Your NameDennis Posthumus
Cohort AssignmentCohort A (Europe + MENA)
1. What do you see as your primary work at this stage of your life?

I see my primary professional work being supporting others with land based endeavors that are aligned with regeneration as a process and paradigm. Be it in agriculture or ecological landscape development.

2. What role do you see as yours to play?

My role is connecting the agro-ecological aspirations of clients with place.

3. What goals or aims do you have in regard to the above?

Evolving my capacity to align client aspirations with the potential of place.

4. Where do you feel your next arenas for personal growth are?

Discovering more about my role in (my local) community and society at large

5. And for professional growth?

Fluency with the living systems frameworks, development of story of place, asking the right questions, discovering the potential that exists in projects and the systems they're embedded in.

6. What have you invested in to get you where you are?

I've invested time, energy, and dedication to develop skills and gain experience in ecological landscape design, farming, community living, and the broader field of regenerative development, particularly as it relates to landscape development.

7. What fields of learning and which thinkers have been important in your life?

Natural Farming - Fukuoka, Permaculture Design - Mollison, Agroforestry/Syntropic Farming - Ernst Götsch, Regenerative Development - Carol Sanford/Regenesis Group/Daniel Wahl, Mysticism/Spirituality - Osho/Anthony de Mello/Krishnamurti, Psychology - Robert Anton Wilson/Ken Wilbur, Anthropology - Terrence McKenna, Economics - E.F. Schumacher, Kate Raworth, John Fullerton, Ecology - Lovelock/Whitefield, Architecture - Christopher Alexander

8. Can you frame your philosophy or cosmology of life? What role(s) do humans play in it?

The universe is a physical-spiritual manifestation of evolving consciousness. Organic life is a higher order expression of that evolving consciousness. Everything and everyone has a place and a role in the web of life, including humans. Humans play a central organizing role in ecosystems. The role of humans is that of custodians/stewards of life, as a keystone species in many ecosystems. This is done by connecting/interacting with nature, landscapes, human communities, animal communities, and ourselves. A line by Fukuoka captures this well: "The ultimate goal of farming is not the growing of crops, but the cultivation and perfection of human beings." I don't believe everyone should farm, nor that human beings can be perfected, but I resonate with the gist of it: tending the outer is tending the inner/ the physical is a reflection of the spiritual.

Date CreatedJanuary 23, 2023