Planet Local Short Film Series - Part 2: Diverse Farming Systems

1

‘Use and value diversity’ is one of the ten core principles of permaculture — for good reason. Studies have shown that small, diversified farms can yield more than twice as much food per acre when compared to large monocultures. Crop diversity significantly contributes to soil health, which allows agricultural systems to be regenerative and increase the fertility of land over time, rather than leading — as industrial farming does — to inevitable degradation.

Diverse farms also require less chemicals inputs, as certain plants attract beneficial insects and others repel harmful ones. These farms contribute to an overall increase in species biodiversity, which is particularly critical today, as industrial agriculture is a primary driver of Earth’s 6th great wave of mass extinction, including the extinction of many important food crops.

However you look at it, diversity and sustainable farming cannot be separated. And the true beauty of diverse, small-scale farms is that not every farm looks the same — not even close. So, from permaculture to aquaculture, from mountains to urban neighborhoods, from orchards to ranch lands, here is a collection of short films that explore some of the more unique forms that sustainable farming systems can take. - Local Futures

 


 

Part 1 Restoring Paradise

A look at the inspiring Mangarara Farm, in Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand, where holistic land management is allowing ranchers to transform the relationship between grazing animals and the environment.
(7.50 min)

 

Part 2 Farmed With Love

Fed up with chemical agriculture creating food safety problems in China, a mother in Shanghai returns to the land to start an organic farm — using ducks in place of fertilizers and and pesticides to help her rice thrive.
(3.48 min)

 

Part 3 13 Years Living Off the Land

In this honest look at the pros and cons of off-grid homesteading, homesteaders Peter and Magdalene of British Columbia, Canada share the challenges and the lessons learned from thirteen years of living off the land.
(7.16 min)

 

Part 4 Farming the Sea – An Elegant Solution

This film tells the story of fisherman Bren Smith of Thimble Island Ocean farm. At Thimble Island, Smith is practicing an exciting new method for integrating a sustainable undersea “farm” into a regenerative ecosystem — both above water and below.
(6.27 min)

 

Part 5 Rockin’ Young Farmer

A great example of a young farmer using permaculture principles to integrate orchard and animal systems in the heartland of industrial agriculture — the Central Valley of California.
(10.56 min)

 

Part 6 Oko Farms

A handmade aquaponic farming system brings fresh food and revitalization to a neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York.
(7.25 min)

 

Part 7 Forager

Tiffany Noé, an urban “forager,” lives lightly by finding wild food where you’d least expect it — in the streets of Miami, Florida.
(7.16 min)

 

Part 8 From Finance to Farmer

Permaculture farmer Andrew Martin gives a tour of his property as he recounts his journey from a finance job in Australia to an incredible permaculture property in New Zealand.
(15.18 min)

www.localfutures.org
Trending Videos
Born Sexy Yesterday: A Hollywood Movie Trope That Maybe Needs to Die
18 min - "This video essay is about a gendered trope that has bothered me for years but didn’t have a name, so I gave it one: Born Sexy Yesterday. It's a science fiction convention in which the mind of a...
Water Has a Memory (2023)
12 min - Matriarch and Environmental Ambassador for the Ponca Nation, Casey Camp-Horinek takes us through the occupied territory of Ponca City, Oklahoma. Through the ancestral teachings of her Ponca...
The Friendship Recession | Richard Reeves
9 min - Why friendships are becoming rarer in America, explained by author Richard Reeves. 
Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometime (2006)
72 min - Released in 2006, this is still one of the most compelling films outlining the disturbing and heavily censored facts associated with the worst terrorist attacks in American history. The film...
Masculinity
Emotional Literacy
Abolish the Police/Prison Industrial Complex. Invest in Alternatives.
Recommended

Films For Action hosts a subscription service that currently offers 55 highly-curated, solutions-oriented feature documentaries to Patron subscribers donating $5 per month. 

Subscribe here. Your support helps grow our 5000+ video library, which is 99% free and contains no ads thanks to our patrons.