“We are discovering a new Australia! As yet, few Australians have seen it.” - P. A. Yeomans

Percival Alfred Yeomans is a greatly underappreciated figure in Australia’s history. This is the conclusion to which I have come while reading “The Challenge of Landscape” in preparation for a course in regenerative agriculture in West Sussex this week.

I had heard of effective microorganisms (EM) before and I had the impression that I would be paying a lot for something quite simple. I am always suspicious of things which require money rather than knowledge and effort. Thanks to Itai Dolev Hauben from Costa Rica and Rico Zook from New Mexico, I discovered that my suspicion of EM was unfounded.

Beginning with the questions

“What is the story of your place?” and “What is the story of its water?”

“Without bread, all is misery.” — William Cobbett, Cottage Economy

“…really good bread is a thing of so much importance, that it always ought to be the very first object in domestic economy.”—William Cobbett, Cottage Economy

“A judicious labourer would probably always have some ale in his house, and have small beer for the general drink.” — William Cobbett, Cottage Economy

Since returning to Oxford after travelling in Spain, I have been working on a small farm in Buckinghamshire assisting with the production of cereal crops for grain and thatch. John Letts, whom I am helping, is an archeobotanist who has returned to his farming roots to grow some of the ancient grains he studied academically. We have recently been joined by Joy Hought who is completing her masters in Agroecology. As we have talked and worked, I have been considering the place of cereals within a permaculture. These reflections would not have been possible without the convivial conversation of happy farm workers. I am indebted to the John and Joy for their insights.