Mari Detrixhe

Mari (Peterson) Detrixhe came from a small town in Minnesota and eventually returned to rural life in northcentral Kansas, where she and her husband have a farm, orchard, nut groves, and gardens a few miles outside of Clyde, population 700. At a talk with economics students at Augustana College in Sioux Falls, S.D., where Mari was a senior, Wes Jackson asked: “Would you rather wait for the electric company to repair the lines after a storm or scrape the ice off your solar collectors?” Wes’s ideas appealed to her. When Mari arrived for a summer energy course taught by Dr. Charles (Chuck) Washburn of UC Sacramento and wind technician John Craft, The Land Institute was in its third year and was engaged in a search for sustainable alternatives in food, energy, shelter, waste management, and transportation. Mari’s previous economic research focused on energy, and she enjoyed how The Land explored sustainability through classroom discussion, research, and hands-on experience. Following the energy course and a semester as a student, Mari stayed for two years to conduct research and teach on energy issues, including the net-zero energy balance with alcohol fuels. She left The Land to assist communities in understanding their energy use and alternatives and then directed the Kansas Natural Resource Council as they challenged the Wolf Creek Nuclear Power Plant, depletion of the Ogallala Aquifer, and more. When she moved to the farm near Clyde, she was invited to join the board of directors at The Land Institute. Now she responds to the evolution of the home place in Clyde, supports her community, and contemplates the great changes occurring in our time.

My most perennial trait is to Walk the Talk – In the movie My Dinner with André, Shawn Wallace listens as André Gregory describes “pockets of light” that will carry humankind through a time of “robotic” change. What do we want to create for this future, such as perennial polycultures? And what do we want to carry forward?

1979 Student, 1980-1981 Classroom Instructor, 1988-1995 Board Member; 1988-1991 Board Chairperson at The Land Institute