Lisa Romero, Ronan O'Conner, and I presented workshops at the North American Biodynamics Association (BDA) Conference this November. It was an inspiring group of attendees not only in their numbers (some 900 people attended the event) but in their palpable interest and enthusiasm for gaining and deepening understanding of biodynamic agriculture and all that it has to offer to support the health and well-being of the earth and the kingsdoms of nature. Because of the scale of the conference and perhaps the nature of the farming community at large, there was a strong social component to the gathering, with many opportunities for connecting with others informally over meals, spontaneous hallway encounters, and on walks along the Columbia River.
The workshops offered included one on Social Understanding, Gender, and Sexuality by Lisa Romero, which provided a framework for working with these aspects of human experience on the farm and in community. The content was met with lively enthusiasm from the large mostly 20-something audience that attended, and the talk brought a wonderful balance of depth and levity to the theme. Lisa and Ronan each offered talks on the effects of consciousness-altering substances, and Lisa offered another on inner development, working with the question, What leads our lives? Is it our desires, our intellect – or the most aware part of us? The workshop offered various insights and exercises to help establish and deepen daily practices to strengthen us in our tasks in the world.
The presentation themes were explored in relationship to human health and development, and the needs of the earth. They brought pictures of the importance of biodynamic agriculture as a response to the consequences of pollution, resource depletion, nutrient-poor food, etc. emphasizing that biodynamic farming works not only on transforming the past but on regeneration into the future. In that sense it has a future-oriented mission for the biosphere of the planet. The talks on substance use described our bodies as ‘our very own piece of land’, which like any piece of land cannot be separated from the whole, and in that sense reflects what humanity has done to the body of the earth, and has consequences for the future of the earth, humanity’s health, and on the path of inner development.
Lisa, Ronan and I, along with another colleague, Orland Bishop, also facilitated a day-long workshop called Agriculture and Social Health: Empowering Each Other to Live Well in Our Tasks. The group explored the questions of how we can work to develop individuality while working in community, how to support healing in community and in relationships, and how our work in agriculture and developing a connection to the spirit of the earth can help us in our social work. The day was rich with presentations, experiential exercises, and conversation.
ANTHONY MECCA has been farming for 15 years, the last several of which have been at Great Song Farm, the biodynamic community-supported-agriculture farm he started in 2010, growing a diversity of vegetables and caring for a small cow herd. Anthony is a mentor and adult educator working out of anthroposophy, and works as the Farmer Training Coordinator for the Biodynamic Association of North America, which runs a farmer foundation year for farm apprentices and others interested in learning about biodynamics.