The indigenous Mesolithic societies of Europe never disappeared: they adapted, and survived in new ways. Their cultures, values, spiritual beliefs, and relationships with the land are encoded in the folk traditions and regional agroecological systems that persist throughout Europe. The elegance of these systems is shown in how they have thrived for millennia on some of the most contested land in Europe, surviving climate change, war, pestilence, drought, and economic upheaval. They are part of a 30,000-year-old unbroken tradition and relationship with the land, but they are rapidly disappearing. What’s at stake in their survival is not the preservation of a bygone relic, but the protection and expansion of relationships with the land that can feed our communities, preserve biodiversity through climate change, and create productive ecosystems that last for millennia.

Agroforestry, Assisted Migration, Crop Preservation, Native EcologyMax PaschallJuly 22, 2020agroforestry, agroecology, permaculture, nature, Europe, indigenous, native, hazel, hazelnut, filbert, apple, crabapple, hawthorn, sloe, grain, cereal, hemp, flax, poppy, papaver, opium, orchard, climate change, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Natufians, agriculture, farming, hunter-gatherer, diversity, hybrid, creole, decolonize, decolonization, colonization, imperialism, resistance, forest garden, controlled burn, swidden, culture, society, war, peace, maple, grape, vine, Roman, Etruscan, British, European, shaman, stone age, natural architecture, reeds, willow, wicker, basket, basketry, salix, vitis, corylus, morus, mulberry, malus, global warming, nuts, oak, dehesa, coltura promiscua, coltura mista, arbustum gallicum, vite maritata, alberata, hautain, nettle, knotweed, duck, hunting, ivy, forest, forests, environment, fire, wheat, emmer, einkorn, spelt, barley, rye, reindeer, deer, coppice, pollard, ice age, Ice Age, Sweden, hoe, ploughing, night soil, maslin, ancient, prehistoric, pigs, boar, aurochs, cork, cork oak, Quercus, colonized, endangered species, endangered, biodiversity, medicine, tools, fodder, livestock, fields, crops, corn, maize, beans, legumes, peas, lentils, hedgerow, hedgerows, violence, Italy, milpa, Native American, Iron Age, chestnut, olive, elm, vegetables, herbs, polyculture, monoculture, diverse, resistant, resilient, climate resilient, citrus, Sicily, Italian, Rome, Gaul, Celt, Celtic, Tuscan, Tuscany, Toscana, Permaculture, climate, grains, cereals, Bere, mashlum, domesticated, wild Comments

The Life, Death, and Rebirth of Cuba’s Most Historic Tobacco

All modern Cuban tobacco varieties are descended from a single ancestor: an ancient heirloom known as ‘Criollo.’ This variety was one of their most prized sacred plants of the Taíno people, and after colonization was preserved by small farmers in remote mountain communities, along with many other parts of Taíno culture and tradition. It went from the edge of extinction to become one of the most well-known tobacco varieties in the world.

Crop Preservation, Native EcologyMax PaschallMay 2, 2020criollo, creole, Cuba, Spanish, Columbus, Taino, indigenous, native, tobacco, cigar, agriculture, culture, survival, seedkeeping, Caribbean Comment

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