Sustainability

sustain Cambridge dictionary definition- “to cause or allow something to continue for a period of time or to keep alive”

In agriculture, the key question for each farmer is “what do I aim to sustain and where do I want to sustain it?” 

To address sustainability without defining exactly what you wish to sustain and where, is a nonsense. So first decision is, what do I want to sustain? eg a soil quality, an ecosystem, an atmosphere, a landscape, a community, a family farm, a local food supply, a livelihood, an industry, a nation or other. It is fine to have more than one. 

 A second key decision is to define the area of study eg a garden, a plot, a tree, a field, a forest, a farm, an enterprise, a community, a region, an industry, a planet or other. 

At Nicharee Farm we have adopted a range of practices towards sustainability of 

1) sustained atmospheric C concentration 

2) sustained local food and fuel provision 

3) sustained social and economic relevance of the farm. 

Practices adopted towards objective 1 are covered on the separate page Carbon Farming.

Practices adopted towards objective 2 include direct sales of organic beef and products, apples and apple products and firewood into the local community. 

Practices adopted towards objective 3 are all of those above, plus participation in wwoofing and the development of a small visitor centre called The Haven, for holding meetings, training, shared meals and music evenings etc