workshop

We will try to develop with an anthroposophical approach an understanding of the relation of the two in the sense that the farm organism is related to the body(s) in the human constitution, and the farm individuality is related to the soul and spirit in the human. How do the two interact? In which way is the one the condition for the other? In which way and with which tools can we foster each? Can we understand the biodynamic preparations in this context as the capacity builders for the individualization of the Earth?

FaithLands Gathering, organized by the Greenhorns, brought together faith-based organizations from around the country under a shared vision of connecting religious traditions, agriculture, and ecological stewardship, inspiring a spiritual and ethical revolution in our relationship to each other and the land. Faith communities with farmland assets, connection to agriculture, and engagement in the food system are uniquely positioned to reengage with a deeper relationship to the communities they serve and to the greater communities within which they are located.

During this session, Lane and Adriano will discuss how increasing communication between stakeholders in the food community can result in more relevant and desirable cultivars. Lane will present examples of Culinary Breeding Network explorations, conversations, and celebrations that have inspired connection and collaboration throughout the food system. Adriano will share his experience in how biodynamic management affects the quality and flavor of plants.

Yisrael Family Urban Farm is "transforming the hood for good" in Sacramento through growing abundant and diverse food, education, and advocacy. Chanowk Yisrael will share stories from the farm and delve into biodynamics as a way not only to build a thriving soil biology, but also how to engage, empower, and employ communities.

Cannabis has a long history of human use, with cultivation likely starting in Asia around 500 BC. Most ancient cultures did not grow the plant for its psychotropic effect, but rather as herbal medicine or for spiritual practice. In current times, cannabis is recognized as a potent medicinal and fiber plant, and, for this reason, how it is grown is of great importance to its quality.

We will take a visual tour of a year of landscape gardening and talk about how to integrate biodynamic practices into each month of the growing season. Including early season greenhouse use (seeding, sequential spraying, the importance of equisetum), calendar use throughout the season, pruning and tree pasting, spraying biodynamic preparations on multiple locations, transplanting, cultivation, harvest, and composting. This lecture will explore ways to merge our biodynamic methods with an industry that is often given to the use of herbicides, pesticides, and chemical fertilizers.

Goodfoot Farm is a small-scale, certified organic and Biodynamic® market farm in Western Oregon. In addition to blueberries, tree fruits, and diversified vegetable production, the farm is home to flocks of chickens and geese, several sheep, and three horses. In this workshop, farmer Beth will discuss the role of animals on a Biodynamic farm and explore how each of these species is put to work on her farm managing weeds, insect pests, and diseases, and providing fertility.

In this session, we will share information about our Yahowt ("Lift us up, togethe"r in the Coast Salish Lushootseed language) Program. The program includes both a multi-year, multi-generational permaculture cohort who earn professional certifications and design and implement foods and restoration projects in the Native community, and the Indigenous Foods program that utilizes mostly public lands in the Seattle area to increase access and facilitate re-connection to healthy vegetables and traditional foods.

In an ideal world, everyone would know their farmer, all food would be healthy and wholesome, and all land would be treated with respect. In our current legal, economic, and agricultural landscape, this is unfortunately very untrue, and certification plays an important role in creating standards for how farms are managed and the food is processed, and verifying that these standards have been met.

This workshop will connect the spiritual and scientific dimensions of the work of Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) and George Washington Carver (1860-1943), who were contemporaries and held very similar views about very similar work. We will connect Carver's work to the conference themes of living soil, agricultural traditions and innovations, and community, economics, and justice, and discuss why it is important for the US biodynamic movement to embrace and study Carver as an important step towards embracing diversity and connecting with other strands of biodynamic thought.