Tag: education

Anand Ethirajalu – Harvesting the clouds: how to transition over 10,000 farmers a year, reducing input costs and increasing profits

A conversation with Anand Ethirajalu, farmer-turned-ecologist and project director for the Save Soil movement, on groundwork.

We don’t talk about it much, but we should: a remarkable transition has been unfolding on the Indian subcontinent over the past few decades. Hundreds of thousands- if not millions- of farmers have been trained in regenerative practices and have successfully made the switch. Yes, with higher yields and greater profits, largely due to significantly lower production costs.

In the conversation, we focus on one region where the Save Soil movement, led by Sadhguru (yes, the same man who rode his motorcycle around the world to raise awareness about the importance of soil), has been training farmers. More than 10,000 farmers per year have participated in these programs for decades.

There are countless lessons to be learned. Soil can recover quickly, but shifting farmers’ mindsets often takes much longer. One key strategy: don’t risk the whole farm. Start with just 10%, and show immediate financial results—higher profits. Provide crucial support in the early years, especially during the first growing season.

Farmers are now connected through WhatsApp groups, where they can receive expert advice for pest or disease issues within 24 to 48 hours—always with solutions they can prepare themselves, without relying on expensive toxic inputs.

More and more farmers are also joining programs to plant permanent crops like timber and fruit trees, both as a form of insurance and with the broader goal of planting enough trees (currently over 12 million a year) to begin “harvesting the clouds”. Yes, this is part of restoring the small water cycle.

We also take a look at the political landscape, as the Indian government has made natural farming a national goal for the coming decades. This is likely a global first. While it will require a tremendous amount of work to implement effectively, and while there will be pushback from the agri-input industry and, of course, government policy will never be perfect, this is still a massive milestone worth celebrating.

Andres Jara – Walking the land of market garden De Stadsgroenteboer with a regenerative farmer

A new episode of the Walking the Land with a Regenerative Farmer to explore the journey of Andres Jara, a regenerative farmer who has turned a mere 0.4-hectare plot outside Amsterdam into a vibrant market garden De Stadsgroenteboer. Andres shares his innovative farming practices that support an 650 people weekly and how the farm not only thrives on biodiversity, but also champions a unique trust-based market stand model, overcoming challenges like sourcing organic materials from abroad. De Stadsgroenteboer market garden is really pushing the boundaries of what success means financially, quality of life, quality of products, and of course the health of the soil.

Eduard Müller – Regenerative education is the answer, whatever the question was

A conversation with Eduard Müller, founder of University for International Cooperation (UCI) and leading Costa Rica Regenerativa, about regenerative education: what does it mean, and why is it so powerful to focus on educating people who want to learn more about regeneration? Eduard makes a very strong case against trying to convince the people in power, in industry, in chemical companies, in fertile companies, in large ultra-processed food companies, at the UN, etc. He has tried and failed, and he truly believes in on education and unlearning. That is why he started his own university 15 years ago. He started with online education in 1998, focusing on scaling regeneration in Costa Rica and showing the numbers and data behind it to reach the tipping point.

Eduard and Koen also discuss how the combination of on-the-ground, large-scale regenerative projects with science and data and the global reach of over 4500 alumni can replicate in their context what is being learned in Costa Rica.

Henry Dimbleby – From designing the National Food Strategy for England to starting a £50M fund focussed on food transition

A wide range conversation of almost two hours with Henry Dimbleby, founder of Bramble Partners, a venture capital firm, that invests in businesses seeking to improve food security. Before Bramble Partners, Henry co-founded Leon Restaurants and the Sustainable Restaurant Association and also served deep in the heart of the UK government as he was appointed lead non-executive board member of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

In this exchange we discuss everything from Donella Meadows in complex systems to what that means for all of us trying to influence these systems and policies and how you actually change policy. How it was to manage the COVID crisis from within the UK government, keeping food on the shelves of the supermarkets and local shops, and trying to drastically improve school meals and their accessibility for children living in poverty in the UK. Plus, a deep dive into the junk food cycle, the differences between ultra-processed food and junk food, and the crazy ultra-processed food addiction we all, or mostly, have fallen victim to. And finally, how eating lentils can change everything.

Sebastiaan Huisman – Farmers die slowly

A conversation with Sebastiaan Huisman, large-scale organic farmer and advisor, about consulting on many large farm transitions, including the British royal family and working with Wildfarmed. Why is he so optimistic about biodynamic, holistic, and regenerative farming, and why does it all start with children?

Picking apples on an biodynamic farm at age 12 led to setting up one of the largest biodynamic farms in Europe, almost 2000 hectares in Poland, on very very poor soil, Sebastian had an incredible journey from that Dutch farm to the creation of one of Europe’s largest biodynamic farms. As he shares his story, we’ll uncover the transformative impact of regenerative agriculture, not just on the soil but also on the very heart of the community.

Brett Hundley – From Tyson Foods equity analyst to financing millions of trees

A conversation with Brett Hundley, President of Agroforestry Partners (AP), a fund that invests in agroforestry projects on farmland with the strategy of providing uncorrelated and attractive nature-based investment opportunities for investors.
We talk about moving away from an agricultural system that relies on annuals to a system that relies more on perennial trees. If trees are the answer to whatever the question is, how do we get millions of more trees into the ground?

How do we finance them, and how do we make the key stakeholders, the farmers- that need to give agroforestry operators access to their land for 20 40 or maybe a 100 years- comfortable with these farming systems? How do we get comfortable with writing these checks the other essential stakeholder investors that need to pour hundreds of millions into an industry and a system they are not really used to, with long time horizons (chestnuts, for instance, take 7 to 9 years before they bare fruit but could produce for at least 50 or even hundreds of years)?

Edie Mukiibi – From a small farm in Uganda, disillusioned by hybrid seeds and agrochemicals, to leading a global movement for good, clean and fair food

A conversation with Edie Mukiibi, farmer, agronomist, activist, and current president of Slow Food International, about modern input-heavy agrochemical agronomy education, the disillusionment with agrochemicals, hybrid seeds, and much more.

Growing Regenerative Opportunities – Koen van Seijen interviewed by John Kempf

A very special episode: Koen van Seijen, author and host of the Investing in Regenerative Agriculture and Food podcast, interviewed by John Kempf, the founder of Advancing Eco Agriculture (AEA) and a top expert in biological and regenerative farming. 

Yanniek Schoonhoven – Training the next generation of farmers with an academy and regenerative farm of 1100HA

A conversation with Yanniek Schoonhoven, co-founder of the Regeneration Academy, a physical learning hub and model farm in the South of Spain, about building a space and community to become practitioners, entrepreneurs, innovators and leaders in the field of regenerative agriculture and eco-system restoration, specialized in semi-arid areas.