In this issue:
- Farm Experience Weekend September 21-23
- CNN update
- Water, Food Shortages and Vegetarianism
- Green Building: Homegrown Hardwood Floor
- Swan Trust Stream Bank Preservation Project
- Plenty International: Feeding Children at Central America's Largest Dump
- Changing Faces at Book Publishing Company
The "heart of The Farm."
Thr two creeks literally divide our land.
In the photo, the section above the heart is 1000 acres of uninhabited land. The land extending below is where you'll find all our neighborhoods and businesses.
A spiritual center and a place of magic.
Hi Friends,
Fall is in the air, and you can feel the equinox approaching fast. Here in the south, we look forward to the cooler temperatures and change of seasons.
The first visit with CNN went well. They return in mid-September to produce the program, which will focus on young people choosing an alternative lifestyle, along with The Farm's nonprofit work. I will let you know when it is about to air.
I cover a variety of subjects for you this month that I hope you will find interesting.
Please consider joining me for the upcoming Farm Experience Weekend.
It looks like a nice turnout, but there is always room for one more! Why not you?
Thank you for your time and attention.
Yours in community,
Douglas
Douglas@thefarmcommunity.com
In Guatemala: The Karen Soy Nutrition Project
Seven dollars a month pays for each child to receive soymilk and protein-enriched cookies two days a week and provides nutrition education materials for parents or guardians.
(photo by Chuck Haren)
See things in a whole new light. The Farm Experience Weekend
September 21-23
A retreat to give you strength and hope
for the next step in your journey.
Come celebrate the equinox with a Farm barbecue
under the dome followed by a bonfire and drumming.
Register today!
(right) The Wholeo is a 12 foot diameter, stained glass dome art structure,
just one of the many simple wonders you'll encounter when you experience The Farm.
Climb inside and enjoy the play of colors
shining through the glass.
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For activities and events on The Farm, check out: | ||||
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| The Farm Community Calendar | Green Life Retreat Calendar | ||||
| Friends of The Farm on Face book | Midwifery Workshops | ||||
Food shortages could force world into vegetarianism, warn scientists
From the Guardian in London: At a recent U.N. conference, leading water scientists from the Stockholm International Water Institute have issued one of the sternest warnings yet about global food supplies, saying that the world's population may have to switch almost completely to a vegetarian diet over the next 40 years to avoid catastrophic shortages.
Prices for staples such as corn and wheat have risen nearly 50% on
international markets since June, triggered by severe droughts in the US
and Russia, and weak monsoon rains in Asia. Animal protein-rich food consumes five to 10 times more water than a
vegetarian diet. One third of the world's arable land is used to grow
crops to feed animals.
Going Veg or simply seeking some healthy, nutritious, and delicious recipes?
Join me for my Vegan Cooking Retreat October 11-13
Barbecue Seitan, better known here as Gluten, the protein from wheat and a popular meat substitute. Not for the gluten intolerant, but for everyone else, YUMMY!.
Green Building: Homegrown Hardwood
If you have ever visited The Farm, then you know that almost all of our homes are in or on the edge of forest woodlands.
In recent years, high winds from nearby tornadoes have blown down a number of large trees, prompting those with big trees leaning toward the house to take preemptive moves.
This beautiful tongue and groove hardwood floor was milled by local Amish from white oak trees harvested adjacent to this home. The Amish mill has kilns where the wood can be dried and cured, reducing the amount of time one must wait before the lumber can be used, while insuring that the wood will not continue to shrink after the floor has been installed.
Swan Trust Stream Bank Preservation Project
In January of 2012, Swan Conservation Trust, a nonprofit land trust based here on The Farm, began work on a $350,000 stream restoration project for
the State of Tennessee, made possible by funds from the expansion of a nearby State highway.
Both sides of one-half mile of eroding stream bank on Little Swan Creek were re-contoured and restored with trees and other natural methods to reduce the impact of flood waters on the land of a nearby family farm.
The Swan board of trustees (I've been a Trustee since 2000, DS) took on a similar project back in 2003, an endeavor which earned over $100,000 for the Trust, money that was used for the down payment on Big Swan Headwaters Preserve.
"Riffles" constructed from trees and boulders slow flood waters and protect stream banks.
However times have changed and the financial return this time around is proving to be much more challenging.
As the organization managing the project, Swan Trust has worked with numerous subcontractors, arm wrestled about cost overruns, organized volunteers, and had to monitor the work almost daily for several months.
We at Swan Trust are doing our best to come out ahead in this endeavor.
Any money we earn will go directly toward the $185,000 note on Big Swan Headwaters Preserve, but it is a
large task to take on, and has a five-year monitoring period.. Stay tuned for updates.
More about the project
Upcoming Events
October 13: Little Grinders Creek State Natural Area - 2 waterfalls!
October 27: Nashville Halloween Party and Fundraiser - Contact Douglas@swantrust.org
Limbs and branches are installed to form a "wood toe"
at the base of banks on outer curves. Rolls of biodegradable matting stabilize banks while grass seed germinates.
Plenty International, Guatemala: Karen's Soy Nutrition Project
A
little over 30 years ago, I was in Guatemala helping to install the country's first soy processing facility. Plenty's work with soy in Guatemala continues with this incredible project, started at the request of our good friend and former Plenty board member , the late Karen Heikkala and fulfilled by her life partner, Tomas.
More than three hundred children of families living at the site of Central America’s largest dump and landfill are receiving good quality, nutritious foods twice a week through Karen's Soy Nutrition Project (KSNP).
Each participating child receives eight ounces of high-protein soymilk and two fortified cookies or biscuits every Wednesday and Saturday, at no cost to their families. Educational information about child and family nutrition needs and how they can be met is also distributed to mothers. DONATE TO PLENTY
Approximately 300 children living adjacent to
the dump outside Guatemala City now receive
soy milk and soy fortified foods twice a week.
The Changing Face of the Book Publishing Company
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In
the 90's, members of The Farm's founding generation wondered if there
would be a new wave of young people to carry the community forward into
the next century. Since that time we have turned the corner, with our
population increasingly represented
by the "youth" (people under 50 -
yikes!) that are choosing to settle here and make the community their
home. (OK, most are still pushing 40, with the exception of the guy with the mohawk. ;-)
Check out the new faces at the Book Publishing Company, a business
which is still owned collectively by all members of the community.
Thank you for your time and attention!
I look forward to hearing from you.
Douglas@thefarmcommunity.com
Read more about life on The Farm in |
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Green Life Retreats
A division of Village Media Services
PO Box 259 / Summertown, TN 38483
931-964-2590 - office 931-626-4035 -
cell
Douglas@villagemedia.com
http://www.villagemedia.com
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