Two Great Resources: Blue Thumb and Natural Step

I heard about these two resources from folks at the Buy Fresh Buy Local St. Croix Valley Steering Committee meeting, and I thought I would pass them on.

Natural Step is an international organization as well as an approach to problem solving for organizations, governments, and businesses. The "steps" are really a framework for transforming the way we do everything so as to make what we do more sustainable. I also think the steps themselves form a good definition of sustainability. The organization has resources to assist with the implementation of these steps. Many companies, including Smith and Hawken, Nike, and Ikea (to name just a few) are working with Natural Step. For now they seem to be only on the west coast in the U.S., but hopefully they'll make their way inland soon.





Blue Thumb is a project of the Rice Creek Watershed District, and it's a program to encourage people to garden with the preservation of our water resources in mind. They have great information about how to plant rain gardens to filter water that eventually cycles back into our homes, as well as how to garden with native plant varieties and to protect shorelines. This site is for every backyard gardener!

Livestock: The New Oil?

Caroline sent me this great article from the NY Times, and it couldn't have come at a more perfect time for me as I am just about to finish Ruth L. Ozeki's My Year of Meats. Ozeki's novel tells the story of two women struggling to find their voice in the face of male domination and violence which is a story that becomes mirrored in their relationship to meat and meat production. It's really brilliant -- it reminds me of The Sexual Politics of Meat by Carol Adams which very accurately documents the relationship between the sexualization and commodification of women's bodies and the bodies of animals.

Anyhoo. The article in the Times points out all the myriad reasons why the average American's consumption of meat is wholly unsustainable and ultimately barbaric in a world where so many are dying of hunger and malnutrition and the Earth's resources are running on empty. So, you should read it.

Two Buck Chuck: Grapes of Wrath

As I sit at my computer, enjoying a lovely glass of shiraz, I couldn't help but wonder, where did this come from? And, how could it possibly cost a mere $2.99? Generally, if I think something is too good to be true, I'm usually right. And, it looks like I'm right again.

Wine produced under the Charles Shaw label from Trader Joe's, more commonly known as "Two Buck Chuck" is less the divine miracle that it appears to be. It is produced cheaply through the exploitation of illegal immigrant farm laborers and neighboring farms that overproduced wine in the '90s -- a sort of wine "bubble" not unlike the "tech bubble" and our more recent "housing bubble." So, the bubble burst, the value of wine and land in the San Joaquin Valley dropped, and Fred Franzia (that's right, of Franzia boxed wine fame -- actually, that was his father, but same family) swooped in and bought it all up. The reason the wine is so cheap is through the miracle of vertical integration -- he owns everything, even the porta-johns. At "Domaine Franzia" it is literally all about money -- the quality of wine is a mere afterthought. They grow what consumers will drink, and that is all. (The articles I found don't give much of an impression of what the San Joaquin Valley now resembles, but for those who are readers of John Steinbeck, I think you can use your imagination.)

To read more about Fred Franzia and his pithy witticisms (like, "terroir don't mean shit"), go here.

To read about vineyard workers in Napa and the San Joaquin Valleys, go here.

To fall in love with the San Joaquin Valley, and then lament what it has recently become, read "East of Eden."

St. Paul may be the capitol of Minnesota, but Minneapolis is the capitol of...

Ever since "locavore" was declared the word of the year by the writers of the Oxford English Dictionary, the word seems to be turning up everywhere! I was so excited when my dad (thanks Dad!) forwarded me an email from MPR announcing a new project called "Locavore Nation." Here's how it works: 15 people have sworn to eat at least 80% of their diet from all local sources (within 150 miles of their home). The people are from all across the U.S. The participants all write blog entries, and every week Lynne Rossetto Kasper checks in with some of them on her radio program, The Splendid Table. That's right, Minneapolis, MN is the capitol of Locavore Nation! (I would expect no less!)

Check out their website, and maybe offer them a few supportive comments!

Film: "What a Way to Go"

In case you're not already scared enough about the future of our planet, here's a new film for you!

Wilderness Connections is hosting a screening:
Saturday, February 2nd, 10:30 - 1:00 p.m. Merriam Park Library (room
in lower level), Corner Fairview and Marshall Aves., St. Paul, MN

Think you can get 50-60 mpg in your Honda Accord? This guy can!

The average hybrid car driver gets around 40 miles per gallon, but Wayne Gerdes gets more than that in a regular ol' sedan! It's all in a technique called "hypermiling." Here's the article.

Also, the article talks about a guy called, simply "Hobbit." I'm pretty sure that's this guy. I could be wrong, but then again, how many men are there in the world that are obsessed with green technology and are named "hobbit?" (Nevermind -- I don't want to know!)

Go, Go Nancy Pelosi!

I know it may come as a shock to you all, but a recent article in the New York Times (thanks, Caroline, I finally read this one!) indicates that Republicans are not only opposed to supporting small family farmers, they are also ardent supporters of trans fats, stuffing chickens in teeny tiny cages, and never ever eating vegetables that haven't spent time in a deep fat fryer. The good news -- something tells me us progressives are going to outlive their ilk!

Thank you, Nancy Pelosi, for making our representatives (even the Republicans) eat their brussel sprouts!

Here's the article.

Deconstructing Dinner Podcast

Deconstructing Dinner is one of my new favorite podcasts. It's a product of Canada (eh?). Clearly our neighbors to the north are more enlightened than we (is it too late to redraw the borders a little to the south?). Check out their website!

On the last podcast I listened to, there was this great folk song that is really worth a listen. You can stream it, or download it for free. (I, silly girl that I am, paid 99 cents for it from iTunes, but you all are smarter than I!)

Hooray for progressive media!

“ In 25 years of working with farmers, these are the happiest, most optimistic, and best-paid farmers I have ever met.”

For those of you interested in sustainable and urban agriculture, check out this article about Cuba's success in transitioning away from conventional agriculture:

http://www.i-sis.org.uk/OrganicCubawithoutFossilFuels.php

Here are just some highlights:

"By 1994, more than 8 000 city farms were created in Havana alone. Front lawns of municipal buildings were dug up to grow vegetables. Offices and schools cultivated their own food. "

"New biological products and organic gardening techniques were developed and produced by Cuba’s agricultural research sector, which had already begun exploring organic alternatives to chemical controls, enabling Cuba’s urban farms to become completely organic. In fact, a new law prohibited the use of any pesticides for agricultural purposes anywhere within city limits."

'According to Cuba’s Minsitry of Agriculture, some 150 000 acres of land is being cultivated in urban and suburban settings, in thousands of community farms, ranging from modest courtyards to production sites that fill entire city blocks. Organoponicos, as they are called, show how a combination of grassroots effort and official support can result in sweeping change, and how neighbours can come together and feed themselves. When the food crisis hit, the organoponicos were an ad hoc response by local communities to increase the amount of available food. But as the power of the community farming movement became obvious, the Cuban government stepped in to provide key infrastructure support and to assist with information dissemination and skills sharing."

Who REALLY wears the pants in this family?

Obeythepurebreed.com knows the answer to this question if you're a pet owner. I [heart] the t-shirts and bumperstickers in a big way (darn, 11 months til xmas!).

Oddly, they don't offer any merch for pets themselves -- I guess the website mainly caters to the bourgeois, I mean, humans.

My new dream job: Foodscaping!

Check out this article by Barbara Damrosch published in the Washington Post (of all places!!!):

"You Want Local?  Try Your Backyard!"

FYI: Barbara Damrosch writes books and a website with Elliot Coleman (lucky her!)

Free and Fair Elections Amendment

This video is a little long, but as another presidential election season approaches it's no waste of time to think about how to secure our votes. Also, if you're planning on going to caucus on Feb. 5 (in MN), then this information is definitely for you! (I'd go, but I'll be out of the country. What's your excuse?!)

Sustainable Farming Event in Fairmont, MN

For those of you from my mom's hometown...

Rural Advantage 2008 3rd Crop Producer Meetings

February 11th & 25th, March 10th & 24th

Knights of Columbus Hall, Fairmont MN



Rural Advantage is hosting its annual series of 3rd Crop Producer Meetings in February and March. These informative meetings will cover a range of issues and opportunities emerging in the farm industry. This year’s topics include: 3rd crops, biomass markets, cover crops/carbon, and expanding markets for producers through ecological commodity payments. Meeting dates, topics, and times are below.



· Monday, February 11th - 3rd Crops 10 a.m. – 3:15

· Monday, February 25th – Biomass Markets 10 a.m. – 3:00

· Monday, March 10th – Cover Crops/Carbon 10 a.m. – 3:00

· Monday, March 24th – Getting Paid: Ecological Commodity Payments 10 a.m. – 3:15



3rd crops can provide multiple benefits in addition to the traditional food, fuel, and fiber. The very nature of growing some 3rd crops makes them valuable assets to the farming system. Please join us on Monday February 11th to learn more about a range of topics on 3rd crops; presentations include:

Miscanthus as a bioenergy crop
Woody agriculture
Placing perennial crops on the landscape
Establishing native grasses
Hybrid Hazelnuts
Small grains


The exploding bioeconomy is driving new markets for biomass beyond the traditional corn to ethanol and soybeans to biodiesel industries. New markets are being developed for products made from biomass. These include a host of renewable fuels, bio-products, composites & materials, chemicals, and more. Presentations on biomass markets include:

Pelleting opportunities with ag residues
Distributed energy with pyrolysis and gasification
Biomass to methanol
Alfalfa for fuel and feed


Managing healthy soils has long been a key management strategy to maintain yields in a world where pressure is being put on the agricultural system to provide ever increasing amounts of food, fiber, and fuel. This drive to produce more per acres has led to some interesting proposals for removing ag residues as a potential feedstock for renewable energy. Is this a sustainable option for maintaining healthy soils? If removing ag residues, could the use of cover crops mitigate some of the negatives? These questions as well as many more will be answered at this meeting on March 10th. Presentations that day include:

Aerial seeding rye as a cover crop
Integrating cover crops into Midwest farming systems
Cover crops and EQIP
Strategies for managing cover crops
Carbon cycling; biomass removal and bio-char
Soil conservation and biomass energy




3rd crops are known to provide multiple benefits to the farming system, yet their adoption by producers has been slow and challenging. An often repeated reason from farmers is that they do not compete economically with the traditional corn/soybean rotation. The answer is for farmers to get paid for the multiple benefits that growing 3rd crops provide to society as a whole. So in addition to getting paid for the crop grown, producers are also being compensated for things like carbon sequestered, nutrients reduced, water recharged back to the aquifer, as well as many more. This March 24th meeting will provide participants with some understanding knowledge on implementing ecological commodity payments through the following presentations:

Implementing ecological commodity payments
Water quality trading
Wildlife habitat payments
Carbon credit payments
MN Terrestrial Carbon Project
Innovations in Biorefining


All meetings are being offered free of charge by Rural Advantage and are held at the Knights of Columbus Hall located at 920 E 10th St. in Fairmont MN. Registration and coffee begin at 9:30 with presentations starting at 10:00. For a full agenda with all the meeting dates, speakers, topics, times, and locations please contact Jeff Jensen @ Rural Advantage for a brochure. 507-238-5449 or jeff@ruraladvantage.org





Jeff Jensen

Rural Advantage

1243 Lake Ave. Suite 222

Fairmont, MN 56031

507-238-5449 Fax: 507-238-4002

www.ruraladvantage.org

E-Mail: jeff@ruraladvantage.org

The Story of Stuff - Ch.1: Introduction

Ever feel like your stuff is taking over your life? Well, you're probably right! This is and excellent overview of the mechanics of our consumer society. See this video in its entirety on www.storyofstuff.com. Free Range Studios also has lots of other great videos, by the way.

The Long-Awaited, Over-due Update

Hi all! I feel a little sheepish about updating the blog at this point -- it has languished for so long without updates -- is it too late? Is it worth reviving at all? I feel like my life has taken a different turn, and perhaps a new blog, a fresh start, is warranted. We'll see.

So, here's the poop. I've been working at the Women's Environmental Institute all summer as a farm intern. Getting dirty, growing veggies, lots of female bonding. I briefly blogged with my farmer hat on at this url: www.weicsa.blogspot.com. My cohorts have taken over updating that blog, since, just a few weeks ago, I ceremoniously removed my farmer hat (not for good, I hope) and put on my Americorps VISTA hat, swearing my allegiance to my country, "so help me God." My current job is coordinator for the North Circle Project. You can find out more about it at the Women's Environmental Institute's website: www.w-e-i.org. Basically, I'm organizing farmers in the North Branch area to help them network, expand their markets, and maybe, if the winds of change blow just right, build a processing house and state certified kitchen to do value-added products. It's a big job, but I'm loving it so far. I get to talk to a lot of real good, downhome, country, salt-of-the-earth, and just plain salty folks. Spent my 24th birthday at the Wild River Bar, where a guy named Cobb made me an unforgettable drink out of ingredients he made me swear never to divulge. Just me and a few co-workers and a dollar for the juke-box -- what could be better? Yep, country living suits me just fine, and I'm in no hurry to return to city-living, though there's been some rumors about me applying to graduate school.

I do miss the friends I made in France -- Mieko, Tati, Sabrina... Got a message from the mom of a couple young kids I was teaching English to in Toulon. They finally made their big move to Pensacola, FL, and for those of you who know french, she's got a great blog: http://chasse-pensacola.over-blog.com. Reading her messages and seeing the photos reminded me of how much fun I had with them -- It's always the people you meet that make all the difference. Makes me feel a little of that wanderlust coming back. Don't know when I'll have the means to do another big trip, but hope it's soon.

The biggest, most exciting thing in my life, and in the lives of every Minnesotan, is the State Fair! I have finally been given the chance to realize my life-long dream of having a booth at the Great Minnesota Get-Together -- Ya'll can see me at the Eco-Experience on August 30 from 10am-2pm. I'll be working at the Minnesota Grown booth for their CSA day. Maybe I'll see you there! (And, if you need someone to come out to the fair with you, I'm always ready to go!)

Back in the U S of A!

Yes, its true! I never thought I'd finally wind my way through all the red tape to get myself home, but I've finally done it! I must appologize for the long bout of silence, but it was all because lousy France Telecom cut off my service two weeks before I left France. I've just come back from a week-long wirlwind tour of Europe with my dad and my aunt, and I've only got one whole day to readjust to American customs and timezones before I start my new job on the farm, so I'm going to be brief for the moment. More to come, I assure you! Also, I understand that my old cell number is still functioning, so I hope to hear from you all soon!

You Had to Be There!

So many times I find myself without my camera at an opportune moment for taking an unforgettable photo. Of course, every day in Toulon presents itself as the perfect inspiration for a Walker Evans wannabe. (This afternoon, I counted three passed-out drunks on one street corner – that’s a muckraker’s mother lode!) I’ve also been dying to snap a few shots of all the middle-aged women with Bozo the Clown hair-dos; yep, hair dyed bright red and sculpted into a nicely rounded poof, really brings out the jowls. But, today was really the crème de la crème!

I show up for my class of post-Bac students, they’re basically in a junior college type program to become profession business people, and they keep going on and on about one student who is late. Generally, the students are always late, but that’s usually because they’re loitering outside the school gates smoking cigarettes. This time, however, the buzz in the classroom was that one of the students was supposed to appear dressed as an Indian. Now, what that had to do with his tardiness, I couldn’t tell. Ten minutes later, though, the Chieftain arrived! To say that he was dressed as an Indian (which I now fully understood to mean Native American, and not Indian of the Origin of the Asian Subcontinent), is to drastically understate his case. The 22-year-old was dressed in nothing but a headdress, loincloth, and slippers, and at his waist he had a plastic toy hatchet and bow and arrow. I had to hand it to him, I did not see that coming! (Nor, did I expect him to have had quite so many tattoos; and, if I had known that he had them, I certainly did not expect to be in a position to see them.) And then, there we all were, one English teacher, one American, a handful of French youths dressed for what one could only guess would be a funeral from all the black they always wear, and one errant member of the Village People. Just when I thought the situation couldn’t become more ridiculous, they all turned to me as if I fully understood what the Indian thing was all about because I am from North America. Of course, the only thoughts running through my head was how incredibly un-PC this all was and how this would never ever happen in an American school and how it is most certainly inappropriate to even refer to someone as an Indian when they are in fact Native Americans and it is more inappropriate still to dress like one and parade around as such; that, mixed with uncontrollable blushing because here was a half-naked man in my classroom, and prudish American that I am, I am unaccustomed to such vulgarity. (Actually, I was starting to wonder how strippers collect tips. I mean, the smallest paper currency is 5 euros, and that’s like $6.50. Do European strippers wear little coin purses on their g-strings? Or, do they actually make more money? The cost of living is certainly greater here…) At any rate, I feigned ignorance, which was easy to do, because I really had no idea what was going on. When I inquired as to why this individual was dressed as an “Indian”, the only response I got was that it was for the North American Carnival, which, unless I’ve been kept in the dark about this all these years, and that every year at this time all of North America has been throwing a big party behind my back, I seriously doubt the existence of said carnival. But, man, you really had to be there!

Show Me Your Boutis!

Ok, I will! Due to my ineptitude as a photographer, the above photo does not do justice to my recently commenced chef d'oeuvre in boutis (pronounced "booty", if you couldn't guess by my off-color pun). So, here is another, more masterfully realized photo of someone else's (more masterfully realized) boutis:



And, whence my boutis? Mieko and I signed up for an all-day boutis workshop in the small village of Calvisson, maybe 20 km or so from Nimes. I discovered the town, its Maison de Boutis (translation: boutis house), and its workshops while searching on the internet for the source of the provencal placemats my Mom and I had been eyeing while shopping for souvenirs in Nice. My interest in these simple quilted placemats sent me on a wild google chase through the ins and outs of French regional handicrafts. I discovered that most of what goes by the name of boutis is in fact "pique de Marseille," a simplified version of boutis that more closely resembles what we in America call quilting. Boutis is a much more elaborate and fascinating craft. It's made by sandwiching two pieces of white cotton fabric together, then embroidering a design over top so that small pockets are created in the layers of fabric. These pockets are then filled with cotton yarn by carefully attaching the yarn to a piece of thread and a needle and gently tugging the yarn through the underside of the design. The result is a quilt design with incredibly high relief in the areas filled-in with cotton, and a lovely tranparency in the spaces left empty. Traditionally, boutis was reserved for only the most precious garments or linens, like wedding gowns or baptismal bonnets, whereas the more common "pique de Marseille" was used throughout the home, and is probably why people associate it more with Provence and confuse it with the highfalutin boutis. For me, this workshop was an opportunity to experience more of the local culture, and learn a skill I could bring home with me.

The boutis workshop in Calvisson turned out to be a great experience. Unfortunately, the weather was crappy, so I wasn't inspired to take more photos, but in retrospect it struck me as a textbook French medieval village. On Saturday it was utterly dead, except for the die-hard drinkers, smokers, and gamblers loitering in the town's two cafes, yet, the narrow, winding streets and houses fronted with ancient and cock-eyed looking doorways were indeed charming. The country-side butted right up against the sleepy village so that under certain archways you could spot idle tractors and grazing poultry. At the workshop, we were joined by a handful of mostly middle-aged and older women, most of whom traveled no farther than Nimes to get there (Mieko and I might not have had the nicest boutis, but we won the distance contest hands-down). The other women were curious about us young Americans, but if they were suspicious of our intentions, they never let on. In fact, they seemed eager to learn more about fibre arts in the United States. Most of their vocabulary on this subject appeared to have been imported from the States as they talked about doing "le patch" (patchwork quilting) or things they want to "quilter" (verb: to quilt). They also talked about buying quilting thread from America and Canada over the internet, since evidently selection in France is limited, and not surprisingly, prices are too high. Even the thread we used in our workshop was Coats & Clark, made in the good ol' USofA. (As protectionist as the French are, it strikes me as funny that they are making their traditional handicrafts with imported materials.) We spent the whole day working on our boutis projects, with one break for lunch when we all went to the charming local creperie. At the end of the day we were given free admission to the town's boutis museum where we got a taste for what our newly minted skill could yield. The most impressive pieces were the largest ones, whole gowns or bedspreads covered in boutis. It boggled the mind imagining how long it must have taken to complete these when after 7 hours I had only completed one measly flower less than the size of my palm. The museum also displayed several exquisite examples of pique de Marseille using the traditional provencal cotton prints as well as others in silk.

So, good news: I did learn a new skill. Bad news: Mom, those placemats aren't going to be ready any time soon!

Our Story Takes an Explosive Turn...

Car explosion at 174 bd. Robespierre. Sure didn't see that one coming.

I was on my way home for a spot of lunch and some coffee, when I began to notice an unusually foul smell in the air. Toulon is almost always smelly, and because they often burn their garbage, the smell of smoke isn't all that uncommon. Yet, this smell was so acrid that I couldn't help but think it out of the ordinary. A few blocks from my apartment I began to see clouds of smoke rising in the distance, and in jest I asked myself, what if my apartment building were on fire? Did I leave the burner on? The heater? No, definitely not. What if my good-for-nothing neighbor set the place ablaze, maybe exploding a speaker while listening to Dido at full blast, as he is often wont. And, if my building were on fire, would I run in and try to save any of my belongings. I had to admit, I don't have a lot of valuable stuff. Nothing worth risking my neck on. Well, maybe my computer, my external hard-drive with all my music on it. When I turned the corner up my street and saw the firetrucks parked directly in front of my building, I felt like I was going to faint or puke or both. Just by imagining it (I imagined), I had made it true! Agast, I continued up the boulevard, and with great relief, I realized that my apartment was not on fire, but that a car parked directly in front of my building was. As you can see from the photos, the little sedan had been so engulfed by the flames that all that was left was a charred skeleton. Fortunately, no one was hurt, and word on the street was that the car "a pris feu" spontaneously. Ever wonder why you don't see French cars for sale in the U.S.? Not anymore, eh?

New Feature -- Music Sidebar

Thanks to my good pal Dana, I've just been turned on to the world of music "scrobbling." I find this a most onerous term, like most of the recent crop of technolingo like googling, podcasting, ripping, digging, burning, blogging, etc., but this really is quite an ingenious service. Go to Last.fm to check it out. Once you download the software, it keeps track of what you listen to and shares it with your friends. You can find other people who are into the same stuff you're into, and it makes it really easy to find new music you might be interested. Also, it has all these radio stations that it tailors directly to your interests. Perfect for someone feeling a bit detached from popular culture by, say, the span of the Atlantic Ocean. So, if you want to digg what I'm into (yo), check out the sidebar. (I'm only mildly embarassed by the noticeable preponderance of tracks by NPR.)