We come from dirt, and to it we shall return someday.

The universal symbolism of this concept is clear in our burial rites. In western Christian funeral services, the phrase “ashes to ashes, dust to dust” is said over the body. In the Jewish tradition, the family of the deceased tosses shovelfuls of dirt over the casket once it is lowered in the ground. At Islamic burials, the family positions the body of the deceased using balls of soil—one under the head, one under the chin, and one under the shoulder.

But while we are living, we may take soil for granted, even though it grows our food, affects our weather, and provides raw materials for shelter.

We’ll have stories on the history of soil, ways of farming