Draft:Kiss the Ground (organization)

History
Kiss the Ground is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 2013 by Ryland Engelhart and Finian Makepeace, who were inspired by the teachings of regenerative agriculture expert Graeme Sait, a researcher and author from New Zealand who has written and spoken extensively on soil nutrition and human health.

Early projects included a community garden in Venice, California, which coordinated efforts with local organizations such as the Saint Joseph’s Culinary Training Program and Engelhart’s Cafe Gratitude/Gracias Madre. An early digital media portrayal of holistic agricultural was The Story of Soil, a 5-minute educational video directed in partnership with Louis Fox, who directed “The Story of Stuff.” In 2021, Finian Makepeace joined a discussion at the UN Food Systems Summit to share his perspectives on sustainable agriculture and soil management.

The name “Kiss The Ground '' comes from the 13th-century Persian poet Rumi, who wrote, “Let the beauty we love be what we do. There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.”

Feature-Length Documentaries
Working from a stated mission of awakening people to the possibilities of regeneration and healthy soil, Kiss The Ground focuses on storytelling, education, and partnerships.

Two major co-productions in broad distribution are the documentaries Kiss The Ground (2020) and Common Ground (2023), directed by Joshua Tickell and Rebecca Harrell Tickell and their film production studio, Big Picture Ranch. Streaming on Netflix, Kiss The Ground has been viewed by more than 10 million people and is narrated by actor Woody Harrelson with a celebrity cast that includes Gisele Bündchen, Tom Brady and others.

News
In September 2020, the New York Times reviewed Kiss The Ground as an “optimistic climate documentary.” The Sierra Club Magazine wrote, “maybe this new documentary will do for soil what ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ did for climate change.” At the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival, Common Ground won the Human/Nature Award.