THE BIOMIMIC FARMING INSTITUTE

TESTING SOLUTIONS FOR SOIL AND HUMAN HEALTH

Through the research conducted in the last five years at Quintosapore, the BFI has been testing a unique blend of:

• Heirloom Seed bank and self production of seeds and plants
• Regenerative, biodynamic and permaculture practices
• Biochar
• Organic
• Agroforestry
• Effective Microorganisms

to prove that a non-dogmatic approach to farming solutions is more scalable, financially viable, adaptable to different sizes of farms and inclusive. At the core of the work is a focus on collaboration and diversification and data driven results (to measure indices such as soil organic carbon, the water-holding capacity, nutrients and biodiversity indices) and create a codified playbook and a standardized seed/EM/biochar protocols with a proven governance model.

ADVOCACY FOR REGNERATING FARMING SOLUTIONS

As highlighted at the recent Oxford Real Farming Conference this January, there is an increasing need to bring the real food and farming movement together and to build meaningful collaborations between farmers and researchers in order to share knowledge and join up different initiatives in the regenerative farming space. One of the criticalities highlighted by the work of our partner lab Quintosapore, there is an intrinsic discrepancy between sustainable solutions applied to farming today (such as organic, biodynamic, regenerative etc) which have to comply to regulations and 'dogmatic' approaches - and nature, a highly dynamic system, whose rules and solutions are constantly changing and are developed in the context of a "system". Hence the Institute work strives to study and promote a dynamic farming methodology ("tool box") to 'mimic' nature and develop highly adaptable and scalable solutions in agriculture.

EDUCATION FOR BIOMIMIC AGRICULTURE

In only 5 years, we turned an abandoned land, comprising 24 hectares (or 60 acres) of previously considered uncultivable harsh soil, into a thriving biodiverse paradise of more than 1,500 varieties of vegetables. From reviving an ancient, forgotten vineyard (home to the Etruscan Malmaturo grape which disappeared from the wine registry in the 18th century) to developing new varieties of climate resilient vegetables (including 160 species of tomatoes) and regenerating the woodland into an abundant ecosystem (and home to many truffles!) – we believe that in the next few years we can solidify the creation of a fully independent biosphere, which completely avoids the use of any kind of pesticides, fertilizers, crop rotation and minimise the use of water, while producing nutrient packed food.