Personal stories and production narratives of smallholders, individual farmers, and family farms.
“The American system prides itself on being a highly successful culture because we keep more people locked up than we have farmers. To feel smug about such a statistic is utterly contemptible.” Five years on, I still vividly recall the shock I felt when I first read Joel Salatin’s *Everything…
It is autumn harvest season once again, and whether crop stalks should be burnt has once more become a widely debated social issue. In October, open and uncontrolled burning of crop residue showed a rising trend across several areas in Hunan province, worsening air pollution in some districts. As a…
As global warming intensifies, fall armyworm infestations have emerged as a new threat to global agricultural production. During our fieldwork in the summer of 2019 in Jixian County (a pseudonym) on the North China Plain, the arrival of the fall armyworm put the entire county on ‘wartime’ footing. The fall…
Open Xiaohongshu and search for rainforest hiking, and you’ll find plenty of creators using phrases like “pristine wilderness”, “enveloped by nature”, “disconnected from it all”, and “connecting with primal life force” to describe the emotional resonance the rainforest provides. In September 2024, friends and I also ventured into a tropical…
Not long after settling in Kunming, I added one eatery to my list of spots I simply have to share with friends: Tusheng Eatery. This year marks its fourteenth anniversary, and it has cultivated a dedicated following in the city. Nestled in a creative quarter on a steep hillside, the…
I. A Village Party Secretary, Out of Nowhere “Ecological farming?” Fan Hanquan, who had been facing away from us, suddenly turned around. “I’d like to give it a try.” I was taken slightly aback. It was 23 February 2022. I remember the date so clearly because, since I first arrived…
Editor’s Note I was introduced to Jiang Ziqi at a book fair in Hangzhou in 2023, when she invited the Farmer Seed Network to share our work on seed saving. Back then, I learned that she and a few companions in Hangzhou were cultivating their own small vegetable plots and…
Editor’s Note I met Jiang Ziqi at a book fair in Hangzhou in 2023. She invited Peasant Seed Network to give a talk on seed saving at the event. At that time, I learned that she and a few friends in Hangzhou were tending their own small vegetable plots and…
In late September, as the rainy season in Xishuangbanna draws to a close, Qin Xianrong—a youth from the post-90s generation who has returned to his roots—drove us north from Mengyang Town in Jinghong City to visit his ecological planting base in Dadugang Township. To reach Dadugang, one must pass through…
Last week, the Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai region endured back-to-back strikes from two typhoons registering Category 10 or above, all within four days—a historic rarity. Around 7:30 am on 16 September 2024, Typhoon Koppu made landfall near Lingang New City on the Pudong coast, Shanghai. At landfall, it packed Category 14 winds near…
