Beyond the original impulse, many biodynamic farmers around the world are looking for a more individualized path with their preparations.
In many places, the search for an alternative path with the preparations is initially driven by contextual realities, such as the difficulty of growing and adapting medicinal plants in different climates, the traditional or indigenous culture strongly represented in the community or increasing regulations on the handling of animal organs. However, for many people, the adaptation of biodynamics to their local context, far from being an unfavorable process, has become an opportunity to unfold individual paths full of meanings and potentials.
For some farmers, for example, the use of local ingredients that are closely connected to their traditional and indigenous roots not only supports preparations that can better strengthen the individuality of the farm, but also brings biodynamics closer to their cultural identity. From the many experiences we have come across, such as farmers in Costa Rica using the native Urera baccifera to make preparation 504, farmers in India using the native Quercus dilatata to make preparation 505, and farmers in Brazil using the native Valeriana salicariifolia to make preparation 507, biodynamic preparations become a much more meaningful process when made with native species.
For others following an individual path with the preparations can also be a path to empowerment, and self-determination. As described by Ueli Hurter,
Among other experiences we encountered, the freedom to experiment and make preparations that resonate with local cultures can be for historically, socially repressed local minorities in Africa a tremendous act of empowerment. As one African prep maker told us: "giving the freedom and confidence to local communities that they can make their preparations and practice biodynamics can empower them enormously...we need to show farmers that they can do it, make them feel they own it". Similarly, in Latin America, we learned about the experiences of many women for whom working with the preparations in connection to their local roots represents an act of empowerment and an opportunity to position themselves in agricultural contexts where women still struggle to be valued with dignity and equality.“the will flowing through our hands goes far deeper than our thoughts. The will is what is most intimate, most individual. It is connected with our destiny. To engage our will means making a commitment on the highest level...when working with the preparations then we gain individual freedom and independent sovereignty…as a sovereign being I say: yes, I can stand upright, I am reliant on myself, I can co-create the farm individuality.”
For others, experimenting with local ingredients has a much deeper meaning, responding to an inner call to encounter the essence of a particular plant or animal with which they have a connection. This is the case, for example, with the biodynamic farmers we met in Israel, Mexico and Costa Rica, who, despite having access to the original Valeriana officinalis, have embarked on a personal journey to meet and learn from their native species of Valeriana, Valeriana dioscoridis, Valeriana edulis and Valeriana prionophyla. Beyond the individual meanings that can emerge from these deep encounters with local species, what is common to all these experiences is that a unique path of inner development can be awakened in people through a deepening relationship with the preparations. As described by a Mexican preparation maker in the context of his close relationship with his preparations:
"One develops capacities by working with the preparations, there is a parallel path of study, work, and thus new capacities appear...the person also develops".