Koberwitz: So What?

A century ago, Dr Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925), New Age guru, presented eight lectures on agriculture. His ‘Agriculture Course’ in the Summer of 1924 was presented at the estate managed by Count Carl Keyserlingk at Koberwitz, Germany (now Kobierzyce, Poland), near the city of Breslau (now Wrocław). Rudolf Steiner was neither farmer nor gardener, and nine months later he was in the grave. So what of that course, to a group of 111 Anthroposophists delivered in an obscure village, that remains obscure to the present day? Steiner’s call was for farming that focussed on biology rather than chemistry. An immediate outcome of his proposed Anthroposophic farming was the founding, at Koberwitz, of the ‘Experimental Circle’. The Circle was tasked with putting his ideas to the test, finding out what works, and then to promulgate and publish the results. Steiner’s ideas were evolved into the formulation of ‘Biodynamic farming’. Produce was differentiated with the ‘Demeter logo’, standards were developed along with certification. Biodynamics (BD) is now practiced in 60 countries with 309,500 certified BD hectares.  Steiner’s core characterisation was that ‘the farm is an organism’. An English BD farmer, Lord Northbourne, subsequently coined the term ‘organic farming’ (in 1940) foreseeing a contest of ‘organic farming’ versus ‘chemical farming’. In 1972 organic and biodynamic societies collectively founded the ‘International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements' (IFOAM), as an advocacy group. Organic agriculture (OA) is now practiced in 188 countries, and accounts for 96.3 million certified organic hectares and €135 billion per annum. Two US BD farmers, Marjorie and Mary Richards contested the aerial spraying of DDT by the US government. While their legal actions were unsuccessful, the compilation of international evidence against DDT was, in the hands of Rachel Carson, transformed, into the book ‘Silent Spring’ (1962). This led to the founding of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Most governments now have their own EPA. On his return journey from Koberwitz to Anthroposophy HQ at Dornach (Switzerland) (in 1924), Steiner made a stopover at Lauenstein, Jena (Germany). This was the beginning of Rudolf Steiner’s ‘Curative Education’ movement (more recently characterised as ‘special needs education’ and ‘therapeutic education’). The Ruskin Mill Trust continues Rudolf Steiner’s legacy, from Koberwitz 1924, of biodynamic farming and therapeutic education.