Biodynamic Agriculture and Nutrition
A Course by Anthony Mecca
with contributionS from Sarah mecca
Read an excerpt from Lesson 1 →
This course explores the wisdom and practice of Rudolf Steiner’s indications for biodynamic agriculture and nutrition. Each month’s lesson offers practical, experiential, and artistic exercises, alongside inner development exercises and individualized tutoring. Participants can begin any time and work at their own pace. The twelve lessons cultivate our capacities to perceive, experience, and work morally with the dynamic activity of life in soil, plants, animals, the human being, and the cosmic atmosphere in which we are embedded.
Developing a capacity for imagination as brought through Goethe and Steiner is a centering point for the course towards fostering a more harmonious relationship with our farms, gardens, or any endeavor to awaken and strengthen a connection with the Earth.
The depths of biodynamics guides us to consciously raise matter into the realm of the spirit, and to support divine spiritual activity to more fully penetrate matter towards healing the Earth and humanity.
Topics covered include
cosmic and earthly nutrition in the human being and the earth; the evolution of the kingdoms of nature; the nature of substance; the life and soul of the soil; plant morphology; elements and ethers; working with cosmic rhythms; human and animal relationships; medicinal substances, potentization, and the Biodynamic preparations; subnature and moral technology; social issues in relationship to agriculture.
The EduCareDo Foundation Course or similar background in anthroposophy is extremely useful but not a pre-requisite for this course.
LESSON PLAN
Lessons include reading, practical, artistic, and experiential exercises to digest and integrate the content, and ways to bring this work into your daily life. Throughout the course of study the participant is invited to engage with new perspectives on human development, biodynamic agriculture, nutrition, the arts and sciences, evolution, the natural world, and much more.
We will delve into holistic ways of perceiving and finding meaning in our farms, in our gardens, or simply in a moment’s communion with the natural world, in order to deepen and clarify inner experiences through the senses and imagination, and to contribute ethically and morally to the building of our world together.
Cost to enroll
Standard Enrollment: $450 AUD (~$320 USD)
This course includes
12 pdf lessons sent monthly via email throughout the year
Freedom to work at your own pace, no deadlines for completion.
The opportunity to receive individual feedback on course submissions from course tutors.
Option to join with other participants around the world in online study groups. A new study ground round has just commenced in January 2024.
Option to drop into practice sessions each month that focus on an exercise in a lesson. Commence mid January 2024.
Free access to the recording of the webinar held in 2021 - Experiencing Plant Development
Discounts on future course related offerings.
Anthony Mecca has been farming for almost 20 years, being introduced to biodynamics early on and working with many experienced farmers and mentors. He has worked in market gardening, small grains, and perennial crops including berries and tree fruit. For 8 years, he managed his own diversified CSA farm, also caring for a variety of animals, including the use of draft horses as the main source of power, caring individually for a 15 cow herd.
The farm and garden as a center of community life has been pivotal in his work. Bringing people into relationship with the wonder, beauty, and nourishment a biodynamic farm can provide, and seeing them grow and develop through this relationship individually and in community over the years has inspired his work.
He is currently the director of Farmer Training for the Biodynamic Association in the USA, which offers (2) year-long programs which integrate the EduCareDo Foundation Course and the Biodynamic Agriculture and Nutrition subject course with direct practical work with a mentor, skills development, journaling, observational exercises, an independent project, additional readings, and weekly cohort conversations via video conference.
Sarah Mecca is a complementary health practitioner based in upstate New York. She works with adults, children from birth through adolescence, family groups, and teachers, in their role supporting the children in their care.
Primary course image at top of page courtesy of Sara Parrilli
