This semester, we are expanding the course to include agroecology and organic agriculture with the title of AROA (Agroecology, Regenerative, and Organic Agriculture). Bringing these three major global movements together as complementary systems is essential. Very importantly, this is a certificate course from an accredited degree-granting university. We plan to have the organic regenerative agriculture faculty offer a range of courses by recognized experts in regenerative, organic, and agroecological practices and systems in the following semesters.

Most people know me as a long-term organic farmer and the international director of Regeneration International. I have decades of teaching experience, communication and adult education degrees, and a Doctorate in Environmental and Agricultural Systems. I have taught and lectured in tertiary institutions on most continents and developed and run many types of courses. These include training courses for farmers, some delivered in institutions and others on farms at farmers’ shed meetings.

I have had the opportunity to use the title of adjunct (part-time) professor for decades; however, I have only chosen to use it now. The current course I have developed in partnership with South Seas University is the most important of all the courses I have developed and taught.

From experience, I have learned that developing innovative courses in most long-established tertiary institutions is very hard. They like conformity to traditional norms and do not like taking risks. The academic mainstream largely ignores and denigrates our agricultural systems. As an organic farmer, teaching in standard agronomy courses offered by most institutions meant being ostracized and marginalized by the academic staff and management for criticizing the mainstream paradigms of toxic pesticides and synthetic fertilizers.

South Seas University (SSU) has a history of innovation, so when I was offered the opportunity to form a department of organic and regenerative agriculture, I jumped at it.

SSU was founded with a vision to provide quality education at an affordable cost, leveraging innovative technology and cooperation with the world’s leading academic institutions. It came about after political upheaval in the Dominican Republic in 1997-1998 caused numerous universities and medical schools to close. Aspiring medical professionals found themselves at the mercy of unscrupulous individuals exploiting their desperation.

Under the leadership of Sir Tom Davis, Dr. Reza Chowdhury, and Lady Carla Davis, the Board worked tirelessly to raise the necessary funds to fill the gap for these students left by the loss of their medical schools and to provide affordable degrees.  By 1999, SSU gained registration with the Government of the Cook Islands as a degree-granting university. The James Cook School of Medicine (JCSM) was registered as the SSU Faculty of Medicine. It was listed in the WHO World Directory of Medical Schools and other licensing authorities. The first cohort of displaced students from the Dominican Republic formed the inaugural class at JCSM. This accomplishment provided SSU’s JCSM graduates with U.S. board exam registration eligibility. It also affirmed the quality and credibility of their education.

SSU’s management brought in distinguished faculty from the Dominican Republic, Mexico, India, Australia, and the United States. SSU forged partnerships with clinical sites across the US, UK, Dominican Republic, India, and Mexico. SSU also introduced IT programs to meet local demand and collaborated with a School in India to produce a nursing program. In the region, SSU was seen as an innovative role model in assisting students in obtaining Medicine, Nursing, and IT degrees. This international collaboration fostered a diverse student body, enriching the educational experience and broadening perspectives.

Running and financing a small university in a developing country brought numerous challenges, especially the costs of securing the necessary registrations and recognitions from relevant authorities before students enrolled. The expensive and limited housing in the Cook Islands, the high cost of communications, and political changes meant numerous adjustments and reorganizations of teaching methods had to be implemented as SSU built its foundation.

The advances in online technology saw SSU increase its reach and affordability for students, reducing the need for travel and accommodation costs.

However, the passing of SSU’s Chancellor, Sir Tom Davis, brought new challenges.  Then, almost two years of border closures and lockdowns due to COVID-19 presented additional challenges that SSU and its Board had to navigate.

With the borders opening and life returning to pre-COVID normal, the Chief Operating Officer and board chair, Dr. Reza Chowdhury, encouraged Lady Carla Davis to take on her late husband’s role as Chief Executive Officer and Dr. Johannes Schonborn, Dean of the James Cook School of Medicine, as acting Chancellor. Lady Carla Davis had the vision to expand the agriculture and health/nutrition programs and provide/pioneer other unique online courses to revolutionize education and help young people create a better world.

SSU has started to grow again and has restarted offering online certificate courses.  Lady Carla Davis (a nutrition educator), plans to offer OL programs in Nutrition and medical degree courses again.

Dr. Bernell Christensen, PhD, from Utah, will set up the School of Psychology program for Bangladesh (to start) through the James Cook School of Medicine. He has cooperation agreements with leading medical schools to stream their lectures online to SSU students. These students will access clinical clerkships at accredited teaching hospitals in the US and UK.

As part of the holistic approach, a certificate course in Regenerative Health taught by educator, physician, and pediatrician Dr. Michelle Perro, MD, is being offered this semester. Dr Perro is the co-author of the highly acclaimed book What’s Making our Children Sick? This course is open to all and complements the innovative medical degree program. It features:

• The state of our health and how we got here.
• An algorithm on how to move from dependency on pharmaceuticals towards food-based solutions to address health concerns and challenges
• Making our children well: A look at the microbiome
• Nutrition for Health Basics with practical solutions
• Homeopathy as a safe, effective, and affordable tool for managing acute and chronic health situations

Consistent with Lady Carla Davis’s vision to provide unique online courses to revolutionize education and help young people create a better world, SSU is offering a certificate course in Education for Total Consciousness (ETC). Taught by His Holiness Jagadguru Swami Isa, the course gives practicing or aspiring teachers and parents the fundamentals of teaching ‘total knowledge’ in the classroom or at home.

Negotiations and plans are underway for more certificate courses, as these are the most accessible. Later, as funding increases, more degree and postgraduate degree courses will be added.

From my perspective as a long-term organic farmer and educator, providing high-quality, accessible, and affordable education is the key to scaling up our nature-based regenerative systems. This is essential to break degenerative industrial agriculture’s near monopoly control on education. SSU gives us a critically important opportunity to do this.

The post Regeneration International’s Partnership With the South Seas University appeared first on Regeneration International.

The post Webinar – II Encuentro Online Chile Regenerativo 2024 appeared first on Regeneration International.

La agricultura regenerativa no es una clasificación en sí misma como puede ser la ecológica, no cuenta con ningún sello ni certificado, pero sí aglutina una serie de prácticas que permiten crear suelo, es decir, mantener y sumar materia orgánica en la tierra.

SEGUIR LEYENDO EN AGROINFORMA

The post Agricultura regenerativa para proteger la tierra appeared first on Regeneration International.

The graphic novel tackles the theme of the erosion of plant genetic diversity and the uniformity of agricultural crops, highlighting how this has contributed to the decrease in the number of cultivated species and the loss of nutrients in the foods we consume. The industrial production model, based on monoculture and standardization, is analyzed as a threat to biodiversity and food sovereignty.

The educational project “Biodiversity is Life” aims to raise awareness among young people about the ecological implications of food production and to promote sustainable agricultural practices. Through visits to organic farms and practical activities, participants become “guardians of biodiversity” and are actively involved in the defense of their native agricultural diversity.

The publication of the graphic novel, illustrated by the cartoonist Federico Zenoni, acts as a reference point for the next phases of the project, which seeks to continue bringing more and more young people out into the fields.

Involving younger generations is considered crucial for promoting a paradigm shift towards more sustainable agricultural practices and for re-establishing the bond between humans and nature, in order to safeguard biodiversity and food sovereignty.

KEEP READING ON NAVDANYA INTERNATIONAL

The post Biodiversity is Life – Graphic Novel appeared first on Regeneration International.

The walk will include an overview of the Regenerate Outcomes programme, while Kyle Richardville – from our mentoring partner Understanding Ag – will unpack some of the principles of soil health and explain how farms can use key indicators to inform their management.

The farm walk will also give you the chance to find out how Mike has been implementing regenerative practices on Eastwood Farm.

The post Farm Walk: Grow Profits from Health Soil – Pembrokeshire appeared first on Regeneration International.

Las lecciones específicas del día incluyen: agricultura regenerativa, reconexión con la tierra, preparación de camas, suelo y compostaje, y ahorro de semillas. La instrucción está dirigida por Shahid Mustafa de Taylor Hood Farms.

Los participantes deberán traer una libreta, algo para escribir y guantes.

Es opcional, y no obligatorio, que los participantes tengan el libro ‘The Essential Urban Farmer’ de Novella Carpenter y Willow Rosenthal. El instructor proporcionará lecturas recomendadas del mismo. Si los participantes no pueden cubrir el costo del libro, hay asistencia disponible a través de Rodale Institute. Por favor envíe un correo electrónico sam.hilborn@rodaleinstitute.org para obtener más información.

Ubicación: Granja Taylor Hood, Glasbox
3127 NM-28, Antonio, NM 88021

Tenga en cuenta: La inscripción está limitada a 20 personas. Regístrese a continuación para reservar su lugar. Al registrarse, acepta participar en las cuatro sesiones del sábado. Intente asistir a todas las sesiones, ya que se complementan entre sí.

The post Agricultura Regenerativa Intensa appeared first on Regeneration International.

Las lecciones específicas del día incluyen: agricultura regenerativa, reconexión con la tierra, preparación de camas, suelo y compostaje, y ahorro de semillas. La instrucción está dirigida por Shahid Mustafa de Taylor Hood Farms.

Los participantes deberán traer una libreta, algo para escribir y guantes.

Es opcional, y no obligatorio, que los participantes tengan el libro ‘The Essential Urban Farmer’ de Novella Carpenter y Willow Rosenthal. El instructor proporcionará lecturas recomendadas del mismo. Si los participantes no pueden cubrir el costo del libro, hay asistencia disponible a través de Rodale Institute. Por favor envíe un correo electrónico sam.hilborn@rodaleinstitute.org para obtener más información.

Ubicación: Granja Taylor Hood, Glasbox
3127 NM-28, Antonio, NM 88021

Tenga en cuenta: La inscripción está limitada a 20 personas. Regístrese a continuación para reservar su lugar. Al registrarse, acepta participar en las cuatro sesiones del sábado. Intente asistir a todas las sesiones, ya que se complementan entre sí.

The post Agricultura Regenerativa Intensa appeared first on Regeneration International.

This collaborative effort, led by EIT Food – which is backed by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology – seeks to demonstrate solutions and facilitate partnerships within the agrifood value chains.

Unlike traditional approaches focusing solely on individual farms, the Regenerative Innovation Portfolio adopts a landscape-based strategy, tailored to local contexts. By identifying five priority landscapes across Europe, the initiative aims to foster collaboration among various stakeholders, including regional governments, investors and retailers.

EIT Food has committed €15 million to the Portfolio, with an additional €15 million expected from corporate partners over the next three years. This investment will support landscape initiatives, ecosystem development and inter-landscape learning within the community.

CONTINUE READING ON FOODBEV MEDIA

The post European Food Innovation Alliance Launches €30M Regenerative Agriculture Initiative appeared first on Regeneration International.

Yet climate change, declining biodiversity, ecosystem destruction, land degradation and pollution threaten our global life support system, putting whole societies at risk. After 20 years of working in international nature conservation, I have concluded that long-term investment in holistic landscape management and restoration is the key to future-proofing our planet while creating sustainable livelihoods for communities.

“Holistic” is the key word here. There is no point in restoring one tributary of a polluted river without tackling the whole basin — the problem will only resurface, and the investment will be rendered futile. From a risk perspective, it’s essential to consider the entire living system rather than pulling it apart.

KEEP READING ON FORBES

The post The Trillion-Dollar Promise Of A Landscape Restoration Industry appeared first on Regeneration International.

Con esta adquisición se busca ayudar a Bioagricert y Cosmocert para tener acreditadas de certificación orgánica en el país, que contempla una cadena de suministro de 23 mil granjas y productores orgánicos en América del Norte, Europa, América Latina y el Sudeste Asiático.

Las certificaciones orgánicas van por buen camino

De acuerdo con Nate Ensrud, vicepresidente de servicios técnicos, certificación y soluciones de seguridad alimentaria de FoodChain ID, esta incorporación se alinea a la Regla final de fortalecimiento de la aplicación orgánica (SOE) del USDA.

Esta nueva regla busca incorporarse antes del 19 de marzo de 2024 para contener las regulaciones de todos los productos que se digan orgánicos para cumplir con la independencia y transparencia que piden los consumidores, resaltó Ensrud.

SEGUIR LEYENDO EN THE FOOD TECH

The post Las etiquetas orgánicas serán una realidad gracias FoodChain ID appeared first on Regeneration International.