2019/12/25

Mokichi Okada - Wikipedia Nature Farming

Mokichi Okada - Wikipedia

Mokichi Okada
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Mokichi Okada

Mokichi Okada (岡田茂吉 Okada Mokichi, 23 December 1882 – 10 February 1955) was the founder of the Church of World Messianity, in which he is known by the honorific title Meishū-sama (明主様, lit. "Lord of Light")[1]. He is also the founder of Johrei, a healing ritual that claims to use "divine light" to dissolve the spiritual impurities that are the source of all physical, emotional, and personal problems.

Contents
1Biography
2Nature Farming
3See also
4References
5External links

Biography[edit]

According to his official biography,[2] Okada was born to a poor family in Tokyo and, after many trials and tribulations, eventually made his fortune in the jewellery business.

Initially a follower of Shinto offshoot Oomoto,[3] Okada claimed to have received a special revelation from God in 1926, leading him to found a new religion in 1935 to spread the teachings. Okada soon expanded to open a rehabilitation center centering on the healing powers of light, but it was shut down in 1936 as a violation of the Medical Practitioners' Law (医師法違反).[4]

The Sangetsu (山月) school of ikebana, inspired by Mokichi Okada, was founded in June 1972.[5] The Mokichi Okada Association (MOA) was established in 1980 to continue his work "toward the creation of a new civilization to be undertaken without confining Okada's principles and their implementation within a religious framework" (MOA[6] acquired the status of a legal entity as a limited liability intermediary corporation in 2005, then transferred to one of general corporation in 2009, officially called MOA International Corporation). Much of Okada's extensive art collection is now housed in the MOA Museum of Art in Atami, Japan.

Nature Farming[edit]
Main article: Nature Farming

In 1936, Okada established an agricultural system originally called "no fertilizer farming" or "Nature Farming".[7][8] Offshoots such as the Sekai Kyusei Kyo, promoting "Kyusei nature farming", and the Mokichi Okada Association formed after his death to continue promoting the work in Japan and South-East Asia.[9]

According to the International Nature Farming Research Center in Nagano, Japan, it is based on the theories that:

Fertilizers pollute the soil and weaken its power of production.

Pests would break out from the excessive use of fertilizers

The difference in disease incidence between resistant and susceptible plants is attributed to nutritional conditions inside the body.

Vegetables and fruits produced by nature farming taste better than those by chemical farming.[10]

Nature Farming

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigation Jump to search

"Nature Farming" was established in 1936 by Mokichi Okada, the founder of the Church of World Messianity, an agricultural system originally called "no fertilizer farming" or 自然農法 (shizen nōhō) in Japanese.^[1]

Offshoots such as the Sekai Kyusei Kyo, promoting ‘Kyusei nature farming’, and the Mokichi Okada Association formed after his death to continue promoting the work in Japan and South-East Asia.^[2]

ZZ2, a farming conglomerate in South Africa has translated the term to Afrikaans, "Natuurboerdery".^[3]

According to the International Nature Farming Research Center in Nagano, Japan,^[4] it is based on the theories that:

Fertilizers pollute the soil and weaken its power of production.
Pests would break out from the excessive use of fertilizers
The difference in disease incidence between resistant and susceptible plants is attributed to nutritional conditions inside the body.
Vegetables and fruits produced by nature farming taste better than those by chemical farming.

The term is sometimes used for an alternative farming philosophy of Masanobu Fukuoka.

Natural Farming[edit]

Another Japanese farmer and philosopher, Masanobu Fukuoka, conceived of an alternative farming system in the 1930s separately from Okada and used the same Japanese characters to describe it.^[5] This is generally translated in English as "Natural Farming" although agriculture researcher Hu-lian Xu claims that "nature farming" is the correct literal translation of the Japanese term.^[5]

Bibliography[edit]

自然農法解說 / Shizen nōhō kaisetsu by Mokichi Okada. Publisher: 榮光社出版部 Eikōsha Shuppanbu, Tōkyō 1951.

References[edit]

^ Sustainable Agriculture: Definition and Terms. Special Reference Briefs Series no. SRB 99-02, September 1999. Compiled by: Mary V. Gold, Alternative Farming Systems Information Center, U.S. Department of Agriculture
^ Setboonsarng, S. and Gilman, J. 1999. Alternative Agriculture in Thailand and Japan. HORIZON Communications, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.
^ Silent, Taurayi, (March 2011). An investigation of natuurboerdery (natural farming) approach : a ZZ2 case study (Thesis). Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch.
^ Scientific Proof of Mokichi Okada's Nature Farming Theories by Xu, Hui-lian. Agricultural Experiment Station, International Nature Farming Research Center, Nagano
^ Jump up to:^a ^b Xu, Hui-Lian (2001). NATURE FARMING In Japan (Monograph). T. C. 37/661(2), Fort Post Office, Trivandrum - 695023, Kerala, India.: Research Signpost. ISBN 81-308-0111-6. Retrieved 6 March 2011.

External links[edit]

Official website

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녹색평론 - 위키백과, 나무위키

녹색평론 - 위키백과, 우리 모두의 백과사전
녹색평론
위키백과, 우리 모두의 백과사전.

둘러보기로 가기 검색하러 가기

녹색평론
국가

대한민국
언어 한국어
간행주기 격월간
종류 시사격월간지
창간일 1991-10-29
가격 10,000원
발행법인 녹색평론사

《녹색평론》은 1991년 10월 창간된 격월간 잡지이다.

녹색평론의 창간 목적은 사람과 사람, 사람과 자연 사이의 분열을 치유하고 공생적 문화가 유지될 수 있는 사회의 재건에 이바지하는 것이다. 생태의 관점에서 지속가능한 미래의 대안을 모색한다.

2010년 5월 현재 통권 제112호(2010년 5~6월호)가 발간되었으며, 서울, 대구, 대전, 부산 등 전국 각지에 독자모임이 활동하고 있다. 잡지에는 출판사 광고 이외에는 일반 광고가 없다.

발행 겸 편집인 : 김종철

편집자문위원 : 강수돌 강양구 박경미 박병상 박승옥 박용남 박혜영 송기호 윤병선 이계삼 이문재 장성익 천규석 최성각 하승수 황대권
외부 링크[편집]
《녹색평론》공식 누리집
녹색평론_한국잡지박물관
녹색평론 전국 독자모임

녹색평론

최근 수정 시각: 2019-06-23 19:50:39
https://namu.wiki/w/%EB%85%B9%EC%83%89%ED%8F%89%EB%A1%A0

분류
언론
1. 개요2. 관심사3. 비판

1. 개요[편집]
김종철을 발행인 및 편집인으로 하여 생태주의자들이 발간하는 격월간시사지. 국내외 생태주의자들의 기고를 모으는 형태이며 창간부터 지금까지 항상 하얀색 종이 표지를 일관되게 유지해 왔다. 좌우노선을 막론하고 가장 급진주의적이고 전위적 그룹. 이들은 문명자체를 넘는 사고를 하고있으니까. 종말론적 주장이기도 하지만 피할 수 없다.

2012년 11월의 127호까지, 생태주의자들의 전폭적인 지지, 구독, 후원을 바탕으로 꾸준히 발행되고 있다. 녹색당이 처음 생길 때에 발행인 김종철이 주도적 역할을 한 것은 물론이요, 많은 독자들이 자발적으로 가입하였다.

2. 관심사[편집]

"격월간 녹색평론은 사람과 사람, 사람과 자연 사이의 분열을 치유하고, 공생적 문화가 유지될 수 있는 사회의 재건에 이바지하려는 의도로 발간되는 집지입니다. 우리는 모든 생명체들과 이 지구를 공유하고 있는 형제자매들입니다. 이러한 진리를 받아들이고, 그에 부합하는 비폭력적 삶의 방식을 모색하는 일은 사회적 분열과 생태계의 파손이 극에 달한 오늘날 무엇보다 절박한 과제가 되었습니다."

주된 내용은 석유로 지탱되는 물질문명의 종말 후 찾아올 "소농사회", 즉 근대화 이전 전원일기에 나오는 것 같은 고만고만한 농부들이 모여 부족하지만 서로 정을 나누고 살았다는(?!!) 시대에 대응하고자 하는 것이다. 석유는 수량이 제한된 자원이기 때문에 21세기 문명국가가 누리는 그 문명이라는 것의 폭망은 그 시기가 언제 도래하건 언젠가 반드시 올 것으로 본다. 포스트 석유시대의 모델은 극단적 독재국가(북한), 대외침략적 제국주의(일본제국주의), 무정부 상태, 소농사회(쿠바). 요렇게 4가지 외에 있을 수 없다. 석유없는 시대의 토대위에 민주주의적 가치를 실천 한다면 그것은 다같이 가난한 삶을 영위하는 것외에 다른 대안은 없다.

2013년 즈음부터 기본소득제를 적극 옹호하면서 기본소득제야말로 인민들을 필요소득보다 더 적은 임금을 주면서 착취하는 자본주의 체제를 전복시킬 수 있는 기적의 제도라고 주장하고 있다. 기본소득제 자체야 알파고를 통해서 본격적으로 알려지게 된 인공지능의 발달로 수십년 이내에 대부분의 일자리가 소멸될 것이 분명해졌으니 시일이 어찌 되든 도입이 될 가능성이 매우 높은 것이 현실이다.

LETS [1]을 좋아한다. 전세계적 거래가 안 되므로 지역에서 벌어들인 자산을 지역 내에서 쓰니 지역 경제에 좋고, 금융소득을 벌어들이지 못하니 빈부격차를 해소할 수 있다고 본다.

이재명 후보는 기본소득과 지역화폐를 당장 실천하겠노라는 공약을 내걸었지만 2017년 민주당 경선에서 떨어졌다. 그의 사상을 참고한다면 녹색평론의 사상을 이해하는 데 도움이 될 것이다.

3. 비판[편집]

1. 녹색평론에서 좋아하는 "소농사회"는 유토피아이지 현실에는 없었다. 국가의 착취를 제쳐두더라도 농촌사회가 드라마에서 보는 것 같이 정다운 사회가 절대 아니다! 귀농, 닫힌 사회 문서를 참조바람. 수십명의 사람들이 폐쇄적인 환경에서 살기 때문에 장애인 같은 약자들은 평생 인간으로서의 권리를 무시당하면서 살 확률이 매우 높다. 섬노예같은 인간으로서의 자격을 상실한 범죄가 계속 같은 지역에서 발생하는 이유이기도 하다.

2. 산업 및 기술이 극도로 고도화되지 않은 상태에서 이들이 원하는 대로 예전의 농업사회로 돌아가게 된다면 생산력 부족 및 이로 인한 기술력 퇴화로 인하여 기본소득 자체는 물론이고 인류문명이 지금까지 이룩한 성과가 무너져 버린다는 중대한 모순이 생긴다. 이렇게 되면 자신들이 그렇게 소중하게 생각하는 환경 역시 파괴될 것이다. 현대문명이 환경을 많이 훼손시킨 건 맞지만 70억이라는 인구를 부양하는 것을 감안하여 계산하면 오히려 전근대보다 환경을 덜 파괴시키면서 극단적인 빈곤을 벗어나게 했다는 성과를 거두었다. 하지만 다시 전근대로 돌아가게 된다면 사람들이 어떻게든 살려고 그나마 남은 산림을 파괴할 것이 자명한데 이렇게 되면 살아남은 대파괴 시대 이후의 후손들은 희망이 없게 된다.

산업 및 기술이 극도로 고도화되지 않은 상태에서 이들이 원하는 대로 예전의 농업사회로 돌아가게 된다면 생산력 부족으로 인하여 70억 인류 인구를 도저히 유지할 수 없다. 산업혁명이 일어나기 전 인구수로 돌아갈 수밖에 없는데 그러면 현존 인구의 90% 가량이 굶주림, 식인, 약탈로 인해 사망할 것이다. 환경을 소중히 생각한다면서 수십억명의 사람들이 죽어나가는 건 외면하는 것이 과연 옳은 것인지 의문.

3. 식인과 약탈을 막고 평화롭고 아늑한 전원생활을 즐길 수 있으려면 경찰이 총 들고 치안을 유지하면서 생태주의자들의 안전한 삶을 위협하는 사람들을 체포해야 할 것이다. 그렇지 않다면 살아남은 사람들이 이룩하게 될 사회는 생태주의보다는 생존주의/치안 부재에 가까운 삶의 형태를 띄게 될 가능성이 높다. 열심히 농사지으려 시도하는 사람이 있으면 총 든 약탈자가 농부를 죽이고 식량을 빼앗고, 농부들은 이 때문에 잠도 자지 못하고 불침번 세워가며 경비를 하고, 뭐 그런 사회. 초기 농경사회가 바로 이런 모습이었는데, 폭력을 강제적으로 중재할 권력 및 무력이 없었던 국가가 없었던 관계로 이 시기 농경사회는 앞의 석기 시대와는 비교할 수 없을 정도로(석기시대 역시 평화로운 시대였다는 일반적인 이미지와는 정반대로 환경 및 장소에 따라 달라지긴 하지만 성인남성 1/4이 분쟁에 휘말려 죽었던 살벌한 시대였다.) 부족 간 다툼이 극심하여 인류역사상 사망률이 가장 높았던 시기이기도 하다.

4. 사람이 굶주려서 죽어가지 않을 정도의 생산력을 유지하려면 개량된 종자, 화학 비료, 관개 시설, 살충제, 가축용 항생제가 필요할 것인데, 이런 것들을 모두 누리면서 동시에 생태주의를 누리는 것은 가능할 것은 불가능하다.

5. LETS 체계는 현재는 어디까지나 화폐경제를 보완하는 의미에서 지역 사회의 사람들과 유대감을 늘리기 위한 즐거움의 수단 정도로 쓰이고 있다. 그렇다 보니 LETS에 참여하는 사람들 역시 대체로 선한 마음을 가지고 참가하고 있다. 이 수준을 넘어서 대부분의 상거래를 대안화폐로 하게 될 경우 문제가 발생한다.

공동체 내에서 '극도로 이기주의적이고 착취적인 사람이 나타난다면 어떻게 해결할 것인가'의 문제가 뒤따른다. 왕따를 시켜서 거래를 못 하게 만들 것인가? 현대처럼 취미 정도라면 단체에서 탈퇴하는 걸로 적당히 끝날 일이지만, 생계가 좌우된다면 반발은 그 정도로 끝나지 않는다.

반대로, 현재처럼 주된 상거래는 화폐에 넘기고 대안화폐를 이용한 경제활동은 영원히 취미로 남긴다는 선택지가 있지만, 그걸 바라지 않고 점차 화폐를 대체해나가길 원하는 사람들이 있으므로 두 분파 사이에서 갈등이 일어날 수 있다.

6. 결국 위와 같은 수많은 폐해를 억누르고 이들이 원하는 체제를 유지하기 위해서는 이들의 평화로운 상상과는 달리 북한을 능가하는 철저한 독재체제, 통제경제로 흑화하든지, 아니면 혼돈의 무정부상태로 떨어지는 수밖에는 없을 것이다. 공산국가들이 하나 같이 살벌한 일당독재체제를 유지했던 것도, 되지도 않을 불가능한 이상을 억지로 현실화시키려니 곳곳에서 모순과 파열음이 불거져 나와서 결국 하나하나 일일이 통제하고 자신들의 이상에 맞지 않는 사회구성원들은 숙청, 격리시키는 방법 외에는 체제를 유지할 방법이 없었기 때문이다.

실제로 이들이 주장하는대로 근대화 이전 소농사회로 돌아가려고 했던 실험이 과거에도 있었으니, 캄보디아 독재자 폴 포트가 벌인 킬링필드가 그것이다. 폴 포트가 이끄는 크메르 루주는 캄보디아 수도 프놈펜 시민들을 시골농촌으로 강제 이주시켰으며, 이들은 집단농장에서 공동으로 일하면서 공동식당에 나와서 식사해야 했다. 캄보디아의 화폐 제도는 폐지되었고 물물교환 경제로 사회를 운영했으며 크메르 루주는 보란듯이 프놈펜 중앙은행을 폭탄으로 폭파시켰다. 이 당시 외국어 구사자, 공무원, 교수, 의사, 약사 등 전문직들과 부유층 등 자본주의, 근대문명적 요소를 가진 이들은 무조건 처형해야 할 대상[2]이었다.

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[1] 비화폐적 경제. 단체를 만든 뒤 그 안에서 동조자끼리 노동, 자원 등을 화폐 없이 물물교환하는 제도(약속)

[2] 심지어 안경을 썼거나 손에 굳은 살이 없다는 이유만으로도!

‘왜 선한 지식인이 나쁜 정치를 할까“

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Namgok Lee
1 hr ·

크리스마스 새벽이군요.
예수님의 말씀을 생각합니다.

『어찌하여 형제의 눈 속에 있는 티는 보고 당신 눈 속에 있는 들보는 깨닫지 못하십니까?』

그저께부터 읽기 시작한 ‘왜 선한 지식인이 나쁜 정치를 할까“라는 책의 내용 일부를 소개합니다.
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<선조 11년경 동인(東人)세력이 확대되는 흐름 속에서 전에 볼 수 없었던 세 가지 양상이 나타났다.
첫째는 동인(東人)과 서인(西人)이 정(正)과 사(邪), 즉 바름과 간사함으로 구분되기 시작했다는 것이다. 본래 동인과 서인은 어디까지나 정치적 입장이 다를 뿐 , 정사(正邪)로 구분되지는 않았다. 이때부터 동인 일부는 서인을 공공연히 ‘소인(小人)’으로 부르기 시작했다. 당시 ‘소인’이라는 말은 예사 용어가 아니었다. 이 단어는 문정 왕후 사망 후 조정에 진출한 신진사류가 명종 대 훈척계 인물들을 가리킬 때 썼던 용어이다. 소인은 정치적 대화나 타협 대상이 아닌 싸워서 격퇴시켜야할 대상을 가리키는 말이다.
둘째는 구신(舊臣) 중에서 동인에 가담하는 사람이 속속 둥장하기 시작했다는 점이다. 이들은 서인을 공격해서 자신들의 정치적 입지를 보상 받으려 했다. 때문에, 그 말이 더욱 공격적이었다.
셋째는 이전까지 비교적 중립적 입장에 있었던 김우웅, 이발, 류성룡 같은 인물들이 당파적 모습을 보이기 시작했다는 점이다. 선조 11년에 잇었던 사건들을 처리하는 과정에서 이런 경향이 나타났다. 바로 그리고 이 지점에서 이들과 이이(李珥) 사이에 의견 차이가 나타나기 시작했다.>

--
<시비(是非)와 정사(正邪)는 차원을 달리하는 구분이다. ‘시비’는 특정한 상황이나 문제에 대한 판단 내용에 국한될 뿐 판단 주체에 대한 규정은 아니다. 때문에 사안에 따라 시(是)와 비(非)의 주체는 달라질 수 있다. ‘비’즉 잘못된 판단을 했다고 해서 그 판단 주체가 도덕적으로 비난받는 것은 아니다. 반면에 ‘정사(正邪)’는 개별 상황을 뛰어넘어 판단주체의 정체성에 대한 규정이다. 그리고 정(正)과 사(邪)의 차원에서 비로소 군자와 소인이 구분되었다. 소인은 정치적 타협의 대상이 아닌 제거되어야할 대상을 뜻했다>
<동인과 서인의 갈등이 심화되자 그에 대한 반작용으로 동인과 서인의 보합(保合), 조제(調劑)에 대한 논의도 동시에 등장했다. 조제란 정파간 세력 균형을, 보합이란 대화합을 뜻했다.
조제보합론은 조정에서 동인이 자신의 주도권확립을 위해서는 반드시 물리쳐야할 논리였다. 특히 동인과 결합한 구신(舊臣)에게 조제보합론은 대단히 위험한 주장이었다. 그들을 조정에서 축출시킬 수도 있는 논리였다. 이이(李珥)가 조제보합론을 들고 나오자 동인 측은 크게 반발했다.
이미 현실은 조제보합론의 반대 방향으로 가고 있었다. 하지만, 조제보합론은 사림(士林)의 오랜 이상과 정체성을 담고 있었다. 그것이야말로 조제보합론이 가진 힘의 원천이었다>

450년 전 역사가 요즘 우리 현실과 겹쳐서 읽힙니다.
저는 이조(李朝)의 역사를 제대로 들여다 본 적이 없었습니다.
그리고 치열한 권력투쟁의 과정에서 서로 정통이라고 주장한 논리의 근거가 된 유학(儒學)에 대해서도 공부해 본 적이 없었습니다.
뒤늦게 공자를 접하고, 이 책을 선물 받아 보면서 여러 생각들이 올라옵니다.

이이(李珥)가 다음 장(章)부터 본격적으로 등장합니다.

성탄절과 연말을 지내면서 이 책을 보게되는 행운에 감사합니다.

The Man Who Planted Trees: Jean Giono, Michael McCurdy: 9780930031022: Amazon.com: Books

The Man Who Planted Trees: Jean Giono, Michael McCurdy: 9780930031022: Amazon.com: Books

The hero of the story, Elzeard Bouffier, spent his life planting one hundred acorns a day in a desolate, barren section of Provence, France. The result was a total transformation of the landscape -- from one devoid of life, with miserable, contentious inhabitants, to one filled with the scent of flowers, the songs of birds, and fresh, flowing water.

Chelsea Green is proud to once again collaborate with American Forests to present the Jean Giono Award to an individual who embodies the tree-planting spirit of Elzeard Bouffier. Past winners include Paul Rokich, who secretly planted trees under cover of night on the denuded hills of Utah's Oquirrh Mountains, land that had suffered from overgrazing, excessive logging, fires, and copper-mining activities.

We have joined the Paul Winter Consort in the release of a CD version of the acclaimed audio of this story. The original music was composed and is performed by the Paul Winter Consort, and the text is narrated by Robert J. Lurtsema, host of "Morning Pro Musica" on public radio station WGBH in Boston.

We are also offering packages of 12 beautiful note cards featuring six of Michael McCurdy's wood engravings from the book, with a message from the text on the back of each card.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The Man Who Planted Trees is not a detailed how-to guide to planting; it is a touching story of Elzéard Bouffier, who devoted his entire life to reforesting a desolate portion of Provence, in southern France. He single-handedly planted 100 acorns each day before, through, and after two world wars, and transformed a sorrowful place into one full of life and joy. Jean Giono's words offer a tribute to how much good one person can accomplish in a lifetime and advise on how to live life with deep meaning. Illustrated with moving, beautiful wood engravings by Michael McCurdy, The Man Who Planted Trees is simply written but powerful and unforgettable.

The text is also available on tape, eloquently narrated by Robert J. Lurtsema and accompanied by music from the Paul Winter Consort.

Product details

Hardcover: 56 pages
Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing Company (October 1995)
Language: English
Customer reviews
4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
263 customer ratings

Read reviews that mention
man who planted jean giono elzeard bouffier wood engravings michael mccurdy little book paul winter many years make a difference short story plants trees johnny appleseed years ago barren land simple act norma goodrich winter and his consort world a better favorite story book to read VINE VOICE

Deanna J. Marquart
5.0 out of 5 stars "policy of the tree"Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2014
Format: Audio CassetteVerified Purchase
A friend recently discovered the writings of Jean Giono and recommended this writer to me. I'd never heard of him so I started by seeing what I could find out about him on the web. I learned he had made available for free the entire text of THE MAN WHO PLANTED TREES to anyone who wanted to use it, including an American who wanted to print 100,000 copies to distribute free of charge. In his response to authorize this use, Giono wrote: "I believe it is time for us to have a 'policy of the tree.'" I am a retired public policy analyst, and that verbiage piqued my interest immediately. My initial interest was rewarded many times over by the experience of reading Giono's short narrative about the man who planted trees, and I have now read it several times and listened to an audible version of it on cassette tape. Like the other Giono writings I have now read, THE MAN WHO PLANTED TREES is not just beautifully written -- although certainly that -- but also beautifully conceived as an homage to aspects of humanity that make the world a better place.

18 people found this helpful

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diane
4.0 out of 5 stars New Edition with "Tree People"Reviewed in the United States on November 26, 2019
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
This is a beautiful story - I have the older edition and gifted this to a friend because of the "Tree People" entry. She was delighted since she is a great contributor to their foundation. The pictures/engravings are of good quality - they did not cut corners to provide a quality new edition to this classic!

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John A. Leraas
5.0 out of 5 stars An absolutely wonderful story, well toldReviewed in the United States on December 31, 2016
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
A beautiful little book about ecosystems and how the work of a man can rebuild them.
Clearly the work of a master of his craft who well understands the matters about which he writes.
It's the sort of book you'd like to read again; a book you should read to,your grandkids
You won't be sorry you bought this book.

3 people found this helpful

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VINE VOICE
5.0 out of 5 stars Thought provoking, gentle storyReviewed in the United States on March 16, 2010
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
I have had a copy of this book for over ten years, I loaned it to everyone I could. The last time I loaned it, it didn't come back. So, I bought the edition shown here. This has woodblock art in with it, beautiful work. I read the book every now and then because it is uplifting. The way Mr. Giono wrote it is so vivid, it's like you are there. It's actually a short story and takes about 20 - 30 minutes to read. But it has a high re-readability factor. Get this and share with your children, a friend who is down in the dumps, or buy one for the school library.

A re-assuring, peaceful, wonderful story with a simple, unforgettable message.

19 people found this helpful

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John McAndrew
5.0 out of 5 stars FabulousReviewed in the United States on September 4, 2004
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
In many readers' lives there are a few books, or maybe only one, which serve as touchstones. They define us like our most vivid memories do. Not many books or stories deserve that kind of devotion, but this one does. It isn't timeless - it's deeply rooted in 20th century France - but its honest treatment of the time and place is one of the things that makes it universal.

There are dozens of facets that could be highlighted in a review, but the one I find most compelling is Giono's treatment of a man alone and how he is yet connected to the world around him. Even a solitary figure can contribute to the birth and health of a community. It's not clear why he does his work, but it's clear that the work is good.

There is such hope here, but no easy palliative. It is a call to lifelong diligence in the service of something good, and important, and bigger than ourselves.

23 people found this helpful

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Martin A.
5.0 out of 5 stars Revie of The Man Who Planted Trees.Reviewed in the United States on January 22, 2012
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
I used to live on an acre of land in the suburbs of Boston. My next-door neighbor was a retired college professor, scholar, farmer, New England resourceful - use it till it can't be used any more and then use it for something else - kind of guy. He taught me to make garden implements out of scrap wood or unused material and gave me the book The Man Who Planted Trees. He taught me to revere growing things. I planted more than fifty trees on my property.

This wonderful tale has been reviewed by professionals so I won't attempt it. I can, however, share the memory of my neighbor and state that this book is a pleasure to read.

8 people found this helpful

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Melanie
5.0 out of 5 stars Will inspire you and your children to care for nature.Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2002
Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
The Man Who Planted Trees is the tale of Elzeard Bouffier, a man who, after his son and wife die, spends his life reforesting miles of barren land in southern France. Bouffier's planting of thousands and thousands of trees results in many wondrous things occurring, including water again flowing in brooks that had been dry for many years. The brooks are fed by rains and snows that are conserved by the forest that Bouffier planted. The harsh, barren land is now pleasant and full of life.
Written by Jean Giono, this popular story of inspiration and hope was originally published in 1954 in Vogue as "The Man Who Planted Hope and Grew Happiness." The story's opening paragraph is as follows:
"For a human character to reveal truly exceptional qualities, one must have the good fortune to be able to observe its performance over many years. If this performance is devoid of all egoism, if its guiding motive is unparalleled generosity, if it is absolutely certain that there is no thought of recompense and that, in addition, it has left its visible mark upon the earth, then there can be no mistake."
The Man Who Planted Trees has left a "visible mark upon the earth" having been translated into several languages. In the "Afterword" of the Chelsea Green Publishing Company's edition, Norma L. Goodrich wrote that Giono donated his story. According to Goodrich, "Giono believed he left his mark on earth when he wrote Elzeard Bouffier's story because he gave it away for the good of others, heedless of payment: `It was one of my stories of which I am the proudest. It does not bring me in one single penny and that is why it has accomplished what it was written for.'"
This special edition is very informative. Not only does it contain Giono's inspirational story, which is complemented beautifully by Michael McCurdy's wood engraving illustrations and Goodrich's informative "Afterword" about Giono, but it also contains considerable information about how wood and paper can be conserved in the section "The WoodWise Consumer." Goodrich writes about Giono's effort to have people respect trees.
"Giono later wrote an American admirer of the tale that his purpose in creating Bouffier `was to make people love the tree, or more precisely, to make them love planting trees.' Within a few years the story of Elzeard Bouffier swept around the world and was translated into at least a dozen languages. It has long since inspired reforestation efforts, worldwide."
The Man Who Planted Trees is not only a wonderful story, it will inspire you and your children to care for the natural world.
-Reviewed by N. Glenn Perrett

31 people found this helpful

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Byletts
5.0 out of 5 stars Add to the climate change conversationReviewed in the United Kingdom on October 12, 2019
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I was so happy to discover this "by chance" on Amazon's website and bought it to encourage a group in a pretty hopeless situation. It would also be useful to encourage people to do something about climate change. The problem is so overwhelming that we need to see how each individual doing something can bring about significant change. It is a short book, easy and interesting to read, so can be absorbed in a matter of hours. Recommend it for busy lives.

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C MILLS
5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful rebirthReviewed in the United Kingdom on June 26, 2017
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I first read this book in the 1950s. It gave me faith in the purpose of human nature and astonishment that one man could be so purposeful in his solitude, and often pondered on it. I was delighted to hear it reviewed on BBCs ' a good read' and amused and intrigued by the readers' musings. It has been a 2nd delightful reading and recommend it to all. I've frequently wondered why governments haven't considered building out into the deserts of Africa and elsewhere to try to regenerate the waste areas. Maybe it could reduce global warming. I believe in Elziard Goubi.

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David Jones
5.0 out of 5 stars UpliftingReviewed in the United Kingdom on September 11, 2016
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This is a very short book AND it is available free on the internet, please note. That said, the book itself can be finished in about an hour and is motivting, uplifting etc. Drawings are included...they're 'OK'.

So, is this worth buying?

Well it is certainly worth reading and if you follow what the (fictitious) main character does then your whole life can change...after a few years

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Mrs. Pamela A. Barlow
5.0 out of 5 stars ReplacementReviewed in the United Kingdom on August 16, 2019
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I loved this book from the first moment I picked it up, it is such a simple heartwarming story and remarkably in tune with our attitudes to the world today. I lost my original copy and this copy is immaculate and arrived promptly. I still love it.

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Em
5.0 out of 5 stars Changing the world one day at a timeReviewed in the United Kingdom on July 19, 2017
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One of the loveliest books I have read. It was given to me several years ago by a dear friend. I have since given it to so many people who are dear to me

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The man who planted a tree and grew a whole family of forests | Working in development | The Guardian

The man who planted a tree and grew a whole family of forests | Working in development | The Guardian

The man who planted a tree and grew a whole family of forests

As Brazil’s deforestation begins to climb again, one man has spent over 40 years planting a forest of his own

Sam Cowie in São Paulo
@samcowie84

Tue 21 Mar 2017 22.44 AEDTLast modified on Thu 15 Feb 2018 05.09 AEDT

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Antonio Vicente has spent the last 40 years reforesting his land, bringing life back to an area that was razed for cattle grazing. Photograph: Tommaso Protti/The Guardian

When Antonio Vicente bought a patch of land in São Paulo state and said he wanted to use it to plant a forest, people called him crazy. It was 1973 and forests were seen by many as an obstacle to progress and profit.

Brazil’s then military government encouraged wealthy landowners to expand by offering them generously subsidised credit to invest in modern farming techniques, a move the ruling generals hoped would boost national agriculture.

But water, or an impending lack of it, was Vicente’s concern as he worriedly watched the expansion of cattle grazing and industry, the destruction of local forests, and the growth of the population and the rapid urbanisation of the state.

One of 14 children, Vicente grew up on a farm where his father worked. He’d watched him cut down the trees at the owners’ orders, for use in charcoal production and to clear more land for grazing cattle. Eventually the farm’s water springs dried up and never returned.

Maintaining forests are essential for water supplies because trees absorb and retain water in their roots and help to prevent soil erosion. So with some donkeys and a small team, he worked on his little patch – 31 hectares (77 acres) of land that had been razed for grazing cattle – and set about regenerating.

“The area was totally stripped,” he says, demonstrating by pointing to a painting of the treeless land in 1976. “The water supplies had nearly dried up.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest There are now eight waterfalls on Vicente’s land. Photograph: Tommaso Protti/Tommaso Protti for The Guardian

His neighbours, who were cattle and dairy farmers, used to tell him: “You are dumb. Planting trees is a waste of land. You won’t have income. If it’s full of trees, you won’t have room for cows or crops.” But what started off as a weekend gig has now become a full-time way of life. More than 40 years later, Vicente – now 84 – estimates he has replanted 50,000 trees on his 31 hectare Serra da Mantiqueira mountain range property.
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“If you ask me who my family are, I would say all this right here, each one of these that I planted from a seed,” he says.

But Vicente is working against the national trend. After several years of successive falls in deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon – the world’s largest tropical forest – numbers are beginning to rise again.

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Nearly 8,000 hectares (19,770 acres) of rainforest were destroyed between August 2015 and July 2016, equivalent to an area 135 times the size of Manhattan, a 29% from the year before and the highest increase since 2008, according to Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE), and while deforestation levels are still nowhere near their peak in 2004 when more than 27,000 hectares (66,720 acres) were removed, the upward trend is still worrying.

There are a number of reasons behind the rise, not least the introduction of the controversial 2012 Forest Code which gave amnesty to property owners who committed illegal deforestation.

“This sends a very wrong signal, of impunity. People think: “If I get one amnesty, who knows? In another few years from now I might get another,” says Cristiane Mazzetti, Greenpeace Amazon campaigner.

If you ask me who my family are, I would say all this right here, each one of these that I planted from a seedAntonio Vicente

She also points out that: “The last government headed by Dilma Rousseff didn’t issue hardly any conservation areas of demarcated indigenous territory. These are good instruments for fighting deforestation.”

In her last days in office, Rousseff issued a few conservation areas, but alarmingly, politicians from Brazil’s Amazon caucus have expressed interest in reducing these by 35%, a move experts say would open up the reserves to deforestation, land grabbing and illegal gold mining.

And Brazil, reeling from economic and political crisis over the last few years, has had less capacity for monitoring due to budget constraints. Attention is being directed to the drama in Brasília where an unprecedented corruption investigation threatens the political establishment.

Vicente’s own home state, São Paulo, has seen some of Brazil’s worst deforestation. The richest state in Brazil, São Paulo is responsible for a third of the country’s GDP and is the biggest economy in South America, with industry and agriculture being two of the biggest contributors. For many decades, as the region grew in economic importance, so did the destruction of the local environment.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A view of Antonio Vicente’s Pouso do Rechedo guesthouse. Photograph: Tommaso Protti/The Guardian
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During the last 30 years, while Vicente was planting his forest, 183,000 hectares (452,200 acres) of Atlantic forest in São Paulo state were cut down to make way for farming and expanding cities. According to a study by SOS Atlantic Forest Foundation and INPE, Atlantic forest originally covered 69% of São Paulo state, but only 14% of this total remains today. The deforestation may have been an aggravating factor in a two-year water crisis in São Paulo state that ended in 2016, alongside water-intensive industrial and agricultural production in the state and poor management of the state water company.

We are destroying rainforests so quickly they may be gone in 100 years
John Vidal

Read more

Today, local government initiatives in the region give a small monthly payment to farmers who protect the water supplies by planting and maintaining trees. São Paulo is currently managing to achieve almost zero deforestation. (Although that is, at least partly, because there is so little forest left to be cut down.)

Nationally, there are signs of a fightback. In 2015, Brazil committed to replanting 12m hectares (29.6m acres) of deforested land by 2030, as part of the Bonn challenge, a target that was derided by many as unrealistic.
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Much of this deforested land lies on private property and so engaging property owners like Vicente is fundamental to meeting the challenge.

The Alliance for the Restoration of the Amazon, a collection of government bodies, NGOs, private sector initiatives and universities bodies, was launched in January to meet this monumental challenge and is undertaking studies in the field.

“If everyone followed Vicente’s example, our task would be a lot easier,” says Rodrigo Medeiros, vice president of Conservation International Brazil, one of the organisations in the coalition. “The scale of restoration that we are dealing with here is unprecedented in the history of Brazil. Without forests, water, food and a pleasant climate are basically not possible.”

However, Mazzetti from Greenpeace points out that from 1985 to 2015, while 219,735 hectares (542,977 acres) of Atlantic forest were regenerated across Brazil, much more, 1,887,596 hectares (4,664,351 acres) were cut down during the same period.

“Regeneration is a slow process, we need zero deforestation now,” she says.

Others have joined Vicente in his work. Brazil’s most famous reforestation advocate lives nearby – celebrity photographer and activist Sebastião Salgado, who with his wife Lélia, reforested nearly 7,000 hectares of Atlantic forest in the late 1990s on his childhood home.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest POUSO DE ROCHEDO, BRAZIL - MARCH 04, 2017: Antonio Vicente in the forest. He has spent the last 40 years reforesting his land, bringing life back to an area that was razed for cattle grazing. Photograph: Tommaso Protti/The Guardian
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On Vicente’s own patch, there are now eight waterfalls. He takes me out on to his land, and we hike down one of the mountain trails beside a cascading waterfall, covered by a lush green Atlantic forest canopy, stopping to take gulps of fresh water with our hands.

The trail is absolutely spotless, with no litter or cigarette butts, with a rich earthy smell and views in the distance of the Mantiqueira mountain range’s rolling green valleys, the only noise the trickle of the waterfall.

Vicente has seen first-hand the devastating effects of mass deforestation. He travelled at one point to Rondonia, now one of Brazil’s most deforested Amazon states, in 1986 during a drive by the Brazilian government to settle the region which proved disastrous as following mass deforestation, the land yielded poor results.

“The government were giving the land away for cheap, but the land didn’t serve for anything,” he says. “People cut down the trees but after 3 to 4 years, the soil turned into sand and nothing grows.”

Speaking of his own project in the Mantiqueira mountain range: “I didn’t do it for money, I did it because when I die, what’s here will remain for everyone.” He adds: “People don’t call me crazy any more.”

Join our community of development professionals and humanitarians. Follow @GuardianGDP on Twitter.

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The Man Who Planted Trees

The Man Who Planted Trees

The Man Who Planted Trees
By Reviewed by Jason Blake
November 30, 2010 — 3.00am

Opera House, November 27. Until Friday.

MY SIX-YEAR-OLD is into outlandishly armed robot gladiators. For my three-year-old, it's SpongeBob, nothing else. To see them captivated by an environment-themed puppet show from Scotland about a French shepherd who devotes his life to planting trees was beyond surprising.

Seeds of renewal ... homespun props and puppets tell a tale of friendship.

But then Puppet State Theatre's adaptation of the French author Jean Giono's 1953 story L'homme qui plantait des arbres is one of the most touching and effective pieces of children's theatre I've seen for a long time. In fact, it's the most completely satisfying piece of theatre playing in Sydney right now.

The story begins in 1910 with the narrator Jean (Richard Medrington) running into a shepherd, Elzeard Bouffier, and his tatty dog (voiced and operated by Rick Conte) on the denuded, dried-out hillsides of Provence. Bouffier, he learns, is planting trees to replace those cut down by generations of charcoal burners. Every day, without fail, he plants 100 seeds in the morning, 100 in the evening. A friendship develops - make that two - that spans four decades, two world wars and the growing of a huge forest.

The language and cadence of the show is pitched at adults; there's no talking down to the audience. Conte is terrifically droll as Dog, whose canine joie de vivre extends into an improbable old age.

The story is heartwarming, the message clear and the comic banter woven through it is lively and unforced. It's hard to believe the two have performed this show more than 1500 times. All the relationships - between man and dog, between performer and audience and human and puppet - are beautifully crafted and full of telling detail. Ailie Cohen's homespun props, puppets and set, Barney Strachan's nature soundscapes, and the scent of lavender and mint wafting over the audience make this a pleasure for all the senses.

The Man Who Planted Trees - Wikisource, the free online library

The Man Who Planted Trees - Wikisource, the free online library

Translation:The Man Who Planted Trees

The man who planted trees
by Jean Giono, translated by Wikisource
A letter from the author→

information about this edition. 1953

For the character of a human to reveal truly exceptional qualities, one needs to have the good fortune of being able to observe his actions over many years. If his actions are free of all egotism, if his guiding principle is unequalled generosity, if it is absolutely certain that no reward was sought anywhere and his ideas have left a visible impression on the world; one has, without any doubt, found an unforgettable character.

About forty years ago, I went on a long hike, in heights unknown to tourists, in these ancient regions of the Alps which extend to Provence.

This region is bordered to the south and south-east by the central course of the Durance, between Sisteron and Mirabeau; to the north by the upper course of the Drôme, from its source until Die; in the west by the plains of Comtat Venaissin and the foothills of Mont Ventoux. It encompasses the whole northern part of the department of Basses Alpes, the southern part of the department of Drôme, and a small enclave of the department of Vaucluse.

At the time, when I undertook my long stroll through this desert, at 1200 to 1300 meters above sea level, it was a barren and monotonous area. Nothing but wild lavender grew there.

I crossed this country along its largest extent and, after three days, I found myself in a most desolate spot. I camped besides the remains of an abandoned village. I had exhausted my water supply the day before and desperately needed to find a source. These buildings, even if they were just ruins, agglomerated like an old wasps' nest, made me think that there must have been once a well or a spring. Indeed there was a well, but all dried out. The five or six houses, without roofs, eroded by wind and rain, the old chapel caved in, were neat and tidy like houses and chapels in inhabited villages, but all life had disappeared.

It was a beautiful and sunny day in June, but on these high plains without shelter, a brutal wind blew unbearably. As it soughed through the carcasses of these old houses, it roared like a wild animal disturbed while feeding.

I had to break my camp and move on. After five hours, I still had found no trace of water, and I despaired to find any. Everywhere the same dryness, the same woody herbs. In the distance, I thought I saw a small black silhouette, upright, which I took for the trunk of a lone tree. More by chance than by determination, I continued my way in its direction. It was a shepherd. About thirty sheep rested close to him on the hot ground.

He let me drink from his water bottle, and then guided me to his cabin, hidden behind a low mound on the plain. He got his—excellent—water from a deep natural hole, above which he had installed a rudimentary winch.

This man barely talked. Such is the way of loners, but one felt that he was sure of himself and confident of his self-assessment. It was strange in this country stripped of everything. He did not live in a shack but in a true house made of stone, and one could see easily where and how he had restored the ruin he must have found there when he had first arrived there. The roof was solid and tight. The wind blowing across the tiles made the sound of waves washing ashore.

He kept a proper household, his dishes were done, the floor was swept clean, his gun well greased, his soup boiling over the fire. I also noticed that he was freshly shaved, his buttons carefully sewed on, and his clothing had been darned with the great care that renders the repairs nearly invisible.

He shared his soup with me, and when I offered him my tobacco pouch, he said he didn't smoke. His dog, quiet like the man himself, was friendly and without baseness.

It had been silently understood right away that I would spend the night there; the next village was still a day's march and a half away. Furthermore, I knew the character of these villages perfectly well. There are four or five, spread apart on the slopes of this high plain amidst thickets of white oak, at the very end of the navigable roads. They are inhabited by charburners making charcoal. These are bad places to live. Living close to one another in this rough climate, Summer and Winter alike, the families being cramped together in close quarters increases their selfishness and leads to excessive unreflected ambition in their constant desire to escape these places.

The men bring the coal to the city in their trucks and then return. Even the best qualities are eroded by this perpetual contrast bath. The women are embittered, always bearing a grudge. These people compete about anything, from the coal sale to the place on the church bank, about the virtues of the women and the vices of the men, and about the general fray of the vices and the virtues, without rest. On top of that, the equally incessant wind strains the nerves. Suicide is epidemic, and there are many cases of madness, nearly always deadly.

The shepherd, who did not smoke, fetched a small bag from which he poured a pile of acorns onto the table. He began examining them closely one after the other, separating the good ones from the bad ones. I smoked my pipe. I offered to help. He told me this was his business. And indeed, seeing with how much care he performed the job, I did not insist. That was our whole conversation. Once he had separated enough of the good acorns, he counted them in packets of ten, eliminating in the process the smaller ones or those that were slightly chapped, for he truly scrutinized them. Once he had lying one hundred perfect acorns in front of him, he stopped and we went to bed.

The company of this man instilled peace. I asked him the next morning whether I might stay and relax the whole day there at his place. He found it completely normal, or, more exactly, he gave me the impression that nothing could disturb him. I didn't really need the rest, but I had become curious and wanted to know more. He collected his flock of sheep and led them to their pastures. Before leaving, he dunked the small bag in which he had collected the carefully chosen and counted acorns into a bucket of water.

I noticed that instead of a stick he carried an iron rod, thick like a thumb and about a meter and a half long. I just leisurely walked along, on a path parallel to his. The pasture of his animals was in a small depression. He left his dog in charge of the flock and climbed back up to me. I feared he would reproach me for my intrusion, but not at all: it was his usual route and he invited me to accompany him if I had nothing better to do. He walked for about two hundred meters.

When he had arrived where he had wanted to go, he planted his iron rod into the ground. In the hole he put an acorn, which he then covered again. He was planting oaks. I asked him if this land was his property. He answered in the negative. Did he know whose land it was? He didn't know. He assumed it was common property, or maybe it belonged to someone who didn't care about it. He didn't worry about knowing the landowners. In this way, he planted extremely carefully one hundred acorns.

After we had eaten at noon, he began again to sort his seeds. I must have asked insistingly enough, for he answered my questions. For three years he had been planting trees in this solitude, more than one hundred thousand acorns. Of these one hundred thousand, twenty thousand had grown. He expected to lose half of these twenty thousand, due to rodents or simply the unpredictables in the nature of destiny. Remained ten thousand oaks that would grow in this place where there had been nothing before.

At that point, I suddenly wondered how old this man was. He was visibly older than fifty years. Fifty-five, he told me. His name was Elzéard Bouffier. He once had owned a farm in the valley. He had accomplished his life. He had lost his only son, then his wife. He had retreated to this lonely place, where he was content and happy to live a slow life, with his sheep and his dog. He had come to the conclusion that this country was dying for want of trees. He added that, since he had no more important business, he had decided to remedy this situation.

As I was at that time, despite my youth, leading a solitary life, I knew that the heart of a recluse had to be touched delicately. Nevertheless, I made a mistake. Precisely because of my young age, I could not help but imagine the future according to myself and a certain search for happiness. I told him that in thirty years, these ten thousand oaks would be magnificent. He answered simply that, if God lent him life, in thirty years, he would have planted so many others that these ten thousand would be like a drop of water in the sea.

Moreover, he was already experimenting with the reproduction of beeches, and he had behind his house a seedbed with trees grown from beech-nuts. Protected from his sheep by a fence made of wire netting, they were splendid. He was also thinking about birches for the depressions where, so he told me, there was moisture only a few meters below the surface.

We parted the following day.

The next year, the war of 14 broke out, in which I served for five years. An infantryman had no time to think about trees. To tell the truth, the encounter had not lasted with me: it had been no more than a hobby-horse, like a stamp collection, and I had forgotten it.

Discharged after the war, I found myself with only a small demobilization premium, but with a big desire to breathe a little pure air. Without an exact plan—except this one—I retraced my steps through this barren region.

The country had not changed. But still, beyond the dead village, I saw in the distance a kind of grey fog covering the heights like a carpet. Since the last evening, I had been thinking again about this shepherd tree planter. "Ten thousand oaks," I said to myself, "occupy a really large space."

I had seen too many people die in the last five years not to imagine easily the death of Elzéar Bouffier, even more so because at twenty, one considers anyone of fifty years to be an old man with nothing left but death. He had not died. He was even extremely spry. He had switched trade. He only had four sheep, but, on the other hand, a hundred bee hives. He had gotten rid of the sheep which put in danger his tree plantations. Because, he told me (and I realized it), he had not worried at all about the war. He had continued imperturbably to plant.

The oaks from 1910 were then ten years old and taller than me or him. The sight was awe-inspiring. I was literally at a loss of words, and, as he did not talk either, we spent the whole day walking in silence though his forest. It was, in three sections, eleven kilometers long and up to three kilometers wide. Remembering that all this had come from the hands and the soul of this man—without technical support—one understood that man could be as effective as God, not only in the field of destruction.

He had followed his plan, as witnessed by the beeches, which reached my shoulders, spread as far as one could see. The oaks were thick and had grown beyond the stage where they were at the mercy of rodents; and regarding the nature of destiny itself, it would have to use cyclones to destroy this work. He showed me admirable thickets of birches going back to five years, i.e., of 1915, of the time when I fought at Verdun. He had planted them in the depressions where he suspected, with good reason, that water was available just beneath the ground. They were tender like youths and very determined.

The creation seemed furthermore to cause some secondary effects. He didn't worry about it, he just very simply obstinately continued his task. But when I descended to the village, I saw water flowing in brooks that, within living memory, had always been dry. It was the most impressive chain reaction that I have ever had the opportunity to see. These brooks had formerly, in ancient times, already carried water. Some of the miserable villages I have mentioned above had been built on the sites of old gallo-roman settlements of which there were still traces and in which archaeologists had excavated. They had found fish hooks in places where in the twentieth century, one needed to build cisterns to have a little water.

The wind also disseminated some seeds. With the return of the water, willows, osiers, grasses, meadows, gardens, flowers and a reason for living came back.

But the transformation proceeded so slowly that it was accepted without astonishment in the daily life. The hunters who climbed the heights in pursuit of hares or wild boars had well noticed the proliferation of the small trees, but they had attributed it to the freaks of nature. Therefore, nobody disturbed the work of this man. If they had suspected it was his doing, they would have interfered. He was above suspicion. Who could have imagined, in the villages and in the administrations, such perseverance in the most splendid generosity?

From 1920 on, I visited Elzéard Bouffier each year. I never saw him feel down or doubting. And still, only God knows if God himself pushed him! I did not take the account of his vexations. But one can easily image that for such a success, it was necessary to overcome adversity; that to ensure the victory of such a passion, despair had to be fought. In one year, he had planted more than ten thousand maple trees. They all died. The next year, he abandoned the maples and returned to the beeches, which grew even better than the oaks.

To get a better idea of this exceptional character, one must not forget that he performed his feat in total solitude, so total that, towards the end of his life, he lost the habit to speak. Or perhaps he considered it unnecessary?

In 1933, a dumbfounded forest ranger came to visit him. This functionary served him an order not to make fire outside to not endanger the growth of this natural forest. This was the first time, said this naive man, that a forest was observed to grow all alone. At that time, he used to plant beeches twelve kilometers away from his house. To avoid having to return each evening—for he was seventy-five years old—he contemplated building a small stone cabin at the place where he was planting then. He did so the next year.

In 1935, a true administrative delegation came to examine the "natural forest". There was a big shot from the National Forestry Commission, an elected representative, technicians. Lots of useless words were spoken. It was decided to do something, and luckily, nothing was done except the only useful measure: the forest was placed under the protection of the state and it was prohibited to go make charcoal there. It was impossible not to be subjugated by the beauty of these young healthy trees. The forest exerted its seductive power even on the representative himself.

I had a friend among the forestry managers, who was a member of this delegation. I explained the mystery to him. One day the next week, we both went to visit Elzéard Bouffier. We found him at his work, twenty kilometers away from the place of the inspection.

This forestry manager was not my friend for nothing. He knew about the value of things. He knew when to remain quiet. I offered some eggs I had brought as a present. We shared our snack amongst us three and passed several hours in silent contemplation of the landscape.

The area we had come from was covered by trees between six to seven meters tall. I remembered how this area had looked in 1913: a desert... The peaceful and regular work, the fresh mountain air, his simple life and most of all the serenity of his soul had given this old man an almost solemn health. He was an athlete of God. I wondered how many hectares more he would cover with trees.

Before we left, my friend made only a brief suggestion concerning certain trees for which this ground might provide a healthy habitat. He didn't insist. "For the simple reason," he told me afterwards, "that this man knows more about it than I." After another hour of walking—having mulled over the idea—he added: "He knows more about it than the whole world. He has found a great way of being happy!"

Thanks to this manager, not only the forest, but also the happiness of this man were henceforth protected. He appointed three foresters to enforce the protection and terrorized them such that they remained insensitive to all bribery attempts of any loggers.

The work was endangered seriously only during the war of 1939. The cars then ran on gas generators fueled by charcoal or wood, and there was never enough wood. They began logging the oaks of 1910, but the region is so far away from all traffic lines that the enterprise was a huge financial failure. It was abandoned. The shepherd never saw anything of it. He was thirty kilometers further away, peacefully continuing his task, ignoring the war of 39 as he had ignored the war of 14.

I saw Elzéard Bouffier for the last time in June 1945. He was then eighty-seven years old. I had returned to the desert, but now, despite the dilapidated state in which the war had left the country, there was a bus service between the valley of the Durance and the mountains. To this relatively fast means of transport I attributed my not recognizing anymore the country of my earlier strolls. It also seemed to to me that the route made me pass by new places. Only by the name of a village could I assert that I was right in that same formerly sorry and ruined region. I got off the bus at Vergons.

In 1913, this hamlet of ten to twelve houses had three inhabitants. They were savage, detested each other, and lived from trapping: they lived in about the physical and moral state of prehistoric men. Nettles devoured the abandoned houses around them. They were in a hopeless condition. They could only wait for death: a situation that hardly predisposes one to virtue.

All had changed. Even the air itself. Instead of the dry and brutal gusts of wind which had greeted me formerly, a soft breeze charged with aromatic odors blew. A sound similar to that of water came from the heights: it was that of the wind in the forests. Finally and most astonishingly I heard the true sound of water plashing in a basin. I saw that there was indeed a fountain, that it was abundant, and, which touched me most, that someone had planted a lime tree next to it, which might already have been four years old, already thick; an undeniable symbol of resurrection.

Elsewhere, Vergons showed the traces of maintenance work for which hope was a necessity. Hope had thus returned. One had cleared the ruins, had cut down the dilapidated sections of wall and had rebuilt five houses. The hamlet now counted twenty-eight inhabitants, including four young families. The new buildings, freshly plastered in roughcast, were surrounded by kitchen gardens where there grew, mixed but neatly aligned, vegetables and flowers, cabbage and roses, leek and snapdragons, celery and anemones. It had become a inviting place where one would have liked to live.

From there on, I made my way by foot. The war having just ended, life had not yet fully recovered, but Lazarus had risen from the grave. On the lower flanks of the mountains, I saw small fields of barley and of rye; at the bottom of the narrow valleys there were green pastures.

In no more than the eight years that have passed since then the whole region became resplendent with health and prosperity. In place of the ruins I had seen in 1913, there are now neat farms, well plastered, suggesting a happy and comfortable life. The old sources, fed by the rain and the snow held back by the forests, are running again. Their water is caught and channeled. Besides each farm, in groves of maple, the fountains overflow onto carpets of fresh mint. The villages have been rebuilt piece by piece. New people have come from the plains, where real estate is expensive, and have settled in the region, bringing youth, movement, and the spirit of adventure with them. In the streets, one meets well-fed men and women, boys and girls who can laugh and who have rediscovered a taste for country festivals. Including the old inhabitants, unrecognizable since they live gently with the new arrivals, more than ten thousand people owe their happiness to Elzéard Bouffier.

When I think that one single man, reduced to his own simple physical and spiritual resources, was sufficient to turn this desert into this land of Canaan, I consider the human condition admirable after all. But when I account for all the unwavering nobility of the soul and the determined generosity necessary to achieve this result, I feel a deep respect for this old peasant without culture who managed to conclude this work worthy of God.

Elzéard Bouffier died peacefully in 1947 at the nursing home of Banon.