Photo: Courtesy of Holistic Management International
Sheep, cattle and chickens share a
pasture.
well here naturally, the quality and
composition of the soils and how to
profile the land for holding moisture
and retaining fertility.
Photo: Courtesy of the Kusamala Institute of Agriculture and Ecology
Crop rotation example in
Malawi.
paired with a plant that delivers nutrients right back to the soil. Leguminous bushes, shrubs and trees are
great companions to hearty fruiting
crops that require an incredible diet
Abundant ecosystems give an indicaof varied micronutrients to make
tion of indigenous plant succession
their abundant harvests available.
and how nature tends to move away
Beyond planting design, the decisive
from increasing entropy – whereas
use of animals in agricultural syshumans do the opposite. When we
tems can provide far more benefit to
borrow patterns from nature, and
a farmer than just a packaged proddesign and treat our land holistically,
uct at the loading bay of the slaughwe learn to continuously cover the
terhouse. Animals can be employed
soil and encourage the growth of
to work the land, increasing the fermicrobes and mycelium. Unfortutility and fecundity of pastures and
nately, vast blocks of monoculture
grazing fields over the course of
cropping; growing one season, bartheir lifetime.
ren the next, commonly destroy
these buildings blocks of soil fertility. Holistic resource management methNatural forests are often found to be ods, employed by farmers and constacked with multiple layers of plant servationists alike, have brought
life, each one feeding, shading and
many a degraded and eroded landhydrating the layers below. Key agri- scape back to life. It is quite incredicultural examples can be found in
ble to see that ability of nature to
alley cropping and silvopasture sys- bounce back, to continually get up
tems and layered organic fruit orafter the count and slowly stabilise
chards alike.
its footings after repeated neglect,
abuse and the downright foolishness
One can find plenty examples of
of some farmers. In a holistic applants that feed heavily on the soil,
Photo: Courtesy of Carbon Farming Course
Holistic manageme nt and grazing
at Green Pastures Farm in Central
Missouri.
proach, we take into account our
actions on all fronts. Every decision
is measured, and the farming method chosen is that which appreciates
how deeply rooted our connections
are, and how vastly entangled the
branches of our being are with this
land we farm to sustain us.
The nature of the planet is that of a
living being, a whole and complete
entity that operates like a well-oiled
biological timepiece. We cannot take
too much longer to realise that we
are an important part of this chronology, before it may be too late to
reverse the hands of time.
In reality, it is not just the plants
grown, the animals reared, the people employed or the land farmed
that matters. It is the health and
prosperity of all these assets combined that keeps the clock ticking,
and human endeavour alive and
well. For when we’re being completely honest, if any of these elements are missing, where can one
actually begin?
Kanyekanye’s first holistic management project – Mbanjwa Valley, on the banks of the Umkomaas River,
Kwa-Zulu Natal
Photo: Supplied