#170, In Practice, November/December 2016

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Healthy Land. Healthy Food. Healthy Lives.

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2016

In Practice a publication of Holistic Management International

NUMBER 170

W W W. H O L I S T I C M A N A G E M E N T. O R G

Celebrating Community BY ANN ADAMS

T

wenty years ago I took my first Holistic Management class on my journey to become a Certified Educator. Over the 20 years I have remained involved with this organization and the Holistic Management network, I’ve seen a lot of changes and growth. Back then, HMI (then known as The Center for Holistic Resource Management) was twelve years old. At that time it was rare to receive international phone calls, and email was still not something we could count on people having whether in Africa or rural areas of America. Today, I’m on video skype calls with people from all over the world on a regular basis and everyone is on email, Facebook, or Twitter. By the time I graduated from the Certified Educator training program in 1998, we had about 40 Certified Educators with networks in eight states and five countries. Today, we have over 60 active Certified Educators and another 60 educators who have been trained as whole farm/ranch community trainers or community facilitators. We have active networks in 18 states and eight countries. We’ve trained or educated 50,000 people from over 130 countries with the help of our Certified Educators and our online courses and free downloads. In turn, those 50,000 people have influenced over 40 million acres. In 1998, our mission was to restore the vitality of communities and the natural resources upon which they depend. Today our mission has evolved to educate people in regenerative agriculture for healthy land and thriving communities. Clearly healthy communities and healthy land have been constant themes throughout the history of this organization, and Holistic Management has been the tool we have seen to be highly effective in creating that outcome. Over the years we have had numerous donors and funders who have supported our work. For that we are extremely grateful. We are

also grateful to all the Holistic Management practitioners who have shown through their passionate hard work that when you use this process, remarkable things happen on the land and in families and in their communities. I have also enjoyed the relationships we have developed with over 100 organizations who have collaborated with us to get the word out about Holistic Management and who have worked with us to get Holistic Management training to their constituents because that training would help those organizations achieve their missions that focused on sustainable agriculture or effective resource management or the many other outcomes that come from practicing Holistic Management. I remember when I wrote At Home with Holistic Management in 1998. I recorded as many quotes as I could from our network on how this process had helped them improve family life. I was so inspired then by what those people had to say. I continue to be inspired by the many quotes I have heard over the last 20 years from the people I have interviewed for IN PRACTICE. Clearly, Holistic Management has influenced so many lives and landscapes. But our work is far from done. We know we are still a minority of people who understand that our working landscapes can function better and provide more benefits to all species through that improved capacity. We also know that we need to have more people understand that everyone’s decisions impact how that land is managed and how it functions. The excitement around a host of topics including sustainable or regenerative agriculture, local food systems, healthy food, and resiliency is a prime opportunity for us all to build on the momentum of people recognizing that daily decisions are a powerful way to change the world—and that the world needs changing. These are exciting times for HMI and for those who have the privilege of being involved in the front line of change. Whether you see your role as producer, food advocate, change agent, conscious consumer, engaged family member, funder, or a combination of those roles, we need each of you to share your talent, knowledge, experience, passion, and resources with others. Through creating the symbiotic relationships that feed ourselves and others, we may all be fed.

For many Holistic Management practitioners, land stewardship is a driving ethic. Such is the case with Stacy Davies who manages the Roaring Springs Ranch near Frenchglen, Oregon. Learn more about his experience with Holistic Management and how his management improves wildlife habitat on the ranch, including habitat for a group of white faced ibises in a meadow in the Catlow Valley on the ranch.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Land Stewardship


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