Category: Syntropic Agroforestry

You could do it alone, but why would you?

12 people joined Session 3 of the Fast Track your Food Forest series here in Mangawhai last Sunday, led by Arthur McInnes and James Andrews.

Melissa opened the day by sharing how this land found her and Mike, and expressing deep appreciation — for being here, and for the steady support Mike brings. Later, she invited us to “go slowly, with no rush.” Those simple words set the tone for the day, much as a queen bee sets the tone for her hive.

Our first task was to add sandy soil, then topsoil to each bed. Fourteen of us worked together — a living hive, each person instinctively finding their role. Looking back, what struck me was how little urge I felt to direct or manage. I was content to play my part, fully and happily trusting the collective rhythm at work.

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The syntropic or successional approach to agroforestry outlines a way of interacting with ecosystems which marks a step in the right direction: the ecological (not social/cultural) indigenisation of humans and agriculture. If we put aside cultural factors, what is the biological and ecological role of humans within the ecosystems they are part of?

The uniqueness of Syntropic agriculture lies in this ecological perspective, as opposed to the utilitarian and culturally anthropocentric one which is typical of modern agriculture. That such an approach should strike us as revolutionary gives us a measure of our deep separation not only from our ecosystemic role, but also from the integrated relationship that indigenous cultures have with the land.

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This was the fourth time we’ve offered Session One of our three-part Fast Track Your Food Forest series, and I’m glad to see how it has evolved since we first delivered it in April at the Nature School in Mangawhai.

A forest is a great analogy for human society or community. We started by looking at how much collaboration there is in a forest, but how easily collaboration can fail in our disconnected-from-nature, industrial society. I shared some of the work Janet and I have been developing, and the four foundations for collaboration that lasts:

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Home and land ownership in New Zealand is at its lowest rate since 1951 and is expected to fall further. There is evidence of a structural shift—younger people are less likely to achieve home ownership than ever before.

Advertisements by banks on TVNZ, are suggesting that “first home buyers are an endangered species.” Why?

One reason is that in New Zealand, land has increasingly become a commodity, traded on the open market to be bought and sold as an ‘investment’, and not just to New Zealand residents.

Land has been commodified.

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Read recent articles on the buy me a coffee page. You can jump to articles about Syntropic Agroforestry, or articles about Communications skills.

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