The word "protest" doesn't even begin to capture the essence of the events. Ecuadorians have a more accurate term: Paro Nacional, a full-on stop or total paralysis of the country. Hundreds of thousands of farmers, workers, and students rode on the backs of trucks for days, or walked hundreds of kilometers. They slept on the streets or on the floors of schools and public spaces. The degree of sacrifice and mobilization is difficult to fathom. The people came together with one purpose: to demand that the government "re-orient itself in service of the people."

For some time, I've been working quietly, just hinting on the socials that we're getting ready to take Sueño de Vida to new and bigger places. Now, after months of researching and writing, clarifying the vision, and finally testing it out to make sure no one says, Girl, that's crazy talk -- I believe it's time to make an announcement…

It's a simple equation. Without ecologically wise farmers in the global south, there will be no more dark chocolate, vanilla ice cream, turmeric lattes, acai bowls, or Ayahuasca ceremonies for the global north.

Perhaps it's because their world is crisscrossed by this glowing web of bugtrails that their eyes are so intently open, staring at what I perceive as just the ground. Although...I fancy sometimes that these small feathered dinosaurs also see another world altogether, ancient and clean and full of power. An earth fresh from a fiery renewal or an icy bath.

We explore an exciting new paradigm for viewing the climate situation in a fresh and empowering way. Instead of struggling to understand what is happenning in the atmosphere, I explain clearly how what is happenning right here on the ground with elements we can all see—like water, soil, and plants—matters just as much, if not more, as what is happenning high above us.

This is where the loyal monthly supporters of our regenerative farm and learning center can ask us whatever they want to know about what it’s really like to live off-grid in a South American rain forest. Our first question—How did you learn how to build…

Might we be trying to extract too much biomass from the land? Might we be growing bacteria-resistant plants? We may really be affecting weather…

Not only were these new permaculture-style gardens more productive of nutritious foods, they were also hidden from the view of armies looking for fields to burn. It was a common battle tactic of the times to starve out the enemy by destroying their crops. But the small intensive gardens now feeing much of the population were much less visible, and the people less vulnerable as a result.

It was really always a question of “what meat will I be having with this meal?” rather than “will I be having meat with this meal?”. This small shift in perspective, in awareness, really cemented the progress I had made.

Because when I say these companies co-opted the power of billions of ordinary people, I’m talking about you and me. Ordinary people who had grandparents or great-grandparents who grew a good portion of their own food are now somehow convinced that growing food is “a lot of work” or “too expensive.”

Today, fewer than 200 cultivated plants contribute in a substantial manner to food production worldwide. Of these 200 food crops, only nine represent 66% of the total agricultural production.

The most profound and lasting gift being a gardener gave me was the gradual awakening and expansion of my senses to the natural world. By taking me outside of myself, by putting me there in the soil I will one day become, gardening put me back into my self.

See, as far as regulatory bodies are concerned, “organic” just means that a food was grown without chemicals (herbicide, fungicide, or pesticides). Or in some cases, like “organic” potatoes in the USA, it means only a minimum of chemical applications. Yes, really.

We know we’re better than the consuming numskulls we’ve become. But we’re bored. We’re confused. And above all, we’re distracted. And that’s just how the system wants us. Distracted, and spending.

Looking at a screen all day as a way of learning the world is like circling your wrists all day for exercise. You've barely moved, but your wrists are aching.

I pay these kids a fair wage. They work five hour shifts. They’re healthy and well-fed. They give me side-eye when I give them my banana bread and peanut butter cookies to snack on while they work. Like, uh, we eat, patrona... our moms feed us.

"Long chain distribution patterns" is one of those phrases I read when I’m researching systemic problems about food. My eyes glaze over when I read it too, but we are the individuals creating the system, so let's see how your basket of groceries here really matters.

Swirling some sunflower oil in a pan you think, man, when was the last time I did this? The ginger, garlic, and curry hit the hot oil and the smell is heaven.

You thought you were just going out for groceries so you could stop eating out so much - you are really trying to be part of the solution. Strangely enough, here you are with a pile of soy sauce packets and a near-tanked bank balance, unable to shake the vague sense of guilt that you might actually just be part of the problem.

The little pollinating bugs scorned the water tanks. Only tepid slime gets us sexy. No goo for me, no cacao for you. The scientists shrugged. Give them back their goo, they told the export barons. You made a very expensive mistake. You overdid it.