What are appropriate and inappropriate technologies for soil to benefit water? Lee Rinehart of the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) shares the history behind this question as well as how the question relates to their ongoing Soil for Water initiative. People may hear of appropriate technology in relation to an international context but Lee reminds us that no matter the context appropriate technology should be locally-adaptive, place-based, and people-centered to be most beneficial socially, ecologically, and economically.

Lee tells several stories of when technologies were introduced and did not have the desired anticipated benefits but disrupted relationships that were naturally more integrated such as the carbon cycle and the integration of livestock in agricultural and rural landscapes.

To learn more about the National Center for Appropriate Technology's Soil for Water initiative and join a dynamic community of people in Virginia and across the world who are curious about water and soil practices that create resilient, profitable agricultural systems, please visit: https://soilforwater.org/

The classic book by E.F. Schumacher that Lee referenced, Small Is Beautiful: A Study of Economics As If People Mattered, can be obtained online or from a local independent bookstore.

We can all be 4 the Soil, 4 the Water. Therefore, we encourage you to do your place-based, locally-adaptive part to build soil health on your farm, in your garden, and in your landscape. Learn more about the Virginia Soil Health Coalition and hear the conversation on our websites, please visit https://www.virginiasoilhealth.org/ and https://www.4thesoil.org or wherever you get your podcasts!