Regenerative Skills

The definitive guide to no-till organic farming part 2, with Andrew Mefferd, author of “The Organic No-Till Farming Revolution”: 106

Welcome back to the definitive guide to no-till organic gardening. In this session we’ll pick up where we left off with Andrew Mefferd, editor of “Growing for Market Magazine” and the author of “The Organic No-Till Farming Revolution.” In last week’s episode we talked mostly about Andrew’s journey into farming and research of no-till market production methods after identifying the principle problems of tillage and the damaging effects on soil health that it’s had worldwide.
In this session we’ll jump straight into the four methods of no-till mulching that the different farms that are profiled in the book are using successfully as well as the pros and cons of each technique. Andrew discusses the importance of identifying the context of your place and intentions before choosing which technique to follow as well. Be sure to go back and listen to the first episode in this series to hear about Andrew’s background and experiences to get you caught up for this episode if you haven’t done that yet. Once again now I’ll hand things over to Andrew
Resources:
Growing for Market Magazine
Buy the book “The Organic No-Till Farming Revolution”
Buy the book “The Greenhouse and Hoophouse Grower’s Handbook”
Andrew Mefferd on FB

The definitive guide to no-till organic farming part 1, with Andrew Mefferd, author of “The Organic No-Till Farming Revolution”: 105

My guest in this session Andrew Mefferd, worked for seven years in the research department of Johnny’s selected seeds and has travelled around the world to connect with farmers and researchers about greenhouse growing and soil conservation. He then started his own farm in Maine to apply all of that knowledge and experience, which he writes about and curates as the editor of “Growing for Market Magazine”.
In this episode Andrew and I talk about his new book “The Organic No-Till Farming Revolution,” We begin by identifying the systemic problem that industrial agriculture, specifically with its reliance on soil tillage, has caused, and the massive losses of topsoil and the nutrient degradation that has resulted from this ubiquitous practice. From there Andrew breaks down the four no-till market gardening methods that he’s seen used successfully in his travels and research. We cover Mulch grown in place, Cardboard mulch, Deep straw mulch, and Deep compost mulch as well as the pros and cons of each method and how to choose the no-till methods that works best for your context. Andrew also explains how soil health ties in with climate stability, small farm profitability and much more. This is the first in a two part series with Andrew, because all the knowledge that he shared was best split in two to avoid going too long, so don’t forget to catch next Friday’s conclusion of this interview, and two more soil building episodes in this month’s focused look at building market gardening soil.
Resources:
Growing for Market Magazine
Buy the book “The Organic No-Till Farming Revolution”
Buy the book “The Greenhouse and Hoophouse Grower’s Handbook”
Andrew Mefferd on FB

Lessons from more than 30 combined years navigating a foreign culture: RRT 14

The unsung hero of all that we’ve accomplished here in Guatemala are the local communities and people where we live and work. In this Regenerative Round Table I spoke with Charlie and Gabi, two of my closest friends here at the lake about the challenges and learning experiences over a combined 30 years living and working with the local Mayan communities around Lake Atitlan. We speak at length about the intricacies of running organizations and projects in this area and the challenges of respectful navigation and deeper understanding of a culture that is significantly different from the ones we were raised with. In this episode we explore everything from the traditions and customs, language barriers, differences in access to infrastructure and resources, and much more. I’m passionate about exploring the often-overlooked aspect of traditions and culture in the holistic design process and how to consider these essential elements in community regeneration to facilitate the healthy development from all people involved. For that reason, I would also love to hear your own stories of cultural learning and observation, whether you’ve lived and worked in another part of the world or have played host to foreigners visiting your community. I hope this sparks a larger conversation about respectful consideration and even celebration of the differences in our cultures and ways of life. I look forward to your comments and stories.
Resources:
La Cambalacha Website
Previous podcasts with Charlie Rendall
ARE YOU THE OWNER OR PROMOTIONS MANAGER FOR A REGENERATIVE BUSINESS OR ORGANIZATION LOOKING TO GET YOUR MESSAGE OUT TO A LARGER AUDIENCE?
Finding your target audience for regenerative products and services can be tough, especially while the movement is still in its infancy and awareness around the importance of ethical business still has a long way to go. If you want to tap into a network of informed and motivated people with strong environmental and community ethics who vote with their purchases then you’ve come to the right place. The Abundant Edge podcast now has more than 30,000 monthly listeners around the world and is growing fast. These are listeners who are actively involved in the regeneration of our planet and are enthusiastically supporting businesses and projects that reflect their priorities. We now offer competitive sponsorship packages for single episodes and discounted rates for multiple episodes, social media campaigns, promotional videos and more. The best part is that all your investment goes straight into making this podcast the best resource for regenerative skills education that it can be.
Because of our commitment to the integrity of our message and our affiliations, this offer is only open to businesses and organizations that are as committed to regenerative work as we are. If this sounds like a good fit for you, go to the show notes for this episode to fill out the collaborator application form.
We look forward to helping you reach your highest potential.
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The essentials of rainwater harvesting with co-author Rob Avis from Verge Permaculture: 102

In keeping with the theme of water regeneration this month I spoke to Rob Avis, the co-author along with Michelle Avis of their book in the New Society Essentials series called Rain Water Harvesting.
Rob and Michelle founded Verge Permaculture, an award-winning design, consulting and education company in Calgary, Alberta after years of international training in renewable energy and regenerative design. Since its founding, Verge has helped more than 1000 students and clients to design and create integrated systems for shelter, energy, water, waste, and food, all while supporting their local economy and regenerating the land. Through their design and consulting they create havens that produce their own energy and food, harvest water, cycle nutrients, and restore the surrounding ecosystems, enabling property owners to thrive no matter what. With such a broad range of knowledge, experience, and expertise, we focused mainly on rain water harvesting techniques and systems in this episode as an entry into the larger concept of watershed regeneration and revival.
In this session Rob explains some of the key components of rain water harvesting systems and the ways that you can treat and filter the water for various uses. We talk at length about why expensive filters and disinfectants are often unnecessary, even for most potable water uses, and the different ways you can keep your stored rainwater clean. Rob also speaks about how rainwater harvesting systems fit into a larger system aimed toward water resilience in multiple living contexts from urban to rural applications. I’ve been a big fan of Verge Permaculture and all their great work for some time now and I’m intending to create a larger series of in depth talks with Rob and Michelle in the future so if you enjoy this episode and have further questions that you’d like to hear us cover in future talks, then by all means send your questions and feedback to me at info@abundanedge.com or in the comments in the show notes on the website.
Resources:
Buy the book “Essentials: Rainwater Harvesting”
Verge Permaculture Website
Verge Youtube channel
Are you the owner or promotions manager for a regenerative business or organization looking to get your message out to a larger audience?
Finding your target audience for regenerative products and services can be tough, especially while the movement is still in its infancy and awareness around the importance of ethical business still has a long way to go. If you want to tap into a network of informed and motivated people with strong environmental and community ethics who vote with their purchases then you’ve come to the right place. The Abundant Edge podcast now has more than 30,000 monthly listeners around the world and is growing fast. These are listeners who are actively involved in the regeneration of our planet and are enthusiastically supporting businesses and projects that reflect their priorities. We now offer competitive sponsorship packages for single episodes and discounted rates for multiple episodes, social media campaigns, promotional videos and more. The best part is that all your investment goes straight into making this podcast the best resource for regenerative skills education that it can be.
Because of our commitment to the integrity of our message and our affiliations, this offer is only open to businesses and organizations that are as committed to regenerative work as we are. If this sounds like a good fit for you, go to the show notes for this episode to fill out the collaborator application form.
We look forward to helping you reach your highest potential.
Collaborator’s Application form
Name *
Name
First Name
Last Name
Email *
Tell us about your business and why its "regenerative" *
Where can we look to learn more about your business or organization? *
Which of our services are you interested in? *
Choose as many that apply
Podcast sponsorship space
Social media exposure
Promotional video

Why storing water is more important than storing carbon with Zach Weiss from Elemental Ecosystems: 101

In this session I had the pleasure of speaking to the founder of “Elemental Ecosystems” Zach Weiss. Zach earned the distinction of being the first person to earn the Holzer practitioner certification from revolutionary Austrian farmer Sepp Holzer through a rigorous two-year apprenticeship working alongside Sepp in North America and Europe.
Zach created Elemental Ecosystems as a for-benefit social enterprise focused on solving societies growing environmental problems by considering the elemental relationship between biology and hydrology. In this interview, Zach and I start by talking about the difference between a healthy water cycle and one that’s been compromised. We unpack the reasons why humans have desertified nearly one third of the earth’s land and how we can begin to reverse and regenerate that process. Zach also touches on some of the steps that anyone can take, whether you live on a large farm or a small city apartment, to positively impact the water cycles in your local area, and he also shares many resources you can look into to learn more about watershed regeneration. This interview represents just the tip of the iceberg around water system regeneration and I would love to do a follow-up interview with Zach very soon, so to those of you listening to this, please write to me at info@abundantedge.com and send in the topics and questions you’d like for us to explore in greater depth when I get the chance to continue this series again.
Resources:
Elemental Ecosystems
Zach Weiss’ TEDx talk
Tom Duncan’s podcast with Abundant Edge
Desert or Paradise with Sepp Holzer
The Rebel Farmer with Sepp Holzer (in spanish)
Willie Smits’ TED talk
The Flow Partnership

Building a regenerative future and heading in different directions: RRT 13

We’ve completed 100 episodes! Thank you to all our listeners and supporters who are part of more than thirty thousand subscribers to this podcast and the growing regenerative community that is taking back our future and helping humanity move into its fullest potential. In this episode Oliver and Neal talk about the new direction that Abundant Edge and Granja Tz’ikin will be taking independently and how the two enterprises will continue to work together and support one another in the years to come. They also talk at length about the main takeaways and learning that has happened over the last year of development on the farm here in Guatemala as well as the vision and initiatives moving forward. Keep an eye out on the website at abundantedge.com for new content coming out soon with video tours of the farm, tutorials and explanations of our systems, as well as a regnerative travel show that will begin in May.
Resources:
Volunteer at Granja Tz’ikin
Check out Abundant Edge’s services
Upcoming courses at Granja Tz’ikin

Designing Regenerative Cultures with author and educator Daniel Christian Wahl: 099

In this interview I had the pleasure of speaking with Daniel Christian Wahl, Daniel is an international consultant and educator specialising in biologically-inspired whole systems design and transformative innovation.
By the time he was 28 Daniel had travelled to 35 different countries on six continents and he started his career as a marine biologist and scuba diving instructor, before he decided to focus on sustainability and sustainable communities. Originally trained at the University of Edinburgh and the University of California, Santa Cruz, Daniel also holds a Masters degree in Holistic Science from Schumacher College, and a PhD in Natural Design from the University of Dundee. Daniel has taught capacity building workshops on a wide range of sustainability issues to local authorities and businesses and has worked closely with Gaia Education since 2006 when he participated in the first training of trainers for the ‘Ecovillage Design Education’ program. Daniel currently lives on Majorca, and works locally and internationally as a consultant, educator and activist, and in 2016 he published his first book, “Designing Regenerative Cultures.”
In today’s session we cover a very wide range of regenerative design theory and Daniel’s perspective and experience on community and cultural shifts, the factors of time in nuanced design, working in collaboration on multi-stakeholder projects and much more. This interview is the perfect capstone for this last month’s focus on design theory and regenerative community dynamics so before I give it all away, I’ll hand it over now to Daniel.
Resources:
Buy the book “Designing Regenerative Cultures”
Daniel Christian Wahl on FB
UCI Costa Rica
Gaia Education
Gunther’s Fables

Finding the story of a place and it’s true potential with Bill Reed, principal at Regenesis: 098

My guest today has been a big inspiration to me and has been a leader in regenerative design, pretty much before that was even a term. Bill Reed is an internationally recognized practitioner, lecturer, and authority in sustainability and regenerative planning, design and implementation. He is a principal in both Integrative Design, Inc. and Regenesis – two organizations working to lift green building and community planning into full integration and evolution with living systems. Bill is also the author of many technical articles and contributed to many books including the seminal work, “Integrative Design Guide to Green Building.” He is also a founding director of the US Green Building Council and one of the co-founders of the LEED Green Building Rating System. Bill has consulted on over two hundred green design commissions, the majority of which are LEED Gold and Platinum and Living Building Challenge projects.  He is also a keynote speaker at major building and design events as well as a guest lecturer to universities throughout Europe and North America including Harvard, MIT, Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania. I’ve been looking forward to connecting with Bill for quite some time and this interview did not disappoint. We talk at length about Bill’s design process and the perspective needed to remain open to the full scope and context that a design might affect. Bill warns of the dangers of going into a design job looking for problems to solve and projects to implement before understanding and listening to the place and the people in it. The insights from this interview were quite profound for me and I hope this will spark a larger conversation about what regenerative design is and has the power to do
Resources:
Regenesis Group website
Guide to LEED building certification
US Green Building Council

Listening to nature and seeing with more than your eyes with Marcus Veysey from “The Seed:” 097

Welcome to the first episode of season three. I’m so excited for the year to come and all the conversations, interviews, and information that I’ll be sharing with all of you over the year. This season, while I’ll be sticking with the general format of the season prior, I’m also looking to bring more stories into these conversations and cultivate narratives around the incredible work that people around the world are doing in the regenerative fields. Just like last season, once a month the team from Abundant Edge will be checking in on the Regenerative Round Table segments and giving updates on the design and development of the farm as well as the projects we’re working on for clients and friends both in our communities and around the world.
Now today’s guest is a good friend of mine from our community here in Tzununa on Lake Atitlan in Guatemala. Marcus Veysey has lived and worked here at the lake for over 25 years and is a wealth of knowledge on medicinal plants and herbs. Now rather than focusing just on plant medicines, our conversation focuses more on how to listen and observe the natural environment around you and open your heart and perspective to what the plants you interact with are really communicating to you. Through mindfulness practices and small but profound changes in your habits and perspective, Marcus guides us through his own journey of discovery and learning from the local ecology and communities here in Guatemala. I thought this would be the perfect conversation to launch the new season of this podcast with the intention of connecting the practical information of regenerative living to the stories and narratives of the people and their lifestyles so I hope you enjoy this chat with my good friend Marcus.
Resources:
Marcus Veysey on Facebook
The Seed

Reviewing and learning from the first year working as a team and developing the farm: RRT 12

It’s been a monumental first year for us here at Abundant Edge with the development of the farm “Granja Tz’ikin” and all of the client projects we’ve been juggling at the same time. As we wrap up the second season of the podcast and the first year of me, Neal and Jeremy working as a team we want to mostly take the time to show our gratitude for all the people who’ve been instrumental in the progress we’ve been able to make together in a relatively short period of time. We also discuss the core projects that we moved forward on and some of the key lessons we’ve learned and continue to learn over the last season. From here we move into a month long hiatus but The Abundant Edge podcast will be back for its third season on Friday February 1st. Until then, thank you to all of you who’ve listened, subscribed and supported us. Your feedback and encouragement mean the world to all of us here. We’ll look forward to catching you in the new year!
Resources:
Alex Kronick’s episode
Lorenzo Maniet’s episode
Previous regenerative round tables