[Ruminations - Vol. 22] Boots on the ground

The days are getting shorter in the northern hemisphere and we’ve entered the Fall harvest – a time for enjoying the fruits of a hard year’s labor. Our leading news story this month is the Fall harvest equivalent for our Land to Market team - the culmination of many years’ boots-on-the-ground efforts to reinvent supply chains and bring forth products from verified regenerating land.

To that end, it’s fitting that the result is, quite literally, a pair of boots on the ground. Verified regenerative, of course.

ONE TOPIC EACH MONTH, IN DETAIL
Visualizing the HM Framework

What’s the difference between Holistic Management and Holistic Planned Grazing? If you’ve gone through one of our online courses or taken a course at your local Savory Hub, the difference is obvious. But for those a bit more removed from our work, the differences may not always be so clear.

To put it simply, Holistic Management (HM) is a framework for making decisions, and Holistic Planned Grazing (HPG) is a component of that framework and, more specifically, a planning procedure for grazing.

If you take a look at the (NEW!) diagram below, the differences might become a bit more clear:

As you can see, HPG isn’t the only planning procedure that we teach for managing ecosystem processes––there’s also Holistic Land Planning, Holistic Financial Planning, and Ecological Monitoring.

But remember, these are just planning procedures. Whether you’re making decisions about finances or land or grazing, these are all components of an infinitely complex and living system. With living systems (i.e. nature, economies, societies, etc.), everything is connected to everything else, and decisions made with blinders on often lead to unintended consequences.

That’s where the Holistic Context comes in. Consider it your north star for decision-making––a pre-determined path that considers the environmental, economic, and social needs of whatever is being managed and guides all future decisions. Then, to stay aligned with that north star, there are a set of context checks you can ask yourself whenever making an important decision.

Just like the planning procedures are used to manage for optimal ecosystem processes, the context checks are used to manage (i.e. make decisions) in line with your Holistic Context.

Make sense? We know, it’s a bit complex, but that’s the beauty of living systems! As human beings, managing complexity can be quite difficult, but that’s what Holistic Management aims to fix.

If you ever want to learn more, check out the online courses or get in touch with your local Savory Hub. We’re here to help!

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA / NOV. 13 - 15th

Holistic Planned Grazing Course
This is a 3-day course taught by Savory Field Professional Spencer Smith. The course covers the foundations of Holistic Management, holistic decision-making, and is a comprehensive study of the methods, tools, and techniques of Holistic Planned Grazing.
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CENTRAL CALIFORNIA / DEC. 7 - 16th
Holistic Management Intensive
This is a Savory Accredited Course that meets the training requirements for becoming a Savory Institute Accredited Professional. This 10-day immersive experience is designed for someone who wants to learn the whole of Holistic Management in one session.
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ONLINE / SELF-PACED
Foundations of Regenerative Organizations
In this course, our friends at nRhythm will take you on a journey to design and manage your organization as a Regenerative Organization where thriving members, resilience, and value and wealth creation are recurring outcomes of its underlying health. < 20% off with code SAVORY >
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