“You have an ethical responsibility as a citizen
to forthrightly confront creeping tyranny,
no matter where it occurs.”
Dear Friends,
November was quite an experience, with 17 rain-days and 367mm of rainfall measured at the camp. That was over 5 times our previous November average! In the areas where we are reasonably happy with our management we had no run-off. The fire danger has now been reduced considerably and a new season is in full swing as another calendar year draws to a close.
Bob and I were invited to present at a “Fire Forum” in Kununurra Early November: Kachana Pastoral Company contribution to the ‘East Kimberley Community Fire Forum – 03.11.2022
Bulldozers, fires, chainsaws, chemicals etc, are only some of the many ‘tools’ that we humans use to impact landscapes that surround us. And as the seasons flow by, nature responds to our inputs…
Old Australians as well as new Australians, we too are nature. We are part of the process. A part of the problem or a part of the solution!
The season of advent signals a season of hope, so we invite you on a rainy day or quiet evening to explore the hope that, in more densely settled regions, comes with regenerative agriculture:
Regenerative Agriculture: A Solution to our Global Crisis?
It has been thirty years since we put in our photo-monitor sites on Kachana and November is the month when we normally conduct photo-monitoring.
As this month’s photos demonstrate, “climate choices” require “climate action”. – No, we do not need to glue ourselves to the ground, or go back to the dark ages, we merely apply regenerative pastoral practices and delegate to Middle Level Management. Resilient, productive landscapes run on solar energy and nature teaches us how to do that! And when we get it right there is energy to spare.
(We did indeed get more rain this November than back in 1992. So, the comparison is not entirely fair, but we hardly need to apologise for having made the soils increasingly rain-ready over the years.)
We wish you and all your loved ones the blessings that come with the message of Christmas and may you all have a great start to 2023.
Chris
Photos of the Month
News & Views
Out of the mouths of babes
For the record: Twice in this space we quoted Greta Thunberg.
First in our News of November 2019 and then again with our News of September 2020.
In what we took to be the innocent utterings of a child we saw a powerful hidden truth: an increasing unpredictability in weather patterns as collective human management of the planet’s biomes continues to disrupt life enhancing processes, ought to provoke foresighted community responses.
In an unexpected way, the utterances of the child proved to be prophetic in a damaging manner: to extraordinary levels, the open-ended words “climate change” have now been pushed to promote global fearmongering, and children are being weaponised to participate in political messaging.
Oh, we certainly have created a crisis or three, and time in which to act does seem to be running out fast, but rather than promoting fear and panic with graphic doomsday scenarios, we have the choice to do what historically seemed to work time and again. I.e. Understand the challenges, break them down to bite-size pieces and work in with nature to achieve optimal outcomes!
In News & Views of October 2022 we drew attention to “climate choices”.
In the photos above we share the results of such climate-choices.
Climate-choices are not a matter of legislation, regulation or the compiling of wish-lists. Climate-choices require commitment and effective action from the ground up with collaboration and endorsement from the top-down. Science keeps us honest and helps us better understand the processes. Truthful reporting provides the public with the information of how we are all in this together.
When nature does the selecting, in order to be effective, all our actions need to align with how nature functions. We all have much to learn and nature is a fair teacher.
Listen in as Richard Teague expands on the Science Behind Holistic Management
Link of the Month
We thank Annette (owner of the Kachana Eco Bullock ‘Kazakhstan’) for this ‘blast from the past’.
Due to how he managed his herds, Dad (Bob Henggeler Snr, 1931 – 2018) was winning conservation trophies in Rhodesia. Although his animals looked great, they were not making sufficient money to pay for his land-care efforts. (Remember, Allan Savory had not yet put together the missing pieces.)
Dad got ‘Rogogo Safaris’ going, and photographic safaris were added to the enterprise-mix.
Typically, guests would spend a few days on Rogogo (our farm), then they got to experience some national parks and wilderness areas.
Dad had his own style and Rogogo Safaris was an instant hit.
Vehicle problems and finding solutions soon proved to be one of the bonus-features!
Annette’s safari included Kyle National Park, where as an “insider” Dad was able to take his guests out on horse-back. - The horses were not ours, and therefore not all that reliable, nor did the guests have any experience with wild game.
Turn up the sound!
Filmed by Annette 1975; Cut and edited by Rebecca 2020