“With that straw, I, by myself, will begin a revolution.” – Masanobu Fukuoka

Dear all,

I am excited to be sharing this story with you. it’s a book, which takes you through the life & lense, blood & sweat of a man I consider one of the greatest naturalists of all time, Masanobu Fukuoka. How he starts a revolution with a staw? How it all started? Let’s dive deep into the world of farming.

This book is not about farming per se. Although it talks a lot about farming practices. Fukuoka’s take on how not doing anything is doing a lot of things is deeply stuck within me. His way of being a so-called “lazy farmer” comes with a profound understanding of the natural world. Once again, science is put under scrutiny. And at the end of it, it’s a lot of political and business games in which, for the better or worse, small farmers are being preyed upon.

You may wonder again, how being a farmer who does not farm, makes him one great example? The fact is we have been so accustomed to the world in which we have to try so hard to earn what we think we want. And in the end, we aren’t even sure if what we get in return is actually what we want. Industrialization means we push ourselves far beyond our limitations, we are motivated to pursue “the dream.” By pushing ourselves so hard, one day our biological force starts to act against our will.

Instead of working hard, Fukuoka suggests working smart and letting Mother Nature work on your behalf, that’s the basis of One-Straw Revolution. And you simply have to learn to live and grow with her. (Does this phrase ring a bell at all? — hehe)

Let don’t spoil you the whole story. If you are into natural farming, organic practices, or would like to be inspired by this whole movement at its core, this is one of the must-reads. You don’t have to be a farmer to read it, and you can apply this philosophy to everything in life — either it is parenting, schooling, working or even eating! 🙂

And in case you can’t find the hard copy, here’s the free online version for download . I just finished the Thai version, and thinking of re-reading it in an English version. So, who knows… maybe we’ll get to read and be inspired at the same time? Meanwhile, I’ve included an interview with Fukuoka for your reference at the end of this post. It also has English subtitles… Feel free to watch it before you decide to give it a read.

Enjoy the weekend everyone and please comment below what you think.

Until next time and don’t forget to live, learn, grow with Mother Earth

-mon