To return the control of food to each local community is something essential to creating sustainable societies.   Only installing this practice as habitual would change other systems a lot, amongst them the economy, soil regeneration & ecosystem & human health. We explore the importance of food sovereignty & how it works in practice.  Included in this class is an exploration in some detail in the various organic food-growing styles that can be used, in small & large scale, with examples of good practice in different areas of the planet.

2. Wangari Maathai "Until you dig a hole, you plant a tree, you water it and make it survive, you haven't done a thing. You are just talking." The people are starving. They need food; they need medicine; they need education. They do not need a skyscraper to house the ruling party and a 24-hour TV station. Kenia, April 1th 1940 - September 25th 2011

5. La Via Campesina is the international movement which brings together millions of peasants, small and medium-size farmers, landless people, women farmers, indigenous people, migrants and agricultural workers from around the world La Via Campesina comprises about 150 local and national organizations in 70 countries from Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas. Altogether, it represents about 200 million farmers

6. The main goal of the movement is to realize food sovereignty and stop the destructive neoliberal process. Food sovereignty is the right of people to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and their right to define their own food and agriculture systems.

7. 7 Principles Food: A Basic Human Right Agrarian Reform Protecting Natural Resources Reorganizing Food Trade Ending the Globalization of Hunger Social Peace Democratic control access to food is a constitutional right the land belongs to those who work it. the right to practice sustainable management of natural resources and to conserve biodiversity free of restrictive intellectual pro perty rights Food is first and foremost a source of nutrition and only secondarily an item of trade Regulation and taxation of speculative capital and a strictly enforced Code of Conduct for Multinational corporations (TNCs) is needed. Food must not be used as a weapon. Smallholder farmers must have direct input into formulating agricultural policies at all levels.

8. Food Sovereignty it's not just an ecological issue it is mostly a political issue

9. For Example in Europe The Community Agriculture Policy (CAP) receives around the 40% ot the European Budget The CAP determines what kind of food we produce, How we market it and what we eat And it's being discussed right now!!! (till the end of 2013)

10. To have a CAP based in Food Sovereignty is vital to shape our future around food This one? Or maybe this one?

21. Cereal cultivation (Fukuoka style) All weeds, insects, etc. allowed to live Seeds broadcasted at the right moment All work is done by hand (here’s a kama )

22. Rice seedlings growing between clover Harvesting rice (barley seedlings under it) Spreading rice straw over barley Sowing rice in maturing barley

23. Citrus & Vegetables Food Forest Citrus, acacias, ornamentals, other fruits… Lots of diversity, new varieties Humans, chickens, etc. integrated in orchard Ancient technology for food conservation

24. Soil deeply worked by natural processes Self-seeding saves work, more flowers Trees unpruned, easy & bountiful harvest Observe, experiment, connect, enjoy

25. The soil on Spanish lands was terrible: dry, arid and without life. I had no idea about what could be done, but I was certain of one thing: a better way must exist Emilia Hazelip I was still a child when I realized myself that adults had no idea about agriculture.

26. Composition of a plant 75% Water 25% Dry matter 20% Carbohydrates 5% N2 + Trace elements From the Soil From photosynthesis

27. The Synergetic effect is between the plants and the microorganism that inhabit the soil, the plants' “digestive system”. So the key in the Synergetic Agriculture is to keep the Plants/Soil Ecosystem intact

28. 1- No digging 2- No Fertilizers 3- No Chemicals 4- No Soil Compaction The Synergetic Agriculture uses the plants (green manure, mulch) to feed the microorganisms that create the fertility of the soil Synergetic Agriculture Principles

29. The beds are created accumulating the top soil from the paths Permanent tutors (iron, bamboo, etc..) for tomatoes, beans, etc.. Irrigation pipes with a tap in each bed

30. The planting Scheme is divided by Crop families that rotate in a systematic way Leguminous for N2 fixation Graminaceas for C Cruciferous for tilling, deep soil conditioning and control of pests and diseases And the benefits of segregation or combination of plants from the solanaceae, cucurbitaceae, and cruciferous families

31. An Example of crop rotation Year 1 Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 3

32. In summary Lots of mulch Beneficial association strategies (in time and space) Leave the roots in the soil Actitude, lots of observation and love Self-fertilization of the Soil Raised beds

34. BioDynamic Farming & Gardening Rudolph Steiner (of Waldolf education) gave some lectures in Mostly known for it's moon relationships to growing: note there are 3 DIFFERENT cycles of the moon related to: 1) distance from the earth (gravitational pull) 2) earth-moon-sun relationship (luminosity) 3) moon's progression through the constellations (what sign/element) Also some relationships to other planets are taken into account Maria Thun - investigator yearly lunar calendar with lots of info GOOD FOR PLANNING 1) 2) 3) >> very good videos in www.PermaCultureScience.org

38. all while using a fraction of the resources These techniques can also: Produce 2 to 6 times more food Build the soil up to 60 times faster than in nature, if properly used Reduce by half or more the amount of land needed Statistics courtesy of Ecology Action GROW BIOINTENSIVE mini-farming techniques make it possible to grow food using: 67% to 88% less water 50% to 100% less fertilizer 99% less energy than commercial agriculture

45. Conventional Potatoes Chicken Tractor Gardens 6 mini- ponds Finca Luna Canarias a wild mix of all those methods

46. Organic Matter 12 days after

47. first year, 2 months after (eaten lots of veggies!)

48. most 'weeds' are more nutritious than the vegetables we 'like'

49. mini- ponds brassicas: young soil

50. "Weeds" act as nursery no pests if system balanced & well fed

52. TRACE ELEMENTS (needed in very small quantities but vital) Fe - iron - probably missing, with Mg, if pH high Zn - zinc - probably missing in dunes Cu - copper - probably missing in costal plains Se - selenium - often missing (seaweed) Bo - barium - very often missing (seaweed) Mb - molybdenum - missing in deep & volcanic soils Co - cobalt PRIMARY - of the soil N - nitrogen - leguminous, urine, aquatic plants P - potassium - ashes, leaves, bones K - phosphorous - bones, bird guano S - sulphur - elemental sulphur, volcanic mineral deposits, swamps Ca - calcium - calcarious rocks Mg - magnesium - dolomite ELEMENTS necessary for healthy plants BASIC (basic structure of all plants: are carbohydrates + water) C - carbon H - hydrogen O - oxygen

54. Scale of Interventions 1) Do Nothing 2) Pick by Hand 3) Biological Control 4) Chemical Control (Re-design) Health of soil (& people)