Real-world experiences for real-world regeneration
After co-authoring my first food system report, I said I wouldn't work on another. I worked on second report. Then, I burnt out. I went on a journey of deep inner-world work and returned with a question: could trading reports for real-world experiential learning inspire the paradigm shift we're looking for? A concept for a three-day immersive learning journey emerged. Its intent: to move investors, funders, and industry change agents from regenerative thinking to doing to being.
Now, the idea has become real. The first edition is happening in England this June. Here is its origin story. This is your invitation. If it resonates, join us.?
Cultivating the Future of Food: an immersive 3-day learning journey hosted with 42 Acres here in the UK on the 6-8th June 2023. While you may think this is some retreat, it's not (read on to find out why). This is a transformational experience that brings investors, funders, and food industry professionals into a new regenerative operating paradigm. It's about activating the unseen potential of food system change agents and funding a regenerative food system revolution.
The source of ideas.?Do you ever wonder where ideas come from??I used to think they came from my brain, from me. More recently, I’ve realised that big ideas -- the sort that flash as an image and I need to stop and note down -- come from elsewhere, a place far beyond the boundaries of my brain. They are sourced from what I’ve come to know as the ‘creative field’. The invisible force of natural intelligence that animates all of life. It’s the evolutionary impulse of the universe that brings ideas into being. The ideas from the ‘creative field’ are always there, waiting to funnel through us human beings, who hold the capacity to translate intangible ideas into three-dimensional reality. I believe it’s why, so often, like popcorn kernels erupting, ideas spontaneously pop up in different parts of the world at the same time, across seemingly disconnected geographies and individuals. Incredible synchronicity and perfect orchestration through an invisible web of connective tissue.?
The idea.?On this day one year ago, I was a month into my time ‘off’ recovering from burnout. I had given myself permission to step away from the world of food if it wasn’t right for me anymore. I was in a week-long meditation teacher course and in one meditation, a vision flashed into my mind. A scene of familiar faces -- colleagues met during my time leading the Ellen MacArthur Foundation Food initiative -- and strangers, gathered on a regenerative farm, getting hands-on and learning through their lived experience. The idea of a retreat for the food industry was seeded.
I soon set off from England for six months in the Americas. Immersed in nature, steeping myself in ancient wisdom teachings and getting back to the land on agroforestry farms, I was challenged to elevate my own operating paradigm from ‘do good’ to ‘regenerative life’ (language drawn from Carol Sanford’s insightful Regenerative Life book).?
Everything I had experienced during my time away reinforced pre-existing beliefs:
Food system solutions that heal people and the planet are possible, but they will only become widespread if the economics work in their favour.
Only when I returned from my travels, did the idea of a food system retreat re-surface, but this time, it took on a refined form. The new vision focused on influencing investors, philanthropic funders, and high-net worth wealth holders (which collectively, I refer to as ‘wallet-holders’) by exposing them to innovative food industry professionals, thought leaders, and farmers and getting hands-on to learn directly from nature. The goal: fast-track their upgraded understanding of living systems and shift the paradigm of their funding decisions.?
Motivation: make money work for regeneration. While I don’t have a professional background in finance (though I studied economics in undergrad), I intuitively felt drawn to focus my energy on wallet-holders. The idea of redefining a 'wealthy' food system was stirring inside me. I kept coming back to the questions of 'how do we recirculate financial resources to support regenerative food systems solutions?' and 'how do we get the shareholders of businesses on board?' On top of that, I've struggled to watch investment in food grow, but too often over-concentrate in the wrong the places. For instance, high-tech solutions, as exemplified by the $26.1 billion invested in agritech (2020) representing 15.5% annual growth. Of course technology has an important role to play, however, the solutions attracting investment are often positioned as ‘silver bullets’ capable of fixing the food system. The truth is, they often reinforce the old mechanistic paradigm that gave way to the industrial food system, whose extractive tendencies and attempt to dominate nature created the very problems we are now trying to solve. As Einstein said, “No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.”?
Complex problems require complex approaches. Tweaking the current system isn’t enough. We need to fundamentally redesign it.?We need to embrace the complexity of living systems, remember nature's elegantly intelligent design, and reimagine economic models that support the innate ability for all life to self-regenerate.
As Einstein said, “No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.”
It’s time to unlock ourselves from the paralysis-inducing ‘doom and gloom’ narrative and re-circulate money to bring high-potential ideas to life. But, wallet-holders often lack opportunities to learn about how food systems work, let alone upgrade outdated mindsets and go beyond supporting short-term band-aid solutions to whole-system-shifting processes.
How might we use a creative-first approach that empowers wallet-holders with the knowledge and mindset needed to fund a regenerative food future? How can we shift their operating paradigm from ‘do less harm’ to ‘do more good’??What will it take to enable widespread re-circulation of money to support regenerative food futures?
Approach: whole-human.?There’s no shortage of analysis out there sizing up the issues of today’s food system, or reports telling us what we need to do. The evidence is clear, the solution set is laid out, yet it’s all too easy to get stuck in analysis paralysis or default into the mechanistic solution-making we're accustomed to. To truly reimagine our food system it’s going to require a much deeper shift. One that cuts below the surface of strategies, targets, and measuring visible outcomes to work at the level of consciousness.?
Systems-change depends on the rate by which the people in it evolve. And this isn’t something new. In her Iceberg Model, Donella Meadows, showed us in 1999 the highest leverage point for change is at the unconscious level of Mental models/mindsets (see figure below).
First hand-experience can be the fastest way to trigger major mindset shifts, moving us from regenerative thinking, to doing, to being. To create a regenerative food system, we need to be regenerative ourselves. So, what if rather than feeding the rational mind and harping on the problem, we engaged the whole-human and allowed people to learn directly through their own lived experience??The beauty about food is it comes directly from nature and it engages all of our senses. And through one’s senses seeps deep understanding. Experiential learning is powerful. Why talk about soil health when we can touch, smell, and see the qualities of healthy versus unhealthy soil? Why read about diverse foods when we can see syntropic farming in action? Why listen to a podcast on rethinking recipes when we can get in the kitchen and learn about food design first-hand?
The information can only be absorbed effectively and insights surfaced if our nervous system is relaxed. The conditions need to be conducive. It's why we temporarily leave the laptops, reports, and boardrooms behind, and trade them in for an immersion in nature. Rather than listen to experts talk at us for ours, we get curious and tap into, and build, our internal source of expertise. In community we drop into a place of insight, creativity, connection, and problem-solving.
When information flows through our senses, we quickly gain new understanding, which becomes a source of internally-referenced knowledge, and overtime, express as embodied wisdom. Putting the regenerative paradigm into action each day is an individual practice, which offers the path to meaningful and long-lasting systems-change.
The current moment is ready for this whole-human approach. We sit at a precipice, watching old systems unfit for a regenerative future collapse. Meanwhile, entirely new systems are struggling to be birthed. Intuitively, we know a new approach is needed. It's no wonder interest in inner-work is rapidly growing, with initiatives such as the UN Conscious Food Systems Alliance and the Inner Development Goals recently launching and gaining traction. These initiatives illustrate the link between inner-world work and outer-world work. We can’t overhaul a system without transforming ourselves. Momentum is building around this sentiment and it fuels me with hope to keep going.
The non-retreat.?As I wrote earlier, while the initial idea was for a ‘retreat’, this UK immersion is not a retreat. The word ‘retreat’ itself means to withdraw from. This is not about withdrawing, it’s about leaning in. It’s not a break, but a pause for break-through. I am inspired by Brave Earth , a centre in Costa Rica that I visited during my travels, which says, ‘instead of offering a place of retreat and escape’ they offer ‘a place to root and remember’. I love this statement. It’s what I too hope to create: a space where people working in food can remember their place within living systems, root in a supportive community, and expand their capacity to support life through their work every day.?
During the immersion, we'll blend art and science, hands-on and conceptual, modern approaches and ancient wisdom. We'll learn through doing: tending to the soil, cooking in the kitchen, and foraging in the forest. We'll engage in rich dialogue to investigate regenerative economics and redefine a 'wealthy' food system. We'll weave inner-work with practical industry knowledge to upgrade participants’ capacity to take meaningful action.
It’s about learning the principles of regeneration first-hand.
It’s about discovering the potential of food to be a force for good in the world.
It’s about allowing a positive narrative around food to emerge.
It’s about feeling inspired, hopeful, and empowered to create a better future.
It’s about activating the infinite human potential within each participant.?
The hope.?To shift mindsets from a place of fear and scarcity to abundance and strength. Provide a glimpse into ‘pockets of a positive future’, show what's possible, and collectively craft a vision of a future food system. After all, the future we envision is what we will create.
The hope is each individual progresses on the continuum towards a regenerative mindset, regardless of where they began when they arrived. As Giles Hutchins shows in the diagram below, the threshold between Restorative and Regenerative Business is significant. It demands us to metamorphose from one state to another. When we pass through the threshold, we are asked to question our world views. We are forced to question and rewrite belief systems that have run our daily programme perhaps for our entire lives, thus far. It's not easy, if it were, we'd all already be there.
Having company on the journey can ease the friction that comes with passing through the threshold. Doing it with a community brings support and external accountability to stick with the process, even when it's tempting to relapse into comfortable old default modes. During the immersion, we initiate the metamorphosis and learn how to put the regenerative paradigm into practice. But just like a caterpillar spinning its cocoon, we need time. The immersion is just three days that mark the beginning of a longer journey ahead.
The invitation. Whether you’re an investor, farmer, corporate, innovator, academic, policy-maker, or chef -- if your work touches the food system and you believe a brighter food future is possible, then you are invited to this transformative learning journey for an intimate group of UK-based change agents.?
This is your invitation to step into your untapped potential and make food a force for good.
6-8th June 2023
42 Acres, Holt Road, Witham Friary, Frome, England BA11 5HL
A special 20% early bird discount is available for a period of time.
My intent is to share the value of this gift with you and share the story and motivations behind it. I invite you to spend some time exploring the event website. If it resonates with you, then I hope you can join us.
A special group will coalesce for this gathering, magnetised by the expression of this offering and its essence.?If you're drawn to join, please share your hopes, needs, and goals through DM or in the comments. The creation of this learning journey is a regenerative process itself, rooted in principles of responsiveness, co-creation, and emergence. Exactly what will unfold is unknown. All I know is it will be powerful. ?
If you’re not based in the UK but would like to explore co-creating a place-based experience in your region, this is also an invitation to reach out. If you know of any likely collaborators or supporters for replicating such experiences in other regions and formats (e.g. day-long immersions), please share them too.?
This is what the world needs. This need to go from intellectual conversation and exercises to a more embodied knowing (which was an abstract concept when I first heard the term and now makes perfect sense), your way of talking about it, and that shift from "a place to retreat and escape" to "a place to root and remember"... if you ever want to do something in rural Portugal, or if I can join the community you're bringing together in any way - count me in!
Senior Service & Experience Designer at Accenture
1 年Yes, Emma!! So proud of you and can’t wait to follow along with your success!
Sustainability | Regeneration | Innovation | Digital Solutions
1 年So cool to see this work emerge! Congratulations and can't wait to hear how it goes.
| Strategist & Ecosystem builder- | agri-food systems| circular economy | smart communities
1 年Antonious Petro
Marketing & Comm | Sustainable Business development | Climate Change | Strategy design | Regenerative tourism | Food Systems | Social innovation
1 年Yes!!! Less talking more doing! ????