Phil Stevens

Phil grew up in the Sonoran Desert borderlands, where he developed a deep and abiding interest in interwoven natural systems, the cultures that developed in them, and how they flourished in harsh environments. This pathway led to permaculture and regenerative concepts, and has formed the basis of what he's been up to ever since shifting to Aotearoa New Zealand in the early 2000s.

Alongside a sort of accidental career in IT, Phil got into permaculture design and education beginning around 2010. Since then, his smallholding Slow Farm has become a living laboratory and demonstration site for no-till, syntropic agroforestry, species diversity, water capture, earth building, biochar, and all sorts of things involving number 8 wire. He still does some work in technology but is an unapologetic reader of books, player of music, and non-user of anything AI.

These days, Phil is immersed in the mahi of helping establish a thriving circular economy based around biochar, and serves as both the chair of the Biochar Network NZ and on the executive board of the Australia New Zealand Biochar Industry Group. In these roles, along with his consulting and commercial pursuits, he works with a diverse set of communities and enterprises to help turn more of our abundant biomass resources into stable carbon and useful energy, and provide beneficial outcomes for our primary producers as well as the natural and built environment.