Monthly Archives: October 2008

Concerned Yet? Transition to Community

October 27, 2008 – 9:02 pm

Concerned About the Future Yet?

Explore Transitioning to a Sustainable Life

By Hina Pendle, PhD, Facilitator, Community Organizer

October 2008

The fact that we are on a descent is no longer in question, but how we land is. As I write, we are living in a financial crisis, which will soon mean diminishing resources for most of us. This is the tip of the iceberg by many accounts including Paul Krugman, winner of the Nobel Prize for Economics this past week. The world is also facing a massively disturbed climate and environment, in an oil-dependent world, with an increasing world population creating rising demand for food, water, and shelter. And our national leadership has been busily dumbing-down education on issues and public education for our youth — while grabbing tighter control on power.

Changing the way we live in our modern societies is no longer optional. How we make the change is. Those of us with foresight can seize the opportunity today to use the resources we still have to build a sustainable tomorrow—if we act smart and quickly. New technology and a “Green Deal” cannot be the panacea people hope for. There are no magic wands. We are not going to invent our way out of this mess. Green strategies can certainly help stem the slide but, we have to realize how deep our society’s need for fossil fuels is. Almost everything we use and do every day depends on oil.

We don’t know what the future looks like. What we are witnessing is the breakdown of all the old ways that not longer serve us. It doesn’t have to be scary or scarce. The transition into a new era is being born out of the rubble and lessons of the old. Yes, it can be unnerving to watch the breakdowns. But we can’t afford to let fear to zap our power to design and birth our future. We were impregnated with the vision of love, peace and environmental sanity in the sixties. That baby has been gestating, wising up and now becoming our reality. Just like adolescents, we are emerging from our cultural evolution to question and rethink everything. Let’s reconsider together what we value from agriculture to health care, from economic systems to building community, from science to spirituality, from low to no carbon building to useful, green retirement. David Korten, businessman and writer and Joanna Macy, environmentalist and Buddhist, call this the time of “The Great Turning.” David says we’re evolving from empire to earth community. Our fears can help to propel us forward faster.

The Foundation of Sustainable Living (FOSL) www.thefosl.org has been ushering in this transition for several years. We are preparing for self-reliant, resilient communities. That means we are planning to be able to provide all of our basic and comfort needs within our local community. In modern society, living isolated many of us have lost critical contact with each other and with nature’s bounty. FOSL’s vision is to have many multi-generational, multi-racial, multi-cultural communities sharing resources and talent. Resilient communities are based on principles that support life. We respect nature, learning how natural systems have solve problems for ages. We will teach what we know and learn what we don’t, according to Parker, FOSL’s primary founder. The future may not be crystal clear but our values for the journey forward are.

George Soros speaking with Bill Moyers said, that for humanity to survive the calamity of our ways, we have to learn how to govern ourselves. To FOSL that means building caring, smart communities now. Together we can transition through the perfect storm and global chaos by designing a better future. FOSL is calling for more people of all ages who are interested in creating a vibrant, abundant future guided by our wisdom, intelligence, heart and fun to join in. We still have the time and resources to transition into a comfortable, sensible future for ourselves, our children and prepare for “green” retirement. The time is now.

Check out a great inspiring resource “The Transition Handbook: From Oil Dependency To Local Resilience” by Rob Hopkins. It tells of towns in England, Japan and around the world that are transitioning, each in their own way. FOSL is now building its first transition community. How we do it is up to us.

Hina Pendle, PhD is a facilitator, community and organizational evolutionary, and on the Leadership Council of the Foundation of Sustainable Living. hina@thefosl.org, 831.662.2232.

By Hina | Posted in Front Page | Comments (0)

Are You Prepared? What You Need to Survive an Emergency or Depression.

October 22, 2008 – 7:35 am

DCrisis Preparedness Handbook: A Complete Guide to Home Storage and Physical Survivalo you have enough drinking water and food should you lose power for a few days?  How about something a little more longer like an earthquake or hurricane?  Still even more urgent, will you be able to feed yourself or your family in the trying times to come?

We maintain a pretty good list here on this web, but it is always growing.  The real purpose of today’s blog is to get people to participate in forming this list as well as their own. Most of us don’t have unlimited resources so we really need to think about what is important to stockpile in case of an emergency or long depression.  I’m inviting people from many different Yahoo groups today to participate in what they would consider is the top 20 things they would have on hand.

I would like you to think past the three day preparedness kit.  I think most of us know what we would need to survive for three days.  I want us to imagine having to be self-reliant for weeks or longer.  What would you want?  What would you need to live?

Please post your list under the comment section (below) for all to see or email me and I will post the result tomorrow.

Emergency Food Storage & Survival Handbook: Everything You Need to Know to Keep Your Family Safe in a Crisis US Army Survival Manual: FM 21-76

By Farmer John | Posted in Front Page, Safety | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

What’s valuable to you?

October 19, 2008 – 9:58 pm

In today’s world, there are many things that are called “valuable.” Some people call their stock portfolio valuable, some their TV. Others may say that their house or car is truly valuable. But what most people find value in lies in what others think is valuable. In other words, if society deems it of value, then so do they!

Click to continue reading “What’s valuable to you?”

By theobill | Posted in Front Page, Random Thoughts | Comments (0)

Chores, chores, and MORE chores!

October 19, 2008 – 9:56 am

It’s not easy farming, which I’m slowly learning! The garden needs cleaning out. The chicken coop needs to be cleaned and new bedding put in. The eggs need to be collected. The rabbits have to be fed, watered, and their cages cleaned. The bees need checked or going on a swam call (yay!). The apples need picked, cleaned, cut, cooked and canned. The list goes on and on!

Click to continue reading “Chores, chores, and MORE chores!”

By theobill | Posted in Food Security, Front Page | Comments (0)

What flavor of poison would you like on your produce today sir?

October 18, 2008 – 7:32 am

So I’m reading an organic agriculture book last night and it was talking about how Methyl bromide was used in “conventional” agriculture. It is sprayed on the dirt (before they plant) to kill “bad bugs”, it is used to turn tomatoes red, it is on strawberries (you are nuts to eat a store bought strawberry if you had any clue what is on them anyway), broccoli, sweet potatoes and the list goes on.  So I do a little search on Methyl bromide…

topmbusers“Methyl bromide, a widely used fumigant in agriculture, is one of a number of chemicals—including refrigerants such as freon—being phased out of use worldwide under the Montreal Protocol signed by the U.S. and 182 other countries. The Protocol is an international treaty aimed at reducing or eliminating use of chemicals that contribute to the depletion of the atmosphere’s ozone layer.”

The EPA says “Methyl bromide is irritating to the eyes, skin, and mucous membranes of the upper respiratory tract.  Dermal exposure to methyl bromide can cause itching, redness, and blisters in humans. Neurological effects, including lethargy, forelimb twitching, tremors, and paralysis, have also been observed in animal studies.  In a human mortality study, a higher incidence of death from testicular cancer was identified in men occupationally exposed to methyl bromide.”

What idiots would put this on food or in the soil where food is grown?  WOW, not only are they spraying the sprayingmbstuff on our veggies, but it depletes the ozone? It gets deeper because it is now being phased out the agricultural industry is now using something even “BETTER”…chloropicrin!  What is chloropicrin you ask?

Lets go to Wikapedia… “Chloropicrin was used in World War I as a chemical weapon, called ‘PS’ by British, ‘Aquinite’ by French, and ‘Klop’ (green cross) by Germans. After WW II, however, the importance of chloropicrin for military use decreased and, today, has vanished. In the chemical industry, it is widely used for organic synthesis, in fumigants, in fungicides and insecticides, and for the extermination of rats.

Chloropicrin vapor is highly poisonous if inhaled. As a chemical warfare agent it is a powerful irritant from the group of pulmonary agents. It causes lachrymation, vomiting, bronchitis, and pulmonary edema; the lung injury can be fatal. Very low concentrations cause burning sensation of the eyes, which may serve as a warning.”

Don’t worry you are not inhaling it, you are just consuming it.  The label only says its toxic if inhaled. Ok, I don’t know about you, but has the world gone completely mad? Knowing things like this and the GMO factor why would you ever buy another piece of fruit or veggie that didn’t come from your own garden or trusted ORGANIC farmers market?

Chew on that for a while…

By Farmer John | Posted in Food Security | Tagged | Comments (0)

We are ready to move…

October 17, 2008 – 10:23 am

farm2As wonderful as this small piece of land has been we are currently at, we have out grown it (picture is not our place, but places are what we are looking for).  We have learned a great deal about living near the coast and living on the north side of a mountain and are thankful for the experience.  BUT….

We are ready to move on and continue growing.  The community land seems to be trying to manifest in a few places with land owners, lawyers and community members doing their best.  However, there is not a place to call home yet and we need a place to live where we can be more self-sustaining…more sustainable!  We need to continue growing Open Pollinated vegetables and grafting heirloom fruit trees, but on a bit large scale than the 1/4 acre we currently have.  The need to continue breeding the perfect dual purpose chicken who lays well, but makes a tasty meal. More land so that we may grow our own chicken food and not have to buy GMO contaminated farm3feed from the feed store.

We need an old barn to hang seed to dry, corn for the winter and a place for the new dairy goat we having been dying to get.  We want to try our hands at goat cheese and share the bounty with our friends.  Our heritage turkeys need a place for new babies (sure to come next spring) to graze on green pastures.  Our honey bees need fields of wildflowers to gather nectar in for that liquid gold they make. Land is needed for us to raise enough fresh food for us and our neighbors in the challenging times ahead.

We are asking everyone we know!  Maybe you know of someone who has old farm land sitting fallow.  Some great sunny space populated with old barns that are crying out for new life.  A farmer ready to retire or someone who just inherited such a place and doesn’t know what to do with it, but knows we don’t need anymore track housing.   I just read a book of such a retiring organic grower in Maine.  He was complaining about no new blood to take over in his footsteps and what he wouldn’t give to see his life’s work not go fallow.  I would love to partner with someone like this, but I don’t want to move to Maine!  No, I would like to farmstay here in California if ya don’t mind!

So I’m putting it out here!  I learned long ago I can’t get what I want if I don’t ask for it.  So I’m asking.  If ya don’t mind the crow of a rooster waking you in the morning, the taste of fresh eggs for breakfast or the taste of homegrown honey on your bisquits let us know!  We don’t mind sharing in the hard work or the good times.  In fact some of the best times I remember were making sure my grandparents had enough wood to last them for the winter.  Yeah, it was hard work, but it was from my grandfather that I learned how to use an axe.  At a young age I was instilled with love, knowledge and the confidence that I could take care of not only myself, but others.  We have trying times ahead and during these times I know with a lot of hard work, love and paitients we will be just fine.  However, in order to take care of all the above mentioned we need land.  So, if ya know of a little old farmstead for lease let us know!  You’ll be glad ya did!

By Farmer John | Posted in Front Page, Land for Communities | Tagged , | Comments (1)

Is the food you eat killing you? Can you trust Kellogs?

October 14, 2008 – 9:53 am

Uncertain Peril: Genetic Engineering and the Future of Seeds

This new book by Claire Hope Cummings reads like a science fiction novel about some other planet.  It is hard to believe we have allowed big business and governments to do the things they have done to our food supply.  I’ve followed GMO’s (genetically modified organisms) for a while now, but have a hard time finding real facts on the web.  However Claire has done the research and better than that she has seen the industry first hand.  She was an environmental lawyer for twenty years, four of them with the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture.  She gives clear and shocking facts for all those that care about the future of monsantofood to see. (I’m assuming you already know a bit about GMOs and know they are already in your food supply.)

Here are some of the startling facts:

  • 97% of 75 vegetables whose seeds were once available from the USDA are now extinct.
  • Everything imaginable has been engineered into food.  There is corn that produces the hepatitis B virus, corn with a human contraceptive, corn with jellyfish genes that glow in the dark, and corn with chicken genes. There are human genes in tobacco, sugar cane, and rice!   (Remember despite company claims these engineered plants are know to be transgenic!  Meaning they cross these species barrier and don’t just stay in the one engineered plant!  BT (designed to kill bugs biting the plant) which was designed to stay in corn has now been found in the guts of honey bees where it destroys the “good bacteria” responsible for food digestion.  It is also found in humans or anything that eats this corn!!)
  • There are now many world wide studies confirming that GMOs are hazardous to human and environmental health.  One out of Ireland showed that food-related disease doubled during the same time that GMO food was introduced.
  • Rats fed GMO corn had blood cell formation problems, and those fed GMO soy had liver problems, which were even worse in rats red GMO canola.
  • These companies are not required to label food products is the US containing GMOs as they are in Asia and Europe.
  • Between 1999 and 2005, there were 115 documented case of GMO contamination, twice as many in the US as in any other country.
  • Monsanto, Syngenta, Pioneer/Dupont and Bayer now have a decade of experience with contamination.  They have been fined, chastised by consumers, and sued by farmers, but they have done nothing.
  • Over 80% of processed foods sitting on the grocers shelves contain GMOs.

Don’t think you have eaten GMO’s?  Think again, one study tried to find at least one small group of people without GMO contamination for a comparative study and could not find one person that wasn’t already contaminated!  You eat Nabisco or Kraft foods?  Then you eat GMOs. Kraft Foods spun off from Altria Group (formerly Phillip Morris) and became its own public company in 2007.  Phillip Morris…mmm…you remember the tobacco with human genes in it?  Mmmmm wonder what that is used for.  Hope you don’t smoke!

How about eating anything made by General Mills?  General Mills manufactures breakfast cereal, yogurts, baking mixes, dinner mixes, fruit snacks and grain snacks, among other products. In 2007, the Minneapolis-based company employed 28,100 people and reported sales of $12.4 billion.  General Mills has not provided transparent information about its use of genetically engineered products and has fought proposed regulations requiring the labeling of GMO foods.

How about Kellogs? Kellogg’s produces several lines of breakfast cereal and foods, such as frozen waffles and toaster pastries. The company, based in Battle Creek Michigan, employs over 26,000 people. In 2006, Kellogg’s reported sales of $10.9 billion. Kellogg’s has worked to block US legislation requiring producers to label items containing GMOs.

Are you starting to get the point?  You are being experimented on by big business.  You think the government protects you?  Think again, GMO slips through the cracks and is a self-regulated industry providing their own reports to the government on safety.  Hundreds of these companies executives now sit in key positions in our government.

monsanto1Your tax dollars even went into the development of the terminator gene! Complements of the USDA and your hard earned tax dollars!  Now Monsanto uses it in there seed so farmers must by seed from them every year instead of saving it from year to years as humans have done for millenia.  Now one large company controls the very food you put in your mouth.

Cargill, the second largest privately owned corporation in the US and one of the largest producers of GMO,s (read this link to understand the depth of which this company owns the food supply) owns the following companies or supplies them with GMO laden foods either directly or through animal feeds:

  • McDonalds
  • J.M. Smuckers
  • Coca Cola
  • ACCO Feeds
  • Nations second largest beef processor
  • You know I have to stop here, the list is exhaustive!!!  I could type for another hour and not get them all down here, but you get the point.  Research it for yourself.  Learn, educate yourself and start growing your own food.

How do you stop this from happening to your food?  With your $, stop buying contaminated food.  Next time before you shop go to this web who keeps an an on big business and find out what is in your food.  You vote with your $ when it comes to big business.

By Farmer John | Posted in Food Security, Safety | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

Sustainable can Mean Recycling. Restoring an Old WoodStove.

October 13, 2008 – 9:34 am

sustainable_developmentIt seems to be a buzz word many more people are using…”sustainalbe”, but what does it really mean?  One dictionary says “Capable of being continued with minimal long-term effect on the environment”. Wikipedia says it is a pattern of resource use that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but in the indefinite future (see graphic).

One of the best ways I know how to remain sustainable is to reuse or retool what we already have.  Recyle if you will.  Our nation is a throw away society.  So when we need something here the first place we look is not at the store, but on Craigslist or stove1garage sales.  Not only is it cheaper than something new, but you are reusing an item that may have made its way to a land fill.  The planet as a whole saves the resources, pollution and carbon footprint that it would have taken to make, in this case another woodstove.  When we needed a woodstove we started looking in the above mentioned places.  Now it may take a bit longer to find the one you want, but there is something very satifying in the hunt.  Many county dumps are now setting aside things like this and building materials at there dump sites.  Some charge a small fee and others give it away.   I’ve heard of entire houses being built from these dumps!

stove2Once you get your “treasure” you now have to restore it to working order as in the case of our woodstove.  It was a bit rusty, the joints needed to be recaulked, sanded, and painted.  I can’t say I had ever done this before, but it was all pretty straight forward and simple.  First I needed to get the rust off the stove so I used a wire brush attachment on a drill.  Wear a mask of course to keep the dust out of your lungs and saftey goggles wouldn’t be a bad idea either.  Next you spend a few hours sanding the stove trying to get most of the rust off.  The process can take stove4a while, but this is actually the longest part of the restoration.  Once you have completed getting the rust off (pic to the right) you need to turn your attention to recaulking the joints in the wood stove.  You want the stove to be as airtight as possible so every little crack takes away from that. This is an easy process, but can be a bit messy.  First you will need furnace/fireplace caulk.  This caulk is black and can sustain heat up to 2000 degrees F.  I’ve found that using a putting knife is easy to get the first bit in, but your fingers are much better with the fine work.  Make sure to have a wet rag handy.  It helps to dampen the area first stove5then apply the caulk.  Once applied I wipe off the excess.  Here on the left you can see what it looks like before I wipe the excess off.  The stuff dries in a couple of hours, but you don’t want to wait too long in wiping the excess.  If you do you will have to sand it off later.

You must also pay attention to the door.  Many times the seal or gasket as it is called around the door will need to be replaced.  Take the old one out, sand down the channel it sits in, paint (coming up) and then replace it sealing the bottom part in stove6with a little of your furnace putty.  This is pretty easy the only advice I would give is to not use too much putty.  You want just enough at the bottom of the channel to hold the gasket in place.  Another thing to watch for is you want the gasket nice and fluffy, not squeezed into the channel.  It has to make contact with the stove body and keep air in.

Next you should wipe down the whole stove so that no dust or rust particles are left.  Let it dry in the sun and now you are ready to paint.  You must use a fireplace paint.  Normal paint will not withstand the heat from the stove and can out gas toxic fumes into your house.  Painting is pretty easy and stove7needs no explanation here other than to read your directions on the paint.  The one thing you will have to do is “cure” the paint job OUTSIDE at least three times.  This means putting a small fire (less than 240 deg.F) for the first few times to help the paint cure and finally a much hotter (over 500 deg. F) for the final cure.  Your paint can should tell you all the details.  However, be sure to do this outside as it will off gas toxic fumes as it cures!

All that is left now is to move that baby inside to enjoy the heat, the savings in $ and knowing you did your part to reuse instead of consuming more planetary resources.

By Farmer John | Posted in Front Page | Tagged , | Comments (0)

Sun Dried Tomatoes…tis the season!

October 6, 2008 – 4:30 pm

Principe Borghese One of our favorite tomatoes is the Principe Borghese and we have many starting to come in from the garden.  The Borghese is a favorite here in California for sun drying.  It is an old Italian heirloom tomato that becomes amazingly intense with a rich flavor as it dries.  We dry them and then store them in mason jars for later cooking.  A handful thrown into a salad or sauteed with fresh garlic, olive oil and pasta make a yummy meal.  I’ve had some stored now for over 3 years that still retain a rich deep flavor.

An easy tomato to grow and a prolific bearer you can’t go wrong with these tasty little tomatoes.   Sauce of course can be made from these tomatoes, but this year we are using are Roma tomatoes for that.  We also had a wonderful friend give us a box full of Brandywine tomatoes that are going into the sauce along with basil, garlic and rosemary straight from the garden.  Last year we put away 18 jars of sauce.  It was just enough, but we didn’t dry any of the Borghese.  So this year we should be prepared for the wonderful flavor of summer during those dark, dreary winter days.  Seeds can be obtained at one of our favorite heirloom nurserys.

By Farmer John | Posted in Food Security | Comments (0)

It Has Been a While…I’m Back!

October 1, 2008 – 9:48 am

Hello all,

It is not as if nothing has been happening…indeed…much has, so much that I haven’t made time to write here.  I guess I have to think of this as a place to journal daily.  I was reminded of writing here when someone emailed me the other day that they have read almost all my post!  I was shocked, I forget this is a good way for some to get to know who and what we are all about. On that note in the future you will see me post under “Farmer John” instead of “Masada”.  I wear so many hats, but the Farm John hat applies here more than the others!

So, I promise to try to start writing almost everyday here and I will post some of the many stories that have been going on.  We took lots of photos so I will post them on those rainy days when we are actually not doing much ourselves.

By Farmer John | Posted in Front Page | Comments (0)