SOILSOUL
Relearning How to Listen to the Earth
There is an ancient Japanese philosophy that speaks about the quiet intelligence of nature — a way of being where humans are not above the soil, but part of it. Farmers like Masanobu Fukuoka believed that the soil is not something to control, but something to collaborate with. His practice of natural farming — including the poetic act of throwing seed balls into the землю — was never just about growing food. It was about restoring a relationship.
A relationship we have, somehow, forgotten.
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The soil is silently degrading
Today, across Europe, soil is silently degrading. Beneath our feet, a living system that sustains life, culture, and climate is losing its vitality. And yet, most people don’t notice — because we’ve lost not only contact with the soil, but also the language to speak about it.
SOILSOUL was born exactly at this intersection: between memory and loss, between science and art, between الأرض and imagination.
SOILSOUL is a European project connecting art, ecology, and citizen participation to promote soil literacy and inspire collective regeneration. Bringing together partners from Italy, Spain, and Portugal, the project seeks to reconnect people with the soil as a living, breathing system — essential not only for food, but for identity, resilience, and future.
But instead of starting with data, SOILSOUL starts with experience.
We believe that before people can protect the soil, they need to feel it. Touch it. Work with it. Tell stories about it.
That’s why this project uses art as a bridge.
What are we trying to change?
SOILSOUL aims to rebuild the relationship between society and soil through creative and participatory processes. More specifically, we work to:
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Make soil literacy accessible through interdisciplinary learning
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Empower local communities — especially youth and rural participants — to take part in regeneration actions
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Combine natural farming practices with artistic and narrative methodologies
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Develop tools and approaches that can be replicated across Europe
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Strengthen transnational networks between ecological, cultural, and social actors
Between April and July 2026, SOILSOUL unfolds through three interconnected dimensions — each led by a partner of the consortium:
Natural Farm Shizen
Workshops on natural farming, humus creation, and reforestation using seed balls — echoing the philosophy of Masanobu Fukuoka and his vision of gentle, regenerative action.
Creative laboratories using soil as a medium: clay, natural pigments, textures, and tactile exploration — transforming soil from “resource” into “co-creator”.
Storytelling workshops and visual narrative creation — helping participants rediscover how to speak about soil, and how to listen to the stories it holds.
from workshops to living interventions
These activities don’t end in the studio.
They grow into real ecological and artistic interventions within local communities — creating spaces where people engage directly with the soil, not as an abstract concept, but as something alive, fragile, and deeply personal.
A Dialogue We Are Just Beginning to Restore
SOILSOUL is not just a project. It is an invitation.
To slow down.
To touch the ground.
To remember that soil is not dirt — it is a living archive of everything we are.
And through art, perhaps, we can finally begin to speak with it again.
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SEED BALLS (TSUCHI DANGO)
PRACTICE
The Seed Balls method (also known as Tsuchi Dango in Japanese natural farming and associated with Masanobu Fukuoka) is an ecological planting and soil-regeneration technique adapted here as a Non-Burnout practice.
Artistic intervention in Madeira
At ARTE.M on Madeira, we work a lot with mental health, art therapy, and burnout prevention. Over time, we started noticing something simple: people don’t always need more words — they need experiences that help them slow down and reconnect.
This is how the idea for this activity was born, we introduced to our audience two simple nature-based practices: seed balls and “forest in a jar.”
Making seed balls — mixing soil, clay, and seeds — became a quiet, grounding process.
Creating a small ecosystem in a glass jar invited reflection on balance, care, and growth.
These activities were not just creative exercises.
They became tools for emotional grounding, stress relief, and reconnection — with nature, and with oneself.
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Stepping Outside
To step outside.
To meet the soil directly.
Together with our partner SocioHabitaFunchal, E.M.
and Parque Ecológico do Funchal, we created an activity that moved beyond walls and into the landscape.
Participants — seniors and children from the SocioHabitaFunchal, E.M.community centers — came together in the park, inspired by ideas of ecological farming and collective care. What began as curiosity quickly became action.
They started building compost.
Touching the soil. Preparing it. Feeding it.
Compost became more than a technique.
It became a gesture of trust in the future.
A way to return something back.
And as the soil was prepared for future trees, another connection was growing — less visible, but just as important.
From Soil to Soul:
Art in the Making
So we are developing a series of creative workshops focused on working with natural pigments and earth-based materials, exploring how soil can become a medium for expression.
These workshops will lead to a collective exhibition:
“Soil Soul”
Where artists create works with the soil — not just about it.
A simple idea:
to bring the earth into art,
and keep rebuilding our connection with it.
A Summer in Motion
This summer, things grow bigger.
Together with SocioHabita Funchal, we’re planning seed ball actions, workshops, and open conversations with farmers and ecologists — about soil, regeneration, and balanced living.
With support from VegMadeira, we’ll also explore sustainable food and conscious choices.
And of course, ARTE.M will bring artistic interventions into it all.
It will all lead to a final gathering…
Quinta Magnólia, July 28