{"id":71877,"date":"2026-04-16T14:23:21","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T12:23:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/?p=71877"},"modified":"2026-04-16T14:23:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T12:23:25","slug":"a-place-of-renewal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/en\/a-place-of-renewal\/","title":{"rendered":"A Place of Renewal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Fields grow better with healthy soil; so does the social sphere. Johannes Steegmans, a university student in his early 20s, shares his impressions of the conference.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I\u2019ve lived in the city my whole life and don\u2019t have much experience with agriculture. That\u2019s exactly why I wanted to get to know agriculture better\u2014as well as the people involved who are driving forward urgent renewal. I came to the conference without knowing anyone but full of hope. Agriculture and the state of the Earth are universal themes. This was evident in the participants, who came from all over the world and represented all age groups. Farmers are people with strong wills. I noticed that immediately in the lively atmosphere. People need action and thought, but also art\u2014and all three came into their own. It was wonderful to see that so many people took the time to come. That\u2019s not something to be taken for granted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Friends from My Own Country<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s ironic how sometimes you have to travel to another country to get to know people from your own. Every year, the agricultural training program in Belgium organizes a trip to the conference for its students. I wasn\u2019t part of this group, but they gave me a warm welcome. One of the most beautiful moments took place after the conference had ended. All the participants from Belgium got together, along with some from the Netherlands, to cook a meal and spend a cozy evening together. Towards the end of the night, we looked back on the four days together. Each person shared an experience that deeply moved them. The movement exercises with Stefan Hasler were often mentioned\u2014moving together in the Great Hall was one of the most unifying moments of the conference. For me, the many people I had the chance to meet were especially important, particularly the fact that I found a group of friends near me where I truly feel at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You Never Farm Alone<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

At first, I found the phrase \u201cYou never farm alone\u201d rather simplistic and not so profound. Over the course of the conference, however, as it was further explored through lectures, workshops, and conversations, it became clear that it\u2019s not just about collaboration but also about fostering a community and deepening relationships. The community that formed over the short span of days was perhaps the best example of this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few weeks after the conference, as I write this, it feels good to know that I have friends\u2014near and far\u2014who, like me, want to change the world for the better. That gives me strength and motivation to continue with my own work. Maybe one day I\u2019ll start a community myself. That\u2019s certainly a dream of mine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Will of the Other Is Sacred<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In his talk, Ueli Hurter spoke about collaboration based on free will and that the will of the other is sacred. That really resonated with me. It\u2019s easy to speak openly about ideas and discuss them at a conference, because everyone is interested and there isn\u2019t much at stake. But can we do the same with the people at home? With people we can\u2019t avoid, those with whom life has brought us together, and about whom we\u2019ve often formed very different prejudices. How can I accommodate the other person\u2019s ideas without denying my own?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes you just don\u2019t know how to move forward\u2014and perhaps it\u2019s best to start by accepting that very fact. If you go into a meeting with this attitude and honestly try to search for a solution together, a miracle can sometimes happen. A healing conversation means, above all, listening to one another. Then the answer can suddenly become quite obvious. If you do have criticism of someone else\u2019s opinion, it\u2019s more constructive to express this in relation to the opinion itself, rather than the person. That way, no one feels personally attacked, and the possibility for conversation remains open.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An Impulse That Continues to Resonate<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve returned to my university studies. But now, I have a new impulse that continues to resonate within me. Without giving up, I seek a connection with my fellow human beings. This effort is bearing fruit, for at the moment various small projects are emerging\u2014often with people from whom I would never have expected it. I\u2019m starting a small reading group and have joined the university choir. The Agriculture Conference meant a great deal to me. I feel strengthened in my resolve\u2014through what I\u2019ve learned and through the friends I\u2019ve made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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More<\/strong> Goetheanum Section for Agriculture, You Never Farm Alone<\/a>. Talks from the conference are available for viewing on: <\/em>GoetheanumTV<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Translation <\/strong>Joshua Kelberman
Photo<\/strong> Xue Li<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fields grow better with healthy soil; so does the social sphere. Johannes Steegmans, a university student in his early 20s, shares his impressions of the conference. I\u2019ve lived in the city my whole life and don\u2019t have much experience with agriculture. That\u2019s exactly why I wanted to get to know agriculture better\u2014as well as the people involved who are driving forward urgent renewal. I came to the conference without knowing anyone but full of hope. Agriculture and the state of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22514,"featured_media":71268,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11784],"tags":[11777,11785,8814],"class_list":["post-71877","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-you-never-farm-alone-en","tag-ausgabe-12-2026-en","tag-english-issue-17-2026","tag-musings"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71877","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22514"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71877"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71877\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":71899,"href":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71877\/revisions\/71899"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/71268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71877"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71877"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71877"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}