Regeneration

You may not have heard of regenerative agriculture just yet but this is what we did at the farm where we used old cartons, brown paper bags (called brown stuff) and green forest debris (old leaves, discarded pruned branches, dried stems, banana leaves , shredded coconut husk) to regenerate soil. After a few months, we tasted the results of soil regeneration:

* The waters of Jolina came, but our squash and other vine vegetables survived.

* Our garden drained almost immediately because of the good soil structure being formed.

* The vegetables were hardly affected by the monsoon rains as they continued to thrive in the now better soil medium which has regenerated.

And this is what impatient people cannot comprehend. It does take a little time to watch as soil rebuilds and makes a happy environment for local earthworms that dig deeper into the earth, unlike the imported earthworms called African Night Crawlers. Yes, they may be bigger, but they do not dig as deep as the native wigglies.

Regeneration is also the theme for this year’s Slow Food celebration called Terra Madre Salone del Gusto, a bi-annual event celebrated by the global movement started by Carlo Petrini in 1986. The Terra Madre event goes on for five days (Sept 22-26) this year and will welcome farmers, producers and consumers from all over the world, from over 160 countries and will celebrate with the theme in mind.

People often ask me: What is Slow Food? It is about celebrating bio and cultural diversity, sharing ideas about how to preserve cooking traditions, saving heirloom varieties of fruits and vegetables and generally promoting food that is good, clean and fair. What does one get for joining the movement? For a small price of Euro10 (approx. P650) for two years, it’s a good deal to get to know a network of people who believe in the same things and have the same values. I suggest you read about it and get to learn how a million people are trying to save the other 7 billion from speeding up the earth’s degradation.

As we face the challenges of the pandemic which seems to be continuing with no end in sight, the Slow Food organizers will make this year’s event a hybrid model – with online events and live events in Turin’s outdoor parks, for safety and health protocols. The last event held outdoors was in 2016 at Parco Valentino and it welcomed all attendees in outdoor spaces, way before COVID protocols became a byword. Consider that a dress rehearsal for today’s requirements of COVID-free spaces.

With regeneration as the overarching theme, we would expect to find a lot of ideas on saving the planet through biodiversity and respect for other people’s cultures and traditions. Indeed, every nation and every race must be cognizant of the many ways we can preserve our heirloom species of food sources, to name an important aspect of cultural diversity which is consuming what we need to preserve. (To be continued)