Agricultural Project in China
By Faraz Maani, Managing Director, Praxis Ag. (Dali)
Praxis Agricultural was established in Dali, Yunnan province in 1999 with the goal to be economically viable while advancing the rural community and the health of urban consumers it serves. The Baha’i teachings have always been its inspiration and the motive force behind this initiative.
Our operations apply a systems approach within the local context to create a value chain designed to proffer benefits on multiple levels.
Briefly, the tripartite model consists of:
1. A farm, producing nutrition dense fruits & vegetables using innovative and regenerative agricultural practices. An additional goal is to capture & sequester carbon.
2. A fully certified, low carbon footprint food-works producing minimally processed foods such as sauces, cheese, and healthy snacks. This is mainly run by women and also aims to promote their status within the community.
3. A fledgling wholesale & retailing activity, both online and offline, that allow customers to make informed choices.
Trust, through brand identification and technical competence, are nurtured by a spirit of service and continue to be key foundational principles for success.
The project has evolved over several years through the process of action & reflection of its mission. From the onset it was clear that success required a long term view. Certain attributes, such as patience, tolerance, perseverance, effort and sacrifice, coupled with creativity and business acumen, have proven to be not just helpful, but essential.
Albeit understanding cultural idiosyncrasies and local dialects is a slow process, imbuing oneself with the spirit of the Chinese people at the rural level has provided glimpses of insight into the potential contribution of its peoples to help shape a future world civilisation. Building true friendships and developing trust have been two key points to forming a strong foundation for our endeavours.
Understandably, weathering myriads of challenges is part and parcel of this process, yet receiving timely divine confirmations, has helped both burnish a purity of intention and refining of one’s motives. It has helped as a constant reminder to continue efforts within the larger context of living a life of service and contributing to the community.
It must be said that such work is not always financially rewarding, yet contentment mostly outweighs disappointments.
Two fundamental points of focus have been the farmer and the soil:
At the most basic level, the farmer’s training and spiritual understanding with regards to the function and contribution of the soil helps them better serve the community, and elevate their stewardship of the environment. On the other hand, nurturing diversity in the living soil biome and resulting generational seeds, in turn helps serve the noble goals of the farmer.
Over time, sharing knowledge has helped build technical capacity. More importantly, we have found that, many a time, efficacy trumps a given perceived efficiency. That is to say, our team’s harmony and productivity is enhanced when decisions incorporate broader human considerations over purely economic factors. Consequently, our daily work largely proceeds with minimum or no supervision.
To build collective capacity in the long term, we create an encouraging environment by allowing flexibility and universal participation in decision making, where possible within a given context. This occasionally has sparked some necessary challenges bearing fruits that spur us forward.
A preference for a flat organisational structure, of 12 to 15 employees, has created independent minded and responsible coworkers who engage in a consultative posture of learning, usually ‘on the go’. In this way, a unified vision is reached and much wasted energy and noise is reduced. The intent is that all view themselves more as artisans than just workers.
Over the years, local government officials and a leading university have come to consult and engage us on poverty alleviation, and as partners to advance the local economy.
Despite our small size, consumers throughout the community and nationwide have come to associate our brand as being trustworthy.
Finally, a weekly educational program, crafted mainly for junior youth, titled ‘Nature & Life’, has garnered much interest. Sessions typically explore scientific topics that also connect hidden virtues within nature’s workings to both individual and community life.
