A catechism is a short manual given in the form of questions and answers as an outline of principles. Principles are what is of first importance. They are how we understand life.

Harry MacCormack wrote this manual after years of helping make basic decisions that have shaped contemporary organic agriculture and local strategies for communities formed around foods and “alternative” human behavior. His education at Lewis and Clark College, Harvard University, and the Iowa Writers Workshop, coupled with sacred sharings with indigenous Americans offers a unique perspective as all of us make decisions. This manual offers ways we can achieve balance in a world of paradox.