Takota Coen is the award-winning co-owner of the Coen Farm – a wide-ranging parcel of land in the heart of Alberta, nestled in the North Saskatchewan River Basin. But the Coen Farm isn’t your average farm – it’s equal parts food production laboratory and living classroom. And Takota isn’t your average farmer. At a time when many of his peers are leaving rural communities and the farming lifestyle, Takota is embracing it. A second-generation farmer, Takota is a systems-thinking, permaculture educating, community builder who is dedicated to not only regenerating the health of the planet, but using agriculture and food consumerism as the vehicle to make it happen.
Takoda invited us to join him on his farm for a conversation about food chains, biodiversity, innovation and youth leadership.
Find him: Facebook | Instagram | YouTube
What do you think?
- Can the Coen farm be realistically scaled across Alberta, Canada and the world? Or are the market economics too tough?
- In a world that demands cheaper food, can farmers put more time and effort into being better, more ethical stewards – managing their land to enhance biodiversity – given that most consumers will still buy the cheapest meat, the cheapest produce?
- If food security comes down to us, how can we scale Takota’s education efforts to ensure more of us are thoughtful food consumers?
- Is the world too overwhelming to add another demand to the average shopper’s to do list?
More on Takota
Listen to his interview: “Permaculture as a model for an economy of well-being“
View: Drone Tour of Farm After 30 Years of Permaculture.
Listen to his podcast: “Is Industrial Agriculture Efficient, Effective & Ethical“
Favourite Book: The Art Of The Commonplace by Wendell Berry
Favourite Podcast/Documentary: Bill Mollison Permaculture Lecture Series
Favourite Website/Program: Verge Permaculture