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Thread about cultic dynamics in the intersection between first gen farmers and permaculture/regen ag.
Framing: this is not about those from a farming b/g that have got into regen ag because of eg. no till, mob grazing and agroforestry — this doesn& #39;t really pertain to that group
Framing: this is not about those from a farming b/g that have got into regen ag because of eg. no till, mob grazing and agroforestry — this doesn& #39;t really pertain to that group
It& #39;s about those that are new to farming that have come through alternative routes.
Cultic dynamic? High demand relationships, coercion and eventual betrayal. This understanding is taken from @matthewremski (pls correct me if I& #39;m wrong at all) and more generally conspirituality
Cultic dynamic? High demand relationships, coercion and eventual betrayal. This understanding is taken from @matthewremski (pls correct me if I& #39;m wrong at all) and more generally conspirituality
There are several influencers that are well-known in their respective fields, that have acquired a certain guru following. From microdairying, to agroforestry, to horticulture. They sell books, courses and youtube lifestyles.
They& #39;re persuasive and encourage you to abandon critique and themselves heavily critique all other methodologies and ideologies. You& #39;re with them or you& #39;re against them. They decry and denounce this dynamic in others and yet indulge in it deeply themselves.
When you& #39;re new to this world you& #39;re impressionable and naive — it& #39;s unavoidable to an extent. I know I was. You& #39;re susceptible to silver bullet thinking and the simplicity of a narrative that paints black and white, good and evil. Do this and you will succeed — it& #39;s alluring.
These influencers are effective at honing their brand persona — experts at being the & #39;entrepreneur of the self& #39;. Glossy insta photos, hot twitter takes and & #39;candid& #39; youtube videos. It& #39;s all crafted. There& #39;s serious money in this — severn figure book sales.
A lot of what they say is pretty good — like the best conspiracists, you need enough truth to go with the BS. The catch is in what they don& #39;t say. Ultimately they& #39;re snake oil salespeople. Social media, publishers and conference organisers love a good story and a hero& #39;s journey.
They& #39;ll surround themselves with acolytes and you& #39;ll benefit from the limelight if you toe their line. If you help perpetuate the fantasy and make it look like their methods work. So long as you don& #39;t question them - they& #39;re intolerant of that. They demand loyalty and white lies.
Tangent: I& #39;ve been in more than one cultic group before, I& #39;ve observed these same patterns, experienced the same feelings. I& #39;ve not studied the cult research lit, however, not yet.
Again to reiterate this is not a critique of the entirety of the Regen Ag community, it& #39;s about sub-cultures within that, although it& #39;s possible to see some of the same patterns playing out in the wider discourse. As Regen Ag solidifies, that will only intensify, as things stand.
It& #39;s not an exaggeration to say we were lied to when we first came into all this. The movement was considerably smaller then, 5-7 years ago, than it is now, and less fashionable - it& #39;s risen meteorically since then. With 5 years hard won experience under our belts, I can say:
Most that try will not manage to maintain a successful microdairy, and I& #39;m doubtful we will manage to either. There are various factors. This is heretical to admit within the cultic dynamics of the sub-culture, however, we mustn& #39;t lose ourselves totally in our fantasy.
The community guards against this sort of critique by doubling-down on its belief in rugged individualism and entrepreneurialism. Farming is famed for its & #39;can do& #39; attitude& #39; — and there are reasons why that mindset has benefits for farmers but like anything it has its blindspot
I could tell you about others that have tried to microdairy and not been able to, who have followed a similar path to us. That all had to give up, that are angry at being misled and have been caused financial and interpersonal stress as a result.
But you& #39;ll never hear those stories on social media or at a conference — they don& #39;t sell. And I& #39;m not just talking about books and courses, I& #39;m talking about the dream, the fantasy. Talking to friends in other fields of this community — trees, growing, mushrooms — they confirm.
We all get enquiries from people looking to do it themselves, and we& #39;re all happy to help them, but often these people don& #39;t want to hear the harsher side of it — the reality of living it. So they drift off back to the peddlers of false dreams, which is tragic.
People from a proper farming b/g aren& #39;t susceptible to this in the same way. Ultimately, they have decades or centuries worth of experience/resources to draw upon. But those leaving the city to & #39;live the dream& #39; are currently being taken for a ride by messianic influencers.
None of this is about casting judgement on who will and won& #39;t & #39;make it& #39; - the factors are too numerous, and too contingent, to be predicted. The & #39;beast& #39; wants you to feed it with stories of self-made success and that must be resisted; if you want people to succeed: be honest.
*We are indebted to some very good people out there that have generously helped us in the last few years when we realised what we were doing wasn& #39;t working, helped us back to reality and thanks to them we might be able to continue doing it a bit longer.
