What is biodynamics?

Nurturing the earth to feed people better

Biodynamic agriculture has much in common with organic farming. The main difference is the use of herbal teas and decoctions in the form of preparations. Plants such as horsetail, nettle and wicker, for example, provide protection against mildew and allow very limited use of copper, a fungicide that alters the soil's microflora.

Biodynamists take into account the influence of the great natural rhythms of the year, the lunar month and the day in the production and optimal use of these preparations. According to Rudolph Steiner's vision, when used at the right time, these preparations amplify the positive interactions of the earth and the cosmos on plants. To strengthen the aerial part of plants, for example, horn silica is sprayed very early in the morning, as close as possible to sunrise, and during periods of rising moon.

A farming philosophy close to our partner-producers

Our teas with the Demeter France label all come from India and Sri Lanka (to which we can add a few herbal teas whose plants are of European origin).

In these countries, influenced by Hinduism and Buddhism, organic and biodynamic farming first emerged in the 80s as economic solutions, and later became a matter of course for some. Biodynamic principles are universal, and some of them intersect with religious values, astrological practices, traditional medicine and Ayurveda, all of which play an important role in the culture of these two countries.

A program of biodynamic preparations, sowing, planting, pruning, fertilization and compost preparation can all be carried out in India.

For crop protection, local plant purins are used. The endemic European plants needed for certain preparations, such as chamomile, are either cultivated or replaced by equivalent local plants.

At present, the Selimbong and Putharjhora gardens in India and SOFA and MOPA in Sri Lanka are Demeter-certified. The Seeyok, Singell and Samabeong gardens in Darjeeling also use biodynamic practices, but are not certified. For almost ten years now, these gardens have been diversifying their crops (it's common for our partner-producers to grow tea as well as fruit and spices), emphasizing traditional farming methods, safeguarding certain species and respecting the ecological balance (in Darjeeling, the erosion caused by intensive deforestation practices in the past has been significantly reduced).

Thanks to its ability to rapidly regenerate soils degraded by years of intensive farming practices, biodynamics comes to the rescue of small-scale producers who have often been the victims of a green revolution which, by damaging many cultivated areas, has failed to live up to its promises.

But even more importantly, biodynamic farming preserves the health of our partner-producers, and guarantees them a quality of life that motivates them and shows on their faces every time we meet. This healthy, natural way of working the land and caring for the tea bushes is a real source of exchange and emulation.

Since its inception, this form of agriculture has been based on the sharing of knowledge, far removed from any notion of patents or other intellectual privatization. It is a vector for bonding and sharing that transcends borders and refocuses on our humanity.