Gentle World is a vegan educational organization and intentional community with two locations: one on the Big Island of Hawaii, and one on the North Island of New Zealand.

With the Ruth Stout technique, gardens are established and maintained using a thick layer of hay mulch. This eliminates the need for digging, fertilizing and watering.

Photojournal of a new garden being established using the Ruth Stout technique of permanent hay mulching. This technique eliminates the need for digging, fertilizing and watering.

With this incredibly simple technique, you can prepare a new no-till garden with few materials, while improving the quality of your soil for future years. Or, in an existing garden, it’s a simple and low-maintenance way of growing potatoes.

Animal Place (www.animalplace.org) has been providing refuge to neglected farmed animals since 1989 on their sanctuary in California. More recently, they launched a 3-acre veganic farm, a working proof of the concept that domesticated animals are not necessary to grow food. In conjunction with the resident animal ambassadors, Animal Place’s veganic farm educates visitors about how their food is produced and demonstrates a healthier, more compassionate way of eating and living.

Manfred Wenz has successfully developed no-till techniques for direct seeding of commercial grain crops, all while building up the vitality and organic matter of his soil.

The systemic approach is a method of breeding plant varieties that are hearty and resistant to all forms of stress, such as disease and drought. In the systemic approach, traditional principles of plant breeding are used, though the plants are subjected to a wide range of stresses, and only the most resistant plants are selected for continued breeding. The systemic approach offers a promising alternative to GMO’s, and it produces results that go beyond our expectations.