TRADITIONAL FARMING METHODS
Forest Gardening, a fully organic food production system, dates from prehistoric times and is thought to be the world’s oldest and most resilient agroecosystem. Hunter gathers, highly mobile and migratory, had a well-balanced diet from forest gardening.
Forest Garden projects exist on every continent except for Antarctica. The largest known food forest (on public land) is the seven-acre Beacon Food Forest in Seattle, WA. Forest gardens have been compared to the Garden of Eden.
This unique type of agriculture has stood the test of time. Forest/home gardens are still common in the tropics and are a significant source of income and food security for local populations. The world’s most advanced forest gardens are in the state of Kerala, in Southern India, where there are over three and a half million forest gardens, known as home gardens.
The natural forest garden is divided into distinct levels and identified by UK author and forest gardener pioneer Robert Hart. He developed The Seven Layer Plant System taken up by permaculture researchers and farmers. In particular, two Australians, Bill Mollison and David Holmgren.
Australian researcher, author, scientist, teacher, and biologist Bill Mollison (1928-2016) developed the practice of permaculture and introduced it in his book Permaculture One, which he co-authored with David Holmgren. Through the Permaculture Institute in Tasmania that he founded, he created an education system to train thousands of others about permaculture.
David Holmgren (1955- ) is an Australian environmental designer, ecological educator, and writer. He is best known as one of the co-originators of the permaculture concept with Bill Mollison. Holmgren wrote the manuscript for what would become Permaculture One: A Perennial Agricultural System for Human Settlements as he completed his Environmental Design studies and submitted it as the major reference for his thesis. He then handed it to Mollison for editing and additions before it was published in 1978.
Holmgren's development of permaculture ideas and practices was also strongly influenced by Haikai Tane and the work of P. A. Yeomans, Franklin Hiram King, Howard T. Odum, and Albert Howard. The book, Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability (2002a), is dedicated to Howard T. Odum, who died two months before its publication, and it owes much to Odum's vision of a world in energy transition.
Principles and Pathways offers twelve key permaculture design principles, each explained in separate chapters. It is a landmark in permaculture literature, as the seminal work in Bill Mollison's Permaculture: A Designer's Manual (1988) was published fifteen years previously and has never been revised.
Biodynamic Agriculture (BA) was founded by scientist, educator, and philosopher Rudolf Steiner and is outlined in his book Agriculture.
Steiner was one of the first public figures to warn that the widespread use of chemical fertilizers would lead to the decline of soil, plant and animal health, and the subsequent devitalization of food. He was also the first to bring the perspective of the farm as a single, self-sustaining organism that thrives through biodiversity, the integration of crops and livestock, and the creation of a closed-loop fertility system. Steiner also brought forth a unique and comprehensive approach to soil, plant, animal, and human health that recognizes the importance of the healthy interplay of cosmic and earthly influences.
There are thousands of biodynamic farms around the world.
Proving its success is the 2,900-acre Williams River Farm, owned and operated by biodynamic pioneers Kelly & William and the Newton-Wadsworth family, in Boraning, WA. Kelly Newton-Wordsworth is a multi-award-winning international singer-songwriter and author of, This is Your Life – How to Live a Life Beyond Your Dreams.
Biodynamic certification for farms and products is managed worldwide by Demeter International, in the United States by Demeter USA, and in Canada by Demeter Canada.
Regenerative Agriculture (RA) goes beyond organic methods to revitalize and enhance the natural ecosystems of the land. It actively sustains soil health, biodiversity, and overall ecosystem resilience and makes them better. RA was the farming method centuries before the onset of the Industrial Revolution in the early 20th century.
“Soil health is intrinsically linked to the total health of our food system. Soil health affects everything from plant health to human well-being and the future of our planet.
Regenerative prioritizes soil health while simultaneously, encompassing high standards for animal welfare and worker fairness. The idea is to create farm systems that work in harmony with nature to improve quality of life for every creature involved.” Robert Rodale
Regenerative farms work to enhance biodiversity by creating habitats for various species, planting diverse crops, and integrating livestock. It supports natural pest management, nutrient cycling, and ecosystem resilience.
In a natural, healthy cycle RA sequestrates carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and then transfers it back into the soil for the benefit of crops, trees, and humans. RA techniques like agroforestry, no-till farming, and cover cropping enhance the soil’s ability to capture, store, and recycle this vital gas.
Regeneration International (RI)
In June 2015, about 60 people from 21 nations, representing businesses, the farming and scientific communities, educational institutions, policymakers, and NGOs, convened in Costa Rica to draw up a blueprint for an international movement united around a common goal: to reverse global environmental degradation and end world hunger by facilitating and accelerating the global transition to regenerative agriculture and land management. RI achieved 501(c)(3) nonprofit status in 2017. Today, RI engages with a network of more than 500 international partners and a growing number of Regeneration Alliances globally, including in the U.S., South Africa, India, Canada, Belize, Mexico, and Guatemala.
RI envisions a healthy global ecosystem in which practitioners of regenerative agriculture and land use, in concert with consumers, educators, business leaders, and policymakers, revive the planet, feed the world, and restore public health, prosperity, and peace globally.
Dr. André Leu was named international director of Regeneration International in 2017. Previously, he was president of IFOAM—Organics International, the international umbrella organization for the organic sector. IFOAM, which has about 850 member organizations in 127 countries, was a founding member of RI. During his tenure as president of IFOAM, Leu served on the RI steering committee.
During 40-plus years of visiting and working in more than 100 countries, Leu acquired an extensive knowledge of farming and environmental systems across Asia, Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Australasia. He and his wife, Julia, run an organic tropical fruit farm in Daintree, Australia.