“Natural Farming is not simply a way of growing crops; it is the cultivation and perfection of human beings” ~ Masanobu Fukuoka

Masanobu Fukuoka (2 February 1913 – 16 August 2008) was a Japanese farmer and philosopher celebrated for his natural farming and re-vegetation of desertified lands. He was a proponent of no-till, no-herbicide grain cultivation farming methods traditional to many indigenous cultures,from which he created a particular method of farming, commonly referred to as “Natural Farming” or “Do-Nothing Farming”.

Fukuoka called his agricultural philosophy shizen nōhō (自然農法), most commonly translated into English as “natural farming”.It is also referred to as “the Fukuoka Method”, “the natural way of farming” or “Do-Nothing Farming”, despite being labor intensive.

The system is based on the recognition of the complexity of living organisms that shape an ecosystem and deliberately exploiting it. Fukuoka saw farming not just as a means of producing food but as an aesthetic and spiritual approach to life,the ultimate goal of which was “the cultivation and perfection of human beings”.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z22sifrRrPc

In 1975 he wrote The One-Straw Revolution, a best-selling book that described his life’s journey, his philosophy, and farming techniques.  This book has been translated into more than 25 languages and has helped make Mr. Fukuoka a leader in the worldwide sustainable agriculture movement.  He continued farming until shortly before his death in 2008, at the age of 95.