Adaptive Agriculture
Building Food Systems for the Climate Future
In the tropics, the months from November to May are the dry months, when the deciduous forest sheds its leaves and stores its energy underground. It is during these months that the cycle of regeneration begins, and also the most important time for us as caretakers of the earth: feeding the cycle. Beyond the industrial view of agriculture (feeding to harvest), the cycle of regeneration nourishes the soil so that plants and microbial life can thrive during this time of drought and perform their important work of rebirth and readjustment.
Honoring the importance of drought, rest, and deep nourishment, this month we explore some of our work in arid zones across the Americas, examining techniques and projects designed to thrive when the river runs dry.
From the perspective of climate futures, drylands hold some of the deepest secrets about how nature adapts and reinvents itself in the face of crisis. In a world where rainfall is increasingly erratic and global temperatures continue to rise and fall, there is no better time to study the wisdom of arid zones and design our systems not only to survive, but to be resilient during this season.
In honor of this time, we'll be exploring techniques such as rock mulching, the ecology of arid deserts, keystone species in desert forest systems, and the best ways to feed and support the soil during this season when we're not growing for ourselves, but for the system.
This is the great work of our time: to nourish and care for natural cycles beyond our immediate needs and interests. This season demands faith and commitment to foster life beyond the visible, beyond immediate profits, in favor of exponential growth and the proliferation of systems. Join us as we share the work of projects and plants that give us a glimpse into the transformative work that enables systems to thrive in the context of water crisis.
If we want to build a new world, a new agriculture, we must learn to honor and understand this xeric wisdom not as a lack, but as a teacher, as a sage, as the timeless wisdom of nature to prepare for adaptation and systemic evolution.