Agriculture Conference 2018 will take place from the 7th to 10th of February at the Goetheanum in Dornach.

The biodynamic preparations bring vitality to the earth, its fruits, the farms and their communities. They inspire our actions and bring concrete benefits to nature as a whole. They also present us with big questions. At the conference insights will be shared from all over the world and in order to inspire and encourage, there will be an intensive exchange of experiences. Those invited include farmers, gardeners, wine growers, orchardists, herb growers, advisors, researchers, students and apprentices, food processors, traders, cooks, nature educators and also consumers and friends of the biodynamic impulse. The plenary sessions will explore the preparations in all their breadth and depth, in the parallel themed sessions specialists will be able to share experiences and deepen their work while in the workshops intensive personal dialogue will be encouraged. To complete the programme there will be music, artistic courses, guided tours of the Goetheanum and an exhibition. 

The conference includes: Themed sessions on biodynamic preparations for viticulture, food, tropical agriculture, preparations in daily life, soil fertility, medicinal plants and herbs, plus 23 workshops, 14 artistic courses and 15 guided tours. All are welcome.

Click HERE for the Programme and HERE to register.

haydens harvest for the year ahead

credit: Hayden Stubbins – Forest and Feast at Yale

It’s been a busy year for Hayden Stubbins from Hayden’s Harvest. He hosted forage and feasts, plant walks, mycology talks and herbal classes in North America, from NYC to coastal Maine. Check out his cool video about Forage and Feast that has over 1 million views HERE

Hayden has been involved with some really interesting projects on subjects such as Lyme Disease and invasive species over the past year:

Japanese Barberry: A story of Lyme Disease, invasive species, medicine, and scarves

Japanese Barberry creates ideal habitat for ticks, and has been attributed to the rise in Lyme Disease. More barberry = more ticks = more Lyme Disease. I have shifted my winter focus to finding products using Japanese Barberry with the hopes of decreasing its population in our woods with the aim of decreasing rates of Lyme Disease. These products include potential medicine (type II diabetes, fatty liver disease, statin-resistant high cholesterol, digestive issues), as a dye, bitters, and more to come. If you are interested in Japanese Barberry removal, any of the products listed above, or a monograph, please contact me.

He is currently taking booking for his spring teaching schedule, so if you or any organizations you know are interested in hosting a Forage and Feast, plant walk, mycology talk, herbalism event. These events are perfect for public and private schools, universities, youth groups, farms, community centers, and private residences alike. Many people have celebrated their birthdays at a Forage and Feast, so why not book a private Forage and Feast for you and your loved ones to celebrate a special day?

If you have any questions, are interested in getting involved with any of the above projects, or if you would like to host an event, please be in touch with Hayden at haydenstebbins@gmail.com.

screening of ‘the native and the refugee’ in new lebanon ny tomorrow

Abode Farm are holding a screening of Native and the Refugee, a film directed and produced by friends of the farm, tomorrow, October 24th. The screening will be followed by a discussion with the filmmakers Matt Peterson and Malek Rasamny and will take place in the Family Room in Fatah Hall at the Abode of the Message. Fatah is accessible from the central courtyard of the Abode.

Since 2014, Matt Peterson and Malek Rasamny have collaborated on The Native and the Refugee, a multi-media documentary project profiling the spaces of the Indian reservation in the United States and Palestinian refugee camps in the Middle East. They will give a presentation on their project with an overview of the resonances between American Indian and Palestinian experience, and will then screen a selection of their short films, followed by an open discussion.

Matt Peterson’s writings have appeared in the Brooklyn Rail, Evergreen Review, The Journal of Aesthetics and Protest, The L, The New Inquiry, and New York Press. In 2014 he completed feature film on the Tunisian insurrection, Scenes from a Revolt Sustained, with a production grant from the Doha Film Institute. He co-edited, with Barney Rosset & Ed Halter, From the Third Eye: The Evergreen Review Film Reader (Seven Stories Press, 2017). He is currently a member of Woodbine in Ridgewood, New York City.

Malek Rasamny is a researcher and filmmaker based in both New York and Beirut whose writings have been published in The Daily Star and Fuse. He’s worked at the Maysles Documentary Center, and was a founding member of the LERFE space in Harlem, the Ground Floor Collective, and Red Channels. He is a regular speaker at the Afikra international monthly series on Arab history and culture, and is currently working on a research project surrounding Druze sovereignty in Lebanon, Syria, and Israel.

 

Details:

Tuesday Oct 24 @ 7PM
Abode of the Message, FATAH Family Room
New Lebanon, NY

Location: Abode of the Message, 5 Abode Road in New Lebanon, NY. Follow signs for visitor parking and enter the Fatah building via the central courtyard.

Overnight Lodging:
The Abode has room to host those traveling from out of town for this event. Lodging will be provided in exchange for volunteer work the next morning. Please let them know if you will be needing accommodations!

event: see winona la duke speak about language, the living world, and the commons

The theme of the upcoming 37th annual E.F. Schumacher Lectures, taking place on November 4th, is “Choosing the Path that is Green”,  a reference to the prophecy of the Anishinaabe peoples. Winona LaDuke, who is a member of the Anishinaabe is this years keynote speaker. La Duke is an activist, community economist and author and her work has always been in alignment with the work of the Schumacher Center and of Greenhorns. She has been a persistent advocate for community land stewardship, local food sovereignty and sustainable resource use. She has a unique ability to communicate the stories, ideas and wisdom of the Anishinaabe people in ways that are both timely and relevant.

upcoming draft animal-power field days

The Draft Animal-Power Network are running 3 days of events at the Cornish Fairgrounds NH from September 29th – October 1st. The Draft Animal-Power Network aims to advance the use of draft animals, to promote sustainable land stewardship and to build vibrant communities through year-round educational and networking opportunities that highlight the ongoing efforts of people throughout the region.

The weekends events will begin on Friday, September 29th, with 3 intensive all day workshops which will give participants the opportunity to spend an entire day learning with hands on experience from experienced teamsters. The topics for the workshops include ‘Cultivation and Tillage with Draft Animals’, ‘Growing Your Draft Animal Power Farm’ and ‘Forest to Frame’. Friday evening will end with a square dance with the Bob Boynton Square Dance Band. On Saturday and Sunday, there will be more half day workshops, round-table discussions, music by the bonfire, obstacle courses and teamster challenges and much more!

There are also 20 weekend scholarship places for young teamsters, to apply, email dapnetinfo@gmail.com explaining why you are interested in attending asap!

To find out more about the weekend’s events and to register click HERE 

the 12th annual blackfly ball is this weekend!

credit: Gabby Schutlz and the beehive collective 

The 12th annual all-ages dress-up Blackfly Ball is taking place this weekend, August 19th, in Machias, Maine. The Ball has been taking place every year since 2005 to celebrate the restoration and reopening of the Machias Valley Grange Hall and as a testimony to the 100+ years that the building has served as a community center to the people of Washington County. The event itself embodies the history of the building, bringing together people from all walks of life to find a common ground through community and celebration.

This years line up features soothing brass, wacky ukuleles, flocks of fiddles and more from far and wide. This event is 100% free and is entirely funded by poster sales, the posters are designed each year by the newest illustrator to join the Beehive Collective and are exceptionally beautiful!

To see all of the previous posters click HERE and to find out more information about the ball and to keep up to date or to organise ride sharing to and from the ball click HERE

evolution of organic hits theaters this month!

The world premier of the Evolution of Organic (see our previous post on this film here and here) is finally upon us! You can catch the event at the opening Night of Green Film Fest 2017 on April 20 at the Castro Theatre. Schedule as follows:

6:00pm  ::  Opening Night Reception with Mark Kitchell and Festival filmmakers
7:30pm  ::  Evolution of Organic (Mark Kitchell, USA, 2017, 82 mins)

As the Film Fest surmises, “[The Evolution of Organic] started with a motley crew of back-to-the-landers rejecting industrial farming. It went on to spawn a renewed connection with our food and land. Filmmaker Mark Kitchell (Berkeley in the Sixties; A Fierce Green Fire) presents a celebration of Californian organic farming told by the people that started it all thru to a new generation who continue to reinvent the food system.”

The film will be followed by a discussion with filmmaker Mark Kitchell and special guests. Buy tickets here!

talk on the commons, april 23, great barrington

The Community Land Trust in the Southern Berkshires (CLTSB) and the Berkshire Community Land Trust (BCLT) invite you to attend their joint Annual Meetings & Speaker Series on April 23, 2017:  Re-imagining the Commons with David Bollier of the Schumacher Center.

severine in ireland

For our friends in Ireland (or those that plan to be there this spring) Greenhorns founder and executive director Severine von Tscharner Fleming will be presenting at Litfest : the Food and Drink Literacy Festival, in Ballymaloe. Ballymaloe, it’s a pleasure just to say the name of the place, so we can only imagine how magical it is in real life.

Severine will be talking about the farmer’s life along with Alice Holden at this years Festival in May, which will bring together authors, chefs, foragers, farmers, educators, gardeners, and bloggers to share ideas on food.

You can find out more Litefest HERE.

 

sf bay area: celebrate black farmers with a night of films

Interested in learning more about the rich history of black farmers in the US and abroad? Join the good people at Pollinate Farm & Garden, an Oakland-based nursery and urban homestead emporium, for an evening of film celebrating “black hands in the soil.” The night is co-hosted by Farms To Grow, Inc – a non-profit dedicated to supporting black farmers and underserved sustainable farmers around the country.

What: Black Hands in the Soil – A Film Celebration of Black Farming

Where: Pollinate Farm & Garden, 2727 Fruitvale Avenue, Oakland, CA

When: Friday, February 24th, 7-9pm

Cost: Sliding scale donation, no one turned away for a lack of funds!

The feature film is Charlene Gilbert’s “Homecoming” (see an excerpt above!) with several shorter documentaries rounding out the evening. Learn more and purchase tickets HERE, and check out Pollinate’s series of hands-on urban farming classes and workshops HERE.

sharpen your pencils: essay contest for a dream farm

Did you have the experience of entering a coloring contest to win an over-sized Easter bunny, or perhaps a pie baking competition for gift basket filled with all manner of goodies? I clearly remember those moments from my childhood – moments that now seem quite unrealistic in terms of how things actually work in the world.

But wait!

Here’s the equivalent over-sized Easter bunny for the young agrarian: Award-winning architect-turned-farmer Norma Burns has decided to give her beautiful farm away in an essay contest.  Norma has been growing herbs, vegetables, and cut flowers on the certified organic, 13 acre farm for the last eighteen years.

ballymoe litfest, ireland, may 19-21

Friends in the UK! LitFest – A Food and Drinks Literacy Festival is taking place this year on the weekend of 19-21st May 2017 in Ballymoe, Ireland.

The full program of events is now published so check it out and book the events that you’re interested in here…

Litfest is the only festival of its kind in Ireland and has created an important hub for food and drinks enthusiasts worldwide to meet and share ideas with each other.

Check out the list of fantastic participants who will be taking part at Litfest17. And buy tickets here!

living art in Pennsylvania

“Brushes, Planets, Misfits and Other Collections” 2014 by Jeffrey Jenkins

Here’s something for all you artists, makers, communitarians, diggers (re:archaelogists) and generally strange people: Midlred’s Lane.

Residing on a site named for the homesteader that inhabited the space in the 20th century, a collection of individuals are experimenting with different ways of living/being/working/art making/formulating simply complex sentences.

evolution of organic premiers at ecofarm conference, jan. 27

Still from the film feature Severine and Elizabeth and Paul Kaiser of Singing Frogs farm, who are leaders in no-till farming and recently the key-note speakers at the NOFA MA Winter Conference.

This year at the EcoFarm Conference in Pacific Grove California, participants will get a chance to see a sneak preview of the documentary The Origins of Organic!

Evolution of Organic, according to its filmmakers, “brings us the story of organic agriculture, told by those who built the movement. A motley crew of back-to-the-landers, spiritual seekers and farmers’ sons and daughters rejected chemical industrial farming and set out to explore organic alternatives. It’s a heartfelt journey of change – from a small band of rebels to a cultural transformation in the way we grow and eat food. By now organic has gone mainstream – split into an industry oriented toward bringing organic to all people, and a movement that has realized a vision of sustainable agriculture. As interviewee Kelly Mulville says, “Creating health in the soil creates health in the ecosystem creates health in the atmosphere – and it all cycles around.””

All that, and Severine makes a cameo!

This year’s EcoFarm Conference, which also features incredible speakers, farmer mixers, and even dancing, takes place January 25-28 at the Asilomar Conference Grounds. Online registration is now closed but onsite walk-in registration begins Wed, Jan 25 – Sat, Jan 28 starting at 7am.