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About the Holistic Decision Making Association

The Holistic Decision Making Association (Australia and NZ) (HDMA) is simultaneously a not-for-profit limited liability company, and an association. It has been formed to enhance and make easy the adoption of holistic decision making by individuals, families and businesses - whether large and small, in and around the Pacific Rim. It is governed by a board of directors comprising practitioners. Some of the board are also trained as educators in the process, having been trained by the Allan Savory Center for Holistic Management, which is based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the United States. The chairman of that Center also sits on our board. There are seven educators trained by Allan Savory in Australia and New Zealand and another six in training. The course takes two years to complete and involves several trips to the USA and Africa. Once accredited, the educators run their own eight to 10 day training courses. There are approximately 2000 people in Australia and New Zealand who have completed the Holistic Decisions Making (HDM) course. Holistic decision making, using the Holistic Management(r) framework, guides people towards decisions that are simultaneously sound - short and long term - from a financial, social and ecological perspective. The immediate task of the Association is to provide a suite of structures that assist people as they clarify and enhance their chosen quality of life. This is done through a range of electronic and print mediums, such as this web-site and by a newsletter. Workshops are held around both New Zealand and Australia. Case studies David Marsh, from Boorowa in NSW, studied the HDM course four years ago, after reading Allan Savory’s work in the 1980s and looking at different grazing strategies. Through holistic decision making he has changed his management routine on his 800ha sheep property and has come through the recent record drought without feeding any sheep. This compares to the 1982 drought when fed 300 tonnes of grain. While he situations were different, David estimates this saved him between $60,000 and $80,000 in feed costs. David is happy to speak about his experience with HDM and can be contacted on 02 6385 3347 George King, from Carcoar, in the NSW Central West, introduced holistic management onto his farm in 1997. Since that time he has reduced costs, increased stocked rates, reduced his annual drench bill by 60 per cent and improved pasture production without fertilisers or herbicides. He adopted holistic management because he believed conventional grazing practices were unsustainable in the long term and would not allow the farm to be passed to the sixth generation in a better condition than when he took it on. George can be contacted on 02 6367 3011.

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