Regenerative Farming – it’s time!

Bekandze Farm School – growing healing with local partners

Our crowdfund is live! Visit: https://chuffed.org/project/bekandze

The following text is from August 2023, announcing the launch of the project.

Beginning in February 2023, our farming project is proceeding at pace, having confirmed the land lease, farm infrastructure, family involvement, staff profit sharing, organic NGO partnership, and local temple involvement. But we aren’t doing this project just to enjoy a little bit of farming. Our plan is to work with our local NGO partner to support small holders in the area around Tampaksiring (Bali) to convert to, or take up, collapse-ready regenerative farming. Our local partner is achieving this around Kedisan, a neighbouring town, with 30 families switching production methods so that they regenerate soils and biodiversity, reduce toxicity and capture carbon. Together, our new initiative will provide the basis for a collapse-ready regenerative business network that will enable the re-localisation of a range of production. 

The project is coordinated by an Australian-agriecologist with over 30 years experience, working in partnership with an Indonesian regenerative agriculture specialist who has already transformed farming practices on dozens of farms across Bali. They are supported by myself, someone with decades of research and experience in ‘sustainable development’ who is finally getting my hands in the dirt as our old systems and stories unravel. 

We do not pretend that if our regenerative farm school and business network succeeds that it will fully insulate either ourselves or the local communities from the disruptions of a climate that is changing fast and to an extent unknown. What we do know is that we will be reducing our contribution to the problem, softening the local impacts of any future economic or political strife, and demonstrating to a wider audience what can be done with limited resources and a non-colonial approach to collaboration. It’s my own practical ‘deep adaptation’ to the ongoing disruption of modern societies, and part of me finally living what I call the ‘doomster way’ (which involves many bold, kind, and creative ways of responding to our predicament). 

This is where you come in. To make the project fly in 2024, we need to upgrade our facilities and roll out trainings. Donations can be made to registered non-profit organisations in either the USA or UK (The Schumacher Institute). Which means donations will be tax deductible if you qualify for that in one of those countries. This can be done via our crowdfund page: https://chuffed.org/project/bekandze

Updates on funds raised and our progress at Bekandze Farm School, will be via this blog and my Instagram account, with direct links from our website www.bekandze.net, as well as via our local NGO partner.  

Is this something you could support? If so, please write to me if you have any questions, or would like a chat, or if you want to see our prospectus (which includes the budget and our priorities for use of any funds received). For contact, please use this form. Alternatively, if you know someone who might have the means and interest, please share this blog with them… it just might make a massive difference! 

Thank you, Jem