He had been part of the Dubcek generation of students in the Prague Spring of 1968 but then had to wait until the Velvet Revolution in 1989 before he could seize the opportunities offered by perestroika to become one of the most significant pioneers of permaculture in the post-Soviet Newly Independent States of Central and Eastern Europe. He went on to found the intentionally bi-national Permaculture Association of Czechia and Slovakia, and to organise and interpret many more courses. Karol became an inspiring teacher himself and his legacy includes thriving permaculture projects in both the Slovak and Czech Republics, and a new generation of designers and teachers, not to mention some magnificent ponds and herb spirals. In all this he was helped and supported by his wife, Anna, and daughter, Patricia, now active in their own right. He leaves a huge void.
People are the key resource in permaculture.
Without people's energy and commitment no pro-ject, however well designed, will be implemented. Karol's death is a loss not only to his family and friends and to the permaculture community, but to his country, to Europe and to the world. There can be no purpose more enspiriting than to begin the age of restoration, reweaving the wondrous diversity of life that still surrounds us. In 1998, the UK's Inland Revenue department decided to reduce their reliance on potable water for its office in Shipley, Yorkshire, by putting in a rainwater collection system for flushing the building's 95 toilets. Rain landing on the building's roof seeps through a 50mm layer of pebbles to a weatherproof protective foam sublayer.