The Biggest Little Farm—Applying the Concept of Satoyama to the Farming

In 2011, Molly and John Chester embarked on an adventure to transform their 200 acres of barren soil into an organic, bio-diverse farm based upon regenerative principles, thriving in harmony with nature. 

When the couple arrived on the land, the soil was dead — dry, dusty, uninhabitable. To learn how to make it nutrient-rich again, they hired Alan York, a consultant who was an expert in biomimicry, which is essentially equivalent to applying the concept of Satoyama to the farming.  

Video 1.  Satoyama: Japan's Secret WaterGarden [Full Documentary] (YouTube link)

Satoyama

Satoyama (里山) in Japanese means a rural landscape (e.g., woodlands, rice paddies,^[3] or even people's backyard^[4]) where people work and live alongside the natural world.   In the above video, host Peter Barakan says the word Satoyama (里山) is pretty much like the word Countryside in English—where the human society intersects with the nature. Or, as Professor Kevin Short described it:

Satoyama is the landscape in which the culture and wildlife of the people overlaps with the natural habitats of the ecosystem.  It is the natural landscape that people in Japan had built up over the millennia (over 2 or 3 thousand years) and locals understand the need to live in harmony with the nature and not to exploit it.  Because people use the land in a sustainable manner, it also supports a rich biodiversity.

Applying the Concept of Satoyama to the Farming

Alan York preached a style of farming vastly different from what is traditional. Instead of killing pests with chemicals, for instance, York told the Chesters they should rely on things native to the environment — insects, other plants — to do that job. 

He also advised the couple to grow as many different crops as possible and help the farm become its own thriving ecosystem. While most of the farms in Moorpark focus on lemons and avocados, York persuaded Molly and John to plant those in addition to 75 varieties of stone fruit and a vegetable garden.

York had always said farming this way would take time. It would be years he’d told them, before the ecosystem would find its balance. So the Chesters stuck it out.

"The Biggest Little Farm" Documentary

Before the couple's farming adventure, John Chester was a successful television director.   The journey of transforming their barren land into a self-sustaining farm was documented in a film called The Biggest Little Farm.  From this film, what we mankind must know is:

“Human beings cannot live without Mother Earth, but the planet can live without humans.”     — Evo Morales

Video 2.  The Biggest Little Farm: John & Molly Chester (YouTube link)

References

1. Apricot Lane Farms
2. Satoyama — Where People Live in Harmony with Nature in Japan
3. Rice paddies (video)
• The biggest differences between western's natural landscapes and Asian's natural landscapes is the wet rice paddies.  For centuries, rice paddies are used to grow rice and it also serves as an environment that animals (birds, turtles, and frogs)  can forage and hunt, whose activities in the paddies help to enrich the soil.
4. Secret Water Garden
5. An L.A. couple left urban life to start ‘The Biggest Little Farm’ and then made a movie about it
6. When two Angelenos buy a farm—they make a must-see documentary about it
7. The Rise of Ecolodges (And the 10 Best Eco Hotels in the World)