Our Streets Smell of Jasmine
The barren neglected spaces of the city, worked with loving attention feed us. We grow food. Rewarding jobs and dynamic relationships nourish us. Our streets smell of jasmine. We understand we are woven into an ecology, which marries us to the earth. Living in honor of this we receive another day to learn and to grow. We invest deeply with our joy, sinking our hands in. Now urban gardens are farms.
Now we can see our neighbors. Now we can see that the worm and bee are our neighbors. Have you said hello to them? We return the scraps and waste, carrot peels, the loneliness of not knowing our farmer, and moldy bread, to the worms. They build us a new soil. The worms build us clean soil so rich we lay it down right on top of cement. Can you see the vast parking lot of onions and greens? This is the soil we lay down in toxic vacant lots and a community of hands heals the land.
And the bees love the city; warmed by heat island effect they work a longer season. They have stopped disappearing because we no longer feed them corn syrup and truck them from Florida to California. Now the regal bees live in painted boxes and harvest pollen from the plants around them. Their honey begins to taste of the neighborhood.
Children bounce under fruit trees planted as city policy. They harvest greens, teaching their mommas the names of the heirloom varieties. Children are the stewards of these growing spaces; guarding them with laughter and wonder.
We recognize teenagers as potent and electric, perfect at selling produce at market. Now a teenager’s first job is teaching her neighbors how to cook kohlrabi. This teen paints a mural, which sings to the tomato and eggplant. Another group of young people choreograph, compose, and film a video about the specialties of their bioregion. They spill it onto the Internet.
The grandmothers gaze at all of this. They sit back in their chairs. The sun warms their faces and they smile while we all return to our senses. They chuckle as the flavors again dance from the tomatoes on their tongues.
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Care for child care
The presence of young people indicates a healthy social system, shows a level of inclusion. I noticed this at the National Growing Food and Justice for All Gatherings in 2008 and 2009 in Milwaukee and at the Winter Food Security Round Table in February 2010 in Amherst MA.
There was space at these gathering for kids to play and create. There was also space for them to be present in sessions. Childcare was available. There was a generous fluidity to sessions, an emphasis on process. Having children present meant that families were present, this made the gatherings more gentle and at the same time more fierce. The work we did in those rooms was not severed from our lives. And the kids around us reminded us of why we were working to transform dysfunctional systems.
Childcare is an important component to facilitating and convening conversations about our food system and how it works because who is more invested then parents? By having childcare available we enable the perspectives of parents to be in the room, creating a more circumspect and representative vision.
And if we are really on our game we utilize the opportunity to gather the visions of the children. I’ve heard this was done well at the last U.S. Social Forum in Atlanta, where the gathering of children was used to explore and share the visions of our youngest citizens. Those visions were then presented to the whole gathering. I look forward to a similar active harvesting at the next U.S. Social Forum in Detroit in June 2010.
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Spring Spell
In the tradition of resplendent Remedios Varo
For Protection and Brave Creativity—a year forward and out of bed with Zest
Lavender blossoms rubbed from the stems with hands—Breathe—For Beauty for Base of Beauty
Pure lavender (no stems) in three wooden bowls of three different woods.
Add all the left over herbs from last year’s CSA
Rosemary, Oregano, Mint, Sage—For Family History Roots Nourishment Home
Pull some of this mix out for tea—drink it hot
Add orange clay salt from Hawaii—For everyone and thing—For the Strength to Bare Witness
Add dried wildflowers—For life and renewal
Then add the precious lavender salt—For strength, purity, and to fiercely embody your power with ease and delight
Keep some on the shrine inside—the rest outside planted under your window for protection and vision
Stems of lavender in the closet—for the smell
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Growing Understanding of a Global Ecosystem
The New York Times asked readers to “Define The Decade.” For me this decade has been about an increasing awareness that the world is intimate and small. We are beginning to think in a way that is post national. Multinational corporations have been behaving this way for years evident as we have watch capital flow effortlessly through borders people literally die to get past.
In this decade we have begun to more often organize globally, or with the global community in mind. There is a growing understanding that we live on a planet of closed loop relations. Humans have interrupted many self-renewing ecosystems. We are now in a situation where millions of people do not have basic necessities, while a small minority burns through finite resources.
The Story of Stuff
In the U.S., in the last decade, a conversation about where our food comes from and how it is produced has emerged. The efforts to transform this food system have been eager and are gaining momentum. This is wonderful news, because as our food system is reliant of oil, we need to make these changes now.
Big Question: Feast or Famine?
As we go forward into the next century we must ensure our conversations include the voices, ideas, observations, and experiences of all people, otherwise those conversations won’t provide the understanding we need to create systems that sustain us all.
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To Celebrate and Count Blessings
Creamy, bitter with hops and herbs. Like good medicine.
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Art as a Tool
Lily Yeh is one of my very favorite artists. I had the privilege of meeting her while serving in Northern Philadelphia the fall of 2009 while in AmeriCorps NCCC. The art gardens she created with community members there are magnificent affirmations of our ability to make beauty and affect reality. They used large-scale mosaics to turn vacant lots into spaces of glittering possibility; fierce healing spaces.
This photo is from Lily’s website.
These spaces offer a glimpse of what is possible for all urban spaces if we prioritize art. The power of large-scale community art comes when connections to specific cultural roots and strengths of a community are utilized to tell visual stories. These stories serve as mirrors in which residents can recognize the potent light of themselves. Murals and mosaics can create urban spaces which are an energizing pleasure to be in. The Rwandan Genocide Memorial Park shows how community art can also provide spaces of remembrance, recognition, and healing.
Lily Yeh’s art is in conversation with the communities she serves. Her art sings of possibility and the expansive, regenerative quality of our hearts. She spoke about her life’s work at the 2009 Bioneers Conference about her life’s work.
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Harvest in Jamaica Plain and Roslindale cont.
A little garden in Roslindale.
Kale crawling through the fence.
The beginnings of my neighbor’s food forest.
When I came across this tree I had never seen it before. I tried the one of the fruits and was pleased with the mildly sweet pulpy flesh inside. Later when I met my neighbor and the caretaker of these tress he told me it was a Dogwood. It has been described as similar to an apricot or nectarine and seems to work well in jam.
And last but not least my humble corn patch. My friend, Tahz, gave me an ear of the corn he grew last summer at Stone Circles in North Carolina.
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Harvest in Jamaica Plain and Roslindale
The last minute before going the west coast and then Milwaukee I got around to taking pictures of all the food growing in my neighborhood. I love these pictures for all that is happening. And I love the quiet space of possibility, especially in the photos of the lavender. Imagine if those beds in the middle of the road became raised beds in an extensive garden filling what used to be the road. Well maybe one side of the road to start, we still at least need the buses.
This cabbage patch enthralled me from the bus for weeks. When I walked up the house where the cabbage was growing a man was sitting in front of a corner window on the first level. I waved to him and asked about the cabbage. We didn’t speak the same language so I pointed the garden. He smiled broadly and nodded. I asked if I could talk to him about the cabbage and take some pictures and he continued to nod, though now it was more the sort of nob one makes when someone is speaking to them in a language they don’t understand and yet they understand it is a language. His daughter and wife came to the window to investigate and I repeated my interest in the garden.
I met the women at the door and the daughter proceeded to give me a tour. Her name is Azizun. We weren’t able to get into specifics because of language, such as: Why so much cabbage? and How do you eat it? But as my skills in Bengali are zero I am grateful that Azizun was able to tell me what she could in English. They eat the cabbage with fish. That was as specific as she got. She moved to Boston from Bangladesh three years ago. Her father, who tends the garden, is named Muslim. She smiled when I said I had a friend named Ramadan.
Here is the lavender of Roslindale Square. I thought it was my own little secret discovery, then a few weeks after I noticed it the lavender blooms were harvested. I am glad that others are aware and enjoying this medicinal which is good for bug bites and repelling bugs before they bite, headaches, tension, and trouble sleeping.
This plant is very hardy and doesn’t need a lot of water so it is a perfect perennial for city landscaping. Lavender also attracts a lot of bees (there were two around while I was taking pictures but they didn’t want to sit still and pose) and contributes to great honey.
Imagine gardens spreading out from all sides.
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2nd Annual Growing Food and Justice Initiative Gathering
There is still time! Last year the Growing Food and Justice for All Gathering came together as a nourishing and powerful exchange with people from all over the country working to growing food for all people while dismantling racism. We painted a forty foot mural in three days with many hands- transforming our visions into bright declarations.
Here are some fund raising ideas from Caroline Loomis to help get you there:
In case anyone needs some extra encouragement (yes! raise money! go to the GFJI gathering!) here are some ideas. These are just my quick suggestions– hopefully this will start a conversation– send your ideas/tips to the list!
Throw a Party!
They’re effective. This summer, there were weeks when it seemed like every social event I went to was a fundraiser. I helped with parties that raised between $500 and $6,000 dollars!
But… fundraiser parties can also be a total bust. Some little tips off the top of my head that might help you avoid that:* Estimate that less than 1/2 of the people you invite (and never more than 1/2) will actually attend. (Invite a lot of people!)
* Keep your costs really low. Try to get everything possible donated. Don’t rent a space unless you absolutely have to… I personally think it can set you back a lot, and that you might as well just aim for a smaller house party or backyard party.
* Door prices work well if you have a band playing or an all-you-can-eat BBQ… but make it a sliding scale and encourage people to give as much as they can (try “$5-$100 sliding scale, $10 suggested”).
* Keep food really simple.
* Consider charging for dessert, like a little bake sale at the party.
* Charge for drinks! And put a jar for extra donations right there on the bar (some parties let the bartenders keep tips, which is sweet and generous, but I say, look for friends who will do it for the love of bartending and to help the cause).
* Use what you grow! Thanks to East NY Farms, grilled bok choi kept party-goers happy once the burgers were gone, at one fundraising BBQ this summer.
* Make a back-up plan for food & liquor. If you buy too much, what will you do with unopened leftovers? Will the store take anything back (can sometimes work with alcohol).
* Get a team on it. The more people you have who are committed to coming, helping, and inviting their friends, the better it’ll turn out.
* Get some RSVP’s… follow up with people, remind them, use evites, whatever, to get a sense of turnout, and to get people feeling committed to showing up.
* Finally, make an ask: When the crowd is at its largest, get up in front of everyone and tell them what the party is about, what it means to you, and then pass the hat.
(This is all kind of house-party focused, but dinner parties/potlucks/etc can also be really good– keep costs low, and charge what your guests might pay for a dinner out, or make an open ask during the meal)Put out a bucket – At your Farmers’ Market, by your office’s front door, wherever. Make a big colorful sign so people notice it. Ask a local business if you can put a bucket by their register (Make-a-Wish style).
Something-A-Thon – Walk-a-thon, juggle-a-thon, bowl-a-thon, wheelbarrow-race-a-thon. Get people in your community to do something fun or competitive, and have them ask their friends to sponsor them. Keep it small, make it silly, or hype it up and get a lot of people involved. It’s a great way to get money from people outside your regular pool of neighbors/friends/community. Establish a minimum amount to participate, something to shoot for. Then, for example, if you set a minimum of $25 per participant, people can ask 25 different people for one dollar each, or ask a couple of folks for larger donations. The event itself is just fun, and a catalyst for people to reach out to their larger communities for money. And– get people to collect the money before the event! Otherwise you may never get it. (Cleaning out some stuff in my parents’ house, I recently found an $8 Walk-for-Hunger donation sheet from 1994. Oops. Probably too late to collect on that one.) (for an example of a great bowl-a-thon here in NYC, check this out: http://www.fiercenyc.org/
Growing Food and Justice Initiative
