My friend Emi's mom Meiko worked with Masanobu Fukuoka until his death, and shared with me this Happy Hill rice from his natural farm in Japan, as well as several beautiful handkerchiefs and other Japanese seeds. I read his One Straw Revolution many years ago, and as I embarked on my no-till natural farming journey, I was grateful to have been influenced by his philosophies. He says: "When it is understood that one loses joy and happiness in the attempt to posses them, the essence of natural farming will be realized. The ultimate goal of farming is not the growing of crops, but the cultivation and perfection of human beings." I took this photo on my porch, which happens to have the remnants of African rice - Moruga Hill Upland Rice from Trinidad via Gullah Geechee sea islands, via West Africa. This rice frames the photo - at the top with bent seedheads, and in the bottom right with the dried leaves. These two different species of rice were domesticated on different continents, many thousands of miles apart, and have fed countless ancestors. Another similarity: both will struggle in our climate but I'm going to try anyways. I like to get to know the food I eat by meeting it in all its life stages. #masanobufukuoka #oryzasativa #oryzaglaberrima #oryza #seedkeeping #naturalfarming #notill #onestrawrevolution
