Over the past six months, we have journeyed across England, visiting our grantees and the lands they care for. These visits were enriched by the guidance of Isik Sayarer, who supported the deepening of our connections, and by the artistic documentation of Alberto Balazs, whose photography and film captured the essence of our experiences. Together with artists and collaborators, we have engaged in a meaningful exploration of the people and landscapes shaping regenerative practices.
For over fifteen years, the A Team Foundation has worked with individuals and organizations practicing and supporting agroecological and regenerative farming. This work has fostered a deep understanding that our relationship with nature is not only fundamental to transforming our food system but also essential for fostering human health. The health of the soil, the food we grow, and the ecosystems we restore are intrinsically linked to our physical, emotional, and collective well-being. A thriving relationship with nature nourishes both body and mind, reminding us that human health is inseparable from the health of our planet.
Listening is an integral part of working with the land. Once a universal practice for those who tended it, this connection has often been overshadowed in modern times by industrial protocols and mechanistic perspectives. Yet, across the world, many communities continue to weave the land into the fabric of their daily lives, preserving a reciprocal and intuitive relationship with nature. This reciprocity includes an understanding that healthy landscapes foster nutritious food, clean water, and air, elements critical to sustaining human vitality.
Each visit we’ve undertaken has been distinct, though all began with listening and attuning to the present moment, both with the people and the land. The second round of visits to each project offered opportunities for ceremony, celebration, and collective visioning. Stories have emerged, carried by people and landscapes alike. Seeds of transformation have been planted, hearths tended, connections woven, and relationships strengthened along the way.
As the winter months draw near, we pause to sit with the lessons these visits have brought us, preparing to re-emerge with renewed purpose in the spring.
How can we turn inward to see the world more clearly? What support do we need to foster cooperation and right relationship with each other, the land, and the wise use of resources? How do we inspire one another to act in service and reciprocity with our earth? And how do we contribute to a global healing and ontological shift from “I” to “we”? These are the questions we at the A Team will carry with us as we embark on the next chapter of our journey, striving to create a future rooted in connection, collaboration, and care.
