A few days ago we received copies of Dreamriver Press’s latest title, Son of a Farmer, Child of the Earth. The book looks great! As with most of Dreamriver Press’s titles, it was printed on 100% recycled paper. George, our designer, did an amazing job with the cover design, the inner layout and choice of fonts. But, most importantly, we feel this book has a powerful and timely message. Hope you enjoy reading it, and help spread the word!

Interesting ideas on transitioning to local economic models. Find out more by visiting Transition Culture.

Dreamriver Press is collaborating with author Eric Herm, in preparing his new book for publication, titled Son of a Farmer, Child of the Earth.

The book examines the devastating effects that conventional commercial agriculture is having on resources, delicate ecosystems, and the farmer. As a fourth-generation farmer, Eric Herm deals with the harsh economic realities and complicated legislation facing farmers, as well as the undeniable health impact of GMO crops and excessive chemicals on all living creatures. Son of a Farmer, Child of the Earth provides ample resources of natural, healthy alternatives that will inspire the farmers’ transformation from corporate-motivated producers back to the flesh and bone guardian angels of the Earth.

I’m looking forward to the publication of this book and think it is timely given the environmental challenges we face. Furthermore, agriculture concerns almost all of us, whose food source is directly linked to its practices.

Eric Herm grew up on a cotton farm near Ackerly, Texas. He left the farm to pursue other interests, traveling to various places across the world before returning to his roots. Upon arriving back on his family farm, he noticed many changes in not only the landscape but the methods of commercial agriculture that were causing more long-term problems. He began searching for answers to these problems, slowly discovering healthier organic methods which provided the inspiration for his book, Son of a Farmer, Child of the Earth.

We are expecting the book to be available for pre-orders in Spring 2010!

This is an incredible example of how we can change even desert land conditions. Geoff Lawton implements permaculture principles in The Dead Sea Valley of Jordan. After you watch this video, you can watch Greening the Desert Revisited, to see how things have evolved since the initial land design management.

Yesterday I attended an interesting lecture by Andrew Faust.  The lecture focused on a brief ecological history of the Americas and the World.  It painted a grim picture of humanity’s impact on the ecosystems of our planet over the last 10,000 years.

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Yesterday I participated in a fascinating gathering.  It combined principles from permaculture, yoga, building sustainable new cultures, dreaming, amongst other things.  It was organized by nature works, a “worker-owned cooperative grounded in a mission of healing the Earth locally and transforming global consciousness.”  nature works empowers “communities to affirm and support life, so that we may all share and embody a culture of regeneration — one that is both sustainable and that continually grows in vitality.”

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Yesterday I attended a permaculture meeting here in New York City. The group I met with is part of Green Phoenix, a non-profit organization, and meets once a month. However, smaller “subgroups” that focus on specific projects meet more often.

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