which I was using for funding course development was to run out at the beginning of February 2006. Although I had tried to organise another sources of income I had not been successful. This was a great test of faith and as the deadline approached with no income in sight I prayed for help and assistance and trusted that support would come. Two weeks before I was completely out of money I got a job as the biodynamic consultant to Mulloon Creek Natural Farmsii, a 6,000 acre biodynamic property. This was a great blessing in many ways. It was a one day a week job which gave me just enough money to live on so I was able to continue developing the Certificate Program. But equally important and essential was the experience I was gaining at a practical level which this job gave me. A lot of the assessment tasks for the Certificate Program resulted from this work on the farm. The Certificate Program, which ended up taking five years to complete, was completed in April this year (2007). There are currently 18 students on the course mainly from the UK and Australia with many enquires being received from people across the globe. It was through this process of teaching, studying, developing course materials and application of these principles that I came to understand what Steiner meant when he stated that the farmer is a great meditator. When a farmer is engaging with nature, ploughing of the fields and planting crops he reflects on the deeper aspects of nature and gains true knowledge. It is only though study and implementation of these teachings that one is able to gain true knowledge of Biodynamics. This is why it was so important to develop the Certificate Program. What results from this process is true knowledge, not just an intellectual concept. The Distance Education Certificate Program is implementation of the information through an activity, through doing. This brings the participant to a true understanding of biodynamics. WHAT PROMPTED YOU TO WORK HERE IN THE UK? It was in my role as the biodynamic consultant to Mulloon Creek Natural Farms that I was able to come to the UK. The owner of the farm, Tony Coote met HRH Prince Charles in Australia during his visit in 2005. This resulted in an invitation to visit Highgrove and the Duchy Home Farm. I accompanied Tony on a twelve day tour of Biodynamic and Organic farms in Germany and the UK which included visits to both Highgrove and the Duchy Home Farm. I was very impressed with both Highgrove and the Duchy Home Farm; there is a wonderful integrity in the work being done on these sites. I was fortunate to be able to run my first class at the Duchy Home Farm.
WHAT GIVES YOU THE MOST INSPIRATION FOR YOUR LIFE AND WORK? The most important aspect of my life through which I gain my strength and focus is my spiritual journey. I have been a member of the Bahá’í faith for the past fifteen years. In the Bahá’í faith the farmer has the most important role. Work in the realm of agriculture is considered as the highest service to the world. To be able to serve mankind (humanity) in the realm of agriculture is the most wonderful gift to my life. WHAT DO YOU SEE AS BEING THE CHALLENGES FOR AGRICULTURE TODAY? Loss of species diversity, degradation of the soil, low nutritional content of our food and the difficulty in accessing information and educational programs for organic and biodynamic production. One of the biggest challenges is to raise the status of the farmer, to acknowledge and support the vital role he/she has in providing healthy food for all of mankind as well as being custodians of the environment and all living organisms. HOW DO YOU THINK BIODYNAMICS CAN GO SOME WAY TOWARDS MEETING THOSE CHALLENGES? Biodynamics is a system which directly addresses current problems in agriculture. Biodynamics restores vitality to food, produces highly nutritious food, is cost effective, rejuvenates degraded soil conditions and once established maintains a healthy soil process. TELL ME OF A COUPLE OF THE FUNNIER MOMENTS OF THE COURSES. There are too many funny moments to recount; there is always lots of laughter on the course. The activities and role plays are always fun as people relax and enjoy these activities such as mixing cow manure and dressing up during role plays as planets and micro-organisms. AND THE MOST CHALLENGING? This was when I was teaching in Western New South Wales to a group of fifth and sixth generation farmers. This was always my biggest fear, to talk to farmers who had spent their lives in farming, about agriculture. As I walked into the room to start the course I realised I was ready to meet this challenge. I had come a long way both in my knowledge of biodynamics and in my spiritual journey. IT IS INTERESTING HOW POPULAR YOUR COURSES HAVE BECOME IN THIS COUNTRY. WHY DO YOU THINK THAT IS? A lot of people here have a real enthusiasm for biodynamics. Up until now people have been working it out for themselves though books, workshops and the people they meet. The Foundation Course meets this need for education in an accessible and comprehensible way. It’s wonderful that the course has received such support as I do very little advertising and promotion of this course. 4
Star & Furrow Issue 108 Winter 2007
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