Rancho Mariana · December 12–15, 2024
Tepetlixpa
Soil Maturation and the Dynamics of Creation
Explore the gatheringTepetlixpa · 2024
December 12–15, 2024
Rancho Mariana
Soil Maturation and the Dynamics of Creation
At the foot of Popocatépetl, we gathered at Rancho Mariana to work with the earth. Observation, conversation, and art accompanied four days of practical biodynamic learning. Earth, water, air, and fire became ways of paying attention to the land, our work, and the human being within nature.
Working in the garden.
We weeded, loosened the soil, and planted. The garden brought our questions down to the ground: how soil matures, how plants take form, and how our work enters the life of a place.
Into the earth.
We filled horns with manure and buried them in the earth. The preparation work joined the life of animals with the soil, one part of our study of the farm as a living whole.
Learning to look.
We collected and dried soil samples, prepared their images, and studied them together. Chromatography gave us another way to attend to the soil alongside the work of cultivation.
December 12–15, 2024
The program
- Earth: soil, minerals, and the garden bed. Clay work, soil observation, and the foundations of fertility.
- Water: the life of plants. Sowing, plant remedies, and the movement from dry earth to living form.
- Air: animals and the life of the farm. Biodynamic preparations and Barrel Compound.
- Fire: warmth and transformation. Artistic work, the astronomical calendar, and care for fruit trees.
- The human being: the farm as an organism. Bringing the elements together through attention, intention, and practical care.
With Natalie McGill, Alejandro Altamirano, José Aviña, Daniela Camarena, and Stewart Lundy. Hosted at Rancho Mariana by Ricardo, with hospitality and filming support from Maria and Aguirre.
Tepetlixpa
Photographs
Photographs: Martha Ocampo and Natalie McGill.
PDF · 4 pages
The original program
Soil Maturation and the Dynamics of Creation
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