Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin: Decolonizing the food system through integrative agriculture (part 2)
Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin is the founder of Regenerative Agriculture Alliance (@regenagalliance), which is an ecosystem of industry leaders, farmer and public interest organizations, food sector businesses and cooperatives, tribes, and elected officials that are working together to scale up regenerative agriculture supply chains.
He's also a lifetime Ashoka Fellow and the author of In the Shadow of Green Man, which tells the story of his life growing up in revolution-torn Guatemala and how it led him to his work in regenerative agriculture.
In this podcast episode (part two of our two-part conversation—tune into episode 242 for part one!), Reginaldo sheds light on the projects he's been working on to support regenerative agriculture; what we can do to help re-indigenize our perspectives and food system; and more.
To start, get a glimpse below into the conversation between Reginaldo and Green Dreamer Podcast's host, Kamea Chayne.
Musical feature: Trust The Sun by The Fruitful Darkness by Trevor Hall (@TrevorHallMusic)
“If we see ourselves as stewards of energy rather than producers, then we’re going to realize that a farm already has everything it needs.”
If you feel inspired by this episode, please consider donating a gift of support of any amount today!
This is a conversation on Green Dreamer with Kamea Chayne, a podcast and multimedia journal illuminating our paths towards ecological regeneration, intersectional sustainability, and true abundance and wellness for all. This preview has been edited for clarity. Subscribe to Green Dreamer Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any podcast app to stay informed and updated on our latest episodes!
On re-indigenizing how we steward the land:
"All of us on earth are indigenous to the earth. Whether we see the earth from an indigenous perspective, that's a different story. And whether we're native to a specific region, that's a different story, too.
So what I'm talking about when I say ‘indigenous’ is seeing the world from a place where we understand our purpose and interrelationship with everything of which we are one—that's indigenous in my perspective.
When we think that way and when we go into farming with that perspective, then we'll see ourselves as stewards of energy rather than producers.
If we see ourselves as stewards of energy, then we're going to realize that a farm already has everything it needs.
It has soil. If you treat that soil well, if you feed it, if you restore the biology, the soil exponentially increases its ability to transform energy. That's energy that doesn't have to be purchased—it's free, it's in the air, it's in the soil, and it's around you.
If you need to intervene, you don't need more than animals to reignite the biology of the soil to restore the indigenous capacity of that space to transform energy, which is much more efficient than trying to manipulate that process of transformation."
On decolonizing our minds:
"If you have space, plant a garden! There's nothing more decolonizing than to watch something grow. Don't do it for the purpose of feeding your family; it doesn't have to be that way.
Do it for the purpose of seeing life, engaging more with life, and changing our culture and our intellectual poverty that defines how a lot of people think food comes from the store or a meal comes from a store. Those kinds of statements sound funny, but ."
Final words of wisdom:
"Remember: All of the knowledge in the world with no wisdom is worth nothing. In fact, it's the way we are destroying the world.
A little bit of knowledge with a lot of wisdom can save the planet.”
Podcast Sponsor:
Conscious Step is a Fairtrade, GOTS-certified organic cotton socks brand that donates to a cause for every pair sold. In addition to having a fun variety of nature-inspired prints, Conscious Step has a variety of causes they support, many of which help to address environmental and social justice—from rainforest and ocean conservation, to access to clean water, education, combatting violence, and more. Check out Conscious Step's organic socks. (Use code GREENDREAMER for 20% off)
