Miraculous Abundace at the Bec Hellouin Farm

A recommendation for the book Miraculous Abundance about the Bec Hellouin farm in France.

I am sure some of you might have heard of the farm, perhaps through the English translation of their scientific article that proves it is economically feasible to work the way they do without big machinery. See the Permaculture Research Institute: Diversified Organic Market Gardening and Arboriculture .

They are surely one of the best examples of a temperate climate permaculture farm. What is especially interesting is how they integrated bio-intensive methods and other things into permaculture design.

In the book Charles Hervé-Gruyer describes his journey of his live and how he and his wife Perrine started the Ferme de Bec Hellouin, with all the trials and tribulations, and successes, that arose in the process. They describe all the various agricultural systems they tried and tested such as permaculture, bio-intensive, bio-dynamic, Fukuoka’s and Holzer’s natural farming, etc. It is a good introduction to all of these, yet refrains from too much technical descriptions of the actual know how. They say they planned another book that will describe the Bec Hellouin method in detail, which has now already been published in French 'Living with the Earth / Vivre avec la Terra'. You can order the book at Chelsea Green Publishers. I collected some good quotes from the book. * We then reflected deeply on how to synthesize the many “good practices” gleaned along the way in a permacultural framework. This led to the Bec Hellouin farm method, which highlights the elements we see as essential to building an economically viable agriculture and permaculture likely to contribute to the regeneration of the environment. This twenty-point method continues to evolve. We personally have not invented anything; our only merit is to have foraged from various sources, then tested and consistently organized multiple approaches. Permaculture is a formidable tool for this. * Permaculture has everything to gain by enlisting the approaches of Jeavons, and vice versa. In my humble opinion, the GROW BIOINTENSIVE method can be enriched by permaculture concepts. Some important points—the overall design of the garden, microclimates, the role of trees and water, the benefits of a permanent mulch, and more—are touched on either briefly or not at all by Jeavons. Perrine and I tried to incorporate the wonderful techniques of biointensive microagriculture in the broader context that permaculture offers, and the results have proven very satisfactory. * Likewise, we lay straw or mulch around our crops, as did market gardeners in the nineteenth century. Cutting nettles, picking ferns or reeds, collecting leaves to arrange them between plants is a very time-consuming task. But it is beneficial on many levels, because mulching serves different functions. It protects the soil from direct sunlight, controls weeds, limits the evaporation of water, and fertilizes the soil as it decomposes. If we were to add up the working time saved, from beginning to end, through mulching, weeding, watering, and compost production (which is no longer needed on these plots), we would likely arrive at a total greater than the time it took to mulch. And we have the satisfaction of seeing that, through mulching, our soil becomes more fertile and alive over the years. * Perrine and I are convinced that the most innovative system we put in place in our valley is the forest garden. * A growing number of experts are sounding the alarm bell. If there were a sudden shortage of oil—linked, for example, to a geopolitical event—France would have only a few days of food reserves and could quickly sink into crisis. This may seem surprising to many readers. But yes, the spectre of famine could recur in our developed countries. These nations are far more vulnerable today than before due to the rise of industrial and globalized agriculture, a colossus with feet of clay. That agriculture is based on a highly capital-intensive and centralized model: 80 percent of arable land on the planet used in intensive mechanized agriculture is owned by multi-national corporations. * These are strong reasons to reconsider the power of illusion engendered by the steel monsters that roam our desertified countryside. They are, in the image of the system that produced them, predators. * It is today that we must actively enter a transitional phase; 2030 will be too late! · Traditional agriculture was labor intensive, industrial agriculture is energy intensive, and permaculture-designed systems are information and design intensive. —David Holmgren * In southern France, in the village of Cucugnan, Roland Feuillas makes a “health bread” from ancient grains ground in a stone mill. He has conducted extensive research to find ancient grains with outstanding organoleptic qualities, including local varieties that had disappeared, which he plucked from old thatched roofs. Feuillas cultivates his own no-till grain under layers of mulch. Customers flock to his exceptional breads. * We are convinced that an agricultural transition will not happen without a gradual evolution of the way we feed ourselves. Holding on to our very poor diet stands in the way of the many possible changes in agriculture. Again, it is up to each of us to change our practices, responsibly. Buying industrial food products perpetuates the industrial model. Choosing organic, local, fresh, seasonal products stimulates small-scale family agriculture, accelerating a necessary and enjoyable transition with many benefits at all levels, starting with our taste buds. This healthy and delicious revolution depends on education and awareness; and this, frankly, is a big job. But the movement has begun and like Pupoli with his canoe, each of us must find our favorable vein in its current. * The volumes demanded by a single restaurant are significant and can provide a solid foundation for a market gardener, provided that the relationship is fortified with a contract, as few restaurateurs are truly ready to take into account the constraints of their partnership as Antonin does. This type of partnership is actually not that easy to implement. The chefs have to change their work habits, accept seasonality. The size of the produce is not always uniform. Weather conditions can cause setbacks. But they are rewarded with incomparable freshness and flavor. * Give an individual guaranteed possession of a barren rock, he will transform it into a garden; give him a garden with a nine-year lease, he will turn it into a desert. * The emphasis given to nuts will allow us to combine grain flours with nut flours to make bread, again reducing grain needs. (Nut flour cannot be used alone for bread making.) Increasing use of chestnut flour will be beneficial to human health because of its nutritional power. * The cost of creating a microfarm (from 50,000 to 100,000 euros/$56,500–113,000) / We have estimated the average start-up cost for the creation of a vegetable microfarm to be in the range of 75,000 euros ($84,750).You can start with much less: A small garden and raised beds can be created at a very low cost. The budget of the installation, however, should also include enough to live on for the first few years, until the business takes off. * We strongly advise you to quantify the production of your garden, its economic value, even if only virtual, the time it will take to produce it, the costs to be incurred. For a market garden, when you reach 25 euros ($28) of vegetables per square meter per year, on average, and when each hour of work will generate at least 15 euros ($17) in sales (for all tasks, including maintenance, marketing, management), you can estimate that you have some chance of earning a living (modestly) in the vegetable business * Train yourself as much as possible before you start, rather than after. Our friend Jean-Martin Fortier believes it takes ten thousand hours of work to become a market farmer and this number jives with our experience: This is the fifth year that we have begun to feel at ease confronting the complexity and diversity of tasks. Time invested in training is time gained and money saved. Remember: Permaculture farming is agricultural knowledge. You will not need sophisticated and expensive tools; it is in yourself you should invest!