| Why should we think about our food? Some interesting
notes:
Our food is flown, shipped and/or trucked almost 1,400 miles from point of production (the farm) to point of consumption (your plate). - Rodale Institute For every calorie that comes to the table, at least ten calories (of energy) have been expended. For instance, it costs 435 calories to fly one five-calorie strawberry from California to New York. - Center for Food Policy For every dollar a consumer spends on food, farmers, who used to get up to 70¢, now receive 10¢ or less. - World Wildlife Fund An estimated nine thousand low-income people in the Austin area are relying on government food assistance and emergency sources (such as food banks) for their food every day. - City of Austin Welfare to Work Coalition And the list goes on, including alarming statistics about the amount of agrichemicals and poorer nutritional value in conventional foods. Recent events such as the controversy over the revision of the USDA’s
National Organic Standards, the growing popularity of Community Supported
Agriculture (CSA), the severity of several years of drought on Texas agriculture,
and, not least, the looming blind date with Y2K have led many people to
become more aware of their relationship to their food. While this may seem
like a trivial thing, given the convenience of the local grocery, there
are many aspects of food which are central to the concept of sustainable
residential living.
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Determining what is a reasonable level of self-sufficiency depends
greatly on personal and familial diet needs and habits, politics, income,
and your consumer habits. Some of the most important considerations of
sustainability and food occur beyond the edge of your personal home garden.
Topics covered this month will include food security (from the home to
the global scale), regional food politics and economics and how you can
influence them, Y2K and food, planning a home kitchen garden, and how to
get involved (get your hands dirty) with helping others in our community
start a garden.
This months presentation will be a panel discussion with questions and answers about the various aspects of food, self-sufficiency and sustainability. Invited speakers include Duncan Echelson, (Universe Distributing Co. and Bowerbird Construction), with Dayna Connor, with the Green Corn Project, and another speaker TBA. |
| C.O.A. Green Building Seminars
11:30-1:30 open to Green Builder members. Call ahead to Mary at the City of Austin 499-3541. March 16 Alternative Heating and Cooling Systems
CASAS que CANTAN
(Editors update: Jo has done an excellent job, this should have been in last months newsletter, yet she has already met her goal. Lets help her out with an additional $500 for another house) Most of you are well aware of the great work being done by Bill and Athena Steen (co-authors of THE STRAW BALE HOUSE) through their non-profit organization The Canelo Project. They have a new self help project in Mexico that may be the best yet! The truly amazing thing is that these little houses can go up with FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS worth of materials!! We all get a lot of requests for charitable contributions, but seldom do we get the opportunity to do so much in a sustainable effort for so little. Just think, if 50 Texans donated $10 each, a family could have a clean, warm/cool, sustainable home!! What can you do to help? Please send pictures, letters ( the Steens would like thepeople to have faces and names along with the money) and checks made out to The Canelo Project (remember, they are tax deductible!) to Jo Wilhelm, Rte 1 Box 307, Johnson City TX 78636. Jo will keep a tally and report back to you in the next newsletter. Workshops and Events Of Interest
May 13-16 Earthen Floors and Natural Wall finishes. $275 in Canelo, AZ. Athena and Bill Steen <absteen@dakotacom.net> or (520) 455-5548. June 6-12 "Build Here Now," A Natural Building and Permaculture Convergence in Taos County, NM, sponsored by Permaculture Drylands Institute, Lama Foundation and The Last Straw Journal. Contact <pdrylands@aol.com> for information on this multi-topic event put together to rebuild Lama after a 1996 fire. Register by April and your cost is $500 which includes three vegetarian meals per day and on-site lodgings otherwise it is $550. Colorado Natural Building Workshop 1999
Join many experienced natrual builders in Rico, Colorado June 24 to June 27, 1999, for this excellent event. $275 per person; $500 couple. Hands-on workshops, lecture, discussion, slide shows, home tour (including Sun Ray Kelley's bus stop!), and more covering your favorite topics: straw bale, lime based paint on cob, healthy homes, earthen construction, solar, rammed earth, wildplant tour, and more. For more information email: Keithl@csn.net Cobbing
Various small, medium and large cobbing workshops are forming located in far North Austin, Dripping Springs and elsewhere. Call Yvonne Hansen to get on the cob mailing list at 447-0459 or email <geminideas@greenbuilder.com> A number of workshops are planned for Ledgestone Settlement, located on nine acres just east of Dripping Springs. A cob structure is being built, and two cob workshops are scheduled for this spring: cob oven and do-able projects with cob. Raincatch, ferro cement, trellis and arbor construction events are in the works. If you want to be on the email list, post to <geminideas@greenbulder.com>, or phone Yvonne Hansen at 512/447-0459..
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The ClipBoard Lady Returns!
Get ready to put your name on the clipboard that she, Yvonne Hansen, will circulate during our March meeting. The event? EarthDay, of course! On April 17 from 8:30 to 9:30 am at Waterloo Park, Red River and 12th Street, we will set up our SBC exhibit. Now a tradition, this is the sixth year we have had a presence at this excellent event to celebrate the values that so closely match our own: respect our Earth and sustain its resources. Help is needed a week or two before to decide on the design of our space, what materials are needed, hand-outs for visitors, etc. Also, exhibit delivery, set-up and knock-down help is needed, as well as 3-4 volunteers in 2-4 hour shifts from 10 am to 7 pm. New members especially are encouraged to sign up: tell visitors why you joined SBC and what you are discovering. That's simple enough. Contact Yvonne Hansen <geminideas@greenbuilder.com> or 512/447-0459 "Production Cob" Six Only
March 20-23, 1999 "Production Cob" is an intensive workshop using conveyors and earth moving and mixing equipment to build sturdy walls that go up fast. Conducted by Eric Hoel and Mike Carter, both experienced cobbers who have successfully used high production techniques to build cob homes and other structures. Eric is a former Cob Cottage Apprentice and Mike is a partner in CobCrew, a local cobbing business. °Bring your own ideas°Test them out°Quantify costs°Experiment°Learn
together°
The Institute for Deep Ecology
Various 3-day and longer programs are offered starting April 29 at Shenoa Retreat Center in Mendocino County, California. For information, email <ide@igc.org>. Grow Shiitakes!
On March 20, Nancee Rush will host once yearly shiitake growing workshop at Ohana Farm east of Bastrop. Her son Robin will lead the sessions. For only $45, you will spend the morning hearing about shiitakes, reading through handout materials, enjoying refreshments while sitting on a fine, old front porch. After a hearty lunch (veggies or meat) with about 15 other people, you will prepare your own shiitake log! Afterwards, if you are interested, Nancee will take you on a walking tour of her permaculture farm and orchard. Sounds good, doesnt' it? Call Nancee now and sign up: 512/237-2007. Summary/report of Organic Charrette
Out of this two-day exploration and discovery event where perhaps 130 people participated actively, at least five focus groups emerged: Media (getting the word out on the value and necessity of organics), Genetic Engineering, Networking, Education, and Neighborhoods. Content overlaps, of course, and one or two members from one group are likely to sit on meetings of other groups to get a clearer sense of what's happening, then, bring that information back to the original group. During the charrette, Y2K was a prominant force: buy fresh, locally
grown organics; grow organically; and reduce pollution that results from
transporting food that was fresh long distances. Can we assume gas
will continue to be available and cheap?
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