While researching permaculture history I stumbled upon Masanobu Fukuoka (福岡 正信) 1913 -2008, a recent Japanese celebrity farmer known for his do nothing style of farming. What he seems to have been doing was to try to continue the old ways of permanent agriculture in a more modern setting. With mastery of these techniques he was abel to create a permaculture farm on baron land to everyone's amazement.
"NOHO". Yes! No till. "Do nothing farming"..add a splash of design and we have permaculture in it's modern form. Are these the secrets farmers throughout history tried to keep? Is that why we continue to relearn ancient wisdom? It really is wise to farm in this manner, and it seems to so many to be a new idea, yet it is one of the oldest and a pillar of civilizations small and large.
After being inspired by his story and the Japanese pictographs of "SHIZEN NOHO" we made a T-Shirt. I love how "no ho(e)" and Zen are in the name. Feels good to know we are following a path of least resistance towards a zen filled future of no hoeing.