Vortex Spring 2012

v ortex C-Dar Biodynamic Society Newsletter

Spring 2012 5071 Paradise Valley Road PO Box 3818 Squamish, BC V0N 1T0 (604) 898-9101

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vortex C-Dar Biodynamic Society Newsletter C-Dar Biodynamic Society Tel: (604) 898-9101 Fax: (604) 898-1512 info@cdarbiodynamic.org Box 3818 Garibaldi Highlands, BC V0N 1T0 CANADA BOARD OF DIRECTORS Marc Nering, President Sarah Weber, Vice-President Christian Tulloch, Secretary Stephen Butler, Treasurer Nick Butler, Director Paul Schilperoord, Director Philip Harmon, Director Ferdinand Vondruska, CEO VORTEX C-Dar Biodynamic Newsletter is published 4 times per year for farmers, gardeners and friends of C-Dar Biodynamic Society.

Next issue: July 2012 Send submissions to green.freelancewriter@gmail.com by 1 June 2012.

PRODUCTION & DESIGN Goodwin Studios and Wood Nymph Designs woodnymphdesigns@gmail.com Free classifieds should be sent to Angela Kuprel at woodnymphdesigns@gmail.com EDITORIAL NOTE The information provided in this magazine is for educational and informational purposes only.

The views expressed here are not necessarily those held by the C-Dar Biodynamic Society.

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DAWN GREEN

From the editor There is an undercurrent of support for C-Dar Farm, which ebbs and flows amongst the rocks and trees on the property. Its name is the Gaia Protection Foundation.

“In remembrance of my father’s actions, the Gaia Foundation has been helpful in the biodynamic work I’m doing in Canada and Mexico,” said Vondruska.

The term ‘gaia’ refers to the primordial Earth-goddess in ancient Greek religion. The mythological name was revived in 1979 by James Lovelock, in Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth.

His hypothesis proposes that living organisms and inorganic material are part of a dynamic system that shapes the Earth’s biosphere, and maintains the Earth as a fit environment for life.

And so in acknowledging the support of this amazing foundation, Vondruska notes that this funding may soon cease and new sponsors will have to be found. Let’s hope there may be continued monetary support to enable C-Dar Farm to continue its invaluable work on educating people on the art of biodynamic farming. 

The Gaia Protection Foundation was created by Ferdinand Vondruska’s father, through which millions of dollars have been donated to nonprofit organizations such as the Red Cross. The foundation has been responsible for funding the annual biodynamic courses at C-Dar Farm, as well as the World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) program and the wages of the farm manager.

“When we walk around a farm, we are actually walking through its belly, and the plants are growing up into its belly.”

— Rudolf Steiner

BY FERDINAND VONDRUSKA

COMPOST

Calendar

Your seedbed for fall fortune.

Let us assume that your compost (soil) is relatively well composted. Let’s say it is a biodynamic compost, in which all those nasty chemicals and poisons, the lethal stuff such as packaging material, plastics, kitchen waste and grass (heavily fertilized with ‘natural fertilizers such as dry blood and bone meal), egg shells from a chicken high-rise that uses hormones and all kinds of insect sprays have been removed. Let’s say you have wonderful garden compost.

My first question: How old is your In your garden, the language of your compost? Generally speaking it will compost has to be tuned to the plant take about six to eight months to get you wish to grow. Compost soil is good compost, similar to a language well rotted garden that you wish to speak soil. But, do you in a foreign country.

“Your seedbed for really want such If you want to grow fall fortune.” compost for, say, flowers, your compost cabbage? Certainhas to be old. If you ly not! Cabbage want feisty potatoes, needs relatively fresh and juicy com- your compost has to be young. And if post. No, don’t feed your cabbage you want to grow good carrots: don’t directly with plant food. Never. If you use fresh compost, use old compost want to eat your plant, make sau- as, otherwise, you’ll find your carrots erkraut or else, don’t dope it. Why? full of wire worms, fungi and more.

The doping material will get stuck in your body: nitrogen will settle in Use biodynamic compost that will your joints and produce nasty joint support your plant in the quest of inflammation in a few years. Any what it wishes to become: food for other chemical will get stuck in your thought. kidneys.

So, how old must my compost be for Remember, you are what you eat. my garden? Let me say this. What lan- If you eat chemicals, your brain will guage would you have to learn if you stall. If you eat cosmic messages (that want to live in Quebec? Or in China? are enshrined into the soil of your Or, let’s say in Spain? biodynamic compost), you will be able to think wholesome thoughts. 

MONDAYS | 10:00 - 11:30 am

Free Biodynamic Talks Lead instructor Ferdinand Vondruska has more than 30 years experience studying, teaching and practicing biodynamics. Ferdinand studied Biodynamic Farming and Waldorf Education at Emerson College with Dr. Herbert Koepf, a world renowned leader in the biodynamic field. He has instructed courses in Mexico, USA, Finland and other countries worldwide.

His extensive work with communities in Mexico led to an invitation to teach a credit course at the University of Mexico in October 2009.

Through his experiences around the globe he has learned how biodynamic methods can restore polluted and exhausted soils in almost any geographical region.

WEDNESDAYS | 7:00 - 8:30 pm

Agriculture Study Group This group, consisting of farmers, gardeners, foresters and people interested in the biodynamic farming and gardening methods is meeting on a weekly basis. Many topics will be discussed based on Dr. Rudolf Steiner’s Agriculture Course. Anybody may join. Free of charge. Contact: Ferdinand Vondruska to RSVP. THURSDAYS | 7:30 - 9:00 pm

Study Group/ Garden Talk

by Fritz Bindseil, Waldorf teacher

Cedar Valley Waldorf School visits C-Dar Farm We had a wonderful farming project with Ferdinand’s very active and generous support in 2008 and 2009 at C-Dar Farm.

Ferdinand gave my kids (they were in Grade 2 and 3 when the project started) an untouched field where we took out rocks first.

Then it was ploughed and harrowed. After this we put in wheat seeds and manured it. We pulled out weeds and in the following summer we harvested a lot of wheat. We threshed it, separated the kernels from the chaff and then we ground it. We baked several dragon breads from it at Michaelmas and shared them with Ferdinand and our school. It was a wonderful experience!

The kids experienced the whole process of making bread from the beginning to the end. They learned certain methods of farming. We created our own method how to thresh and how to separate the kernels from the chaff and it took a long time until we finally got flour. The children appreciated their ‘daily bread’ a lot more after they found out how much work is involved. They also learned a lot about the influence of the weather and how much their work determines the final product. Farmers need to work hard to make their own living and to produce enough to be able to sell their products.

Nothing got wasted. The straw was our classroom decoration for the fall and after that it was being used to give a rabbit warm shelter for the winter.

Thanks again Ferdinand, it was a great experience and we had a lot of fun!

from Agriculture BY

Rudolf Steiner We usually think of the soil ... as being something purely mineral, with organic matter coming into it only incidentally to the extent that humus develops or manure is applied.

That the soil might contain not only this sort of life, but also an inherent plant-like vitality, and even something of the nature of soul-qualities, this is not even conceived of, much less accepted as fact. And we go even further, and see how this inner life of the soil – in terms of its fine dosages, I would like to say – is quite different in summer than in winter, we then get into domains that are of tremendous significance for practical life, but which at present are not taken into account at all. Indeed, if we take the

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soil as our point of departure, we will have to recognize that the soil functions as a kind of organ within the organism that reveals wherever in nature there is growth.

“The soil is a real organ, an organ we might want to compare to the human diaphragm. We get a proper idea of what is present there if we picture that certain organs in a human being are located above diaphragm – especially the head and everything that provides for the head through respiration and circulation – while others are located below it. The comparison is not quite exact, but for the purposes of illustration it is good enough. If we compare the soil to a human diaphragm, we then have to say that the head of the individuality

in question is underground, and that we, and all our farm animals, are living in its belly. Everything above ground actually belongs to the bowels of this – we can say – agricultural individuality.

When we walk around a farm, we are actually walking through its belly, and the plants are growing up into its belly. This individuality is standing on its head; we only look at it correctly when we imagine that with regard to a human being, it is standing on its own head. (With regard to animals, it’s somewhat different as we’ll see in the course of these lectures.). 

BY FERDINAND VONDRUSKA

Seeding Time Food stores, seed stores and any store worth ‘its salt’ is displaying seeds: radish, lettuce, fennel, corn, you name it.

It’s all there, neatly displayed and ready to be used. But, wait a minute.

Don’t we have some seeds in our own ‘seed box’? Of course! Beans, celeriac, cabbage, mixed salad and more.

seeds. If it is less, throw it away and don’t recycle.

Before you reactivate or reuse your seeds, do yourself a favor. Take 10 (or better, exactly 100) seeds and put them onto blotting paper. Newspaper works well. Moisten the paper and keep it moist for about 10 days. And then, count how many of your seeds have sprouted.

Last year, I tried to recycle some of my seeds and I was close to tears. I had to seed several times and lost a lot of time and input. I was seeding at the right moment: carrots on a root day; lettuce on a leaf day, valerian on a flower day and cucumbers on a fruit day. Since only a meager 20 per cent of the seeds sprouted, I had to wait for the next seeding days for up to 15 days, plus, of course, I lost my field preparation time, the watering, the waiting until those seeds would germinate and, finally, realizing that my spring crop would be a failure.

10 out of 10 = 100 per cent. That’s extraordinary. I’d say that 50 out of 100 = 50 per cent is a good possibility, especially with carrots. In other words, if 50 seeds (radishes) out of 100 germinate, you may use the

Check the dates on your seed envelopes. Some seeds can last for years. Potatoes, for example, will last and sprout from one year to the next.

If potatoes are green, use them (never eat green potatoes, they are very

poisonous). Garlic, if they’ve shrunk and are moldy, throw them away.

Garlic ‘seeds’ (cloves) must be firm and juicy. If not, eat or compost them.

Any seed that does not produce at least a 50% or higher germination, don’t recycle. If you’ve bought them from a store return them for a refund.

On some seed packages you’ll find an indicator: 89 per cent germination or 91 per cent or higher. But, don’t trust: test.

Further, use preparation 500 before or while you seed your crop.

Spray it either onto your seeds or onto the garden soil. 500 (cow horn preparation) may increase germination but, and that is far more important, will help to develop root growth. I sense that we are in for a rather rough spring/summer. Help your seeds, don’t gamble. Your seeds are worth more than anything you have (more than your money). 

A FEW THOUGHTS AND OBSERVATIONS

Barrel Compost Making The name barrel compost (BC) stems from the place in which this most wonderful concoction was matured.

Over the past twenty years it’s been found that the most natural environment (a stable hole in the ground) can provide as good or better an environment as a barrel.

Like fine wine, it matters how BC is processed, in every aspect. It matters what kind of cow manure you use. It matters how you stir it. It matters when, where it is made and it really matters in what cavity it is left to ‘grow young’. It is a ‘younging’ process and not an ageing process.

Biodynamic preparations do not age

- they transform themselves into new ingredients that make the soil young, fresh and full of life.

In this short description, we start at the end with the final product, and we work ourselves back to the beginning, to the cow manure. Unfortunately, we cannot spend much time at each step (gathering of healing plants, harvesting the cow and deer sheaths, making the biodynamic preparations, the stirring of the manure, etc.). The writer is in the process of writing a life story on barrel compost, on the soil rejuvenating mix, and he is bringing together a whole life of ingredients that fit into this magical concoction.

Our storage site is placed in an area where everybody can see it, under a pyramid (constructed to the Golden Mean, to exact measurements). BC has to raise questions. It has to challenge the everyday mind. In biodynamic farming, you have to be as exact as engineers producing a bridge.

Biodynamic farming is a science. Life, yours and my life, is a spiritual science and not a matter of chance.

What we have stirred for an hour, lifted and turned, lifted and turned, is inserted, like wonderful dough, into a bread form that has a delicious smell, a wholly worked-through consistency and a light brownish appearance.

Continued on next page.

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Prep pyramids Working Compost Pile

Cow Horns

A FEW THOUGHTS AND OBSERVATIONS on barrel compost making Continued from previous page It is smoothly introduced into the barrel-like hole; and for that reason it matters greatly that the manure come from cows that are fed grass, leaves, shrub material and are free to access natural fodder fields.

We simply do not allow the feeding of: grain, silage, sugar cane or molasses, nor anything like chicken manure (yes, that’s what was/is used in feed lots as it contains 60 per cent proteins). We do not allow the use of slaughterhouse offal nor any other residues. Our cows have never had any kind of antibiotic injections nor any growth hormones. Our cows live at our farm for the sole purpose of supplying us with the base material: cow manure, for the making of barrel compost and preparations (500), and enzymes for the compost making.

Such cleanliness, of such purity is the consistency of our cow manure, nothing more, nothing less. And we often stir the manure, which is enriched with calcium and silica, with bare hands. For that reason, summer months and early fall, are most suitable. Then, the manure is warmer, too. The stirring, the moving in a circle, onwards from one person to

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the next, seated around a keg, barrel, or wheelbarrow, is most appropriate.

Yes, we do sing. Yes, we do giggle and laugh and, yes, our bag piper or drummers and musicians are present when we make this preparation.

Imagine - all this goes into the barrel compost.

her. To the beat of a drum, stepping forward carefully, you lift a shovel full of manure, aerating it, lifting it, kneading it, up and drop, up and drop for one hour. You’ll be able to observe how colour, smell or odour, consistency and its subtle aura is changing.

It has been suggested that Ms. Maria Thun, Germany, was the first person who made this preparation but research has indicated that Dr. Rudolf Steiner has given indications of how to make it years before Ms. Thun was born. Since about 1930 barrel compost has been carefully crafted for the use in stables, on fields, in septic tanks, in hen houses, composts and so forth. It is truly a magic creation.

You need a few grams per acre - when you start, perhaps 250 grams, in the years that follow, less and less. And your fields turn fertile and the worms come back in large numbers.

It really does not matter greatly how many ounces or grams of egg shells or silica you use in one wheel barrow of cow manure. You insert it right at the beginning. I’d say a good handful of each is best. Egg shells, on our farm, are the cleanest of all and are finely ground to dust. And the silica should come from ‘Flint Stones’ (not the movie, of course), but from SiO2 sources – basalt, fires stone, crystals: finely ground. Keep in mind it is quality that matters. Our barrel compost is rejuvenating hundreds of hectares of almost dead farm land in Mexico. It is a clear proof that quality must be the yardstick with which you work.

If you do not want to use your hands, you may wish to stand in a circle - four ‘shovellers’ at a time. Place yourself around a good heap of cow manure (I’d say a wheel barrow full). And each person is responsible for one quarter of the circle in front of him/

Come and join us in our barrel compost making. We do it about six times a year. 

CASCADIA SOCIETY

by Leslie Fish Shortly after our St. John’s festival we held a forum here at Cascadia and asked everyone what they thought about the trips to C-Dar, the following are some of the comments.

“I really love going to C-Dar. We did a good job on the play, thanks. Need a different tent for camping though.

It was my first time camping and I had fun.” - William “Nice to be outside, weather was interesting rainy and sunny.” - Jeff “Setting up for the play the week before, while having lunch, I looked up and way up there was a deep blue sky, sort of cobalt and as far as the eye could see there were these cotton seeds, leaving the impression of a summer snow.” - Daniel “I like the part where William was Scorpio.” - Mary

At C-Dar Farm The Cascadia Society would like to express our gratitude and acknowledge the unique and creative relationship that we have developed together over the years with C-Dar Farm.

For the last six years a group of five companions, together with two coworkers, known as the Farm Group, has been driving up each Wednesday morning to do their work. This has consisted of cutting and stacking fire wood, clearing fields of rocks, picking dandelion flowers for preparations, raking leaves and various sundry tasks which Paul and Ferdinand have very kindly helped co-ordinate.

For those who may not know anything about Cascadia we are a Camphill Community located in the City of North Vancouver. We are an intentional life sharing community offering a community inclusion program It has also been an opportunity for for 30 people with special needs some to experience horseback riding (companions), 10 of which reside within and for many to come into contact with our community homes. During our day animals and nature as a whole. To be program some of the morning activities able to see the working of the beehive we offer are such is truly a marvellous things as weaving, thing.

“I work, wood into basket making, Then of course candle making and wheelbarrow then of course gardening, stacking it. Rocks, rocks there have been the St. John’s festivals. in the afternoon we too.”

– Stephen H The St. John’s play offer programs more performed in the within the arts realm; rounded meadow drama, music, eurythmy and painting. that Cascadia has worked so hard Our story with C-Dar began with a small to clear, is special indeed. On the group, Graham with Joe and Michael, occasions that it has rained we have travelling out from our facility here been privileged to stage our play in the on the North Shore to help pick rocks elegant Gate House where Ferdinand out of some of the newly ploughed once serenaded us with his Alpenhorn fields. I have been told that it was - you can imagine the effect! really hard work but very rewarding. It A feast of colour for the eyes followed also became the corner stone for the by a feast for the palate. C-Dar has evolving relationship. prepared a hearty soup for upwards of 50 people to which Cascadia offers bread and fruit combining to create a delicious repast for the body.

And last but not least Cascadia has gone camping up to C-Dar and absolutely loved it. Those who go come back with many tales of fun and play. 

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Wilderness Leadership

Listening to Nature How much are we taking for granted?

In the night sky with a bright, full moon, or in the broad daylight with the sun energizing the earth and everything that grows within it. This is the question I was left with on the last day of the Wilderness Leadership course after leaving C-Dar Lodge and hearing Ferdinand’s speech about nature and life.

WILDERNESS LEADERSHIP

As Ferdinand explained how the amount of sap that was present in a tree depended on the cycle of the moon, I began thinking about many other things that were affected by the moon’s cycle, including the tides, which was very helpful during sea kayaking for the Wilderness Leadership program (WLP).

His talk touched me on a very personal level as I am a big believer in ancient history and beliefs. I have found a lot of relation between what Ferdinand was saying and how ancient cultures lived. Many ancient communities based their belief systems around the natural sky and environment.

They had no way of navigation other than using the sky. If you look into astronomy or history books, you will find hundreds of symbols, scripts, statues/sculptures, and passages, which are directly related to the movement of the sky including the sun, moon, and stars. I was specifically relating this to what Ferdinand said

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about humanity no longer being connected to the world and to nature.

As he put it, “We are either aliens that have come from another planet and do not understand how the world works, or we have lost the connection and ability to understand how the world works.”

It seems as though we are too distracted by our man-made shopping malls, big cars, and handheld technology to take a look around and see what is keeping us alive. So, really, how much are we taking for granted? We see the stars, the moon and the sun every day, but many of us do not see all the depth behind it. The sun, as Ferdinand explained, is in all of us, it is keeping us alive and giving us energy. We cannot create anything to take the sun’s place.

Perhaps if some random person had come to sit along for his speech and not previously taken the WLP, they would not be able to resonate with

Capilano University Wilderness Leadership course visit to C-Dar Farm

by Melanie Webster Capilano University student

what Ferdinand was saying. We have had the privilege to escape the world of today, and had nothing but each other and our surroundings. Having nothing to do except sit back, taking a deep breath, and looking at your surroundings can really do a lot for oneself. Not having someone in front of you on a screen telling you what to think, what to like, and what not to like, can help you figure things out for yourself. It seems as though Ferdinand has really mastered this.

He has his own way of thinking outside of the government, and can see what nature has available to him.

Above that, he knows exactly how to use what nature has available to him, and he does just that.

Overall, I feel like I left that day with an ever deeper view of the earth and sky than I already had. 

Dandelion, yarrow, chamomile, oak bark and valerian collection We need your help!

As the spring and summer months arrive, we are about to collect preparation flowers again. Collecting any of these valuable plants is a tedious job and involves hours of being out there in the fields. Here is a short list of what we need and where you can help us.

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Dandelion - Taraxacum officinalis.

This flower needs to be picked when it’s approaching full maturity. Please pick it before noon (heads only). The month of collecting really depends on where you live. And as soon as you’ve collected the heads, take them to a place where it can be dried in the shadow (no full sun exposure). Do not keep it in a bag for more than an hour or so as it will start to get hot and decompose. We need many kilos.

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Chamomile - Chamomila.

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The collecting of this tiny flower is an incredibly precious but tedious job, and can take hours on end. Collect it in the same way as dandelion.

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Yarrow - Achillea millefolium.

The best time to collect is in the summer months. We need bags of it not only for the preparation making but we feed tiny quantities to our cows during the winter. Once you have collected the tops, dry them the same way as the dandelion. This plant secretes a bitter juice. And if you wish to make a tea of it, try a bit. Look up Culpeper’s Apothecary on the internet.

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Valerian - Valeriana officinalis.

This flower ‘drives’ me all the way into the mountains to Elfin Lodge and meadows high up above Whistler. Yet, I have a closer area where I am actively collecting: my garden. Pick it when the flowers are full of tiny visitors, bugs, spiders, flies, bees and when it appears to turn slightly reddish. Do not denude the entire plant of the flowers; leave a few for the insects and the elemental beings. Now, here we have a challenge - we have to process it within a few hours of collecting. If you have a stand in your garden, give me a call and I will come to fetch it.

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Oak - Quercus Robur or Pendunculata.

If you are convinced that you have such a tree in your neighbourhood, give me a call. Don’t collect any of its bark. We have to proceed very carefully. I would not want the tree to be damaged.

Please let us know that you are collecting for us. Call (604) 802 - 4442.

Thanks!

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by Francesco Bruzzone, Torino

Italian Contribution La mia prima impressione dell’agricoltura biodinamica è arrivata il 23 Settembre 2011 alle 14 circa, quando Ferdinand mi è venuto a prendere alla stazione degli autobus di Garibaldi Highlands (sisi, è il Garibaldi che tutti conosciamo... E’ venuto a fare pasticci anche in Canada).

Ferdinand ha 68 anni, ovviamente i capelli bianchi, ma un’enorme energia che ti trascina e ti coinvolge in ogni momento. E’ davvero incredibile.

Dopo la mia prima settimana di permanenza qui in Paradise Valley, in C-Dar farm, si è tenuto un corso di biodinamica a cui hanno partecipato agricoltori e luminari provenienti da ogni parte del mondo: Svizzera, Hawaii, Canada, Messico, ...

Io mi aspettavo qualcosa di davvero pratico, lavoro di fattoria insomma, invece la gran parte delle “lezioni” erano discussioni teoriche perlopiù incentrate su argomenti riguardanti la spiritualità dell’essere umano.

Ecco, prima di venire qui ero assolutamente all’oscuro del fatto che la biodinamica includesse un fattore spirituale cosi ampio... Direi che almeno per Ferdinand conta più

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l’aspetto spirituale che quello davvero pratico della coltivazione.

Questo posto è una scuola pià che un’azienda agricola, nessuno ricava un centesimo dalla gestione di C-Dar lodge. Ma chi gestisce il tutto crede davvero nella diffusione del pensiero di Steiner e questo rende l’ambiente molto gradevole per la vita quotidiana e la rende molto interessante.

Ogni settimana abbiamo almeno 2 meeting in cui si discute del mondo, degli avvenimenti che accadono, ma soprattutto della filosofia di Steiner (antroposofia) e della biodinamica in agricoltura. Questi meeting costituiscono una fetta considerevole delle informazioni che ognuno di noi wwoofers acquisisce durante la permanenza qui, ma anche l’esperienza pratica sul campo è importante. Inoltre, si impara a vivere con altre persone – inizialmente perfetti sconosciuti e alla fine grandi amici – in modo da andare d’amore e d’accordo, supportarsi a vicenda, aiutarsi e divertirsi insieme. La casa ha una quantità di regole che non possono essere variate nè discusse in quanto tali da anni e anni e ci va un certo spirito di adattamento per convivere con tutte le regole e le persone. Questa è una delle più

grandi lezioni di vita che questo posto mi ha garantito e regalato, anche se chiaramente non ha nulla a che fare con la biodinamica in senso stretto.

Come studente di liceo scientifico abbastanza convinto di ciò che ha studiato per 13 anni nel corso della propria carriera scolastica ho qualche problema a comprendere pienamente tutti gli aspetti spirituali della biodinamica e a volte dubito della loro esistenza, ma in ogni caso è un dato di fatto che questo tipo di agricoltura funziona, sia per reazioni chimiche delle preparazioni o per interventi di fattori spirituali. Ma non credo che il mio essere scettico possa avere conseguenze di entità considerevoli nel caso che ad esempio io decidessi di gestire un’azienda biodinamica.

In conclusione, sono definitivamente soddisfatto di aver passato quuesti 5 mesi a Squamish, BC, Canada, e uno dei più migliori aspetti è stato sicuramente la presenza di Ferdinand, ascoltare le sue storie e le sue battute – a volte definibili battutacce, ridere e imparare insieme. 

Gedanken zum biodynamischen Anbau aus einer wissenschaftlichen Perspektive

GERMAN CONTRIBUTION

BY Michèle Hengst, Deutschland.

Im Sommer vergangenen Jahres kamen mein Partner und ich nicht nur im Paradise Valley an, um das erste Mal auf einer Farm zu arbeiten, sondern zeitgleich konfrontierten wir unsere Weltanschauung mit einer für uns fremden Glaubensrichtung: der Anthroposophie. Das biodynamische Landwirtschaft mit einer ihr ureigenen, auf Esoterik grundenden Religionsform Hand in Hand geht, war uns bei unserer Ankunft auf der C-Dar Farm nicht bewusst.

Ein knappes halbes Jahr arbeiteten wir also mit und für Ferdinand Vondruska, der keine Gelegenheit verstreichen ließ, um uns in Sachen biodynamischer Anbau als auch der Gedankenwelt des Rudolf Steiner zu unterrichten. Mit unbestechlicher Überzeugung erklärte Ferdinand beinah täglich wie die Welt der Tiere, Flora und Fauna in Zusammenhang mit Licht und Schatten, kosmischen Energien sowie spirituellen Mächten steht.

Biodynamische Landwirtschaft arbeitet mit eben jenen übersinnlichen Kräften, in dem diese in für den Menschen sicht- und fühlbare, organische Materie umgewandelt werden. Jene natürlichen Präparate unterstützen auf ökologisch nachhaltige Weise Felder, Wiesen und Wälder bei Wachstum, Heilung sowie der Abwehr von verschiedenartigen Aggressoren.

Soweit die Theorie. Die Praktiken auf der Farm waren für uns nicht immer bis zum Kern verständlich und aus wissenschaftlicher Perspektive mehr als einmal fragwürdig. Doch, so

mussten wir mit unseren eigenen Augen feststellen, das Gras auf Ferdinands Äckern scheint tatsächlich grüner zu sein als bei den Nachbarn.

Acht Monate später bin ich nach einer kurzweiligen Exkursion in das Stadtleben zurück auf der Farm und damit erneut angekommen in der Welt des Biodynamischen. Mit den Ausführungen die Religion und Spiritualität betreffend, komme ich immer noch nicht zu Recht, zu sehr bin ich geprägt von meiner atheistischen Heimat sowie einer grundsätzlichen Skepsis, welche sich auf meine wissenschaftliche Ausbildung gründet. Jedoch werden mir mehr und mehr die Zusammenhänge zwischen sichtbaren sowie unsichtbaren Kräften bewusst, die Ferdinand seit unserer Ankunft hier im Sommer 2011 immer wieder zu erklären versuchte.

Nehmen wir beispielweise die Kunst einen Baum zu fällen. In einer seiner Lehrstunden erläuterte der Hausherr kürzlich, dass Bäume möglichst nur

während der Neumond am Himmel steht, beziehungsweise in den zwei Tagen davor sowie danach gefällt werden sollten. Grund hierfür ist der Wasserspiegel im Inneren des Baumes.

Dieser steht nämlich, ebenso wie die Gezeiten, in direktem Zusammenhang mit den Mondphasen. Der Mond beeinflusst nicht nur die gewaltigen Wassermassen der Meere – sichtbar in Form von Ebbe und Flut –, sondern sämtliche Wasseransammlungen.

Bäume, wie alle lebende Materie, benötigen Wasser zum überleben und bestehen zu einem beachtlichen Anteil aus eben jener Flüssigkeit. So auch im Inneren des Stammes. Am Niedrigsten ist der Wasserspiegel im Baumstamm um die Zeit des Neumonds herum – und damit das Holz am Trockensten, weswegen dies die ideale Zeit darstellt, um eine Axt in die Hand zu nehmen. Selbst aus akademischer Perspektive kann ich dagegen kein Argument vorbringen.

Die Kausalität erscheint nur allzu logisch.

Fortsetzung nächste Seite

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SPANISH CORNER by Luis Carlos Salazar Licea

Mi Iniciación a la Biodinámica Todo empezó en la Universidad de Colima, cuando mi profesor en horticultura, José Maria Anguiano, nos empezó a hablar un poco sobre la biodinámica en sus clases. Pero mi interés se orientó más hacia la filosofía que maneja Rudolf Steiner en la “Antroposofía”, la cual fui descubriendo al asistir a club de lectura que el mismo maestro José Maria, según yo, fundó.

En este mismo club de lectura aprendí varias cosas y me atrajo mucho las enseñanzas de Rudolf Steiner, pero no fue hasta que el Profe. José Maria me otorgó una beca para asistir gratuitamente a un curso durante un mes (cada sábado) sobre biodinámica impartido por él. Y a la vez me comentó del programa de wwoofer’s y de la Sociedad Biodinámica “C-DAR” a cargo del Dr. Ferdinand Vondruska, el cual conocí un mes antes, en una participación en Colima, México, donde impartió unas platicas sobre agricultura biodinámica fue cómo y dónde lo conocí. Cabe resaltar que el Dr. Vondruska ha tenido una participación amplia en México, ayudando a productores a integrarse a este método más “sanador” de agricultura.

Terminé el curso, el cual me gusto y decidí emprender el viaje a Canada para lo cual, me contacté con Ferdinand personalmente y se dio la oportunidad de ser un wwoofer en su granja en Garibaldi Highlands en Columbia Británica.

Llegué aquí el 7 de Enero del 2012, y hasta el momento he vivido varias experiencias y he aprendido mucho tanto de la agricultura, ganadería, el espíritu y mi mismo.

Invito a la juventud en todo el mundo, a que se sumen a este método de producción agropecuaria bajo la prospectiva de la biodinámica, ya que este mundo necesita producir alimentos más sanos y que en verdad aporten algo al cuerpo humano. 

Gedanken zum biodynamischen Anbau aus einer wissenschaftlichen Perspektive Wie mit der Holzfällerei verhält es sich mit vielen Dingen hier auf der Farm: Scheinen sie auf den ersten (und vielleicht auch zweiten) Blick übersinnlicher oder spiritueller Herkunft zu sein, eröffnet sich bei genauerer Betrachtung eine faktisch erklärbare Ursächlichkeit. Obgleich diese Herangehensweise nicht immer im Sinne des Lehrenden sein mag, so hat sich zumindest für mich ergeben, dass biodynamische Landwirtschaft nicht notwendigerweise auf die Steiner`sche Lehre der Anthroposophie gegründet sein muss. Auch ohne wie auch immer geartete Glaubensbekenntnisse kann ich an die Wirksamkeit natürlicher Präparate glauben.

Schlussendlich haben wir doch die gleiche Motivation, die uns antreibt: Wir wollen unsere Umwelt dabei unterstützen, sich selbst zu heilen sowie künftig nachhaltig mit den natürlichen Ressourcen umgehen, die uns von Mutter Erde gegeben werden. Mag der Weg, den ich einschlagen werde, auch abweichen von jenem, den Ferdinand bestreitet, so verfolgen wir doch das gemeinsame Ziel, künftigen Generationen eine gesundete Welt zu hinterlassen. Biodynamische Landwirtschaft erscheint hierfür ein geeignetes Mittel – mit oder ohne Anthroposophie. 

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Biodynamic C-Dar Lodge, Box 3818, Garibaldi Highlands, BC V0N 1T0, BC, Canada

For Information: Phone 604-898-9101 | Email cdarlodge1@hotmail.com

Spring Course 2012 Thursday, May 10 ~ Sunday, May 13 Course Speakers: F. Vondruska S. Webber L. Swann L. Nelson P. Schilperoord S. Butler

During this practical course we will make some preparations and apply them.

500 – Horn manure - interring 501 – Horn silica - unearthing 502 – Yarrow 503 – Chamomile 505 – Oak Bark 506 – Dandelion

Space limited to: 15 persons Course Fees: $175 for 3 days Hosted at C-Dar Lodge Farm, Paradise Valley Accommodation: $30/night | Meals: $30/day 13

Classifieds

Cedar Valley Waldorf School Tours Are you curious about a school which ignites a life-long love of learning?

Come for a school tour at Cedar Valley Waldorf School and see the Waldorf philosophy applied to various stages of child learning and development.

Tours will sit in on all of the school's grades classes (1-8) and conclude with a question and answer session. Tours are scheduled for the last Wednesday of every month (Except December) from 9:15-10:30 at the school on 38265 Westway Avenue in Valleycliffe. www.cedarvalleyschool.com

Gabriel Alden Hull, Secretary Cedar Valley Waldorf School 604-898-3287

Donations Send donations to: C-Dar Biodynamic Society Box 3818 Garibaldi Highlands BC V0N 1T0 For more information visit our website www.cdarbiodynamic.org