A discussion on how regenerative agriculture and regenerative art can influence each other will be held in Co. Louth tomorrow (Wednesday, August 16) as part of National Heritage Week 2023.
The discussion will take place in Highlanes Gallery in Drogheda and will explore how the two practices can positively exist together.
Belgian artist Els Dietvorst, based in Co. Wexford, who is also a former shepherdess, will be speaking to Karla Sanchez Zepeda who is a farmer, art historian, and curator.
Sanchez Zepeda is a co-founder of Blackbird Cultur-lab, an experimental culture-laboratory that aims to provide a space for agriculture and the arts to meet, about regenerative arts and regenerative agriculture.
On the link between regenerative agriculture and regenerative art, Dietvorst said they both “restore, renew, and revitalise.”
“It’s about putting as much back into the soil and the land, more than taking something out, which is the same as what I do with my art.
“I work with communities, people who are marginal in a way. I put something back into society by giving them a voice, or working with them on stories and collective memories.
“It’s not about the final product, but in the whole process – the whole process of farming and the whole process of working with people.”
Regenerative agriculture
Sanchez Zepeda explained in a blog post that regenerative agriculture, “aims to restore the health of the soil and of all the ecosystems related to it”.
“Overgrazing and understocking have been causing desertification in many parts of the world,” she said.
“There is proof that this can be reverted; plants can grow and take back the landscape in a process that can take anywhere from 2-6 years.
“It is a holistic approach where the first step is to sustain, nurture and ‘build’ soil by closely looking at and working with the water cycle, mineral cycle, energy cycle, and community dynamics (how species interact).
“Following regenerative agriculture practices, it is possible to create ‘micro-climates’.
“Rainfall matters a lot, but more so than the amount of rain that falls what counts is the ability of the soil to retain the water.”
Sanchez Zepeda referred to five main principles that build resilient land:
- Minimum soil disturbance (both mechanical and chemical);
- Soil coverage (keep the soil covered throughout the year);
- Diversity (encourage and increase diversity of species);
- Living roots in the soil (keep something growing at all times);
- Integration of animals (proper management of livestock through various grazing practices).
Sanchez Zepeda said: “At our farm we want to work with nature, follow the seasons, reduce inputs, grow quality nutrient-dense produce, make the most of our resources (material and human), and preserve a healthy land for many generations to come.”
The discussion takes place as part of Heritage Weeks Lunchtime Talks, and will begin at 1:00p.m at the Highlanes Galley in Drogheda, Co. Louth.