The one-straw revolution

AN INTRODUCTION TO WILD FARMING. Masanobu Fukuoka. Editions Trédaniel. 202 pages.

Over the past forty years, Masanobu Fukuoka has borne indignant witness to the degeneration of Japanese land and society. Like one man, the Japanese have followed the American model of economic and industrial development, abandoning their rich heritage of simple, down-to-earth work.
But Fukuoka was determined not to abandon traditional agriculture. On the contrary, he refined it to such an extent that his wild farming method requires less work and causes less damage to nature than any other method, while maintaining the same yields per hectare as neighboring farmers.

In this deeply sensitive and thought-provoking book, Masanobu Fukuoka describes the events that led him to develop his wild farming method and the impact it has had on his land, himself and the thousands of people he has taught it to.
He describes the method itself and why he believes it offers a practical and stable model for a society based on simplicity and permanence.
Masanobu Fukuoka demonstrates a deep understanding of the interactions between agriculture and other aspects of culture.
He feels that wild farming has its roots in the spiritual health of the individual. He sees the healing of the earth and the purification of the human spirit as one and the same thing, and proposes a way of living and cultivating that enables this process to take place.
This book aims to change attitudes towards nature, agriculture, food, physical and spiritual health.