xxxv
Introduction to the Book
discusses the existence of different forms of information all around us, then examines views on
exchange between the human body and environment and subsequently articulates the necessity
of widening our epistemology beyond cognition to include other ways of knowing and learning
through immersion, feeling and intuition. Finally, it offers a practical approach for reawakening
a multi-levelled literacy that includes body, heart, mind, consciousness, and intuition, movement
and nature, in order to empower people who work with nature on a daily basis. Chapter 18 (Fabre
Lewin and Gathorne-Hardy) considers the art of ritual as a means of creatively unfolding life
with each other and the planet – which it terms sympoiethics – through the inextricable connection between nature and culture. It develops a case study of a participatory food ritual that took
place in South Africa, as an emergent process with local communities, energies and the otherthan-human. This performative event engaged participants in interdependent exchanges with the
living food cycle by making visible the life-giving connections between humans and the sentient
Earth. This chapter explores how, within the context of agroecological food cultures, the ritual
offered a safe and convivial haven to attend to social, ecological and food justice issues. It concludes by suggesting that the recovery of food rituals may stimulate transitions towards new
approaches, responsibilities and actions that foster an ethics of care in the everyday. The next
chapter, Chapter 19 (Roussopoulos), considers another method, that of Systemic Constellations,
and how it may be applied to agriculture. It charts the evolution of the method through to the early
2000s, when practitioners began to address questions about human/ecological systems. A series
of case studies illustrate this form of Constellations, known as Nature Constellations (NCs), and
explore the conundrums it raises. Research indicates that NCs can access accurate information
about the animals and plants within ecosystems, effectively becoming a form of two-way interspecies communication, and can also generate creative solutions not easily reached through more
linear methods. Further, the approach is in itself a unique form of research into agroecosystems,
capable of adding to agricultural knowledge.
The history of Goethean inquiry has already been explored in the first section of this book, and
the next chapter, Chapter 20 (Brook), applies this method as an approach for understanding the
farm. The Goethean method is presented in an accessible series of practical steps towards a deeper
relationship to any aspect of the farm. At the heart of this method, human faculties such as imagination and intuition may be developed in a disciplined way that allows them to play an insightful role
in a holistic understanding of the land and of ourselves. For agroecology, the Goethean method can
give a fresh view of land and how it can be worked with – what its needs are and how to enter into
collaboration with it. The chapter concludes by stressing that this need not replace other forms of
exploration but may accompany them for a fuller understanding of the being that we collaborate
with when we engage with land. Chapter 21 (von Diest) takes up the subject of intuition as a means
for better on-farm decision-making. It provides evidence that many farmers rely on intuition for
practical decisions, often preferring this to technology-based decision support tools. The chapter
explores the practical benefits of intuitive farming as well as the methods available for developing
intuition. These methods highlight the importance of personal development and the transformative
potential of this approach on the farmer. The final chapter in this section (Chapter 22, Bojesen
Jensen) investigates Sustainable Yogic Agriculture (SYA), a farming approach from India that is
based on a combination of physical and metaphysical (mind–matter) practices. The chapter provides an overview of SYA, its meditation-based and physical methods and possible effects and then
discusses its potential for uptake, taking into consideration research evidence on the mind–matter
relationship. Evidence indicates the positive effects of using SYA not only on farm performance
but also on social dimensions. The chapter concludes that, the core SYA technique is simple and
low cost, and as such may be particularly appropriate for organic and agroecological smallholder
farmers worldwide.
This section has emphasised the potential of the human being as sensory instrument, a communicator with nature and a conscious influencer of both research and practice.
Introduction to the Book
discusses the existence of different forms of information all around us, then examines views on
exchange between the human body and environment and subsequently articulates the necessity
of widening our epistemology beyond cognition to include other ways of knowing and learning
through immersion, feeling and intuition. Finally, it offers a practical approach for reawakening
a multi-levelled literacy that includes body, heart, mind, consciousness, and intuition, movement
and nature, in order to empower people who work with nature on a daily basis. Chapter 18 (Fabre
Lewin and Gathorne-Hardy) considers the art of ritual as a means of creatively unfolding life
with each other and the planet – which it terms sympoiethics – through the inextricable connection between nature and culture. It develops a case study of a participatory food ritual that took
place in South Africa, as an emergent process with local communities, energies and the otherthan-human. This performative event engaged participants in interdependent exchanges with the
living food cycle by making visible the life-giving connections between humans and the sentient
Earth. This chapter explores how, within the context of agroecological food cultures, the ritual
offered a safe and convivial haven to attend to social, ecological and food justice issues. It concludes by suggesting that the recovery of food rituals may stimulate transitions towards new
approaches, responsibilities and actions that foster an ethics of care in the everyday. The next
chapter, Chapter 19 (Roussopoulos), considers another method, that of Systemic Constellations,
and how it may be applied to agriculture. It charts the evolution of the method through to the early
2000s, when practitioners began to address questions about human/ecological systems. A series
of case studies illustrate this form of Constellations, known as Nature Constellations (NCs), and
explore the conundrums it raises. Research indicates that NCs can access accurate information
about the animals and plants within ecosystems, effectively becoming a form of two-way interspecies communication, and can also generate creative solutions not easily reached through more
linear methods. Further, the approach is in itself a unique form of research into agroecosystems,
capable of adding to agricultural knowledge.
The history of Goethean inquiry has already been explored in the first section of this book, and
the next chapter, Chapter 20 (Brook), applies this method as an approach for understanding the
farm. The Goethean method is presented in an accessible series of practical steps towards a deeper
relationship to any aspect of the farm. At the heart of this method, human faculties such as imagination and intuition may be developed in a disciplined way that allows them to play an insightful role
in a holistic understanding of the land and of ourselves. For agroecology, the Goethean method can
give a fresh view of land and how it can be worked with – what its needs are and how to enter into
collaboration with it. The chapter concludes by stressing that this need not replace other forms of
exploration but may accompany them for a fuller understanding of the being that we collaborate
with when we engage with land. Chapter 21 (von Diest) takes up the subject of intuition as a means
for better on-farm decision-making. It provides evidence that many farmers rely on intuition for
practical decisions, often preferring this to technology-based decision support tools. The chapter
explores the practical benefits of intuitive farming as well as the methods available for developing
intuition. These methods highlight the importance of personal development and the transformative
potential of this approach on the farmer. The final chapter in this section (Chapter 22, Bojesen
Jensen) investigates Sustainable Yogic Agriculture (SYA), a farming approach from India that is
based on a combination of physical and metaphysical (mind–matter) practices. The chapter provides an overview of SYA, its meditation-based and physical methods and possible effects and then
discusses its potential for uptake, taking into consideration research evidence on the mind–matter
relationship. Evidence indicates the positive effects of using SYA not only on farm performance
but also on social dimensions. The chapter concludes that, the core SYA technique is simple and
low cost, and as such may be particularly appropriate for organic and agroecological smallholder
farmers worldwide.
This section has emphasised the potential of the human being as sensory instrument, a communicator with nature and a conscious influencer of both research and practice.