The OneStraw Revolution, Masanobu Fukuoka
The OneStraw Revolution, Masanobu Fukuoka
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The One-Straw Revolution
An Introduction to Natural Farming

Author: Masanobu Fukuoka, Larry Korn

Narrator: David Shih

Unabridged: 5 hr 7 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 08/29/2017


Synopsis

Call it "Zen and the Art of Farming" or a "Little Green Book," Masanobu Fukuoka's manifesto about farming, eating, and the limits of human knowledge presents a radical challenge to the global systems we rely on for our food. At the same time, it is a spiritual memoir of a man whose innovative system of cultivating the earth reflects a deep faith in the wholeness and balance of the natural world. As Wendell Berry writes in his preface, the book "is valuable to us because it is at once practical and philosophical. It is an inspiring, necessary book about agriculture because it is not just about agriculture."

Trained as a scientist, Fukuoka rejected both modern agribusiness and centuries of agricultural practice, deciding instead that the best forms of cultivation mirror nature's own laws. Over the next three decades he perfected his so-called "do-nothing" technique: commonsense, sustainable practices that all but eliminate the use of pesticides, fertilizer, tillage, and perhaps most significantly, wasteful effort.

Whether you're a guerrilla gardener or a kitchen gardener, dedicated to slow food or simply looking to live a healthier life, you will find something here—you may even be moved to start a revolution of your own.

About Masanobu Fukuoka

Masanobu Fukuoka (1913-2008) was a farmer and philosopher who was born and raised on the Japanese island of Shikoku. He studied plant pathology and spent several years working as a customs inspector in Yokohama. While working there, at the age of twenty-five, he had an inspiration that changed his life. He decided to quit his job, return to his home village, and put his ideas into practice by applying them to agriculture.

Over the next sixty-five years he worked to develop a system of natural farming that demonstrated the insight he was given as a young man, believing that it could be of great benefit to the world. He did not plow his fields, used no agricultural chemicals or prepared fertilizers, and did not flood his rice fields as farmers have done in Asia for centuries, and yet his yields equaled or surpassed the most productive farms in Japan.

In 1975 he wrote The One-Straw Revolution, a bestselling book that described his life's journey, his philosophy, and farming techniques. This book has been translated into more than twenty-five languages and has helped make Mr. Fukuoka a leader in the worldwide sustainable agriculture movement. He continued farming until shortly before his death in 2008, at the age of ninety-five.

After The One-Straw Revolution was published in English, Mr. Fukuoka traveled to Africa, India, Southeast Asia, Europe, and the United States. His interest turned to rehabilitating the deserts of the world using his natural farming techniques. Mr. Fukuoka is also the author of The Natural Way of Farming and The Road Back to Nature. In 1988 he received the Magsaysay Award, often referred to as the "Nobel of Asia," for Public Service.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Becca on June 26, 2009

So if you crossed Yoda with Joel Salatin and made him a laboratory scientist with a Japanese rice-grain-vegetables-citrus farm, you'd get a rough and awkward parody of Fukuoka Sensei. Really, to capture this guy's wit and humility and flashing intelligence, you really need to read the book. Possibly......more

Goodreads review by Philipp on October 14, 2017

I work somewhat related to plant breeding and farming so I'm always interested to read something from someone who has something different to say. Sadly (and this is getting more and more common with 'alternative' farming) that different thing often doesn't hold up to closer scrutiny, as it does here......more

Goodreads review by Rosie on November 05, 2015

Rất nhiều điều hay có thể học từ quyển này: - Con người làm cho đất đai tự nhiên yếu đi, làm môi trường ô nhiễm đi. Sau đó lại tìm những cách thức để giải quyết hậu quả. Nếu ban đầu cứ để tự nhiên làm việc của nó thì sẽ không phải nhọc công. Tự nhiên là hoàn hảo. - Chúng ta phải trả giá quá nhiều cho......more

Goodreads review by Ziznase on September 19, 2018

masanobu sadece doğal tarımdan söz etmiyor...özgür ve doğal yaşamın nasıl mekanikleştirildiğini, doğaya insanın egemen havalarda müdahalesinin hiçte bekleneni vermediğin gösterir...doğa ile aramızda derin uçurumun varlığını nasıl da görmemişiz..yine bilimciliğin ve uzmanlaşmanın doğa karşısında son......more

Goodreads review by Nguyên on March 27, 2015

Cuộc cách mạng một cọng rơm. Cuốn sách của một người nông dân, viết về quá trinh "tự nhiên hóa" trong việc làm ruộng, làm vườn của mình. Một cọng rơm đã dẫn dắt tới cuộc cách mạng 4 KHÔNG: (rất sốc) - không cày xới đất - Không dùng phân bón hóa học - Không làm cỏ bằng việc cày xới hay dùng thuốc diệt cỏ......more