Elizabeth Barkla on Restoring Landscapes through Regenerative Farming in Chilean South

Elizabeth Barkla grew up on an organic dairy farm in New Zealand. While watching the cows on her childhood farm, she always had a feeling that there was something that was not right in the way that agriculture affected the natural environment. Yet, it was only when visiting a regenerative farm following holistic management principles on the island of Tierra del Fuego in Chile, when she understood what she calls ‘guilt free farming’ actually looks like in practice. Today, Elizabeth lives on her own farm in Aysén, where she together with her veterinary husband and herds of sheep, cows, horses and hens help regenerate the landscape. Through this work, Elizabeth has witnessed hands on the changes that happen in the soil, the plants, and the animals when nature is given a chance to regenerate on its own terms. In this conversation, we talk about how switching to regenerative practices means that the farmer can quite using chemicals, tractors, ploughs and seeding on the land, while increasing the profitability of the farm. Editing: Magdalena Lindroos

Om Podcasten

Worlds in Transition, or 'Världar i Omställning' as the podcast series is called in Swedish, focuses on the transitions to sustainable lifeforms that goes on in different places around the world today, where people make change happen through active engagement in their own communities. In this first series I focus on introducing the concept of 'Transition' in the Swedish speaking parts of Finland, while also making visible the people leading this grassroots revolution in this part of the world. Future pods will bring more examples from around the globe.