The Probiotic Life Ben Klenner

This episode is with returning guest Chris Trump. He’s a student of Nature, and regarded as one of the leading experts in Korean Natural Farming and it’s adaptations around the world.

In this interview Chris shares a bit of his story of how he got involved in natural farming and why he started teaching it. I ask him about the qualities he sees in successful natural farmers, and we dive into philosophy.
We also get into a more detailed discussion about Indigenous Microorganisms aka IMO. I refer to his videos, which you can find on Youtube.
I highly recommend you look at his videos if you are even remotely interested in probiotic growing, it really helped me to look outside the box, and connect in with Nature.

We also talk about the difference between Effective Microorganisms aka EM and IMO and a bit about what you see under the microscope. Chris turns it around and asks me about my journey of natural farming.

You can find info on Chris and what he’s up to at naturalfarming.co and also on Instagram

If you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend!

May the beneficial microbes be with you.

Cheers!

In this episode I’m flying solo… talking about my thoughts on living a probiotic life. It’s a question I ask myself regularly, and I challenge you to have a question that you ask yourself. It’s a form of meditation; asking yourself a question over a period of time. 

Join me as I share a little more of my journey from the last year or so, and where asking this question has taken me. I delve into science, its applications and its limitations, and compare it to traditional eastern thinking, specifically Traditional Chinese Medicine. I go into the wisdom of nature, an ancient knowledge that expresses itself in the patterns all around us. Observing these patterns and rhythms with a curious mind and heart can lead to the understanding that we are all connected. 

I then share some of the books that have influenced me in the last year or so.

These include:

Braiding Sweetgrass 

Robin Wall-Kimmerer


Walden

Henry David Thoreau


One Straw Revolution

Masanobu Fukuoka


The Girl Who Sang To The Buffalo

Kent Nerburn


Little House On The Prairie series

Laura Ingles Wilder


One I forgot to mention is:

The Secret Teachings of Plants

Stephen Harrod Buhner


In summary, I believe we are supposed to be connected through our senses; to plants, to animals, to microbes, to each other.

To have the humility to admit we only know a fragment of what life is, and the willingness to trust Nature, and to trust what I call God; the Creator.

I hope this, like other episodes, inspires you to dig deeper, to ask your own exploratory question.

Thanks for being on the journey, and I’d love to hear from you!

May the beneficial microbes be with you.

Until next time,

Cheers

In this episode we have a chat to Holly Howe of makesauerkraut.com

She shares her story of how she fell in love with this fantastic fermented food, and how she came to write the book Fermentation Made Easy! Mouthwatering Sauerkraut.

We talk about various aspects of sauerkraut, from probiotic benefits of this amazing food, to delicious flavours that make your ferment stand out. Holly takes us though the basics of her step by step guide, and gives us some helpful tips. I’m sure you’ll be inspired to go and ferment after you listen to this episode!
Be sure to check out her website.


But wait, that’s not all!
I’m excited to share with you a groovy song and make this episode a celebration of fermentation… Thanks to Charlie Mgee of Formidable Vegetable for sharing this song about KIMCHI!

I’ve been jamming to this band for the last couple of years, and my kids love the music. They ask me to play some songs over and over, including this cheeky one about a dunny.

Charlie’s songs have been therapy for my soul; they are fun and meaningful. Check out his TED Talk about music with purpose, and how it is an important medium to transfer knowledge and cultural wisdom.

Support him, download the songs, and spread the love!

I hope you’re inspired by this episode, and I’d love to hear from you about what you’re fermenting or how you are living a probiotic life. If you like this content, give us a rating and review!

May the beneficial microbes be with you.

Until next time,

Cheers!

Join us in this episode we hear from Gil Carandang who is considered to be a father of modern day natural farming in the Philippines and around the globe. His knowledge and wit shine as he shares insights into what it means to farm closer to nature, and listen to Her wisdom.

He is an organic farmer, Fulbright Scholar and educator. Gil’s work developing and teaching about beneficial indigenous microorganisms has been revolutionary for natural farmers worldwide; he is known for his engaging teaching style and empowers farmers to think outside the box.

He currently runs Herbana Farms and is an Organic Certification Center of the Philippines (OCCP) inspector. 

Gil has done extensive studies including:

-Bio-intensive Mini-Farming under John Jeavons in California. 

-Natural Farming Systems for Crops and Livestocks under Dr. Han Kyu Cho.

-Apprenticed with Natural Farmers of Japan.

-A graduate of Ecological Horticulture at University of California, Santa Cruz. 

-Biodynamics preparations at the Biodynamics Association of Northern California.

-Permaculture Design Course at the Center for Natural Design, Los Osos, California.

His book we talk about:

Grow Your Own Beneficial Indigenous Microorganisms and Bionutrients In Natural Organic Farming

Gil A. Carandang

Here’s a PDF of his book that he doesn’t mind sharing.



Some archived info from his old website. 



Connect with Gil on Facebook



And his new project Napayong Island Ecovillage which is under threat from the Taal Volcano.



Thanks for listening, and may the beneficial microbes be with you!

In this episode we talk to a fascinating guest from Germany, Dr. Anne Katharina Zschocke.

She is a doctor of medicine who studied in Freiburg and London. She worked for the German Red Cross and in immunology and oncology as well as working in various horticultural projects in Upper Bavaria, Franconia and the Rhineland. She did further studies in naturopathy, and has a unique, holistic view of life. In this episode she shares how she made the transition from MD to horticulture with a focus on microbiology, and EM aka Effective Microorganisms. 

Anne Katharina has written 5 books: 3 on various aspects of EM, one on intestinal bacteria as the key to health, and one on natural healing with bacteria with her novel approach to microbiome therapy. She lectures internationally on topics for paradigm shifts including: microbiology, nutrition, water, trees and spiritual cultural history.

She has described her transition to practical horticulture as "unusual but recommendable". Her heart motive is the harmonisation of humans and nature for deep healing.

In this thoughtful episode I was challenged to think about how we anthropomorphise the world around us; how we see things such as bacteria as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ and place a moral judgement on them, when really that is only a human view.

We also discuss EM aka Effective Microorganisms, which I really want to explore more. You can hear more about EM in episode 41 with Cuauhtemoc Villa.

I hope this episode challenges you to think about the way you see the world, and encourages you to live a bacteria friendly life; they are our partners, not enemies.

Find out more about Anne Katharina at:

www.bacteriotherapy.eu

And more info at: 

www.dr-zschocke.de

A talk from Dr. Zschocke on YouTube in German (you can turn on auto generated subtitles by turning on CC then go to Settings>Subtitles>Auto-Translate)

If you can read German, you can get her books here. Some of them are also translated into Italian, Spanish, French, and Polish.

Thanks for listening to The Probiotic Life! Who’s one person that you would want to share this episode with?

May the beneficial microbes be with you.

Ben Klenner

This episode is close to my heart, it really exemplifies the journey I’ve been on in the last year.

Join us today as I talk to Larry Korn who was one of Masanobu Fukuoka’s students 40 years ago, and is now an author, teacher, and natural farmer. Larry shares his story of how he came to be a student of Fukuoka, and his adventure since. 

We talk about philosophy and the wisdom of nature as well as compare Fukuoka’s Natural Farming to methods of organic agriculture such as Korean Natural Farming and Permaculture.

We also discuss how Natural Farming is in line with the philosophies of indigenous peoples and how some of the main elements are humility and gratefulness. This resonates with me deeply, and I hope it stirs something in you.

Thanks again to everyone who is supporting the podcast in some way. If the message in this podcast has benefited you in any way, share your experience with us and your friends!

May the beneficial microbes be with you…