In July 2022 we were home to a unique retreat, Sacred Land & Wholesome Food. A partnership between us, renowned activist Satish Kumar and Be The Earth Foundation.

‍Here at 42 Acres, we offer each member of our team the opportunity to join an experience. This is the story of Sacred Land and Wholesome Food, shared by our wonderful gardener and grower Molly. 

"As a gardener and grower at 42 Acres I witness all different types of retreats pass through our space, but rarely get the fortuity to be involved with their stay. So, when the opportunity came up for me to join the Sacred Land and Wholesome Food retreat - led by Satish Kumar and Be The Earth Foundation - I leaped at the chance. Having read Satish’s book ‘You Are Therefore I Am’ last year, I had already learned a little about Satish’s life and what his philosophies were, and was keen to know more.

I went into the weekend with an open mind and no expectations of myself nor the retreat, only that I knew I wanted to be present and most importantly, to listen. The retreat started off with a delicious fire cooked meal in the woodland, which was valuable time to get to know one another and ground ourselves into space. The next couple of days were filled with a combination of sessions by Satish, which included him speaking, reading from his books and question and answer time, as well as activities such as meditation and Qigong which was a new experience for all of us, both were led beautifully by June, Satish’s wife.

Topics of conversation ranged hugely from vegetable growing and the importance of composting to spiritual and physical wellbeing. We discussed taking care of our bodies through nutrition, which greatly aligns with 42 Acres ‘Soil-to-Gut’ philosophies. It was wonderful to see the other retreat guests getting to learn about this and seeing how we organically and biodynamically grow our produce, and then eat it in amazingly wholesome meals. 

We were also very fortunate to be led on a walk and talk by environmentalist Ben Goldsmith, who took us into his farm (which neighbors 42 Acres) and showed us how he is rewilding his land. This is something that 42 Acres is following in the footsteps of, so it was particularly inspiring for the 42 team members to hear about and learn how we can all do our bit to improve the quality of our soil and wildlife. 

The Sacred Land And Wholesome Food retreat gave me valuable time to not only learn from a wonderful teacher, but to reflect on the parts of my life that I could alter to help me on my way to becoming a better person, for myself and for my planet. I met wonderful and like minded people who it was an honor to spend the weekend at 42 Acres with."

Thanks Molly! If you want to know more about the Sacred Land & Wholesome Food retreat watch our Retreat Journal...

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Gratitude to Be The Earth Foundation & Satish Kumar for making this experience possible. Film by Jason at The Source Image.