REGENERATIVE
BY CREATING THE SPACE AND CONDITIONS FOR HUMANITY TO FLOURISH, WE WILL TRANSFORM QUALITY OF LIFE ACROSS THE WHOLE OF SOCIETY.
IF WE ARE TO FARM IN AN INTELLIGENT WAY THAT HARNESSES THE SUPPORT OF NATURAL SYSTEMS AND THE ABUNDANCE AND VITALITY THEY DISPLAY SO ROBUSTLY, WE WOULD DO WELL TO STUDY THE WORLD FROM A PATTERN PERSPECTIVE.
Richard Perkins
WE ARE CAUGHT IN A WORLDVIEW THAT IS ROOTED IN SEPARATION, COMPETITION, CONTROL AND DOMINATION. A RECIPE OF NEO-DARWINISM THAT VIEWS LIFE THROUGH THREAT-TINTED GLASSES.
Giles Hutchins
REGENERATIVE
We exist in a paradigm of extraction and exploitation.
Nature, humanity, every component of our reality treated as nothing more than raw materials in a global corporate profit machine:
Consumerism drives us to purchase things we don't need with money we don't have.
Modern farming techniques strip nutrients from the soil and replace them with agro-chemicals destructive to nature.
Ubiquitous use of plastics and other industrial materials choke the natural environment and poison humanity.
International corporations run by Billionaires use literal slave labour in their supply chains.
The survival of our species requires us to move beyond this paradigm of extraction and into a new one focused on long-term, regenerative growth and prosperity.
Where natural systems are improved, not degraded by human activity.
And people are empowered, not subjugated, by those in positions of authority.
This new paradigm is entirely within our gift to create. We have the skills, ideas and potential. But it requires a profound shift in consciousness and practice across the whole of society if we're to build and sustain it for the long term.
Which is why we're here.
FOR NATURE
The key principle is: we leave the natural world in a better state than we found it.
Pretty much every industrial process used by our existing system involves unsustainable extraction or degradation of natural resources. Even technologies presented to us as 'ethical' or 'green' are, more often than not, predicated on extractive practices of one form or another. Including, but not limited to, supposedly 'sustainable' energy systems which use slave labour in their global supply chains.
This is not to say we should avoid using any natural materials in building our society (if we did, we'd struggle to build anything at all). But our approach must consider the long-term implications and impact of human activity on the natural world.
Crucially, this means working with and not against nature's own patterns of growth. Amplifying and imitating the behaviour of natural ecosystems, rather than artificially redirecting, subverting and degrading them.
Migrating to a Distributed system requires a fundamental reassessment of our most foundational industries - from energy to healthcare and beyond - as well as a total rethink of what we value, what we create and the legacy we want to leave for future generations.
The most pressing and immediate place for us to rebuild is in agriculture.
I’m certainly not a farmer, but I’ve been inspired by the work of Richard Perkins, which I believe sets out a clear and practical vision for how a distributed food system could operate.
IF WE ARE TO FARM IN AN INTELLIGENT WAY THAT HARNESSES THE SUPPORT OF NATURAL SYSTEMS AND THE ABUNDANCE AND VITALITY THEY DISPLAY SO ROBUSTLY, WE WOULD DO WELL TO STUDY THE WORLD FROM A PATTERN PERSPECTIVE.
Richard Perkins
For anyone interested in the economics and mechanics of farming, this is a good place to start. I'll introduce many more thinkers and doers in agriculture as we go along.
FOR HUMANITY
The key principle is: we leave humanity in a better state than we found it.
Humans are not economic units to be monetised by big companies. Nor are we passive subjects to be pushed around as pawns in a grand political game.
We are complex, ancient, spiritual beings with agency and dignity that must be respected by society and the systems we create.
WE ARE CAUGHT IN A WORLDVIEW THAT IS ROOTED IN SEPARATION, COMPETITION, CONTROL AND DOMINATION. A RECIPE OF NEO-DARWINISM THAT VIEWS LIFE THROUGH THREAT-TINTED GLASSES.
Giles Hutchins
This isn't just about refusing to buy products from companies who use slave labour in their supply chains (although it certainly is about that). It's also about how we interact with each other on a daily basis. The tone of our public debates, the grace and good manners with which we engage in complex discussions.
It's about how we treat ourselves as individuals. The demands and expectations we place on our own endeavours, the food we eat and where it comes from, the sleep we get, the time we take to reflect and integrate new learning and wisdom gathered from our experiences.
Our aim must be to elevate and inspire those around us, not leave them feeling abused, dejected and put-upon.
By creating the space and conditions for humanity to flourish, we will transform quality of life across the whole of society. Not just by increasing the amount of physical goods we can produce and purchase, but by reconnecting with what it actually means to be human in the first place.
Join the discussion at pattern.mn.co
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E pluribus unum.
Ben Rubin
PATTERN
Further investigation:
Richard Perkins - Human Scale Regenerative Farming
Giles Hutchins - Regenerative Leadership