013, Patryk Battle: The Systems Approach-Life, Biodiversity, and Cooperation

Soul Soil: Where Agriculture and Spirit Intersect with Brooke Kornegay

"It's not about what I do, but how I'm part of what WE do"...

Patryk Battle has been farming since the mid 80’s; throughout that time, he has always been inspired to farm as an answer to the problem of human disconnection from Nature. Farming became an extension of his political activism as a way to create a better world. Farming was not only way to make a living but was also a way to seek environmental and social transformation. Pat’s not sure why, but somehow he found himself in the role of teacher, which he enjoys immensely. He delights in seeing farmers with similar intentions be inspired to create social transformation through the regenerative agriculture movement. He found himself devoting a lot of time teaching, presenting and working in public growing situations. He ended up growing a garden for the 1% in a country club (it turns out it doesn’t matter if folks are rich or poor, they all connect to gardening in a real way.) Through one of those teaching events, he met the people who would fund Living Web Farms, a nonprofit whose mission is to address food insecurity, both directly through food donations, but also by helping people learn the skills they need to be able to feed themselves, warm themselves, and power their lives through alternative energy sources.

In this episode...

• The purpose driving Living Web Farms, the leading demonstration site for effective organic farming in Western NC

• Declaring war on reductionist science

• The science of complex systems is observation + conclusions

• Biochemistry shows us how biodynamics works--"every element has its own resonance"

• The crucial role of observation; observing animal behaviors to demonstrate how to be tuned into natural intelligence, and regular observation of plant systems to notice imbalances

• Non-negotiables when designing a sustainable agroecosystem

• Creating balance by adding life to avoid disease instead of obliterating life

• Embracing systems thinking and letting the garden guide you

• Exercise while interacting with nature vs. mechanical movement

• The spiritual practice of producing and sharing food

• Plant medicine across cultures

Resources

• The Parable of the Beast by John Bleibtreu

• Ancient Futures by Helena Norberg-Hodge

• Original Wisdom: Stories of an Ancient Way of Knowing by Robert Wolff