Not long ago, Matthew Teague could be found in the heart of Hong Kong juggling several plates as the general manager of a popular restaurant group in Central. Today he’s spearheading a movement, called Bridge, and asking like-minded people to join him as he adopts a simpler life. “Bridge sort of happened organically, if you’ll pardon the pun,” says Teague of his new role as a regenerative entrepreneur and educator. “My experience in the dining industry opened my eyes and shed light on food sustainability and choices, and the role good food plays in bringing together and healing communities. I felt a calling to really dig to the roots of where our food comes from, and how we’re able to consume so much of it – despite there being not a farm in sight in the city.” But a farm he did find, on Hong Kong’s Lamma Island. There, he’s embraced permaculture, as in “permanent agriculture”, trying to provide a framework for living in harmony with nature that gives back more than is consumed. Permaculture is a movement developed in the 1970s as a solution to an increasingly overburdened food system. “Globally, we’re trying to squeeze infinite growth out of a finite system of resources – and if people don’t wake up and change their consumption habits, then we’re headed for a pretty serious system collapse,” the 27-year-old says. A colleague, Janaki Chengalath, pointed Teague to Ark Eden , an organic permaculture farm that runs nature-based programmes, on nearby Lantau Island . Teague spent the first quarter of 2020 in South India, and took a permaculture design course on his return to develop Bridge. Chengalath and Teague’s sister, Rebecca, have joined him in his movement. The ‘secret ingredient’ in soil that makes gardening a stress-buster The coronavirus pandemic has shown the fragility of food systems, and Teague believes that Hong Kong must look into building a community and sourcing food locally if it wants to become more resilient. What really struck him was the use of unregulated chemicals in conventional agriculture, and how they seep not just into our food but the environment, too. “This is contributing to many of the chronic illnesses we are seeing today. We moved to Lamma, began growing our own food, discovered a community and are on a journey to live more in tandem with nature. Bridge is a platform we are using to share this journey with whomever feels a similar calling – to reconnect with nature and learn how they can heal themselves, and in turn, the planet.” The team runs workshops on topics such as composting to end food waste and produce high-quality soil, designing garden beds for a home space such as a balcony to grow your own produce, and on maintaining gut health. Bridge also offers a consulting service to people who want to design their lives or spaces to be more in line with or mimic natural, regenerative systems. “Our lives are basically an ongoing discussion of ideas that are developing and changing every day – sort of like an ecosystem. We’ve partnered with Able Charity [A Better Living Environment], also on Lamma, to develop a small piece of land into a forest garden – a permaculture concept of a garden that effectively mimics the function of a natural forest – except everything is edible,” Teague says. What Bridge is doing isn’t new, he adds – it is a return to tradition. “Historically, there’s been little empirical proof to support this paradigm of thought that returning to nature has ample benefits. It’s only now that we’re beginning to see the parallels between science and these ancient systems of medicine that have been around for thousands of years, like traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurveda . “We’re seeing real healing occur because people are discovering yoga and movement – a tangible ability to connect with our innermost nature and the world outside, through the body and breath.” Table to farm: the group turning food waste into compost Bridge has discussions online on tangible problems, too. Last week’s topic was wisdom for a healthier gut . “The most common illnesses we are seeing nowadays are to do with our gut. Under-regulated chemicals used in the agricultural industry, such as the herbicide glyphosate, or preservatives in our food, have been building up in our guts over decades, and have led to the killing of many of the beneficial microbes that our gut needs to defend against pathogens. “This creates what we call ‘leaky gut’, in which our gut effectively acts like a sieve where all the unwanted, nasty stuff is allowed to enter into the more sensitive parts of the digestive system – which can lead to chronic inflammation.” Those who knew Teague before Bridge might not recognise this New Age sage. He studied geography and planning at Cardiff University in Britain, before doing a Master of Science degree in eco-cities , but he still felt he lacked real, practical information that could help heal himself and the world around him. “What really changed the way I saw things was when I began to work on myself. I began meditation and started looking into the truth behind who I often think I am. When that lens is turned inward, that’s when you start to see everything out there as different.” There are plans to expand Bridge’s reach. “We’re wanting to develop the site we are working on, to be a functioning example of a Hong Kong forest garden. It’s only little, but we believe that the abundance of abandoned designated agricultural land in Hong Kong can be approached and developed regeneratively, using the principles and values we have learned,” Teague says. “We’re hoping that we can get more corporate involvement with what we and Able Charity are doing to help them have an impact on meaningful causes that will ensure healthier environments for generations.” For more information on Bridge programmes and workshops, or to volunteer, visit www.bridgehk.org