Start with the Soil. Behaviour Change for a Broken System, with Tamara Giltsoff

From soil to systems to storytelling, this one gets under your skin

In Episode 3, Becky is joined by Tamara Giltsoff - regenerative finance strategist, co-founder of Land Alive, and advisor to the Soil Association Exchange - to explore what really drives transformation from the ground up.

From Somerset fields to financial systems, they dig deep into the emotional, ecological and economic power of place. Expect a rich, grounded conversation about soil, stewardship, behaviour change and the small seeds of change that shift entire systems.

Because regeneration doesn’t start in policy or spreadsheets.

It starts underfoot.

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Transcript

S4 E3: Rooted in Place – Soil, Systems and Small Seeds of Change

In this episode of The No Bull Ideacast, Becky Holland is joined by Tamara Giltsoff - a regenerative finance strategist, advisor to the Soil Association Exchange, and co-founder of Land Alive. Together, they explore why soil might hold the key to health, climate and financial transformation. Tamara shares her journey from urban climate finance expert to rural land steward in Somerset, offering a grounded perspective on the deep connections between place, finance, nature and behaviour change.

Tamara: In all my work, I’ve never really believed we need big change. It’s the small seeds of change that inspire others - and open the door to more. Place is really about context. And you couldn’t get more contextual than nature.

Becky: Hello and welcome to the No Bull Ideacast. I'm Becky Holland.

If you've listened to previous episodes, you'll know I talk a lot about behavior change, but today we're taking a step back - or rather a step deep down - into something deeper and more elemental. We're talking about soil.

My guest is Tamara Giltsoff, a regenerative finance strategist, advisor to the Soil Association exchange and Co-founder of Land Alive. She's someone who has spent her career innovating in clean energy finance and International Development, but has come to believe that soil is where many of the answers to our climate and health crises really lie. 

Becky: This conversation is personal for me too. I grew up around farming - my grandfather was a farmer in Buckland Dinham, Somerset, and my uncle Mark helped pioneer change at Hill House Farm. Frome, where Tamara lives now, is very close to my heart.

We’re going to talk about soil, finance, behaviour and systems change. We’ll also look at how paradigm shifts happen - not through new tech alone, but by rethinking the systems we’re in. Let’s dig in.

Becky: Hello Tamara, and welcome to the show!

You’ve said that place is an organising principle in your work. What does that mean to you?

Tamara: Thank you. I love the framing of place joining up my work. Carolyn Greenwald, who I’ve been studying with, talks about being rooted in place - having a visceral connection to its unique narrative, landscape, people and history. That really resonates with me.

Tamara: Place reminds us we’re connected to nature and the culture of a community. It shifts us from being consumers to being citizens in systems that create value both locally and globally.

Tamara: I also work with Good Economy. They focus on place-based investing, looking at interconnections and natural capital in a given place. That kind of understanding is key.

Becky: You moved from London to rural Somerset and were part of a farmer-led learning programme. Can you describe that journey back to place?

Tamara: I’ve lived a very urban life - born in central London, worked in New York. But for 20 years, I’ve worked on planetary issues. Over time, I lost a connection to place.

Tamara: Four years ago, we moved to Somerset - a rural community surrounded by dairy farms. It changed everything. I started to understand the role cattle play in regenerative ecosystems. I even started eating meat again, but only if I knew its provenance.

Tamara: It also got me curious about the soil - transforming my own acre of land, but also understanding how soil is treated and how that affects everything.

Becky: We’ve talked about Frome as a cultural melting pot - new people arriving, old traditions enduring. It seems like a great place to understand regeneration.

Tamara: Yes, it is. When you live within a farming community, you understand the pressures farmers face - economic, policy, climate. You also realise that farmers are at the bottom of our economic system.

Tamara: In the UK, 70% of land is agricultural. That land is in the hands of people who often have very little power. Yet they are stewarding our future.

Tamara: Farmers are price takers, subject to volatile markets and shifting policies. But when you really trace our economic system back, it all begins with nature. No nature, no food. No food, no economy.

Tamara: We've disconnected not just from food, but from fibres, clothes, buildings. We've forgotten how much we rely on nature's systems.

Tamara: We’re in a moment where things are breaking. And maybe they need to. There's a concept from Nassim Nicholas Taleb called antifragility - systems that get stronger through disruption. We need to become more like that.

That’s true of our food system too. It’s built on fragile long chains, just-in-time delivery, high consumer expectation, high waste.

Becky: You’ve done research into these transitions. Can you talk about your work on Banking for Change?

Tamara: Yes. I was struck by how many high-level finance reports on nature never actually spoke to farmers. So I worked with the Soil Association Exchange to change that.

We asked: is there a financial barrier to transitioning to regenerative farming? Banks had sustainable finance products, but farmers weren’t using them. Why?

The banks didn’t know - they said farmers weren’t coming forward. So we asked the farmers directly.

Many of the early regenerative farmers came from wealth or had assets to sell. One farmer I met said they were highly leveraged. For them, transition was just too risky.

That idea of financial risk became the key theme. I travelled around the country, sitting in kitchen after kitchen, listening to farmers talk about their business models, anxieties and hopes.

Becky: These are big shifts we’re asking farmers to make. But how do we avoid preaching to the converted? How do we reach beyond the bubble?

Tamara: That’s such an important question. I don’t believe big change comes from big interventions. It comes from small seeds. From one farmer influencing the next.

Change happens in eddies - small pockets that start to shift the system. One farmer gives others permission to try something different.

Wildfarmed is a great example of this. 

Becky: Can you explain who Wildfarmed are, and what they’re doing?

Tamara: Yes. Wildfarmed supports farmers to grow regenerative wheat. It doesn’t own land. Instead, it creates a support network and aggregates crops.

They started selling into hospitality and now retail. One of the founders, Andy Cato, used to be in Groove Armada. He sold his music rights to fund the project.

He spent 15 years trying and failing on a farm in France. That story of learning and antifragility is vital. Now he’s a figurehead - connecting food, finance, policy and health.

Becky: So if we want a financial system that enables, not blocks, regeneration - where do we start?

Tamara: We need to understand the system - food, fibre, health - and the specific pain points. Then create financial products that serve life, not just capital.

Becky: What’s one thing someone listening could do to help nudge change in the right direction?

Tamara: Reconnect with soil. Observe how nature behaves. Listen to nature. There are great podcasts - one I love is ‘Carbon Calling’ by Nic Renison and Liz Genever.

They blend farming with storytelling, humour, reflection. They help you see the world through new eyes.

Becky: Brilliant. We’ll definitely take your podcast list! Anything else you’d like to share before we close?

Tamara: Yes - I want to shout out Oxbury Bank. After reading our Banking for Change report, they launched a product almost instantly - the Oxbury Transition Facility.

It’s flexible, low-interest, and designed for transition. It won’t make the bank rich - but it will help farms survive and change.

It’s a small shift, but it matters. And others may follow. We humans behave like herds.

Becky: Exactly. That’s the perfect note to end on. Thank you so much, Tamara.

That’s it for today’s episode. If you’re thinking this is all connected but feeling overwhelmed, you’re not alone.

I’ve just read ‘Environomics’ by Darshini David - a brilliant book about how economics and environmental reality are colliding.

She argues that behaviour change is at the heart of it. Systems only change when people do. That’s what this season is about.

Becky: Next time, we’re switching from soil to AI. I’ll be joined by James Easterbrook to explore why only 7% of leaders feel ready for AI. 

See you then! And thanks for listening.