Food Forest Podcast

Food Forest Institute

Food Forest Podcast with Louis De Jaeger inspires and informs about the possibilities, challenges, and best practices of food forests. We explore how to create resilient ecosystems by diving into topics such as agroforestry, forest gardening, syntropic agriculture, trees, water, fungi, climate, communities, buildings, and desertification. Through expert conversations and real-life stories, we uncover practical insights and visionary ideas to help regenerate landscapes and reconnect people with nature. 🌱🌍

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20 episodes
Updated Wednesday

Episodes20

Newest first

Wednesday · 55 min
Food Forest Podcast: Martin Crawford – Turn Tree Nuts into Staple Foods
Host Louis De Jaeger speaks with Martin Crawford, a pioneer of food forests, about the potential of nuts and perennial crops as staple foods. They explore agroforestry, biodiversity, and practical ways to design resilient food systems that nourish both people and ecosystems. #FoodForestPodcast #Agroforestry #PerennialFood #TreeCrops #RegenerativeAgriculture #FoodForests #SustainableFood #Biodiversity #ClimateResilience #MartinCrawford
July 22 · 41 min
Food Forest Podcast: Tomas Remiarz – How to Avoid the Biggest Food Forest Mistakes
Tomas Remiarz joins Louis De Jaeger to share practical lessons from decades of designing food forests and restoring landscapes. They discuss common permaculture mistakes, resilient forest garden design, ecological restoration, and why community and education are essential for creating thriving ecosystems. #FoodForestPodcast #TomasRemiarz #FoodForests #ForestGardening #Permaculture #RegenerativeAgriculture #EcologicalRestoration #Agroforestry
July 15 · 1 hr
Food Forest Podcast: Neal Spackman – Turn drylands into food abundance
Host Louis De Jaeger speaks with Neal Spackman about restoring drylands, mangroves, and coastal ecosystems through regenerative design. They explore community-led restoration, agroforestry, mariculture, and the role of ecological health in human prosperity. #FoodForestPodcast #RegenerativeAgriculture #MangroveRestoration #Agroforestry #CommunityForestry #Mariculture #EcologicalRestoration #RegenerativeTourism #SustainableLiving #NealSpackman
July 8 · 56 min
Food Forest Podcast: Mariangela Hungria – How Microbes Can Replace Chemical
Mariangela Hungria joins Louis De Jaeger to explore how beneficial microbes can reduce dependence on synthetic fertilizers while improving soil health and crop productivity. Together, they discuss biological nitrogen fixation, regenerative agriculture, microbial biodiversity, and the future of resilient food systems. #FoodForestPodcast #MariangelaHungria #RegenerativeAgriculture #SoilHealth #Microbes #Agroecology
July 1 · 28 min
Food Forest Podcast: Krishna McKenzie – How Local Food Helps Us Reconnect with Nature
Krishna McKenzie joins Louis De Jaeger to explore how food forests, local food systems, and traditional diets can help restore our connection to nature. Inspired by natural farming and the work of Masanobu Fukuoka, this conversation highlights the role of community, culture, and regenerative agriculture in creating a more resilient future. #FoodForestPodcast #KrishnaMcKenzie #FoodForests #NaturalFarming #LocalFood #RegenerativeAgriculture #CommunityResilience #Permaculture
June 24 · 43 min
Food Forest Podcast: Looby Macnamara – How Nature-Inspired Design Can Transform Your Life
Looby Macnamara joins Louis De Jaeger to explore how permaculture principles can shape not only landscapes, but also relationships, communities, and everyday life. Together, they discuss holistic design, the Design Web, and how small intentional actions can create lasting regenerative change. #FoodForestPodcast #LoobyMacnamara #Permaculture #HolisticDesign #RegenerativeLiving
June 17 · 51 min
Food Forest Podcast: Sagara – Food forest as a spiritual master
Host Louis De Jaeger speaks with Sagara about the spiritual dimensions of food forestry, exploring how working with living systems can transform our relationship with nature, time, and nourishment. They discuss community, eco-anxiety, emotional resilience, and the mindful role of AI in understanding complex ecosystems. #FoodForestPodcast #SpiritualAgriculture #RegenerativeEcology #MindfulFarming #EcoAnxiety #CommunityResilience #Permaculture #FoodForests #NatureConnection #SustainableLiving
June 10 · 45 min
Food Forest Podcast: Anna Locke – How to Bring the Wild into Your Garden
Anna Locke joins Louis De Jaeger to explore food forests, edible landscapes, and regenerative gardening. Together, they discuss biodiversity, low-maintenance permaculture systems, community food projects, and how reconnecting with nature can transform our gardens and lives. #FoodForestPodcast #AnnaLocke #FoodForests #Permaculture #EdibleLandscapes #RegenerativeGardening
June 3 · 54 min
Food Forest Podcast: Michael Judd – Food Forest Cemetery and Pawpaws
Host Louis De Jaeger speaks with ecological designer Michael Judd about reimagining burial as an act of regeneration. From creating a food forest cemetery to the role of nut trees and pawpaws in long-term food security, this episode explores green burial, perennial systems, and how death can give back to life and land. #FoodForestPodcast #GreenBurial #FoodForestCemetery #PerennialFood #RegenerativeDesign #Pawpaws #NutTrees #EcologicalLiving #EndOfLifeCare #Agroforestry
May 6 · 50 min
Food Forest Podcast: Chris Evans – From Fukuoka to Nepal: food forest lessons learned
In this episode of the Food Forest Podcast, Louis De Jaeger speaks with Chris Evans about his journey from the UK to Nepal and how community forestry and permaculture reshaped his understanding of regeneration. Chris shares why real change begins with commitment and connection, and how degraded land can be restored into abundant agro-ecosystems when ecology, culture, and ethics come together. A grounded and hopeful conversation about land stewardship, education, and community-led regeneration. #FoodForestPodcast #CommunityForestry #Permaculture #Regeneration #Agroforestry
April 29 · 49 min
Food Forest Podcast: Jyde Hamoonga – How farmers regenerate Africa with food forests
Host Louis De Jaeger speaks with Jyde Hamoonga from World Vision Zambia about Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR) and its transformative impact on degraded landscapes. They discuss community engagement, youth innovation, policy integration, and local champions restoring soil, water, and biodiversity across Zambia. #FMNR #FoodForestPodcast #RegenerativeAgriculture #Zambia #CommunityForestry #SustainableFarming #Permaculture #SoilHealth #EnvironmentalRestoration #YouthInAgriculture
April 22 · 1 hr 6 min
Food Forest Podcast: Brad Lancaster – Regenerating Life in the Driest Landscapes
In this episode of the Food Forest Podcast, Louis De Jaeger speaks with Brad Lancaster about restoring some of the driest landscapes on Earth. Brad shares his expertise in rainwater harvesting, planting native food-producing species, and designing microclimates that encourage abundance. The conversation explores community involvement, learning from mistakes, and applying indigenous knowledge to create resilient, thriving ecosystems even in harsh environments. #FoodForestPodcast #RegenerativeAgriculture #RainwaterHarvesting #Permaculture #FoodForests #SustainableLandManagement
April 15 · 1 hr
Food Forest Podcast: Peter Bane – Why most intentional (food forest) communities fail
Peter Bane, permaculture elder and founder of Permaculture Activist, shares 30+ years of experience building eco-villages and intentional communities across North America. He explores the real-life challenges of communal living – from finances and conflict to intergenerational collaboration – and why permaculture works best when people and place come first.
April 8 · 1 hr
Food Forest Podcast: Pippa Chapman – Transform your backyard lawn into a food forest
In this episode, host Louis De Jaeger speaks with Pippa Chapman, RHS-trained gardener and permaculture designer, about her journey from conventional, manicured gardens to wild, productive food forests. Pippa explains how permaculture gardens can stay resilient in drought, what it’s like to design forest gardens on private estates, and how awards and recognition have helped her share regenerative ideas more widely. She also talks about balancing beauty, productivity, play, and family life in real gardens – and how a hopeful vision, plus a willingness to learn from mistakes, can transform both landscapes and communities.
April 1 · 48 min
Food Forest Podcast: Alpha Lo – How to restore water cycles with food forests
In this episode, host Louis De Jaeger speaks with Alpha Lo, a leading expert in water cycle restoration, about the deep connection between trees, rainfall, and climate resilience. Alpha explains how restoring the water cycle alongside carbon management is essential for addressing climate change, and how food forests and agroforestry systems can support healthier ecosystems and communities. They also discuss water strategies for the hospitality sector, community-led restoration projects, and the urgent need for collective action in the face of a global water crisis.
March 25 · 1 hr 3 min
Food Forest Podcast: Laurie & Dan – Can you live from your food forest?
In this episode, Laurie and Dan share the story behind Freedom Food Forest, their permaculture project in the UK, and how it has transformed their relationship, their health, and their understanding of freedom. They talk about leaving behind conventional expectations, travelling and learning from indigenous cultures, and slowly building an off-grid, largely self-sufficient lifestyle. Along the way, they reflect on growing up, healing, and finding purpose through working with the land. Their goal of producing around 80% of their own food becomes a doorway into deeper questions about community, mental health, and what it really means to live freely in today’s world.
March 18 · 43 min
Food Forest Podcast: Andy Dibben – How to grow a profitable farm that feeds your village
In this episode, host Louis De Jaeger sits down with Andy Dibben, head grower at Abbey Home Farm, to explore what a truly community-focused farm looks like in practice. Andy shares how the farm supplies fresh food for around 800 people every week, integrates trees into vegetable production, and uses agroforestry to build climate-resilient systems. They talk about the realities behind the numbers – the wins, the risks, and the ongoing experimentation needed to keep both land and business healthy. From biodiversity and perennial crops to wildlife-friendly fields and evolving systems, this conversation offers a grounded, hopeful roadmap for farmers and eaters who want a more sustainable food future.
March 11 · 49 min
Food Forest Podcast – Elspeth Hay: How to Rediscover Trees as Staple Food Sources
Host Louis De Jaeger speaks with Elspeth Hay, author of Feed Us With Trees, about humanity’s forgotten relationship with perennial food systems. They explore trees as historic staple foods, the resilience of perennials, Indigenous food knowledge, and how reconnecting with tree-based nourishment can reshape our food systems, culture, and sense of belonging. #FoodForestPodcast #PerennialFood #TreesAsFood #Agroforestry #IndigenousKnowledge #RegenerativeFood #FoodSystems #EcologicalAbundance #SustainableLiving
March 4 · 1 hr 2 min
Food Forest Podcast: Zach Weiss – How Do You Create a Water Plan for Your Food Forest?
In this episode, host Louis De Jaeger speaks with water expert Zach Weiss, student of Sepp Holzer and founder of Elemental Ecosystems. They discuss the vital connection between water, land, and community – and how restoring natural water cycles can reverse ecological degradation. Zach explains the importance of designing with water in mind, empowering communities to steward their landscapes, and fostering a new mindset of care, collaboration, and regeneration.
February 25 · 54 min
Food Forest Podcast: Alan Carter – Scotland’s Guide to Sustainable Growth
In this episode, host Louis De Jaeger speaks with Scottish food forester Alan Carter, author of A Food Forest in Your Garden and a pioneer of sustainable land use in the north of Scotland. Alan shares lessons from planting over a million trees, discusses the country’s deforestation history, and explores how agroforestry can coexist with traditional farming. He also reveals how small gardens can become abundant forest ecosystems – even in unpredictable climates.

Food Forest Podcast

Food Forest Podcast: Martin Crawford – Turn Tree Nuts into Staple Foods

Food Forest Podcast: Tomas Remiarz – How to Avoid the Biggest Food Forest Mistakes

Food Forest Podcast: Neal Spackman – Turn drylands into food abundance

Food Forest Podcast: Mariangela Hungria – How Microbes Can Replace Chemical

Food Forest Podcast: Krishna McKenzie – How Local Food Helps Us Reconnect with Nature

Food Forest Podcast: Looby Macnamara – How Nature-Inspired Design Can Transform Your Life

Food Forest Podcast: Sagara – Food forest as a spiritual master

Food Forest Podcast: Anna Locke – How to Bring the Wild into Your Garden

Food Forest Podcast: Michael Judd – Food Forest Cemetery and Pawpaws

Food Forest Podcast: Chris Evans – From Fukuoka to Nepal: food forest lessons learned

Food Forest Podcast: Jyde Hamoonga – How farmers regenerate Africa with food forests

Food Forest Podcast: Brad Lancaster – Regenerating Life in the Driest Landscapes

Food Forest Podcast: Peter Bane – Why most intentional (food forest) communities fail

Food Forest Podcast: Pippa Chapman – Transform your backyard lawn into a food forest

Food Forest Podcast: Alpha Lo – How to restore water cycles with food forests

Food Forest Podcast: Laurie & Dan – Can you live from your food forest?

Food Forest Podcast: Andy Dibben – How to grow a profitable farm that feeds your village

Food Forest Podcast – Elspeth Hay: How to Rediscover Trees as Staple Food Sources

Food Forest Podcast: Zach Weiss – How Do You Create a Water Plan for Your Food Forest?

Food Forest Podcast: Alan Carter – Scotland’s Guide to Sustainable Growth