The Biggest Little Farm

“The extraordinary complexity of our ecosystem offers never-ending possibilities for collaboration,” says John Chester. “We have the precious opportunity to work side by side with a perfect biological process that has been underway for millions of years.” John and Molly have a very real dream: to give life to a large organic farm on the outskirts of Los Angeles, where intensive monocultures have taken over, impoverishing the soil and endangering biodiversity. Filmed over eight years, the film shows how the protagonists attempt to “ride” the power of nature, accepting its surprises and its wonders. Amid failures and major minor victories, stoppages and new beginnings, the couple succeed in creating a place that demonstrates how it is still possible to re-establish harmony between humans and the environment.

The documentary addresses many important issues: the need to reconnect with nature with a specific purpose; the incentivizing of biodiversity with agriculture immune to epidemics of parasites and diseases, and without the use of pesticides; embracing failure as a possibility for new discoveries; the perception of a farm as an ecosystem; differences between regenerative, conventional and organic agriculture. Above all, it conveys an environmentalist message that is more effective than many doom-and-gloom treatises. In the course of their adventure, John and Molly learn to become more mindful of their role in the environment that surrounds them, replacing the control and dominance of nature with observation and creativity, and seeking to manage “sustainable disharmony” instead of clinging to uncompromising idealism.