In response to the world’s burning issues related to climate change, environment and energy, more and more people are trying to reduce the negative human impact on the planet and restore the balance. People are recognizing again the benefits of nature to our overall well-being. So, some of them are replacing the busy urban lifestyle with a simpler life in a closer contact with nature. What difference does this change make in their life?
In April 2018, I visited a project in Laos where I tried to find the answer. Om Phonepasith, a young social enterpreneur and farmer, has started his ecological project, Mekong Eden Farm, on a piece of land in the jungle by the mighty Mekong riverside in the north of Laos. With the help of a small team and volunteers, Om manages to grow a great variety of plants from all over the world, including fruits and vegetables that are considered superfood.
Mekong Eden Farm is a diverse garden that looks like a small jungle where everything is mixed together. However, behind the apparent chaos, there is a carefully planned symbiosis of plants and insects. Everything in the garden is closely observed so as to understand the role it plays in the ecosystem.
From there, the gardeners combine the plants to work together and sustain the life chain. Following such permaculture techniques, Om’s farm is able to produce fresh, organic food all year round without the use of chemicals.
Om’s farming methods, as well as his simple lifestyle on a farm, reveal his close connection with nature. Talking to him and working together in the garden made me confirm once more that there is much more to nature than just delicious healthy food and relaxing environment. Not only does it nurture our bodies, nature is also a source of spiritual satisfaction and wisdom.
To begin with, nature provides a model for societies because it has a beautiful, fair and highly functional system where everything and everybody matters. The ecosystem is healthy and sustainable only if everything consumes just about enough nutrients that it needs to stay alive and perform its unique function. This function is closely related to helping another living thing or process so that the chain of life continues.
It’s a system where everything is responsible for its own well-being but, at the same time, this well-being depends on the well-being of others in the chain. So, for example, if a plant or insect invades space and consumes more resources than it needs, it’s a matter of time it will be left without food.
In this way, nature shows the value of using only what’s necessary and the importance of sharing with others. Om explains that life on the farm has taught him to consume less (things, food, energy, money…) and that makes him feel more responsible, independent and efficient. With great enthusiasm, he expressed how growing his own food makes him feel:
”When I buy things, I’m happy the moment I get them. When I make something on my own, I’m not only happy – I also feel proud and pride lasts more. The memory of achieving something with your hard work stays. I also care more about what I make. I don’t throw it away so easily.”
The message of less is more is especially relevant today when consumerism is seriously affecting not only the enviroment, but also people’s rights (e.g. child labour), freedom (e.g. war over resources and poverty) and overall life quality (think how many people are unhappy regardless of their material riches).
Since ecosystems are prone to constant change, farmers also learn to adapt and protect themselves. They have to pay close attention to changes because only in that way can they figure out the root cause of any disbalance and prevent a negative chain reaction. Constant alert and awareness about what’s going on at all times makes them feel more confident, secure and in-control of their life.
Another thing that makes Om feel more secure is that he doesn’t depend and rely on a single crop. In nature, plants grow and co-exist together, so this is how he plants them. That way he doesn’t fear losing everything if something goes wrong. A life with less fear allows him to think more clearly and take appropriate action more easily. He’ll use what’s left to find the way out.
Some problems, however, require worldwide joint action. Om comments, for instance, that his major concern is climate change because it’s still a widely ignored issue. Apparently, like anything else in nature, people can be self-sufficient only to some extent – in order to survive in the long run they have to work together.
Contemplating more profoundly our physical and spiritual relationship with nature, I was especially intrigued about what Om said regarding human bond with nature through the senses:
”Nature gives happiness. To see things grow calms you down. You can feel, breathe, smell, touch the beauty of it. You realize that nature can’t harm you. It’s kind. If you give nature value, it will give you back. You’re part of it so it gives you a sense of belonging.”
In a world where we’re more connected than ever through media, but also possibly feeling lonelier than ever, spending more time in nature seems a reasonable move. As Om suggests, man-made environment could never fully satisfy our physical and spiritual needs because we’re part of nature.
We need smells from nature, noises from nature, scenery from nature – they are naturally much more appealing to our body and spirit. Indeed, don’t you feel less stressed, worried or afraid when you’re in nature? As I’ve described in one of the previous posts, spending three months isolated in nature in the Azores islands didn’t help me think what I wanted to do with my life. On the contrary, it helped me stop thinking for a while and start connecting with my feelings. It made me feel at peace and, naturally, my health also improved after that.
The healing power of nature doesn’t only reside in pleasant experiences it offers to our senses. It heals also because it’s free of compulsive thinking, calculations, desires, judgements, worries, fears. Nature might be complex in its functioning, but it’s simple in its existence. Everything we find in nature is pure and authentic in its simplicity. It doesn’t pretend to be anything more or less than what it is. It just is. And that attitude is something that we miss nowadays.
So, what can we do to (re)connect with nature and restore the physical and emotional balance? Before giving you any ideas, I have to help you remember your first contacts with nature. You have to restore your faith in it. Otherwise, I’m risking that you read this post and just forget about it!
While discussing this topic with my sister, we echoed the same childhood memory of planting a bean seed as a school project. We had to observe it and keep a diary of its progress. I remember clearly, every day we would get up with such an enthusiasm, motivation, purpose – just to see if the bean had popped out, if it was doing well, if it had enough sunlight and water. It makes me think – if it takes only watching a single bean seed grow to start your day with such joy – why not try?
So, if you don’t have the chance to spend more time immersed in natural surroundings, either through gardening, trekking, mountaineering or any other outdoor activity, then take nature to your homes.
Get familiar with where your food comes from. Plant your favourite herbs to make tea or flavour the food. Plant some flowers. I met a guy who even started making worm composting in his apartment in Luxembourg! Grow anything you like, take care of it and be aware of every step of the creation process. Be aware of how nature makes you feel when you breathe it in, when you smell it, see it, hear it or feel it on your skin. It’s like a meditation.
And then, if you find it motivating, share that process with others. A memory of your first contact or a renewed contact with nature. I know I would love to hear about it! Leave a comment, a photo, a video! Anything that would express how contact with nature makes you feel and the difference it makes in your life.
If we recognize that we’re part of nature, that we also stem from it and that we depend on it just as much as it depends on us, we can take much better care of it. If for nothing else, then at least so that Om wouldn’t have to worry so much about how to fix climate change on his own :P!
Finally, if looking for even more inspiration or great things to do in Laos, visit Mekong Eden Farm’s website for more info about Om’s project, activities on the farm and volunteering opportunities! If staying in Luang Prabang, you can even shop online for fresh organic food from the farm!
Let us connect! 🙂
Special thanks to Om, Mario and Ivana for long dialogues that helped me elaborate this topic!
