Have you ever had a nagging thought, feeling, or dream about something that seems so far off your normal scope that it just seems like a whim? That’s been happening to me. I might even say that it’s been sitting on the fringe of my thoughts not unlike coffee did way back in 2001. Some strange desire to do something more but having no tools or ideas on what it actually means or where to even begin.
Last night, Jenni and I sat down to watch The Biggest Little Farm (thanks to our friend Amber for the suggestion!) Have you seen this one yet? Here is the synopsis;
“THE BIGGEST LITTLE FARM chronicles the eight-year quest of John and Molly Chester as they trade city living for 200 acres of barren farmland and a dream to harvest in harmony with nature. Through dogged perseverance and embracing the opportunity provided by nature’s conflicts, the Chester’s unlock and uncover a biodiverse design for living that exists far beyond their farm, its seasons, and our wildest imagination.”
I can’t remember if i’ve written here before but this thing I keep going back to is natural farming (and ranching although I do not eat meat) or the bigger idea of Regenerative Agriculture. According to Regeneration International, regenerative agriculture is “describes farming and grazing practices that, among other benefits, reverse climate change by rebuilding soil organic matter and restoring degraded soil biodiversity – resulting in both carbon drawdown and improving the water cycle.”
The beautiful complexity of our land is alive with infinite possibility.
The Biggest Little Farm – 2018
It’s biodiversity. It’s healthy soil. It’s climate health. It’s this idea that if we take are of the land in which our food grows, our food will take care of us. It’s pretty simple, really… our soil is unhealthy which means our food is, too.
I first found an interest in this when I watched another film – Kiss the Ground… “a full-length documentary narrated by Woody Harrelson that sheds light on a “new, old approach” to farming called “regenerative agriculture” that has the potential to balance our climate, replenish our vast water supplies, and feed the world.”
The crazy part about all of this is that I don’t even have a little garden at my house. The idea of even building one stresses me out but the desire to create and harness the power of this land we live on is growing inside me every day. It feels like it is time. But where to start?
For now, I just want to learn it all. To take it in. To begin slowing so that I can play a long game. To eat how I should eat and respect the things that the land provides to us. To reduce and reuse so we don’t have to worry about recycle.
This idea of regenerative farming is something that I feel like is not going to go away for me. How to harness and move forward? Not sure.
Watch these to films, will you? Let’s begin this conversation and journey, together.