Christa Herrmann represented the soil microbiome at Switzerland’s first Fermentista Festival through an engaging presentation through the journey of life on Earth, closing the microbiome cycle from soil to human and back.
- When: 10.2021
- Where: GZ Örlikon (CH)
- Role: Soil Scientist, Keynote Speaker, Weaver
- Affiliation: Terrabiom
- Partners: Wild Pulse
Just before Halloween 2021, Terrabiom was invited to represent the invisible underground world at a delicious event which put microbes in the spotlight for a full day: Switzerland’s first “Fermentista” fermentation festival. Over a keynote speech, we enjoyed to dive deep into the microbiome cycle from soil, through plant, to food and the human gut.
We were particularly excited to mix our background on soil with the magic world of food fermentation and set out to inspire each person in the audience to recognize soil as a living entity. Our co-founder Christa Herrmann found herself in front of a full room with close to 60 people right after an eye-opening speech about the human gut microbiome and its role for our health by Sarah Müllhaupt from “meine Naturheilpraxis”. Even we were speechless to learn that cemetery soils today are facing the challenge that humans are not decomposing well anymore – likely linked to our high intake of conservatives through the food we consume, which keeps off the microbes which would re-integrate dead bodies into the cycle of life. A whole other topic we added to our watchlist for the future!
Back to the soil microbiome, our diverse audience from just-starting to more experienced in the world of microbes went on a journey through the history of life with a soil focus condensed into a 1-year-scale. It left no doubts about the dependence of all life (including humans) on microorganisms: They are our original ancestors, as well as our symbiotic collaborators in our everyday life. Despite the tremendous effect humans have had on Earth’s ecosystems over the past 250 years, the takeaway-message for the listeners was one of hope: Each of us can do something for healthy soils, every day.
- LEARN: Understand what’s at stake, and what’s going on. Be curious and educate yourself about soil health.
- CARE: for any decision you take, consider your microbes first. Take care of them since they take care of you.
- ACT: get active and create spaces & opportunities to let nature do her job. She holds the most effective solutions for our greatest global challenges. Grow a plant, join a gardening tribe, help your local nature conservation association.
The interest in soil, earthworms (yes we brought some soil life to the stage) and Terrabiom was impressive. Various people were so inspired that they wanted to join our association on the spot – we’ve taken note to launch memberships soon! Bilateral exchanges across generations confirmed that there is a lot of interest about soil health amongst fermentistas and the general public. We’re excited to see these humans realize the importance of keeping our soils healthy.
About
Das jährliche Festival in Zürich rund um das Thema Fermentation. Vorträge, Workshops, Podiumsdiskussionen, Marktstände und Networking.
Das Fermentista Festival wurde im Jahr 2021 von Franziska Wick ins Leben gerufen. Seit 2022 wird es in Zusammenarbeit mit Soil To Soul jährlich durchgeführt.
Mehr erfahren
🔗 Wild Pulse / Fermentista Festival
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