Regenerative Farming and Permaculture
Why they are the Future of Farming and how you can start.
I have helped start a small farm using Regenerative Agriculture and Permaculture for the last 6 years. I started this with the help of a few others at a children's home (The Hutton Settlement) located in Spokane, WA, The home has 319 acres of total land, including farmland, buildings, gardens, grassland and forested land. Over the years we have begun to ask ourselves how we can best help others achieve regenerative farming where they live, no matter how small the scale.
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Photos of Hutton and some of the Farm Systems
This is important because as farmable land shrinks and population increases, the importance of using farmable land as growing food will be prevalant. It is my goal to show and convince others to start to garden or farm on any level, to provide at the least some of their own food. The current problem is that there is less traitional farmland available, so people need to turn to land that they are using elsewhere, such as lawns or agricultural areas that could be used more efficiently.
We have been trying over the last 4 years with varying levels of success to reach our community and the kids in our care about what they can do to garden at home or simply provide food. The main challenges to this are that there is not a lot of interest in farming/gardening, in younger generations and in the average household. It is easier for most people to use the convenience of supermarkets/grocery stores to buy their food. Most people fail to realize though, that homegrown foods have more nutrition and are overall better quality than foods bought at grocery stores/supermarkets. The successes we have had have come from those who grow food because it is either helathier or cheaper for them. It starts out this way, but eventually many people will continue to expand their gardens and keep providing food for themselves and others.
This infographic talks about regenerative farming and why it is important. The main points that should be drawn from here are that the soils are built up, there are more natural solutions that chemical, and that holistic management is key. It is worth noting the comparison of Regenerative Agriculture to that of Traditional agriculture. There are also a lot of similarities between Regenerative Agriculture and Permaculture.
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To add to the element of Regenerative Agriculture/Permaculture for the ordinary person, there are numerous ways that someone can learn to grow their own food. Many people will read books or go online, or even ask their friends. Everyone learns differently, but in my case it was easiest to learn directly hands on. I did this in the form of whats called a Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC). A PDC lasts anywhere from 2 weeks up to 3-4 months, depending on the site. They have 2 different elements in them, classroom and practical. While permacultue is what is being taught, there are often a lot of different topics such as homesteading, health, livestock and other areas. The main focus is of course gardening, but similar to regenerative agriculture Permaculture also is very holistic. More about permaculture and Permaculture Design Certificates can be found below.
Some of the other ways that you can begin to grow your own food are through community gardens, using a friends or family members land, or even guerrilla gardening. All of these options are easily accessible and can be a great start to growing food for yourself and those in need. Below are some articles on how to start some of these methods to growing food.
Overall, the importance of finding ways to garden or farm in your own way are currently important and will become even more so in the future. Whether it is in your own backyard, a community garden or even guerrilla gardening, finding ways to grow food for yourself and those in need is one of the easiest and accesable ways to start becoming sustainable and self resilient. Using the frameworks of Regenerative Agriculture and Permaculture will allow a successfull endeavor, providing high diverse yields for as long as you wish to maintain them.
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