“How to Heal Ourselves, Our Soils, and Our Communities ”

Following the huge success of Six Inches of Soil film screenings taking place in communities around the world, we’re now incredibly proud and excited to be launching the Six Inches of Soil book, “How to Heal Ourselves Our Soils and Our Communities Through Regenerative Farming”, produced in association with 5m Books. 

And, the great news is, you don’t have to wait long to get your hands on a copy because it’s launching today! You can purchase direct from 5m Books, at select screenings and events, good bookshops or from Amazon. We’re extremely grateful to Jeremy Toynbee, Managing Director, 5m Books who contacted us sometime ago and has been a staunch supporter of the film. He has worked tirelessly to produce the book and we are very grateful to him. Jeremy says, “Initially, I wanted to publish the book because we’re an agricultural publisher and we should be producing more books on the agroecological transition. That changed. As I got closer to the characters in the film and immersed in the wealth of raw footage and transcripts, I changed. I took on their passion, their desire to do better, their vision of a regenerated agri-food system and now I desperately want to play as big a role as I can in ensuring we make this transition.”

From the Six Inches of Soil team, Priya Kalia and Molly Foster have edited the book alongside Jeremy, and Lucy Michaels has also assisted with many chapters. We are very grateful to all the contributors, most of whom have featured in the film with some additional experts and a foreword written by Sarah Langford.

And that’s not all! We’re incredibly excited the book has received a five-star review from soil legend Gabe Brown. He said, “Six Inches of Soil tells the story of how and why agriculture went down the path of soil degradation which has led to losses in biodiversity, carbon, water quality and nutrient density in our foods BUT it then takes you on a captivating journey of regeneration. Highlighting farms on their regenerative journey. Showing us the way and giving us hope. A must read for all society. 

Gabe is not alone in his praise, the book also has five-star reviews from regen farmer, Ben Taylor-Davies (RegenBen), author of Islands In A Common Sea: Stories of Farming, Fishing and Food Around The World, Jenny Jefferies; Head of Horticulture and Agroforestry, Soil Association & author of The Woodchip Handbook, Ben Raskin; Head of Sustainable Farming, The Allerton Project & author of Farm to Fork: The Challenge of Sustainable Farming in 21st Century Britain, Joe Stanley.

Ben Taylor Davies: “A fantastic assembly of the trials, tribulations, successes and failures of all those connected to the land that are looking at replacing death with life in the food production system.”

Jenny Jefferies: “Readable, poetic and illustrative in its production; charming, evocative and educational in its content, Six Inches of Soil: How to Heal Our Soils, Ourselves, and Our Communities Through Regenerative Farming is above all helpful and honest. It’s not just for farmers, but for anyone and everyone.”

Ben Raskin: “The team behind Six Inches of Soil have pulled off something remarkable. This book has succeeded in capturing the passion and wonder from the film, supplementing that content with scientific, farming and policy depth to produce a work that stands strongly on its own feet. If you are lucky enough to have already watched the film, you will be delighted by the extra detail and discourse within these pages. If you are reading it fresh, the combination of interviews, discussion and reflection will probably change the way you look at soil forever.”

Joe Stanley: “To feed a growing global population, we will need to produce more food than ever before – but we must do so more sustainably than has been the case in the past seventy years. Six Inches of Soil provides a hopeful vision for sustainable farming, based on careful stewardship of our most precious resource, alongside farming with – rather than in opposition to – our natural environment. A timely work which points the way to a more sustainable approach to food, farming and the environment.”