Why we teach in Europe
End of course dinner at La Junquera, May 2024
This question came up recently as I was sharing about our host farm network with a family friend, and when I mentioned “…and, Spannocchia and La Junquera, two farms in Italy and Spain,” they looked surprised. “Wow, cool, but why are you teaching in Europe? Aren’t there plenty of other farms that would want to host a program like this in the US?” This prompted a lot of reflections within our program director team that we’re excited to share with our wider community.
Thinking back to the origin story of CFS, this program was born out of personal experience working on farms, out of a desire to bring more people into direct connection with farmland and regenerative farmers, providing knowledge, inspiration, and experience to inform the creation of a professional “ecosystem of support” around regenerative farmers. It’s going to take all of us, in some way, reconnecting to the food system, in order to make positive change. Systems change starts with the self, and the best way to undergo personal transformation is through direct experiences: putting our hands in the dirt, opening ourselves up to new communities and relationship-building.
As the program grew from the first two sites to other farms, mostly through word of mouth from both farmers and alumni, I was introduced to Spannocchia, in Italy, as the “perfect” place to bring people for farm-based learning experiences. On my first visit there, I sensed exactly what they meant. The farming enterprises, integrated within a larger land preservation system and natural reserve, serve a specific purpose of feeding the agritourism activities. Education is at the heart of everything: farm interns rotate through in 3-month intervals, butchery and culinary interns learn skills a few steps further along the food system (processing and preparation), and every guest who visits is invited into the sustainable agriculture model. It’s a strong infusion of culture, tradition, and human connection to where our food comes from and how it is produced.
When Ryan and I first traveled to Spain in May 2024 to teach the Regeneration Academy course with Yanniek and her team at La Junquera, we were blown away by the mix of agriculture and ecosystem restoration happening on the land. In one of the driest places I had ever been (it hadn’t rained in over a year when we arrived), almonds and pistachios and vineyards were planted on contour amidst reforestation projects and water retention ponds. Embodying the principles of holistic management, and a new framework we learned about called “4 Returns,” Yanniek and her husband Alfonso (14th generation on the land) are ambitiously working to restore the local water cycle that has been lost, repopulate the rural countryside of Murcia, grow food for the community, and educate others across the globe on setting up similar models of ecosystem restoration + farming. Being part of their system and understanding the mission provided real motivation to spring out of bed in the morning and dive into the day’s work, and left me feeling like I had to return here each year if possible, to come back to the well of inspiration that this place represents. One of the “4 Returns” is, actually, return of inspiration. It felt so… satisfying to contribute to a grand vision of regional restoration. And so joyful to sit around the fire on the last night of the course, sharing music and stories with the course participants, who had also traveled far to be in this place.
This program has always grown organically, as we’re drawn in by personal inspiration that spirals outwards to collective action. By spending time on land that is functioning as both ecosystem restoration and food production in diverse social and political climates, we benefit and grow as farm-based educators. Our time in Spain, Italy, and this year Ireland expands our capacity to see change pathways, and imagine the future that we’re co-creating in different and creative ways. We are building alliances for our work that go deep, and we are grateful to our European farming friends for helping us see the connective threads between land-based work, from one continent to another. And especially now, as we face political headwinds in the US, it is helpful and hopeful to broaden our collective gaze and look towards a horizon where positive things are still happening, and we can be a part of it. We look forward to expanding our global network of farms and participants, and will be exploring new host farm sites later this year, following recommendations and outreach from interested farms.
