-we-need-to-make-is-f_3221852.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4f/bill-mollison-4213_bullets_the-greatest-change-we-need-to-make-is-f_3221852.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4f/bill-mollison-4213_bullets_the-greatest-change-we-need-to-make-is-f_3221852.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The greatest change we need to make is from consumption to production, even if on a small scale, in our own…” — Bill Mollison", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 8, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Permaculture is the conscious design and maintenance of agriculturally productive ecosystems which have the diversity, stability, and resilience of natural ecosystems. It is the harmonious integration of landscape and people providing their food, energy, shelter and other material and non-material needs in a sustainable way. Without permanent agriculture there is no possibility of a stable social order.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bill Mollison" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/permaculture-is-the-conscious-design-and-maintenance-of/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/41a/bill-mollison-4213_agriculture_permaculture-is-the-conscious-design-and_1218705.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/41a/bill-mollison-4213_agriculture_permaculture-is-the-conscious-design-and_1218705.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/41a/bill-mollison-4213_agriculture_permaculture-is-the-conscious-design-and_1218705.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Permaculture is the conscious design and maintenance of agriculturally productive ecosystems which have the…” — Bill Mollison", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 9, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What is proposed herein is that we have no right, nor any ethical justification, for clearing land or using wilderness while we tread over lawns, create erosion, and use land inefficiently. Our responsibility is to put our house in order. Should we do so, there will never be any need to destroy wilderness.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bill Mollison" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/what-is-proposed-herein-is-that-we-have-no-right-nor-any-ethical/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99a/bill-mollison-4213_clearing_what-is-proposed-herein-is-that-we-have_2898132.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99a/bill-mollison-4213_clearing_what-is-proposed-herein-is-that-we-have_2898132.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99a/bill-mollison-4213_clearing_what-is-proposed-herein-is-that-we-have_2898132.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What is proposed herein is that we have no right, nor any ethical justification, for clearing land or using…” — Bill Mollison", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 10, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Security can be found in renunciation of ownership over people, money, and real assets; to gain, keep or protect that which others need for periods of legitimate access. A lending library enables people to help themselves to information; a locked-up book collection is useful only to the person who owns it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bill Mollison" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/security-can-be-found-in-renunciation-of-ownership-over-people-money/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18c/bill-mollison-4213_access_security-can-be-found-in-renunciation-of_2503886.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18c/bill-mollison-4213_access_security-can-be-found-in-renunciation-of_2503886.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18c/bill-mollison-4213_access_security-can-be-found-in-renunciation-of_2503886.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Security can be found in renunciation of ownership over people, money, and real assets; to gain, keep or…” — Bill Mollison", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/bill-mollison/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/bill-mollison/", "name": "Needs Quotes by Bill Mollison", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/bill-mollison/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/445/bill-mollison-4213_government_we-don-t-have-to-suppose-we-need-oil-or_1861942.png" }, "description": "10 Needs quotes by Bill Mollison. 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