Diploma farmer Heinz Erven, a self-sufficient individual and pioneer in the field of natural and permaculture cultivation of fruits and vegetables, managed a 6.5-hectare site near Remagen on the Rhine. Since 1948, he worked without any use of saline fertilizers and without herbicides, insecticides, or fungicides. As early as 1971, Oswald Hitschfeld reported on Erven's "paradise" in a small book. In 1977, Westdeutscher Rundfunk Köln produced a 45-minute television film titled "The Joyful Farmer in Paradise," featuring Heinz Erven as the main character. In his eagerly anticipated book, he shares his 32 years of experience, primarily illustrated with numerous color images from his farm. The first edition, published in 1981, quickly gained a sort of cult status shortly after its release. With contributions from Ursula Venator, a long-time collaborator.