Farmer Ercilia Sahores called out to the 700 farmers and gardeners gathered in the Goetheanum Hall. Traveling here from Mexico, she came from an “earlier” time zone—and she brought “the future.” The agricultural projects Ercilia and three other women reported on will also lead us into the future.
What a grand picture! Just weeks before the celebrations to mark the hundredth anniversary of Rudolf Steiner’s death, Earth-workers gathered together from all across the Earth, for the Earth. The conference poster “Our Earth, Our Future” shone out from the front of the hall. As the murmur died down, a single violin sounded Bach’s Chaconne. The annual conference of the Agricultural Section for the whole Earth and one single musician captivating seven hundred people. The individual and the life of Earth—a recurring theme throughout the opening festivities of the conference.
Homeopathic Agriculture
Eduardo Rincón stood on stage with Ueli Hurter. As the new co-leader of the Agricultural Section, this farmer from Mexico was hosting the Annual Meeting for the first time. Together, they represented the far distances of the world. Farmers and gardeners from 47 countries had traveled to the conference. “It’s about the future, and that’s why it’s an all-female panel,” said Ueli Hurter, presenting the four female speakers, who would talk about three projects from the West, the South, and the East: Mexico, Egypt, and India. What a beautiful picture: Eduardo Rincón and Ueli Hurter on either side of the four from the future.
Ueli Hurter began with a broad arc: “The relationship between human beings and Earth is as old as human history. Modern times have distanced us from the Earth. We see it now from outside, as if it were just a thing. In return, however, we’ve gained individual freedom. And now we’re at a critical point: the Earth is crumbling under our very hands and feet. We’re called upon to reconnect with it; now out of our newborn freedom. It’s a commitment to the whole Earth. And that’s why we’ve invited our sister movements from the family of organic farming to this conference. From single farm conversion, we’re now looking at bigger steps; we’re going to hear about three projects, three programs that work with many farmers to shape the future, day by day. It’s about improving all the many small farms and improving nature.”
Enabling the future means having the courage to take big steps, said Hurter. He mentioned the homeopathic number of agricultural workers who work biodynamically: 0.006 percent. That’s the population of a small town. If 17,000 human beings gathered in the hall, one could say: “If this was all the people working in agriculture, then one person would be working biodynamically. Like a highly diluted preparation applied to the fields: very little and very much at the same time.”
Climate Champions of the World
Thoraya Seada from Sekem, Egypt spoke first. “I’m here as a representative of the ‘Economy of Love.’ I’d like to share our story with you. A story of love for our Earth, for our soils, for our health, and for our community.” She then went on to list what Sekem’s sisterhood of farming is all about: spreading biodynamic agriculture worldwide, imparting practical knowledge and consciousness to farmers, developing incentives for conversion and for the market, and educating consumers. Sekem offers training programs to educate and empower smallholder farmers. “We measure every ton of carbon that is sequestered in the soil and in the trees. By 2024, we’d planted one million trees, produced 26,000 tons of compost. 25,000 hectares of land were converted to biodynamic farming. 5,000 small farms completed the verification process and received their carbon certificates. 130,000 tons of carbon have been removed from the atmosphere. We’re looking ahead to the future. We’re encouraged by the fact that we were awarded the Gulbenkian and Climate Champion prizes last year. We want to support and convert 40,000 small businesses by the end of next year.” The figures both substantiate and justify her words, and they certainly astound. In English, we use the word “convert” to describe the process of changing over a farm to be biodynamic. How apt! One converts to a new faith—this decision to switch from conventional to ecological farming has a similarly profound effect on one’s destiny.
Thoraya was followed by her colleague Naglaa Ahmed, a representative of small farms in Egypt. Healing the Earth means healing yourself first. Preparing the future means changing hearts and changing minds. The new initiatives providing health insurance for women farmers and their families show just how comprehensive Sekem’s approach is. They also measure the impact of biodynamic agriculture and these results convince many more people to participate, said Ahmed. She then told the story of a farmer. After his son died of cancer, he decided to switch to biodynamic farming. He invited his neighbors to do the same. And he set a lot of change in motion. She shared the motives of other individuals: to do something for future generations, to develop their finances, to improve their health. The pharaohs in the Egyptian Book of the Dead assured their god: I have not polluted the waters of the Nile, I have not let any animal suffer, I have not neglected any plant. The same we promise ourselves today. She concluded: “I’m so glad to be part of this journey!”
Indian Fire
The speakers seemed to represent the four elements. Thoraya Seada spoke like the river and Naglaa Ahmed had a didactic lecture, organized like earth. Then came fire. Wearing bright red, Swati Renduchintala, representative of the Indian ecological movement, described the “Copernican Revolution” in land use on the subcontinent. This is how climate researcher Hans Joachim Schellnhuber described it at last year’s Gulbenkian Award ceremony for the Andhra Pradesh community from India and Sekem. She opened with a firecracker: “I represent one million farmers in my country.”
The work is all about revitalizing and regenerating the Earth. Farming means “imitating” nature. “There’s a natural ecosystem, and that’s our inspiration. We want to increase the microbial function of the soil, because agriculture is not done by farmers, but by microbes. The microbial activity in the soil does the work.” So, our work must support their work. She compared the soil to human intestines, where a microbiome is also responsible for our metabolism. Since the 1960s, this knowledge has been lost due to the advance of chemical agriculture that uses pesticides. That’s why the renewal of old knowledge is needed now.
Swati Renduchintala spoke fast, throwing the fire of her whole soul into the room, and did so with a political calculus. Until now, organic farming was a marginal phenomenon, and universities opposed it; they had their own lobbying. That’s why it’s important to “provide evidence,” to prove the success of organic farming. She then made an interesting comparison: converting farms and changing the consciousness of the rural population is reminiscent of a rehab program: one must withdraw from the belief in the feasibility of technology from the days of the 1960s so-called “Green Revolution.” One or two days of training will not bring about change. “What we need are human beings who know about naturally sustainable agriculture, who are role models, who can talk about their experiences—and convince people.” It’s important that farmers are accompanied for longer periods of time on their path to conversion. Laughter fills the room when she says it takes longer to convince men to make the switch—they want the rational argument. That’s why change happens faster if you win women over—not through plans but through presence. You have to be on the ground. One million small farmers have now joined this program, and there are sixty million in her province of Andhra Pradesh. Given her energy, it’s quite possible that she’ll win over every one of them.
In Love with the Steppe
Then, Ercilia Sahores spoke. From Argentina, she’s brought the future to the semi-desert of Mexico. She began with her own story: “I came to San Miguel de Allende for the first time in 2005. I was on a backpacking trip from Mexico to Cuba. I spent New Year’s Eve in San Miguel, in central Mexico. It’s a beautiful city with cobbled streets and a lively culture in the city center. And there are so many different shades of orange in the summer sunset. At the time, I had no idea that, in five years, I’d be moving there to organize the first agroecological street market. San Miguel is in the state of Guanajuato. Guanajuato is traditionally characterized by agriculture and mining; there’s a lot of vegetable cultivation, mainly for export: broccoli, asparagus—with lots of chemicals and pesticides. Today you can see urban settlements, golf courses, luxury hotels, and exclusive wineries. I have the feeling that the whole world is moving in this direction.”
She then talked about the ecological consequences of the agricultural boom: “The overuse of water is causing the groundwater level to sink two to three meters per year. Where you used to have to drill forty meters for a well, now it’s 120 meters. The surface water is contaminated with arsenic, fluoride, and heavy metals.” She mentioned the ecological sins of the past: “In colonial times, silver was mined. The Spanish rulers stole the land. They enslaved the indigenous people and made them work in plantations and mines. The trees were cut down to melt the silver, which dried out the region and changed the climate. So, what was once a fertile valley is now overgrazed land where most of the farmers are no longer even able to keep their dairy cows. They release their malnourished animals to fend for themselves on the sparse vegetation. The young people leave the valley. For them, it’s like fighting for survival. So, they prefer to work in the hospitality industry in San Miguel. Or they emigrate, illegally to the US, or work in assembly plants, or join drug cartels.
When I came to San Miguel, I fell in love with the challenging landscape: the beauty of a few drops of rain bringing the cacti to bloom in the rainy season, the scent in the air. Soon the whole Earth will be as emaciated as this landscape. This is the future that’s knocking at our door. For too long, desertification has been seen as a problem of the South. But desertification and drought are among the biggest environmental challenges we face today. It’s estimated that around 3.2 billion human beings currently live on degraded land. This corresponds to over ten percent of the land area.
We’re doing something about it. We have a farm where we grow vegetables and fruit trees. We have sheep, chickens, and turkeys. We have a school. People come from all over Mexico to study here. We have permaculture and biodynamic agriculture. And we also employ people from surrounding communities. We have a store with local produce and a restaurant where we make our own tortillas from our own non-GMO corn. We have dry composting toilets. And yet, in 2019, during one of the worst droughts in thirty years, we lost trees, biomass, and carbon in the soil—the depth of our soil’s organic matter went from eight to three centimeters. The truck that brought us water was barely visible in the cloud of dust it kicked up.
Then we heard about the idea of feeding animals with fermented agave leaves. So, it looked like we had what we needed right at hand the whole time. We called this our “Desert Epiphany.” Our project is now trying to heal the damaged environment and restore the regenerative and holistic use of agaves. There are 230 species of agave in the world, 150 of which are native to Mexico. The agave is mainly used for tequila: the sugary juice is extracted, while the leaves and fibers are discarded. We ferment the leaves to produce a nutritious and tasty food. Agaves don’t need to be watered. They store water in the rainy season and take moisture from the air. They grow quickly and produce large amounts of biomass. The plants open their stomata at night to absorb carbon dioxide for photosynthesis in cooler temperatures.
Acacias and Agaves
Acacias grow in forty percent of arid and semi-arid landscapes, often together with agaves. Acacias have very deep taproots that grow downwards about forty meters to find water. They bind nitrogen and improve the fertility of the soil. We’ve discovered that if you chop them up and ferment them, they can also be used as animal feed. Fermentation makes them edible for the animals. During the dry season, when there’s overgrazing, we can feed animals agaves and acacias and leave the land to recover. It takes five thousand liters of water to produce one kilo of clover fodder. Corn needs 1,200 liters of water, but agave fodder only needs sixty liters of water. We have different areas where we carry out our project. Not every solution fits everywhere. You have to adapt. The other problem is the skepticism we encounter. The communities were skeptical about using agave as silage. In the past, farmers chopped it for their animals, but it led to digestive problems and pain. So, it took a long time for the people there to learn how to avoid these problems by fermenting the plants. We’ve brought new life back to a beaten land. It’s good for the animals, for the climate, for the small farmers, and for the water balance. It’s a technique to revitalize the land and also a way to heal what’s been destroyed.”
What Encourages Us
Eduardo Rincón asked how the step from small to large is achieved. Naglaa Ahmed: “You need people. In India, people meet in collectives, that’s where we are. Secondly, we show the government agencies what’s successful. The government can then multiply this with its resources. It grows when it becomes a government program.” Thoraya Seada: “The first step is vision. The next step is to have a project, a pilot project. To make this possible, you have to use everything you have, all your tools and a good structure. You keep hitting barriers until you make the success story that you later tell. That’s what we were able to do in Egypt. We had a vision of sustainable development. And we started with a pilot project on a single farm, the ‘Economy of Love.’ That was our model and it became our success story. Then we developed further plans. That’s very important. We started with one farm, now we have 16,000 small farms. I’d also like to say that documentation and case descriptions are more important than simply talking about it.” Naglaa Ahmed: “You have to inspire people by measuring the impact and making the change tangible. So, naturally, you also need to introduce species that require less water and have a better impact on the climate. It’s important to achieve something economically as well as in terms of health.” Ercilia Sahores: “For us, it’s about equipping people with skills. Education is fundamental, likewise consumer education. That’s an important factor that enables farmers to sell their products.” Ueli Hurter concluded this rich lesson: “I would guess it’s not as easy as it sounds. But it is happening, and that’s what encourages us.”
Translation Joshua Kelberman
All Photos Xue Li
