David Corbett, who is highly experienced in permaculture, is looking for people to help start a permaculture farm

Delta Digital News Service

Thursday, April 11, 2024

By Avery Jones | Editor

JONESBORO, Ark. – Permaculture, an agricultural practice focused on sustainable land management and design, has become a growing topic of conversation in recent years. The concept itself has been around since the 1970s, but thanks to rising concerns over climate change, food insecurity, and similar issues, many people are discussing various approaches to such problems.

There are a few farms and communities in Arkansas that are growing using sustainable methods like permaculture, such as the Lucky Star Farm near Rush and the Wilken Creek Farm in Huntsville. However, organizations like these are primarily located in Northwest Arkansas, and there isn’t currently much of a permaculture effort in Northeast Arkansas, where commercial agriculture dominates.

David Corbett, a local resident, is looking to change that. He’s been studying permaculture for 10 years. Corbett grew up in Alicia on a rice farm and has been living in Northeast Arkansas ever since. He has a bachelor’s degree in psychology, a permaculture design certificate, and has worked in healthcare and information technology.

Corbett’s main concern about permaculture and related issues is that it’s less of a “topic of action” than it is a topic of conversation. He sees people talking about it, but not many willing to take action. 

He’s attempted to gather people like him who are interested in permaculture, to start a garden or to teach them, but he’s discovered that most people want him “to do it for them” rather than putting in the work themselves. For instance, he once had a Facebook group with 200 people in it for a community garden, but very few people actually wanted to participate.

As for himself, Corbett has been actively gardening for the past 10 to 15 years. He started out using conventional methods with tilling, pesticides, and fertilizers. By the time the pandemic had started in 2020, however, he had switched completely to more sustainable methods.

He first became interested in permaculture after doing some research on sustainable gardening methods. From there, he started eliminating his use of chemicals and tillage. During the pandemic, Corbett had up to 30 laying hens, 15 beehives, and was growing fruit, vegetables, and berries.

“Between my home garden, a community garden…I did pretty much solo for three years, and another three-acre plot I could use…for free on a handshake deal…while others feared empty shelves and little to eat, I barely noticed,” Corbett stated.

Later, Corbett earned a permaculture design certificate from Oregon State University and received soil food web and essential rainwater harvesting training under professionals, in addition to self-study over the last 10 to 15 years.

Corbett proposes that permaculture could be part of the solution to what people call “food insecurity” or “food deserts.”

“It doesn’t make sense that there can be a hunger problem while there’s also an obesity epidemic at the same time,” he said

According to Corbett, the problem is not a lack of food but a lack of proper nutrition. In most other countries, he says, the definition of “the hunger problem” is lacking enough food to survive. Here, though, while many people may lack access to fresh food and produce, there’s no shortage of processed and prepared food.

“Most people think that permaculture is a gardening method,” Corbett said. “But it’s not. That’s where it started, in raising food. But it’s actually a design system based on ethics and principles…whether you’re doing a garden, a homestead, a business, a family, a church, a community, a city, you can take those principles and ethics to help guide you…in designing whatever that is to keep you going in the direction that’s going to be regenerative and abundant as opposed to consumer and extractive and degrading, which is what our current agriculture is.”

Corbett has an intimate knowledge of the farming industry due to growing up in it. He explained that the focus of commercial agriculture is always on bulk and yield. There’s rarely a discussion of quality. 

When they test the harvest at the mill, they’re testing for anything that’s not rice; they’re not doing any nutritional analysis. There’s not a question of quality because it’s a commodity. Average consumers aren’t looking for quality, but for quantity and consistency.

However, Corbett says that we should eat not just for filler but for nutrition. When he first became interested in permaculture, it just made more sense to him. He feels that what he puts inside his body matters, and if that’s the case, then where it comes from and how it’s grown also matters.

“I’m not going to say it was a religious conversion, but it’s kind of on that level,” Corbett said. “Because a lot of religion and religious conversions really to me seems to boil down to the why. What’s the meaning, what’s the purpose, why does it matter, why should I care?”

According to Corbett, if you don’t know how or where something is produced, it’s the equivalent of unknowingly putting chemicals into your body. Just because the pesticide or fertilizer used can’t be seen or tasted doesn’t mean it’s not there or not having effects.

The original patent of RoundUp, a pesticide, was as an antibacterial. While “bad” bacteria does exist, bacteria is also very important to the human body; without bacteria, we would die. RoundUp also binds to certain nutrients in the soil, such as magnesium, to get rid of them. Such nutrients are essential for plant health.

Preventing “pests” is about a change in perspective, Corbett says. Pesticides are a fairly recent invention, and most of human history has gotten along without them. What people often consider pests or weeds are often “indicators.”

Weeds and pests often indicate a lack or excess of a nutrient that’s needed for the plants. It may take a while, but if the “pests” are left alone, they’ll eventually fix the problem and work themselves out. 

For example, aphids feed on sap, which is high in nitrogen, so that means there’s an excess in nitrogen. If left alone, the aphids will get rid of the excess.

“They’re not the problem, they’re telling you there’s a problem,” Corbett said. “And just killing them doesn’t fix the problem.”

Furthermore, with a lack of habitat, other benefits such as ladybugs that could help control the aphids won’t appear. Planting in meticulous rows and cleaning out the leaves and weeds drives away predators that control the pests. 

When attacked by pests or fungi, plants produce a defense mechanism called phytochemicals, which to us are nutrients and antioxidants. If a plant never has to produce those chemicals, it’s not going to be as nutritious.

With this in mind, Corbett’s overall goal is to eventually have a farm designed using permaculture so that he can help feed the small community of Alicia where he grew up. He says that people who live there have to drive 20 miles or more to the nearest grocery store for fresh food.

“They live in the middle of millions of acres of farmland, but even the farmers can’t eat because none of them garden. They can’t eat unless they come to [bigger towns]…” Corbett stated. “If you’re having to drive twenty miles through farmland, and there’s nothing there to eat, what are you growing? Is it food? I don’t think it is.”

Corbett pointed out that the rice has to be industrially processed. The same goes for some other commercially grown crops, like grains or soybeans. Grains and soybeans could be processed at home, but most people don’t have the resources or time for that.

Right now, he’s got a small property in Jonesboro which he hopes to eventually turn into a market garden with a nursery and classroom to teach others about gardening. He hasn’t been able to fully execute his ideas yet because he has to take care of family.

There’s also 900 acres of riceland around Lawrence County and Jackson County which he’ll eventually inherit. He wants to keep using it as farmland, but not as it currently is. He hopes to eventually use less chemicals and tillage. One of the fields is a mile outside of Alicia, which is the field he wants to use for the town.

In order to better execute his plans, Corbett hopes to start a nonprofit organization. He already has an LLC called Hippocrates’s Garden. With his organization, he wants to gather a group of like-minded people which will help him with his permaculture farm and to educate others about alternative farming.

However, he realizes that he probably won’t be able to execute his ideas in full for many years. In addition to caring for family, he’s also restricted by being unable to find people willing to participate or agree on anything long enough to get something done.

With a nonprofit organization, it’s easier to gain visibility and access to more resources. As an individual, it’s difficult to fund and run a community garden and similar projects, but nonprofits have more influence and benefits like tax write-offs.

“Right now, the first step would just be trying to find some truly dedicated, like-minded people who would be willing to go through the process with me, put their name on the line,” Corbett said.

He’s attempted before to bring attention to other community gardens around the Delta region. He said there’s one in Manila, Trumann, and at least three in Jonesboro. He tried helping in a community garden in Jonesboro, but with certain restrictions, his ideas didn’t fit with their project.

He believes that gardening should be a cycle. Rather than constantly taking from the soil for crops, the nutrients in the soil need to be renewed using other plants such as fungi, food scraps, and waste. 

Furthermore, he wants to be more focused on teaching people to garden rather than simply providing food. Community gardens are no doubt beneficial, but he says it would be more beneficial if there was a bigger focus on teaching people to grow their own. 

“There’s just so many ways of…tightening that cycle…We need to repair what we’ve done,” Corbett said.

He emphasizes that he doesn’t want to “feed the world”; he’s concerned about his immediate family and community. He doesn’t think the solution is to put the control of food supply into fewer hands, but instead empower others to grow their own food in a sustainable way.

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NOTE: Feature photo is of Corbett teaching a Cub Scout troop at a community garden in Marion, Ar.