Harvesting Secrets: Nature As Your Friend & Business Partner
Permaculture Farming Is The Key To Living Abundantly
There’s a lot of confusion about ways to harvest wealth.
Ways to find true freedom.
Sure. There are ways to make fast cash; there’s no question. However, we’re seeing people accumulate money through cryptocurrencies, or even now… “NFTs.”
But are these income-generating options sustainable?
Do all these emerging markets serve a basic human need?
If the world was in trouble, scrambling for basic needs such as food, shelter, toilet paper… wait, that actually happened with COVID.
So the real question is…
What vehicles can guarantee the average person's basic needs?
Let's come back to the good ol’ Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
Basic needs are at the bottom, which includes physiological and safety needs. So it's no wonder anxiety, and stress is closely linked to finances.
Physiological Needs include food and water.
Safety Needs include security and safety.
It's only when those are sorted, the rest begins to take care of itself.
The holy grail answer is Progressive Farming.
With cash or bitcoins, it's still putting you in the position of being a consumer. You have to go out and buy stuff, which doesn't necessarily protect you from food, water, and electricity shortages.
Having land that grows its own food and medicine puts you in the driver's seat. You have total VIP access. If you own the land, it accrues more value with more permaculture being produced.
However, before I go into what you could do, I want to give important details on what you should not do.
Progressive Farming Methods
“The solutions are here. They have always been here. Food does matter.”
— David Wolfe
Conventional Methods
The earth-shattering documentary Kiss The Ground presents unquestionable evidence that we’re harming our soil through conventional farming practices. These include tilling machinery and the use of chemicals and pesticides.
Never mind the harmful impact on health; these practices have even led to the stunning depreciation of the nutritional content of agricultural food. There’s a clear difference between food that was grown decades ago and the food we have today.
The crops and plantations require way more water as well, which leads to obsessive water drilling practices. In short, you’re dealing with both food and water shortages. This sort of destructive path leads to significant changes in our environment, climate, and even weather.
The artic winter storm in Texas in 2021 was the first of its kind, literally. However, this event gave us a clue on what we’re in for if we don’t make significant changes to our habits as global citizens.
Texans and Oklahomans experienced water, food, and electricity shortages that left good-hearted people eating canned food in their cold and dark homes without winter clothing since no one expected cold weather in Texas.
Wild & Organic Farming
You can regenerate a wild forest through “pruning.” You can stimulate growth by cutting dead or overgrown branches and stems and laying them on the soil on every square inch.
This repeated process leads to high microbial activity in the soil, causing the underground mycelium network of roots to communicate.
It is so powerful that the human intellect can’t even comprehend the levels that nature goes.
This cycle of life and death brings forth new life and more evolved versions of the forest, allowing for some health interventions so that you can include the growth of wild mushrooms, berries, and all sorts of herbs.
What’s incredible about this is that the yield in production is far superior to conventional farming — about 50% more, especially when various species are combined in the same permaculture.
Wild foods are organic and will definitely provide a plethora of added health benefits. In fact, when supporting the growth of a food forest, there is no need for pesticides or even natural pesticides.
Weeds can also be intervened with by being “stepped on,” allowing food to grow in its early stages.
A wild forest has a natural balance, so even if some bug wants to eat your plants, you let them be. In fact, this is an opportunity to let traditional farm animals roam free on different parts of the land.
Modern farmers are starting to allow cows to “graze” the soil. This brings up the growth of grass, and that encourages more microbial activity in the soil. But, unfortunately, these loving animals will also eat the weeds that stunt the production of food.
Best agricultural practices also encourage free-roaming chickens, ducks, goats, pigs to assist with the forest for all sorts of reasons.
Whether it’s eating bugs, chewing on weeds, or encouraging grass growth, you can have natural and powerful ways to assist with nature’s intention.
Organic & Non-GMO Seeds
Most people don’t know that seeds are being offered to conventional farms with certain chemical products already in them. I’m not going to go into too much detail on who would do that, but it’s not difficult to do your research.
To give you a clue…
About 90% of soybean seeds now include pesticides in them.
Fortunately, many seed producers are pledging to ensure that the seeds they’re selling are not altered in any way, organic, and free of GMOs. So this is what you need to make sure you’re looking for when you’re buying seeds.
Support the demand for these high-quality products, and in turn, you will have high-quality organic foods. All while giving back to the earth.
Sustainable Practices
Although the possibilities of agricultural creation are limitless, the fundamentals of food supply will always exist. Therefore, less is always more when it comes to plants, which we humans need to respect.
The perfect example is the famous ginseng herb, which the Chinese originally used to increase energy and vitality. However, its also been proven to be beneficial for libido health in men. In fact, the herb itself looks like a man.
The thing is that the Chinese managed to consume so much of this herb that it literally went extinct.
Now it's being produced in other countries, and the Chinese are importing the herb through trade.
Production always needs to be handled with care, especially if you want to continue to see great herbs in your lifetime.
Farm As An Investment
The beautiful thing about starting a farm is that anyone can do it. The process itself doesn’t discriminate. Having any piece of land means you can have the capability to start.
If you have the means to do it, you can actually buy an existing forest. From there, understand the climate, forest canopy, and begin planting plants that grow all sorts of foods.
The investment doesn’t have to be large to buy a piece of land. Since the goal is to have thriving permaculture, the location isn’t the highest priority. However, you can determine the soil quality and fertility of the land by working with an agronomist.
Whether it's berries or hazelnuts, the possibilities are endless. In the blue zone of Guanacaste, Costa Rica, we bought 5.5 acres of land about 7 minutes from our home in Hacienda Pinilla.
In Cañafístula, we’re kickstarting all sorts of projects that involve bringing new permaculture to life. We will use the space to understand rain and river harvesting and build a community around it through luxury cabin accommodations.
There’s huge meaning in this project, and it’s something that excites me. I look forward to the day I get to educate my kids, being a second-generation on the forest farm.
Even in your backyard, you can grow mushrooms, or if the weather is giving you trouble, set up a little greenhouse that holds your herbs - either way, you’ll be ahead of the game.
Along with my wife Ramsha, I interviewed our friend David Wolfe. He founded NutriBullet and then got heavy into farming. He’s also taking the time out to bring awareness to the subject.
David not only helps people understand farming. He lives and breathes it, from growing mushrooms for his dinner plate in Ontario to getting his NoniLand Raw Honey from his farm in Hawaii, available from his store.
Sitting with David inspired me to create my own distribution model that can combine the power of e-commerce with farming. It was one of the reasons why we moved to Costa Rica. We wanted to do it big.
Not only can you eat the food you grow, but you can also grow it consciously.
My friends Greit and Anna live just down the street from my home in Hacienda Pinilla, Costa Rica. They’ve nailed this farming thing down to another level.
They’ve been running a beautiful boutique hotel named Cala Luna, a great business operation in the city of Tamarindo.
What’s even more amazing is that, in Pinilla, they own a property called La Senda. This beautiful space includes a farm that grows top-notch herbs, spices, and vegetables.
The whole farm supplies food to their boutique hotel.
Farming food adds value to your bottom line and will feed people.
What’s even more amazing is that the food continues to grow for many years to come. So if you take great care of your farm, your harvest will multiply exponentially.
On a smaller scale, such as having a herbs garden in your home, you’ll be immediately saving money if much of your vegetables and herbs come from there.
On top of all that, you’re building a relationship with the food you eat.
Food & Medicine
Food Possibilities
I was having conversations with one of my local friends here in Costa Rica. I was blown away by what’s possible. He explained to me that:
1 Coconut Tree produces 120 coconuts a year (6 branches)
So, if that is the case, that would mean if you had 50 coconut trees planted, you would produce 6000 coconuts a year.
That’s a lot of coconuts…
If you decided to trade those coconuts at fair market value, they would average between US$4 to US$6 per coconut.
Let's not even mention that about 3–4 coconuts will produce 50 ml of coconut oil which contains lauric acid, a natural form of probiotic that has healing properties.
Let's stay with the coconut example…
What else comes from coconuts? Here’s a list:
Coconut Shells (can be used as dinner bowls)
Coconut Chips (make a tasty and healthy snack)
Coconut Kefir (probiotic alternative to dairy kefir)
I could keep going all day…
For a lot of the more turnkey products, you would need to set up production. But even if you get started, it opens the door.
If there were a community of people doing this, the whole concept would thrive. Here in Costa Rica, farms exist everywhere. All sorts of people own them, from locals to investors. It's a part of the culture.
Some farms produce pure cacao, some of the world’s best coffee, and fruits that taste heavenly. Even getting into one of these opportunities can open you up to trade.
If your friend has too much coffee, you can find a way to trade your excess fruits. These concepts are all backed by simple economics and can happen on both small and large scales.
Wild Permaculture
Introducing different botanicals, herbs, fruits, and vegetables into the forest mix opens up possibilities of growing your own food and medicine.
Nature has the freedom to create a whole pharmacy to serve and heal us.
Whether you want to grow ashwagandha for stress reduction or chamomile to steep into tea for better sleep… The opportunities are endless.
Wild mushrooms contain an entire mycelium network underneath them; they contain intelligence beyond our imagination and are far superior to the internet.
Wild mushrooms are incredibly healing and nutritious. From brain benefits, a potent source of vitamin D, and are super filling for a meal.
Apothecary Lab
What sort of food or herbs you end up growing will make your medicine cabinet a powerful apothecary. The herbs can be extracted into all sorts of deliveries, such as tinctures and syrups.
I was doing some research. There’s so much we can learn from the weed community. I found this machine called The Magic Butter Machine, which is a botanical extractor.
People were using it to create weed butter and then create gummies with them. You can mix the substance with gelatin or my favourite substitute agar-agar (seaweed-derived). Nice.
You can basically use botanical extraction to turn your healthy herbs into oils, tinctures, lotions, and even butter. Not only do these products add value to your home and family, but they also are viable products that create profit.
Another crazy thing I learned from the weed community is creating extracts through a custom espresso machine (such as Breville).
This blows my mind…
So you can take this to another level. Marijuana is a herb like any other, so you can take any herbs you’re growing and create extracts from them.
So imagine having potent extracts that are literally medicines.
Now, of course, you will need to do additional research if you choose to dive into any apothecary work. For example, you’ll want to measure potency levels, how to standardize the extracts, and what herb is great for which symptom.
A precious book called The Herbal Apothecary covers everything from A to Z on how to build your own medicine apothecary. It's packed with incredible information and is super resourceful.
Essential Oils and Flower Essences
One of the biggest surprises had always been how deep farming goes. So, initially, I got to know the benefits of essential oils as a customer.
When I moved to Costa Rica, I was shocked to find some of the same plants growing straight from the ground. I got a massage, and the massage therapist showed me a tree growing “ylang ylang” flowers.
These flowers are used to create the popular ylang ylang essential oil. I took a sniff out of one of those flowers, and it was crazy to experience the same familiar smell out of a plant.
The benefits from essential oils are endless; here are some:
Ylang Ylang: Boosts mood and lowers blood pressure. Helps with depression and anxiety.
Lavender: Helps with insomnia, eczema, and nausea. Great for assisting with menstrual cramps.
I explored this deeper and understood that it wasn’t just essential oils essential for healing. Flower essences are yet to be explored more deeply. Only recently, science has been catching up.
I was fortunate enough to get my hands on a handmade formulation that included angelsword, crowea, fringed violet, grey spider, and dog rose.
Let's take a look at fringed violet. The spiritual community includes this flower essence, as it can help with psychic protection. It can also help rebalance the aura, especially when dealing with stress, shock, or grief.
Here are some of the other flower essences that can assist with spiritual development:
Angelsword: Cuts through confusion and misinformation. It helps with reaching one’s own spiritual truth.
Dog Rose: Can assist timid people. Helps develop self-esteem, courage, and vital force.
Farm For Profit
In the book Farming The Woods, Ken Mudge and Steve Gabriel discuss the process of finding profits from perpetual and seasonal harvesting heavily.
The most well-known example is elderberry, which is a flower that includes small berries ranging from red, blue-black, red, and yellow. It’s becoming a go-to remedy for any flu-like symptoms.
The berries themselves can range between US$3–5 for a bunch. However, when making the extra effort to turn them into a tincture or concentrate, the value of your product increases to over US$12.
If your farmed product is certified organic and Non-GMO, you’re now paying in another league and can charge more. I wanted to present an example of the possibilities here and what could be done.
My wife Ramsha and I grew a wellness company called NutriRise into a very successful one. So we’ve always loved exploring the connection between agriculture and manufacturing.
Feel free to check out how we’re selling our elderberry tincture, which includes organic elderberry extract, including vitamin C.
Although the ingredient comes from natural sources, the final product is marketed and presented to everyday customers.
Environment
We’ve evolved as a human species. However, our time here on this planet has been minimal compared to our planet's entire existence, which really does say our perspective itself is limited compared to ancient wisdom.
A big part of this evolution has always been centred around farming. The ability to grow and harvest food, and now the ability to save the planet. It's true; as a species, we have to develop and cultivate respect for mother earth.
By being gentle with the planet and making decisions that hold a better vibration. Take responsibility and not allow profits to take residence over the planet. It really is as simple as that, and allow this to be the guiding force of your decisions.
From this place, you begin to make decisions from a different place. Embrace eco-living, and allow it to be a part of your philosophy. Find ways to minimize the impact on the environment, and every time consider how you’re contributing rather than destroying.
Balancing The Earth
When you do grow food and medicine progressively, you are truly living abundantly. You’re not just feeding people. You’re also introducing more plants into the earth’s ecosystem. So with all that comes more oxygen, more biodiversity, and more opportunities for birds and bees to nest.
You’re also reversing climate change.
It takes time. However, with enough encouragement, we can all embrace nature in a way that fully satisfies our deepest needs.
Nothing is being imposed. Just a suggestion that could be a desire embedded within all of us.
All it takes is a little bit of curiosity to ask questions for the greater good.
Join our community of over 10,000 lightworkers and get FREE mind-bending articles, interviews, videos, and many other powerful resources.
