Happy Syntropic New Year!

Why go into exile in Brazil in the early 1980s when you are Swiss? For Ernst Götsch, the answer is simple: to take over a farm in the south of the state of Bahia and produce cocoa in particular. In a territory devastated by deforestation and chemistry, the scientist then attempts to bring back life in a more natural way.

Think about the internal processes of nature rather than taking refuge in the use of external inputs. Use regular pruning to recreate biomass and promote growth. Introduce plants that store water. Rely on drought-resistant plants to prepare the ground for other crops. Here are some principles grouped around the term “syntropy” that he uses. Almost a philosophy of life, since it seeks to organize ever more abundant and complex models, contrary to what natural entropy prefigures*.

“I’m not a missionary,” the man said, smiling. I work with plants and animals. Because they don’t lie or pretend. Humans, yes. But in nature, relationships within a species are based primarily on love and cooperation. As if each individual were asking themselves: “What can I do to be loved, to be useful to the entire system?” » Essential questions to ask yourself at the start of the year.

* From Greek entropêaction of transforming oneself. Coming from thermodynamics, this term characterizes the increasing disorganization towards which any system tends.