Tag: carbonsequestration

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why Farm?

Caught in the throes of post 9/11 antiwar activism, I found myself committed to learning about as much of the injustice happening on this planet as I could, in an attempt to see where I could step in and help most effectively. 

Like in first aid class, you learn to check the scene first, before responding to the victim. 

It was like stepping into a kitchen bustling with activity and figuring out where the bottlenecks were… the weaknesses. Where are chains of command getting interrupted? What are the highest priorities? Where is the greatest sorrow? Who’s doing the most bad? Who can do the most good? The IMF or Civil Society? The world bank or block party groups? 

I found myself in a fight against many things: 

Anti war.
Anti racism.
Anti misogyny. Anti corporate. Anti capitalist. Anti white supremacy. Anti exploitation. Anti greed. Anti lies.  And on and on and on . . .

At some point it occurred to me: If we find success in any or all of these fights, what would we be left standing for? 
With the dissolution of so many things I abhorred would come my own obsolescence. 

I went on a search that continues to this day:
What world do I want to live in? 

I found inspiration in a story tucked away in the jungles of Brazil. The landless movement – the MST, which in Portuguese stands for Movimento sem Terra. 

Inspired by Paulo Freire’s educational pillars and the sheer desperation resulting from despotic corruption, they began squatting on land in order to provide for themselves a basic need: Food. 

From there, they built other aspects of society and continue today as leaders in the Food sovereignty movement. 

I learned about Vandana Shiva and the power of saving seeds. I listened to Wangari Maathai as she led women in planting trees in sub-Saharan Kenya.

Once the initial seed has been planted, suddenly a new world of opportunity is growing before us. When we participate in the cultivation of our own food, we are given the chance to see how impactful each of our lives truly is.

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#weeds

What are weeds? 

From a natural and scientific point of view, they don’t exist. There is nothing that a lab or microscope could detect that would designate a plant to be a weed.

No. The category of Weeds is a human invention: a sociological imposition on what is growing quite naturally.  Weeds are messengers, signaling deficiencies. Weeds are Nature’s first responders, bringing in therapeutic prescriptions. 

Simply put, a weed is something someone doesn’t want growing where it has decided to sprout. 

But in fact, weeds are unsung heroes. They’re trying to heal battered, depleted ground, harnessing power from above and activating life energies below. By covering the soil, they cool the planet. How cool is that?

Weeds know when and where to pop up. And they do so with the most admirable gall. It could make one weep (hand-raised). They germinate on steep cliffs, sometimes in a crack in the concrete. They push on against nearly all of the odds. They propel a life force, perpetuating growth and abundance. 

They know many deterrents, yet they persist. They mutate and adjust. They lessen their incredulously meager rations. With very little, they accomplish so very much. 

If it’s calcium that’s needed, dynamic weeds with pioneering deep roots, accumulate nutrients stored far below. If structure is needed, fibrous rooted weeds will build multiplicitous pathways of bacteria rich zones, holding the situation together. If nitrogen is needed, transmutory weeds may appear with magic microbial power, pulling in nutrients out of the air, and storing it in little nodes upon the roots’ surface. And when the situation is really bad, armored weeds show up with thick spurs and spikes, telling potential predators to back off! They’re working! 

Weeds build soil. They absorb and store water. Weeds combat erosion. And studies are showing they can prove to be more nutritious than the kale you buy at the supermarket. https://cosmosmagazine.com/biology/weeds-growing-in-poor-city-areas-more-nutritious-than-store-bought-produce

So the next time we stumble upon the concept of or even an actual “weed” – let’s stop for a moment to remember who’s perspective we’ve assumed.

Happy Planting!

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#photosynthesis

There are 3 reasons I decided to tattoo this formula on my arm:

  1. Gratitude. Photosynthesis is fundamental to life as we know it, on this big blue planet some call Earth. This basic process set the stage for all of evolution and it continues to build and support life in miraculous ways.

  2. Salvation. It’s our saving grace. There is a way to navigate this predicament of carbon abuse and catastrophe. By harnessing the power of photosynthesis, we can accelerate the process of carbon sequestration, bringing CO2 from the air to the ground. Like a magnet, that’s fast, graceful and efficient. It gives me the chance to wake up and say – “Look! There’s only 3 minutes left in the 4th quarter, but with the right team mindset, world class coaching, and flow state execution, we can turn this game around and maybe come home with a Save the Planet Superbowl Trophy.” That comeback potential is sweet nectar for my psyche and spirit. 

  3. Humility. A brilliant Japanese farmer wrote a book called “The One Straw Revolution.” Masanobu Fukuoka’s life expressed his “theory of the uselessness of human knowledge.” He asks questions like “what is it to know nature?” and shares insights such as, “only a baby can know nature.” 
    From his years of working as a plant pathologist, he experienced how more dissection and analysis only led him further from true understanding and awareness. So when I see the majesty of photosynthesis reduced to a mere equation, I remember that there is more magic left unanswered still. This process cannot be reproduced in a lab. How does it happen? Why does it happen? I may never know and it is this humility that whispers: I belong to the world. It does not belong to me.