EP05: Outdoor Athlete, Farmer & Poet - A Journey to Finding Personal Wholeness in the Land

“I see us all as seeds, as little bundles of potential that can grow into something pretty unimaginable,” says Seed Levine, a young farmer and poet, who joins the Avid Adventurer podcast from the Hamakua Coast of Hawaii, off grid, where they are farming food on a quarter acre of their family’s land. Seed is on a mission to feed the community, and give back to the earth all it has given to them. 

 

In their youth, Seed developed what ostensibly looked like a passion for the outdoors but this passion was really a need to escape their inner life. Their true sanctuary was found in the garden, amidst their “farm-ily”, growing root vegetables and becoming an authority on seed saving. There they found their true self, and chose to dedicate their life to producing seeds and celebrating all that seeds grow and become. 

 

They discuss their current goal, to become a mass producer of carrots, radish and beets, which are, traditionally, difficult to grow in the tropics. This is part of an even greater long term plan to help Hawaii, which currently imports more than 90 percent of its goods and an even greater percent of its produce, grow more of its own vegetables. Hear their inspiring vision for creating large scale production that won’t disturb the land or the people. 

 

Quotes

• “Food and seeds and the act of growing has been a passion of mine since the 6th grade if not before, and it’s been the one activity that has been consistent throughout my life in that it’s been the one thing that when I’m engaged in, I feel like myself. There’s no other way that I can accurately define who I am truthfully than that of the seed.” (3:46 | Seed)
• “When I was in the garden, everything was moving in slow motion, and I wanted to be there as long as possible and I wanted to feel myself. So rather than run away from myself, I wanted to be there present with myself with my thoughts in the garden. I felt held, I felt supported, I felt understood.”  (17:41 | Seed) 
• “The plants, the animals, the seeds working together in synergy to create an environment that was this cradle that I needed in order to come back down to earth.” (18:36 | Seed) 
• “This was this nurturing experience that I felt I needed to come down to earth and to stay on this earth, and I attribute the garden–my ‘farm-ily,’ I call it, to my continued existence here. And also my family, of course.” (19:28 | Seed)
• “I don’t see myself as this controller or manager of Mother Nature, but I see myself as a part of it and as a servant to the earth.” (23:37 | Seed)
• “I’m here to speak for the seed. That’s who I am. So, at that moment I decided to choose life and realized if I’m going to be alive, I don’t want to live a lie, because my past had been a lie previous to that moment.” (30:12 | Seed)
• “I was pretty opposed to many man made objects in my younger years, and have now become aware of the fact that it’s really how these incredible creations are used that reflect their merit, and not what they are and how they’ve come about.” (45:54 | Seed)
• “There are pros and cons to all practices, and acknowledging the agroecology surrounding us all and the core mission of feeding, nourishing and nurturing both the people and the planet. As long as I hold that true to my heart, I’m not going to be swayed by certain alternative motives. The main goal is to produce as much food as possible, but not at the peril of myself, the people or the land.”  (50:31 | Seed)

Links

Connect with Seed Levine:

To connect with Seed, you can email them at [e-mail]

 

Avid4 Adventure website: www.avid4.com

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