The Biggest Little Farm: Lessons for Life from Nature
The documentary tracks the 8 year journey of the Chesters, a couple from the city who decide to create an ethical sustainable farm named Apricot Lane using only traditional methods. Multiple crops of fruits and vegetables, using the natural fertilizer of their free range animals (chickens, ducks, pigs, cows). Circular farming at its best. All this with the understanding that the process would lead to better tasting and healthier food and being more in sync with nature.
Contrast this to corporate factory farms that dominate farming these days: one crop monoculture driven by chemical fertilizer and drugs for the imprisoned animals. No wonder food in America requires preservatives and tastes so bad, also unhealthy to boot.
The added benefit of a natural grown farm was the diversity of plant life. One of the biggest issues with present day farms is that pestilences come in and ravage the crops. Being a single crop you could end up being wiped out. But for more multi crop farms like Apricot Lane which had several dozen this risk is lessened. Diversity really matters.
The additional benefit of diverse plant life showed up when the region was hit by rain storms. All the other farms had their rich growing topsoil swept away to the ocean, killing productivity of the farm. This was not an issue for Apricot Lane, whose various plant life was able to absorb the water, clean it and send it to the important aquifer under the land.
The Chester family face constant challenges of climate, weather, pests, wild predators and escalating costs. It seemed like it was always two steps forward, one step back. But they are relentless, tackling each and every challenge stoically.
Illustrates the challenging life of farming. Lots to learn from farmers like grit, patience, hard working and resilience. Following dreams is hard but you learn so much along the way.
As per quote from John Chester:
“Here's the thing: We live in a state of fear right now; there's so much to be afraid of. And the natural response in the midst of fear is to turn away. The thing I've found is that anything we're facing on the farm, the antidote to it is curiosity.”
Whenever some problem came up, they learned not to brute force it. Farmers learn very quickly not to force nature. There is no way to win. Instead they learned to step back.
John Chester, continues “Observation followed by Creativity is becoming our greatest ally.” He basically followed the highly effective military methodology of the OODA Loop. Observe, Orient, Decide and Act.
In our world today, we are in reaction mode all the time. Many of us have a bias to action in a fast changing world like ours. But in some situations, it’s better to stop first to better understand the situation. In many cases, you probably don’t need to do anything as the situation usually sorts itself out. In others, thoughtful action is important. Snap judgements and actions tend to make your problems worse. In most cases, it’s important that you take the time. We can all learn to be a bit more patient and sometimes let nature take its course. We should always trust in our ability to handle things in the rare situation that gets out of control.