Mission
Soma’s mission is to advance farming practices that are prosperous and ecologically restorative.
Imagine if…
The world’s massive agricultural fields are also diverse ecosystems…
Whose organic soil becomes richer with each passing year…
And produce higher-quality, more nutritious, and delicious food…
And require little-to-no pest management…
Because these farmlands…
Are permanent homes for various bugs, birds, plants, and other wildlife 💞
Soma seeks to advocate for, and contribute to, the advancement of farming practices which increase harmony with wildlife. Not only is this mission deeply meaningful to me, I believe it can be an effective heuristic for high-yield, high-nutrition agriculture.
A Lingering Issue
Current state-of-the-art regenerative practices are life-saving for many species and ecosystems due to carbon sequestration and minimized soil-disturbance. However for me, there’s still a lingering issue… Wildlife is far from flourishing in many regenerative farms.
A handful of farmers around the world (examples: Masanobu Fukuoka, “Wild Farming”) have shown that regenerative can mean more than living soils. They’ve shown regenerative can also mean flourishing ecosystems. More farmers are figuring out how to have a balanced diversity of above-ground wildlife that actually protects them from crop-loss.
Harmony—A Solution
When growing food in permanent and diverse ecosystems, we provide above-ground organisms with homes and food. If we include perennial plants on our farms, they build deeper roots, sequester more carbon, access more moisture and nutrients, and improve soil fertility year after year. The result: a healthier ecosystem and healthier soil. Win-win! Almost…
Competition between plants has resulted in the vast majority of farmers growing food in homogenous fields that are hardly homes for wildlife. Growing food in an ecosystem introduces challenges. However, there are solutions which work well on small farms.
In addition to feeding vitally organic produce to my community, I hope Soma Gardens becomes a succinct example of the regeneration and prosperity that can occur when growing food in harmony with nature.