Tryon Life Community Farm Summer Internship 2009

About this blog

2009-09-08T16:50:00.001-07:00

Greetings! Thank you for arriving here and checking out this blog! This is an account of a Community Sustainability Immersion Program at Tryon Life Community Farm in Portland, OR. It occurred from August 1st to August 21st, 2009. The content is partly a scrapbook of memories and partly a storehouse of some knowledge we acquired during the program. It may be useful to read just to see what we were up to or to learn some practical ideas that you can try to implement yourself.

The entries are stacked in reverse date order, and are labeled with the "day" which corresponds with the date. You can see a full list of the entries in the right hand column by clicking "August". It may make sense to start at Day 1 as an intro to the farm and the program, or it may make sense just to jump to a subject that interests you. In any case, enjoy!

-Nick

Day 21: Thank you and farewell

2009-08-27T12:09:00.000-07:00

On Friday, Augusut 21 we celebrated our last day of our immersion program at Tryon Life Community Farm. How bittersweet 'twas! Bitter to have come to an ending to such a great time. Sweet to share our satisfaction for what we've done. And as we learned from Melissa, bitter and sweet and all the other flavors of life all have their purpose. There is a time for everything, and the ending is just the beginning of the next phase.

So we began the day with a morning circle and then with individual exit interviews with Brenna and Laura. In our interviews we provided helpful feedback about the program and discussed the specific steps in our personal action plans. After lunch, we gathered in the sacred maple grove to share our next steps with each other. We created a powerful, supportive space in order to give strength to our intentions.

In the evening was a celebratory pizza party and bonfire. After eating, we interrupted the party briefly to take a trek into the woods where our three weeks came to a culmination in a closing ceremony of sorts. We walked silently to a very special place and partook in a symbolic demonstration of our personal growth during this time. During this experience, the deep connection that we've developed with each other and with the Earth came alive.

At this point, I feel that words do not quite tell our story, but what more have we than words? Some photos may help, but they can not show what's in our hearts; for in our hearts, we are creating our lives and worlds anew with each beat. This newness, this transformation is personal and unique for each one of us, but for three weeks our hearts were brought together as one. I hope that this blog has given a glimpse of what that means. For us "inter-beings" - may we read these posts and remember. For all the rest - may you read, learn and be inspired to learn more.

One more thing I'll add: after our journey into the woods, we came back to the bonfire, where Jes Karper was playing some tunes on the guitar. One of the tunes he sang was "Tryon Life." You can have a listen if you scroll to the very bottom of the Tryon website - perhaps if you listen close, you just may hear us singing along...

"Tryon life, it fits like a glove and feel what it's like to be free
Try breathing and seeking to be an instrument of love and encourage one another on the journey
Give thanks to the land and the sky up above and pour your energy into building a community"

And on Saturday, we all came back into the city. Some of us will stay in Portland, to live or to visit for some time more; some of us have begun the journey back to our homes. If you notice a glimmer in our eyes, or a dance in our steps, it may be because we're remembering what we learned...

Many thanks and much love to all who have made this happen. And as you may have heard said: merry meet and merry part and merry meet again.

-Nick

Sleeping in the Forest

2009-08-21T13:18:00.000-07:00

Sleeping in the Forest
by Mary Oliver

I thought the earth remembered me,
she took me back so tenderly,
arranging her dark skirts,
her pockets full of lichens and seeds.
I slept as never before,
a stone on the riverbed,
nothing between me and the white fire of the stars
but my thoughts, and they floated light as moths
among the branches of the perfect trees.
All night I heard the small kingdoms breathing around me,
the insects, and the birds who do their work in the darkness.
All night I rose and fell,
as if in water,
grappling with a luminous doom.
By morning I had vanished at least a dozen times
into something better.

Day 20: Natural Building and Life Design

2009-08-20T20:55:00.000-07:00

Joshua explains the process of plastering using wheat gluten as a paste.

Here's Laura playing in the sand-pile.

I'm digging sand to add to the plaster mix. A general plaster involves water, clay and sand.

We made a paste to add to the plaster so that it would be extra sticky. Here's Joshua mixing the paste.

To make wheat paste, you boil 4 cups of water. While the water is boiling you add 1 cup of glutenous flour to 1 cup of cold water. Then you add the flour into the boiling water and stir vigorously.
It smells a little like pizza dough!

Our electronic mixer broke, so Emi decided to use her feet!

A drill definitely would have come in handy, but hands come in handy too!

Mud Dancing!

Mud-Face-Painting!

Now we're plastering the dragon-stove.

Here I am using a yogurt lid as a trowel to smooth the plaster on.

The kids on the farm were anxious to help!
Add a little mud to the mix and Work is suddenly FUN!!

- Mariel

We also learned a little bit about natural paints. Joshua recommended his three favorite natural paints:
- Casein: paint made from milk. There's also a "lime casein" that's great for unfinished wood.
- Clay paint or Alis: This is what we learned to make using clay, sand, water and pigment. I can be used for many surfaces, including painting over latex paint.
- Mineral paint: Made from potassium or sodium silicus. Sodium silicate is great for concrete or similar surfaces.

We learned that pretty much anything that contain sugar or water can be mixed with pigment to create paint, i.e. eggs (tempera paint), or sugar water. Natural pigment is made with minerals, and of the minerals that can be used, Joshua explained that iron is the only one which is very safe, therefore it's pretty much the only option.

We also learned a little about plasters. Plaster is used to finish structures, i.e. on top of cob. It usually includes clay, sand, straw, pigment and water. Straw can be substituted for horse, goat or pig hair, or certain plant material like cattails. You can also add cow or horse manure, mica, crushed shells, volcanic sands, crushed glass, garnet, wheat paste, casein, or probably many other tigns.

Sealer is used if a plaster is dusting a bit and it can't simply be sprayed with water and compressed. A great sealer is linseed oil, which you can purchase at your local hardware store. You can also use a casein wash or a lime wash over clay plaster.

Here are some resources for further info:

Books: Natural Plaster Book by Cedar Rose Guelburth; Using Natural Finishes by Adam Weisman and Katie Brice; Natural Paint Book.

Joshua also recommended finding knowledgeable people through this website, or by locating the following people in our home regions:
- Maine: Amber Wigget (NE Kingdom)
- Central New York: Mary Golden in Honeoye Falls, or the Natural Building Colloquiumin the PeaceWeavers community
- Wisconsin: Deanne Bednar

-Nick

Brenna leads a discussion on transitioning back into the world

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KidsKIDSkids (make my SMILE really-BIG) :) :) :)

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Ember

Guthrie and Myrtle

Day 19: Nutrition + Reflection

2009-08-20T20:34:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, 8/19, we had another fabulous session with Melissa about keeping ourselves and others healthy and strong. This time the focus was generally on nutrition. Here are a couple easy things to try:

- When you start getting sick, you can make a tea that includes yarrow, peppermint and elder flower. This will cause you to sweat and help release the sickness.
- You can make your own electrolyte, super-hydrating drink by adding a quarter to half teaspoon of of salt in your glass of water plus a little fruit juice.

Later that day we had a reflective session to begin our process of creating our personal action plans to help the transition away from TLC. We focused on three questions: Where did I come from? What am I going to remember from TLC Farm? And in a broad sense, what do our descendants need from us now, and what is my gift for the future?

We spent some time reflecting on and writing about these questions individually, then circled up in the maple grove to share our responses. Hearing everyone's individual responses was very inspiring. Though we all came from different spaces, geographically and otherwise, the reasons our paths brought us to TLC were very similar. And not only were our experiences here at TLC shared closely together, our visions for the future also had many similarities. As Brenna articulated very well, we all have a sense that the things we love in the world are in great danger, and rather than try to ignore it, we share a sense we've committed ourselves in one way or another to doing something about it. We chose to come here to become closer to our Mother Earth, and to work to heal her. We're all very excited to put those ideas into action in whatever ways we can when we get home. Here are some of the ideas that one or many of us may end up pursuing:

-Starting a tree village that will bring people of all generations together
-Starting a medicinal herb garden
-Working to improve Portland through City Repair
-Becoming involved with natural building projects
-Acquiring more skills to help people to heal naturally
-Becoming a midwife
-Participating in future efforts at TLC
-Starting an urban farm
-Bringing permaculture ideas to our hometowns
-Joining or creating nurturing communities
-Helping to create sustainable networks of exchange
-Studying sustainability in depth

Our paths may be many, but the destination is the same; a happy and healthy environment, strong and supportive communities, and a generally better world for the generations yet to come.

-Nick

Day 18: Organoleptics with Erico

2009-08-20T20:06:00.000-07:00

Organoleptics is a FUNNY word. (especially if you say it 10 times)
It means acting on or involving the sense organs. Erico introduced us into the art of tasting herbs without knowing what they were. We then described the flavor and effect each herb had on us.

You can do this on your own, but there is a strong energy in--

In a group there is a collective amplification of a plant's spirit.

Before tasting, we closed our eyes and meditated for a while. Plants move slower than we do, so tuning into their energy means we have to wind down to their vibrational level.

~~pure stillness~~

back in the garden (again)

2009-08-20T19:58:00.000-07:00

the bamboo connection

2009-08-18T22:57:00.002-07:00

Did you know that the flowering of a Bamboo is a very special event? It happens very rarely, sometimes as little as once every hundred years, but when it does, EVERY BAMBOO in that species blooms at the EXACT SAME TIME!!!

Do you think they use walkie-talkies?

find out more

Day 17: Farm Tour- Field Trip

2009-08-18T22:57:00.001-07:00

On Monday, August 17 we visited two different farm sites to get some more firsthand looks at what's going on around Portland.

The first place we visited was Mahonia Land Trust. This was a 60-acre plot of mostly mixed deciduous forest purchased by about 10 people in 1975. Two folks named John and Bev run a 20-member CSA from the farm. The two other permanent residents are Karen and Mark, who we met. The land trust itself is directed by an eight person board, and the overall long-term vision is to turn a bulk of the woods on-site into a more old-growth state. Another piece of the vision is to create a community that is practicing sustainable farming. There's also an educational component to the whole project, which is carried out through hosting class visits and being a WWOOF site for volunteers.

Karen and Mark provided a good example for how people can accomplish a whole lot through just going out and trying new things. Neither of them have extensive life histories of farming, yet they have created an enormous terraced space for planting an extensive fruit orchard, have a huge field prepped for fall planting, and have a huge greenhouse. In the 4 years since they've been living there, they transformed a densely wooded area into the current space that will soon be producing bountiful, sustainable food.

Karen and Mark beginning our tour.

Karen and Chloe observing the land.

The great big greenhouse and the main crop field.

Mark and I walking past the terraced hill that will soon be a fruit orchard.

Mark, Brenna and Raven outside the rustic cabin where WWOOFers sometimes stay.

Mike checking out the wood that Mark produced from the trees they cleared.

And of course, lunch!

The other space we visited was Natural Harvest Farm. Here we met Will Newman, co-founder of the Oregon Sustainable Agriculture Land Trust (OSALT). OSALT is an organization that helps protect sustainable agricultural land and which does research on sustainable agricultural practices. OSALT acquires land by donation, most of the time, and can keep it as agricultural land by holding it in trust. The research and education aspect is carried out by projects which are done on OSALT land. OSALT has a connection to TLC Farm; it enforces a ground-lease on the land which will protect TLC Farm for the future and help ensure that it stays what it is.

In Oregon, as elsewhere, agricultural land is decreasing. State law says that towns must allow for expansion. OSALT seeks to counter that trend by taking land off the market and providing it to farmers. They also have a "Food in the City" project which aims to bring people together in communities where there are gardens, apartments, comhuge greenhouse as wellmunity centers and community kitchens all very close together.

At Natural Harvest Farm, there is food growing happening, of course, along with a couple research projects. One is an experiment using berms to capture and divert water runoff. Another that was fascinating to us all is an experiment in fruit tree grafting. We learned earlier in the day that all fruit trees are grafted rather than grown from seed in order produce the specific fruits that we enjoy. We learned from Will that all fruit trees in the U.S. have been grown from dwarfing root-stocks since about the 1950s. These root-stocks cause fruit trees to grow to the short heights that we're familiar with that allow easier access to all the tree's fruit. The effect of growing trees this way is that they're more susceptible to pests and disease, hence why many commercial fruit growers resort to heavy pesticide use. What they're going to test at Natural Harvest Farm is whether or not fruit trees that are grown to their natural full height are able to produce an amount of reachable fruit that is equivalent to that grown in the same area on a standard fruit farm. I'm excited to learn the results!

And one other fun fact we learned: figs aren't fruit - they're actually unopened flowers. I wish we had a picture of our fig-loving interns' faces when we learned that...

Me taking a pass through a little grape tunnel.

Will giving us the tour.

This is a living, green room where people gather and classes are sometimes held. Very beautiful!

Mike in the greenhouse.

Another view of the land.

-Nick

2009-08-17T19:18:00.000-07:00

Here's a diagram on how tree-grafting works:

more diagrams here.

the picture's home .

"Arborsculpture is the art and craft technique of growing and shaping tree trunks. By grafting, bending and pruning the woody trunks and or branches are grown into shapes either ornamental or useful."

TREE ART!

the picture is fromhere.

or a tree chair!

check out more pics here.

Day 16: Harvesting, Canning and Hula Hooping

2009-08-16T20:40:00.000-07:00

Lily is helping harvest!

Em harvesting plums

Mike!

Emi picks out the best plums.

it's the time of year to leave squash and plums on your neighbors' porches...

or make plum-sauce!

dance-STIR!

here we are. canning and stirring and laughing.

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Talin has a lot of energy!

a day of Circles...

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TLC's kids Hula-Hoop while we can plums.

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This beautiful white summer squash traveled around the day...

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from Laura

to sleeping Raven

and then a Squash Smurf

and finally, Chloe and I made squash art (also called Squarsh)

-Mariel

2009-08-16T19:43:00.002-07:00

Can you guess why their tongues are blue?

Chloe and I holding a GIANT caterpillar we found on a hike in the woods.

2009-08-16T19:43:00.001-07:00

Day 15: Blueberry Picking + Consensus

2009-08-16T17:49:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, Day 15, we took the school bus out blueberry picking. Day 14 is not missing - it was our off day, hence, no blog. Check it out:

Brenna is our wonderful community mentor for this week, and led us on this blueberry picking adventure with young Raven.

Emi in the thick of it, gathering the delicious berries.

This blueberry grove has been there for many decades, while huge development has sprung up around it in recent years. The age and maturity of the bushes means that they bear many, many berries.

After picking berries we dropped by an old farm nearby. Farmer Lawrence is 85 years old and has lived there since he was 11 years old. He and his wife were extremely warm and welcoming, and glad for the company. Notice that this farm exists as well amidst recent expansive development. Also notice that Em discovered purslane in the garden, a delicious edible weed which the farm couple were glad to have us remove.

Consensus
We then spent the afternoon with Brush learning how consensus works. First, we discussed conflict resolution in general. Based on his experience at the farm's Cedar Moon intentional community, Brush suggested some steps to work through when a conflict emerges between two members of a community or organization:

1. Prevent these in the first place by building direct, non-violent communication into everything. Then, if a conflict emerges, those involved may be able to resolve it themselves, by directly discussing the issue together.
2. If they can't work it out, then a third person may be brought in to mediate. If it feels really dicey, those involved in the conflict can each bring along an ally to a meeting with the mediator.
3. If it's still not resolved, a sub-committee or the whole group can address the issue. They can give the larger perspective and resolve the issue with the greater good in mind.
4. If a solution isn't reached that satisfies everyone, one of the people involved may be asked to leave.

So, after discussing that, we moved onto consensus itself. What is consensus? Consensus is a decision-making process that draws on all of the wisdom of a group before coming to a decision, It requires a well-defined group of people who are committed to something that is growing over time. It can often take a long time to implement, but may ultimately save time and energy for the group; the consensus process is thorough, so all the members of a group may have a high sense of trust and commitment to the decisions that are made, therefore giving a stronger basis for efficient implementation.

Here's a rundown of how a consensus-run meeting may go:

- Begin by identifying group roles, the key being the facilitator
- Have a go-around to check in with how everyone's doing
- Review the meeting agenda
- For each agenda item, identify the problem
- Discuss the problem
- Someone presents a proposal for resolving the problem
- Ask for clarifying questions about the proposal
- Discuss the proposal generally, or any specific concerns
- Call for consensus: people can either support the proposal, stand-aside, or block it. Standing aside means that you have reservations, but don't feel the need to block the decision. Blocking generally means you feel the block violates something essential to the group and shouldn't pass. A proposal passes if there are no blocks. If there are stand-asides, it's good to discuss the reasons. If the proposal is blocked, the group may discuss the problem or simply move on to another issue.
- Repeat the above few steps as necessary
- Close the meeting by doing an evaluation or check-out of how it went

Here are some roles that people may play in a consensus meeting:
- Vibes watcher: pay attention to the mood of the group and bring it up if the the mood is getting in the way of the discussion.
- Time keeper: keep track of the time for agenda items, etc.
- Stacker: As people raise their hands to speak, keep track of what the speaking order is by keeping a mental or written "stack."
- Doorkeeper: greet late arrivals, catch them up to speed, etc.
- Notetaker: take notes for the meeting.
- Scribe: write notes or ideas on a board if necessary.

As mentioned, the most important role to play is that of the facilitator. A group empowers the facilitator to pay attention to and direct the group process so that others can focus on the decisions at hand. Here are some of the things a facilitator may do:
- Call on people to speak
- Make sure the discussion is staying on track
- Step in if comments are inappropriate for the issue at hand
- Weave the discussion; summarize people's comments in a way that makes it easier to understand where the discussion is going as a whole
- Evaluate whether everyone's voice is being heard equally, and ask people to step forward or back

To really understand how to put consensus into practice it's really good to see it in action. We were able to try it out during our time with Brush, playing with an imaginary dramatic scenario. Keep in mind though: consensus is to some extent about people letting go of their prior opinions and giving themselves to the greater wisdom of the whole group. It's a much different style of thinking than most of us in the U.S. are used to. With practice, many people find it to be a very empowering, natural way to function as a group.

Check out this site for more info.

After an intensive afternoon of learning consensus, it was time to relax:

-Nick

Day 13: Social Ecology with Brush

2009-08-13T18:15:00.000-07:00

Today, Brush led us in a conversation about how we can observe ecological systems, like forests, (because they seem to be functioning pretty well!!) and then design a community of people based on the same structure.
One of the key components to a healthy ecosystem is diversity.

But for some reason, a lot of people have invested in the idea of having one single crop covering an entire farm. Corn is great. But corn does even better if it has other vegetables and flowers growing with it to balance the nutrients in the soil and insect population. Fields of one crop aren't sustainable! If a bug that eats corn finds the farm it'll quickly spread over the entire field, which means you then have to buy pesticide. The pesticide will kill the bug, as well as the other nutrients in the soil. Then you have to buy fertilizer to replenish the soil... and on
and on....

Just like monocrops, monocultures aren't sustainable either! People change very quickly and because of this, many people when joining a particular community will lose their own distinct qualities. It is wonderful to bring differences together, but can we allow space for the differences to maintain their uniqueness?
Can we have a world of different worlds without war?

Creating a space for conversation of different view-points is key to a functional and sustainable community. It is in the tension and edge of opposing opinions where new insights and growth can occur.
picture from:here

Here is an example of functional diversity. All of these elements are playing a unique role which contributes to the overall health and balance of the system.
*picture from here

How do we collaborate while still remaining distinct?
*picture from here/

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Remembering age diversity in a community is so important!
Can we create a space for the wisdom of newness and wisdom of AGE to meet?

*www.wifesgone.com/index.cfm?Id=113

Another important aspect of community is energy and motivation. We talked about taking small steps and celebrating victory to balance out the feeling of being overwhelmed. It's easy to be afraid that we'll never be able to stop the devastation in the world. Can we move and act not from fear AND not in naivety?

So, how do we sustain motivation and energy in a community or organization? In an eco-system if there is a lot of water running downhill, we'll try to catch it in a dam or divert it into other streams so that we get a longer use from the water.
Can we save motivation and positivity in a similar way? Can we create a pool of stored inspiration that we can draw from when the heaviness of the world gets us down?

some resources Brush recommends:
The Work That Reconnects by Joanna Macy
sociocracy.info

~Mariel~

a sleeping Lilly

2009-08-13T18:00:00.000-07:00

Day 12: Spice Medicine + Body Constitutions

2009-08-13T17:58:00.000-07:00

Medicine in the Spice Cabinet

On Wednesday, 8/12, Melissa shared with us some information about harnessing the medicinal properties in our spice cabinets. She described it this way: "This is the medicine of our ancestors, the daily healings our grandmothers have been serving for countless generations. This is true folk medicine - the medicine of the people. Remember, smelling and seeing your beautiful food is the first part of digestion; spices are one of the oldest and most useful allies humans have been utilizing for centuries."

Melissa shared with us a comprehensive list of herbs and spices and their medicinal qualities. She also had us sample some "cyclone cider." This is an energetic, restorative drink which helps boost the immune system and relieve sickness. It's a mix of the following: apple cider vinegar, cayenne, garlic, water, and lemon. This is common, simple recipe, and merely requires mixing and steeping the ingredients together and then straining. Here's what some of those ingredients do:

Cayenne: Most of all this strengthens the heart and is good for circulation. It's rich in vitamins A, C, iron, potassium, and calcium, contains vitamin G, magnesium, phosphorus, and sulphur, and also has some B-complex. It can also be applied to wounds to sop bleeding.

Garlic: Amazing! It's anti-bacterial, warming, helps move mucous out of the lungs, strengthens the heart, stimulates your immune response, is anti-microbial and promotes sweating. It also discourages parasites, decreases cholesterol, LDLs, blood pressure and blood sugar levels, and is high in diallyl suphide (DADs), which are believed to be anticarcinogenic. It also can relieve fatigue and maintain healthy liver function.

Apple cider vinegar: Anti-fungal, balances blood sugar and can be used as a wash for irritated skin and breakouts. It's also a great mentrum to infuse other medicinal herbs into, as in the cyclone cider example.

And overall, once again, Melissa encouraged us not just to seek out others' words regarding the properties of herbs and spices, but to also trust our own intuition to figure it out.

Body constitution
Next, Melissa shared some about ayurvedic body constitutions. Ayurveda is an ancient system of medicine from India. It identifies three main "doshas" that make up the energetic basis for people's bodies. This is the main idea:

Kapha: Earth + Water. This is a kind, gentle, sluggish and heavy body type. Has a slower, rhythmic pulse.
Pitta: Fire. This is an active, passionate, emotionally intense body type. Has a strong, forceful pulse.
Vatta; Air. This is a dry, light body type which can have an over-stressed nervous system. Has a fast, high-vibration pulse.

Everyone has these three doshas within them, but everyone tends to have one or two dominant. It can be helpful to know which type or types you are, so that you can choose the most appropriate foods, lifestyle choices, etc. for your constitution.

Some books for more information on the subjects from this day: Back to Eden by Jethro Kloss; Healing with Whole Foods by Paul Pitchford; The Ayurvedic Cookbook by Amadea Morningstar.

For dinner I made an ayurvedic mung bean soup recipe that is meant to balance all three of the ayurvedic doshas. The unique spice mix used is able to clear stuck energy in the body, no matter what body-type you have. This recipe was shared with me by Dr. Steve Wechsler, a chiropractor and ayurvedic practitioner in my home town of Syracuse, NY. The recipe can be found here.

-Nick

Em, the master chef, Chloe, and her chocolate-coconut b-day cake

2009-08-12T22:39:00.000-07:00

Day 11: Yogurt and Botany

2009-08-12T14:37:00.000-07:00

To make yogurt all you need is milk and a bacteria culture. Here is Lina steaming and stirring goat milk. She recommends steaming it until a skin starts to form on the top. Don't let it boil!

Then, after the milk cools down a bit, you take a cup of bacteria culture and mix it in with the milk. The milk will start to thicken.

The crazy thing is that you can use store-bought yogurt as your starting culture. Make sure it's plain, whole-milk yogurt. Then after you have a batch of home-made yogurt, you just save a cup and use that as your culture for your next batch.
ALSO...you don't need goats or cows in order to make your own yogurt. Whole milk from the store works just fine.

Now, you put the cultured milk to sleep, wrapped in towels in the oven where it's nice and dark.
Make sure you sing it a lullaby.
...
and
...
In 12 hours the milk will wake up as yogurt!

I bet it has interesting dreams...

-Mariel

Botany with Erico

2009-08-11T19:04:00.000-07:00

Erico is an inspiring teacher! Here he is showing us that one sunflower is actually lots of tiny disk and ray flowers. Every petal is a flower! This is called a composite plant.

Did you know that plants are classified together because of their flower? It's crazy. Plants in the same family often don't look alike. Imagine a family reunion with the Madron tree, Uva Ursi and Manzanida. They each are completely different sizes!
The flower, since it only blooms for a short period each year, is the only part of a plant that doesn't adapt to climate and predators over time. The vegetative parts of the plant evolve to its environment, so when you want to know what kinds of plants are related, the only constant characteristic to study is the flower. It's like the plant's finger-print! (only much sexier)

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Orchids are the most highly evolved plant! An insect will pollinate one orchid, and then fly to another orchid, even if it's 5 miles of away (hidden in the thickness of a rain-forest).
The insect won't touch another plant in between.
That's commitment!

Another plant romance is figs and wasps. Fig trees have exclusive relationships with specific wasps. I can understand! They're pretty tasty. I have been giving the fig tree a lot of love that's outside my tent.
(when the wasp isn't looking of course)

This one-on-one relationship between figs and wasps makes the trees more vulnerable to climate change.
Giving your heart to ONE is so scary. But if the figs can do it, maybe I will someday..

Ginkgo Biloba has been around for 200 million years! But the other members of its phylum (ginkgophyta) have all gone extinct since about 65 million years ago.
Do you think it misses its family?

And this tree is all over our parks and city side streets because it can handle poor conditions. I imagine it must be pretty wise by now.
One of Ginkgo's medicinal properties is helping your memory. Emi thinks that maybe this is because IT remembers the earth from long ago.
I bet it has a lot of stories to share!

The birthday girl, Chloe, breathes in a flower.

The forest is a place for the old and the young.
Here are the kids in TLC's Nature Camp.

-Mariel

Day 10: Energetics of Food + Urban Farm Tour

2009-08-11T18:54:00.001-07:00

We began our 10th day at the farm learning about the energetics of food with Melissa. The main idea is that all food has energy, which most everyone intuitively understands. For example, hot peppers are firey, mint is cooling, potatoes are heavy and earthy. Throughout history, people in various cultures have analyzed the energetic properties of food in systematic ways in order to cook in a harmonious way. Modern nutrition in the U.S. has a slightly different focus, while other systems still practiced today such as Indian ayurveda or Chinese medicine have that more energetic perspective. Today Melissa didn't teach us about a particular system of analyzing the energetics of food, but instead taught us to trust our own intuition to feel for ourselves what the energy of a food may be.

We began by discussing the five main energetic elements, understood to be such by many cultures around the world. Those are earth, water, air, fire and ether (or spirit, space, etc.). Every food has some balance of each of these.

We then talked about a few examples of how flavors relate to the elements. Sweetness is a watery and earthy flavor. It's very fluid and moving, which is why people tend to gravitate toward it when they are feeling rigid and tense. Sourness is mostly earth and air - it's like squeezing a sponge, it contracts things and pushes the water out. Bitterness is similar to sour but more airy and cutting. It's very stimulating to the digestive system, so it's good to taste this flavor at the beginning of a meal. Saltiness is mostly earthy, so it's good to taste to feel more grounded.

Next we discussed organs of the body and how they interact with food and seasonal energy. The liver is the organ of flow. It's associated with the earth element and is very important for digestion and especially for detoxification. When the liver is stagnant or stuck, toxicity builds up and we feel anger and frustration. Bitterness creates flow in it and sourness stimulates it. It's especially good to give attention to the liver in the spring; that time of year a lot of bitter greens begin to grow, so it's naturally a great time to eat those things. To cleanse your liver, you can blend and take a shot of the following: olive oil, apple cider vinegar, garlic and fenugreek.

The lungs are organs which bring things together to be broken down. They are associated with autumn or the period between autumn and winter, and also need to be supported during the move into the spring season. Feelings of grief can be held in the lungs at times.

The spleen works very closely with the liver. It's all about assimilating food, and Melissa shared with us something her teacher says, "you're not what you eat, you are what you assimilate." Overeating and over-thinking can damage the spleen. You can help the spleen by de-stressing, and by helping the liver. The spleen's season may be around the end of summer, end of winter, or maybe is the transition between them all.

The heart is fiery, passionate, moving organ. It's associated with the summer, and things that are fiery and moving support the heart.

The winter is associated with the kidneys. It's a time to go down into your roots. The kidneys hold water and house your essence. In the winter it's good to eat roots and hearty, nourishing foods.

Some other ideas from Melissa: food is medicine. It's a good idea to be in touch with your senses while you eat, and to get rid of the "good for me, bad for me" mentality; in reality it's more about balance than good and bad. And lastly, remember that when eating we're taking in life; we owe it to that life to be present when eating it.

Some books that Melissa recommended for more information on these topics were the following: "The Alchemy of Nourishment" and "Tao of Sex, Health and Longevity."

Urban Farm tours
The second half of the day we took a field trip to several urban farms in Portland. Coming from Syracuse, New York, I was surprised to know that there could be so many real farms in the midst of a city. Check it out:

Tabor Tilth Farm is relatively small scale. It's a home lot of an average size for Portland, so the space is maximized with densely grown food. In the back of this picture you can see corn, beans and squash growing together in a guild - the "three sisters."

Given the small size, Connie of Tabor Tilth Farm maximizes vertical space. Here you can see grapes growing high up the house.

Connie doesn't have trash service - everything goes in the compost, and this is beautiful result.

Here Connie is showing us her cob fireplace. She didn't spend any many to have this built, but instead traded for the materials and recruited friends to help make it.

One of the most interesting things to me were Connie's silk worms. You can see them sitting right on her desk. Notice the little cocoons they produce which later become the fluffy material seen in the basket.

Check out this video of Tabor Tilth Farm!

This is Jean's Farm. Located in Southeast Portland right beside Johnson Creek, Jean's Farm feels like a rural paradise just beside busy urban life (much like TLC Farm, but even closer to the city center). In these pictures Taryn is giving us a tour. She and three other women are starting "Myriad Growers" on the farm, a medicinal herb growing operation. They just formed this spring, so this year got a head start on things with some annual plants. Next year they'll begin the herbs.

The last farm we visited was Lovena Farm. This farm has existed as a farm for at least 60 years, and is another example of a huge farm amidst a big city. Here you can see the breadth of fruit and veggie growing, and Laura, Mike and Em enjoying some delicious figs.

-Nick

Day 9: Medicinal Herbs with Judy Bluehorse and Bonsai

2009-08-09T22:51:00.000-07:00

Judy lives and teaches from her heart. She explained that learning plant medicine is more about remembering our relationship with plants and being grateful for what they have to teach us. The plant world is our Elder and deserves respect and attention.
After all, they were here first!

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Another inspiring point that Judy mentioned is that you don't have to ingest the plant in order to receive its nurturing properties. Making a basket out of willow bark, or simply sitting with a plant's energy can be a healing activity.

Judy combined herbs with olive oil, let it sit for 48 hrs, and then strained the herbs out. She then heated the infused oil with bees-wax in order to create a salve.

Judy pours the salve into a jar. Remember not to put the lid on until the liquid completely hardens.

Here are some great resources Judy recommends:
Jeanne Rose's array of books
Herbal Medicine from the Heart of the Earth by Sharol Tilgner
A City Herbal by Maida Silverman

This is my favorite plant: her name is Myrtle

2009-08-09T22:43:00.000-07:00

Medicinal Herb tour with Matt Bonsai

2009-08-09T22:33:00.000-07:00

Bonsai led us on a medicinal herb walk, but we didn't walk far! The dense arrangement of all the plants had us within an area of 5 feet for almost 2 hours. There were a lot of plants, and a lot of things to know about each one!

Yellow Dock

Holy Basil

Tobacco

Calendula

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Horse Radish

St. John's Wort

Red Clover

Plantain

Goldenseal

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Cramp Bark

Valerian

Black Cohosh

Oregon Grape

-Mariel

Day 8: Food Preservation

2009-08-09T22:10:00.001-07:00

On Day 8 of our program we had the good fortune to participate in a food preservation workshop with Chris Musser from Lost Arts Kitchen (www.lostartskitchen.com). She taught us and some guests about canning, dehydration, freezing, and lacto-fermentation as methods for preserving the summer bounty. Chris is a home cook who focuses on getting real food into people's diets, and comes from a family with 100 years cumulative canning experience.

She recommended some resources to check out for further info: Kitchen Literacy by Ann Vileisis; Wild Fermentation by Sandor Katz; Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon; and Michael Pollan's recent New York Times Magazine article, or Omnivore's Dillemma.

The plum chutney recipe from our class can be found here, and the day's fermentation recipes can be found here.

Canning
Canning is a safe way to preserve large amounts of food for all-year consumption. It's downside is that in most cases, this method destroys the most nutrients in comparison with other methods. As far as safety goes, Chris taught us that most cases of botchulism come from industrial food, whereas there are on average about 25 cases of botchulism from home cooked food a year. The bigger safety issue, she said, was avoiding being clumsy and getting burned!

Water-bath canning is a great method for high-acid foods, such as fruit and tomatoes, and is also great for preserving condiments. Low-acid foods, like most vegetables, usually require pressure canning, though Chris strongly recommended that these foods taste much better frozen.

As far as how to do water-bath canning, I would recommend that anyone interested do some good research from the plethora of sources available on the internet and otherwise, or even better, learn from someone with experience or take a class.

Below, as an overview of the process, you can see what Chris prepared as a demonstration; plum chutney, made with with 3 lbs. of plums, 2 onions, a few cloves of garlic, raw cider vinegar, 1.5 cups sugar, 2/3 cup currants, mustard seed, "pickling seeds" and salt.

Up top, you can see Em and Chris preparing the chutney. Next, the chutney is ready to be canned after simmering for about 30 min. on the stove. The cans have been boiled and the lids warmed. The pot has enough water to cover the jars an inch or two. The jars are filled with a little "head space" below the lid, and the lids are closed not super tight, but "two-finger tight" - that is with only the force you can make with two fingers tightening it. If there are bubbles in the mix, you can eliminate those by running a butter-knife around the inside edge of the jar. The jars are then placed carefully in the canning bath for about 10 minutes, then they come out, are cooled, the rings are removed, the jars are washed if necessary, and the cans are ready to store for up to a year. This chutney was delicious!

Another thing to mention is that many people add pectin when creating jams and jellies to help with the process. Chris mentioned some ways to access the natural pectin available in fruit rather than having to buy pectin to add. The natural pectin can be accessed by sugaring your product, letting it sit, cooking it a little, and then letting it sit some more. Or, Chris sometimes makes jelly with green, unripe apples, which contains a lot of pectin and can be added to other products.

Dehydration or Drying
Dehydration or drying can be a bit more involved than canning, but preserves nutrients second best, after fermentation. Any produce can be dehydrated, though this is an especially good way to preserve herbs.

Drying can be done using a variety of methods, including simply hanging plants up in a dry space for a long while. What we learned about most was dehydration using a dehydrator home appliance. Dehydrators are generally relatively cheap to purchase and use relatively little energy. You can also create your own nearly free solar dehydrator, based on the design here, or check out my experience building a solar dehydrator here.

Fruits generally don't require much pre-treatment for dehydration, though you can choose to add absorbic acid or lemon juice in some cases, to prevent browning. Vegetables in general should be pretreated before drying by steam blanching them for about 3 or 4 minutes. This will kill enzymes on the exterior which may otherwise cause the vegetable to rot. Fruits and veggies are both ideally dehydrated at around 135 degrees Fahrenheit, while herbs only require about 110.

Here you can see Chris, Mike, Chloe and Em prepping some plums and laying them out on the dehydrator rack. Preparation is very straightforward; the idea is pretty much just to cut up the produce into relatively thin slices which will fit in the dehydrator and dry relatively quick. With fruits, the skin should be broken somehow, in this case it was by us cutting the fruit in half.

Dehydration times vary greatly depending upon what your dehydrating and how you prepare it. These plums will probably take at least a day, given their thickness. Herbs can sometimes take only a few hours, and other foods up to two days or so. When the food has had almost all of its moisture removed, it can then be stored for very long periods, usually at least a year. For extra-long, extra-safe storage, foods can also be pasteurized after dehydration, by placing them in a 175 degree oven after drying.

Freezing
Freezing foods is the 3rd most nutritious way to preserve them. It also may be the easiest way. The only real downside is that it requires, of course, a lot of freezer space and electricity to store.

To freeze foods, fruits require no pretreatment, but veggies, again, require a couple minutes of steam blanching as prep. After steam-blanching, they should be cooled immediately in cold water, then can be dried with a towel or air dried before freezing.

Freezing is very straightforward - just put the produce in a container and put it away! However, there are some tips to get the most out of this process. Chris recommended spreading food on baking sheets, freezing it for a few hours and then putting it in bags. That way each piece of food will be much less likely to stick to the other pieces in one big clump. Another tip is to suck the air out of your freezer bag, either with a straw or just with your mouth.

Lacto-fermentation
This is a great method for preserving food because unlike other methods, nutritional value is added to a product through this method. Fermentation allows new nutrients to be created and released. The downside is that it requires some extra special knowledge and attention to tend to it and keep it.

Lacto-fermentation preserves food because there exist little bacteria that consume lactose and sugar in food, and therefore create lactic acid which prevents spoiling bacteria from growing. Lactose exists in most foods, however you can add whey to your ferments to increase the amount of lactose and therefore increase the likelihood of success. You can procure whey as a by-product of making cheese, or by scooping the liquid out of the top of a settled tub of yogurt.

Chris showed us how to make sauerkraut as an example. This is primarily with cabbage, a good vegetable to ferment because it contains a lot of lactobacilli.

Above you can see that after Chris chopped up the cabbage, Em and I, as well as others, crushed the cabbage really well. Doing this draws out the water in the cabbage. It's then loaded in the jar, and if all the plant material is not submerged, you should add more filtered water to do so, making sure all the while to leave some head space below the top of the jar. In this case, Chris also added celery and caraway seeds (seeds have enzymes that prevent spoilage), some ginger and whey. She also recommended adding burdock, apples, carrots, juniper berries or more spices. As extra protection against mold, you can also add a whole leaf of cabbage on top. The jar can then be covered, but not in a way that's airtight, and it sits at room temperature for 3 to 4 days and is then closed with a lid and put in the fridge for at least a month. If any mold appears, it can be merely skimmed off the top - the food is safe because mold cannot grow below the surface of water. If there is a non-mold related problem with your ferment, you will likely be able to tell by any unusual smell beyond the normal slight-funkiness of all ferments, or perhaps from an unusual appearance. Trust your senses - in any case, unlike canning, there is pretty much 0% chance of serious problems resulting from bad ferments.

The sauerkraut process described can pretty much be used to ferment anything. As another example, Chris showed us pickles. During this example, she mentioned that it's a good idea to add tannic acid to ferments to help keep things crisp. For example, you can access this by adding a leaf from horseradish, grape or oak. Another tip - when creating a brine for your ferment, you should dissolve salt in water by heating it up rather than just mixing the salt into cold water. Pickles require at least 6 weeks in the fridge to ferment.

Below you can see Chris prepping some carrots and beets (notice how these are mashed down below teh water level in the jar), and then the finished products from the day, including salsa.

-Nick

Day 6: Natural Building (playing with mud is fun!!!)

2009-08-09T21:25:00.000-07:00

Natural building is about using local, renewable materials that are easily available.
Today, Joshua helped us to make a plaster to put on the walls of the barn. The barn walls are wood frames stuffed with straw that was dipped in clay. Our job was to make a coating to protect the walls from Portland's rain.

The plaster is really easy to make. It's just water, clay, sand and finely cut straw. When you combine them, just make sure you put water in first, then sand, clay, and straw. It is easier to add dry stuff to wet stuff. Here are the ingredients being mixed, just like in baking a cake.
The plaster even looks like chocolate!
If only...
we were building a chocolate house!
(that's natural to me!)

Chloe and Emi are trimming the barn walls so that straw isn't sticking out before plastering.

Ninja Nick in protective gear all ready to cut up the straw with a weed wacker.

2009-08-09T21:19:00.000-07:00

Here we are putting the home-made plaster on the straw walls. It was really fun to paint with the earth! And even more fun to throw it on friends.

A Goddess in the Greenhouse

2009-08-09T20:57:00.000-07:00

Day 5: Rocks, Fire, Animals, and Cheese

2009-08-07T22:54:00.001-07:00

Caleb showed us how to start a fire. It was very inspiring, but I'm going to try to bring matches if I'm lost in the woods. Or at least remember my cell-phone.

Caleb shows us his obsidian rock collection, which he uses to make arrow heads. This is his job!

-Mariel

Sue teaches us about the sheep and chickens

2009-08-07T22:24:00.000-07:00

These sheep make the funniest noises when they talk. It sounds like they're burping! Sue wasn't sure if they ordered a burping breed, but that's just their unique voice. And their names: Rainbear and Chocolate Brownie, were decided upon by Guthrie, one of Sue's children, but he always switches them. I imagine the sheep must be confused!

The best thing that sheep have to offer (besides their burping-like-bleat) is their huge appetite. They pretty much spend entire summers eating, and then rest during the winter.
TLC's property is abundant with raspberry bushes with are delicious, but we need room for other veggies and fruits as well! Being woody and thorny, raspberries are difficult to remove, but conveniently, sheep love to eat them! So using the method called Management Intensive Grazing, we move the sheep's fence around to different areas in the land where we want to get rid of a particular invasive species. It sure beats weeding!
(or... it sure bleats weeding? :)

check out polyfacefarms.com to learn about Joel Salatin, who invented the Management Intensive Grazing method.

TLC raises chickens completely organically!!! Since we're not giving the chickens antibiotics, we have to be extra careful about chicken diseases. The chicken coop is built on wheels and the location is changed regularly to avoid bacteria from getting in and spreading. Also, since the coop is on wheels the chickens can drive into town if they want to sell their eggs. :)
If only...
hmmm....
is there a place in the world for a chicken driving school?
-----
Also, we learned that the roosters tear the feathers off of the back of the hens when mating them. It sounds kind of rough to me.

-Mariel

Cheese Making Class with Sue

2009-08-07T22:04:00.000-07:00

Making cheese is SOOOOO EASY! Sue taught us how to make cheese while holding a baby in one hand. I imagine that it is even easier with two hands.

We learned how to make two different kinds of cheeses: Soft Cheese and Farmer Cheese. Soft Cheese requires a culture, so it needs to incubate for 12-24 hours. You also need some rennet, which is "a natural complex of enzymes produced in any mammalian stomach to digest the mother's milk" Back in the day, ancient people discovered cheese because they used to store milk in the stomach of cows. (This is not a joke.) So one day, the cheese turned into curd and whey (because of the rennet from the stomach it was sitting in).
Now a days, an ordinary bowl will do just fine.

Farmer cheese is my favorite because it takes only 15 minutes! (farmers don't have time to make cheese!) You just add vinegar to steaming milk. And then eat it, of course. This cheese is a bit more bland, but you can add some rosemary, salt and other spices to give it a punch. The longer a cheese ferments the sharper it tastes. Sue is going to wait until her baby is grown up to cultivate cheeses that ferment over several weeks and need daily attention.
But then again, she can always hire a cheese-sitter!

Here are some great resources on cheese making:
Wild Fermentation by Sandor Katz
www.cheesemaking.com (to order rennet--unless you want to remove it from the cow yourself.) *Actually, they make vegetable-based rennet now!

-Mariel

Day 4: Field Trip to a block party in Portland, Garden Tour with Bonsai

2009-08-06T16:25:00.000-07:00

Today was a LOT of fun. The morning was spent with Matt Bonsai in the garden.
Then, we dressed up in wacky clothes, and painted the TLC bus to look like it was grown in the farm. 100% organic, and free-range!

all dressed up!

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one of Portland's amazing painted intersections. The artwork helps creates community, block parties, and makes me smile to see.

we decided to dress up the bus too!

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TLC's beautiful outdoor kitchen

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Matt Bonsai gives us a deeper tour of the garden

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The garden is designed in spiraling plots, which increases the amount of plants you can put in the area. Also, instead of one crop lined up in a row (like conventional mono-crop farms), there is a polyculture of plants arranged together horizontally and vertically so that space is maximized efficiently. Also, just like people, plants do better when grouped with other plants. Diversity is key! Through experimentation and research, TLC has found guilds of plants when combined together, grow better.
Jenny mentioned in our orientation that the TLC community has the agreement that life is better when shared, EVEN when you're annoyed at someone for not doing their dishes.

So now, I'm inspired to find people to live with in Brooklyn that will help me grow.
I'm not doing this-(thing-called-life) alone anymore.
-Mariel

Day 3 - Orientation and Community Building

2009-08-06T15:57:00.000-07:00

Our third day at the farm we did two main things as a group. In the morning we got our first orientation to the garden, and in the afternoon we became more oriented to the farm community and did some community building exercises. Before beginning the day, we had our morning check-in and laid out our schedule scheme for our time here, which is the following:

7:00-7:30 Wake up, yoga, stretching, meditation
7:30-8:00 Morning chores
8:00-9:00 Breakfast
9:00-12:30 Morning session
12:30-2:00 Lunch/free time
2:00-5:00 Afternoon session
5:00-6:00 Chores
6:00 Dinner

In addition, Sunday nights are the farm's community meetings which we are welcome to observe, other nights have optional other activities, Fridays are days off and Mondays are generally field trip days.

Before the morning activities began Chloe and I learned how to milk the goats. Huckleberry was a little feisty and stepped in the bucket, but Sal was pretty easygoing with us newbies. It's ok though, we purified the milk that was stepped in by boiling it and used it to make delicious warm honey-cinnamon milk, mmmmm. Milking the goats is one of the intern chores that we're keeping up on to help out the larger community while we're here.

Matt showed us what we can eat for our meals. One thing that some of us learned, some of us knew, is that there are many edible flowers out there. They can be very nutritious and satisfying to us in a way that other foods are not, with their super-light, bright qualities. Squash flowers in particular were super-yummy to taste.

While on our tour we harvested alot of veggies for our lunch. We decided to just put it all out on the table as a spread and everyone made themselves a nice little raw veggie wrap, with broccoli leaves, kale, flowers, peanut sauce and more. There were some pretty nice wraps that certainly could've gone for at least $10 at some fancy raw-food restaurant... In these pictures are, from the top, intern Mike, community member Bonsai, and intern Emi.

For the afternoon session we did some games like this human-knot game to have fun together and get to know each other some more. This knot game involved us unravelling from a seemingly impossible situation, but with Em's leadership and weaving skills and the group's determination we did it.

Before that exercise we did a circle game where everyone basically took turns stepping into the center of the circle, sharing something about themselves and seeing who else shared that thing as well. Some things got pretty deep, and our bonds as a group were strengthened.

We also talked about underlying group dynamics and how those things can affect the outcome of group efforts. We got some examples from the farm and how they deal with things. We also talked about "social permaculture," meaning permaculture principles applied in a social setting. After some discussion, we realized that indeed, giving our own belonging in the natural world, it does make sense to apply permaculture principles to ourselves as well. For example, some things are pretty obvious: permaculture is fundamentally about observing the environment and working with the connections between things. Those two things definitely strike an intuitive chord when thinking about social interaction. Other principles seemed a slight stretch at first but also made sense. For example, a permaculture principle is to work with the natural succession or growth of things, rather than against it. Applied in a human setting, we talked about how social change takes time, and we should take account of people's natural inclination to change rather than forcing unnatural or untimely change. Thinking in a broad sense about this, we talked about how modern U.S. society can be seen as being in a very young stage of development in relation to the natural world, while indigenous societies around the world can be seen as more fully developed and mature.

We also learned about how Cedar Moon works as an intentional community. A big piece of that is that there are weekly meetings on Sunday evenings for the whole community to come together and address community issues. The overall tone of the meetings alternates between minds and hearts, meaning, I think, that one week people will discuss more intellectual sorts of ideas and decisions that must be made, and the next week will be for things which are more personal and emotional.

The meetings are run by consensus, meaning that everyone must accept a decision in order for it to stand. This doesn't mean that everyone must approve of a given decision, but that at least if some people don't approve, consensus can be reached if those who disapprove agree to stand aside and let the decision be made.

In order to make the consensus process work, there are a number of tools that Cedar Moon uses. Overall, members strive to use non-violent communication, which is something that takes practice to perfect. "Check-ins" and "check-outs" are used at meetings for people to have their current state of mind acknowledged, so that any personal issues unrelated to the meeting agenda have less of a way to interfere. A buddy system is used in general in order to assist with conflict when it comes up. Each person has a buddy who can act as that person's go-to person for issues. For example, if someone is irritated with a community member, his or her buddy can be approached in order to solicit advice on how best to deal with the issue. At least this is how I think it works from the intro that we got.

We'll be learning more about consensus later during this program, so for now I'll hold off on a more detailed description. One other thing to add, though, is that there is a "social ecology working group" amongst the community's various working groups whose focus is on maintaining the balance of the group's relationships and patterns.

To wrap up the day's activities, we each were assigned randomly chosen buddies for our time here. We took some time to get to know how our buddies tend to act within groups, and then shared what we learned with the larger group. Lastly, we took some time in the group to discuss and decide our intentions/guidelines/shared visions for our group communication. Generally, our emphasis was on creating an open, honest and supportive environment, which has so far manifested itself in some pretty amazing ways. Oh, and during the day, we learned that through some coincidental accident in spelling or something, some of the community members have affectionately dubbed us the "inter-beings" rather than interns. Perhaps a more fitting title, in a metaphysical sense... :)

-Nick

Day 2 - Food Forests

2009-08-06T15:40:00.000-07:00

On Day 2 of our internship we participated in a public workshop about food forests taught by Toby Hemenway, a leading permaculture author and teacher. Food forests are basically this: intentionally designed agricultural systems which build upon nature's tendency towards succession or growth. Traditional agriculture is about maintaining the initial stage of ecosystem development, where mostly annual plants take advantage of zero shade to lay the ground for more plants to come in. This is a great system, but it requires alot of work, and it can quickly drain nutrients from an area of land. Food forests, on the other hand, utilize the various stages of development, by beginning with low-growing plants but also cultivating food-bearing trees amongst them. The idea is that once a food forest is developed, it can provide food easily from year to year, and it cycles nutrients back to the earth as it grows. Although the name "food forest" implies a large scale, the concepts are actually applicable on the scale of a home garden.

We began the day in the barn classroom discussing the principles of permaculture. There is some variation amongst sources on what these principles are; you can read the principles Toby taught us on his website at http://www.patternliteracy.com/principles.html. Rather than explain them all, I'll mention a couple that I find particularly interesting. "Each element performs multiple functions" means that all the aspects of a system, such as a particular plant or animal, or a particular structure such as a kitchen, do many things. For example, a chicken not only provides food, but can break down compost, hunt pests and fertilize soil. This is kind of like another principle, "make the least change for the greastest effect." Permaculture aims to counteract our tendency to overcomplicate things, and to instead bring us back to simple solutions that embrace natures tendency to be efficient. It also builds "safe-fail" systems; things are designed in such a way so that when something breaks, it's ok.

One of the basic elements that a food forest can contain is called a guild. A guild is basically a set of plants that are grouped together in order to harness beneficial energy amongst them. A classic example of a guild that began in many indigenous cultures of North America is corn, beans and squash, or the "three sisters." When planted together, corn provides a structure on which the beans can grow; the beans are "nitrogen-fixers," which means they bring nitrogen to the soil, an important nutrient that feeds the corn and squash; and the squash protects the beans and corn from animals and pests.

In a food forest, guilds are often centered around trees. For example, certain plants planted around fruit trees can be very beneficial to the tree. Nitrogen-fixers and "dynamic accumulators" with deep roots can tap far into the soil to draw up beneficial nutrients without competing with the trees roots in the top soil layers. Examples of good nitrogen fixers include Siberian pea shrub, bladder senna, and alfalfa. Examples of dynamic accumulators are chicory, yarrow and nettles.

In setting up a guild, it's a good idea to research what native plant communities in your area are known to work together. In general, some good plants for guilds are mulch plants such as comfrey, cardoon and squash. Insectary plants such as lavender, bee balm and golden marguerite attract beneficial insects. Soil busters such as daikon, wild carrot and mustard can loosen up hard soil and make the nutrients more accessible. Barrier plants such as daffodil and rhubarb can help stop invasive species from spreading into your system.

Something else Toby shared was what the five basic elements of a forest structure are. Each one merits careful consideration when analyzing your food forest.
1. Vegetation layers. Forests can be seen to have 2 to 7 layers, the most basic being an understory and overstory. Food forest in various stages have various numbers of layers.
2. Soil. What's the quality?
3. Density, in terms of plant cover. The density defines the community.
4. Patterning (including density). This affects the canopy area.
5. Diversity. This is a key to any ecosystem.

In this picture our community mentor Matt is showing everyone the food forest at TLC Farm. This food forest was planted a year or two ago, and includes fruit trees and many low-lying brushes and crops. It's situated on the north end of the farm, which is good for capturing sunlight, and is on the edge of the park's forest, which is a nutrient-rich ecosystem edge perfect for growing a new food forest.

After the workshop, participants were welcomed to join us for a delicious dinner of pizza made in the farm's wood-fired pizza oven.

Below are some of us interns enjoying some slices. From the top are Mike, Laura, Chloe, me and Em.

-Nick

Day 1 - Welcome to TLC Farm

2009-08-06T15:28:00.000-07:00

Greetings from the TLC Farm's Summer 2009 Community Sustainability Immersion Program! My name's Nick Cavanaugh and I'm one of seven interns participating in this 3-week program in order to learn skills for sustaining our environment and communities. We've found our way into a magical, inspiring place and time; we'd like to use this blog to share the knowledge and inspiration we experience here, and to record the experiences for our and others' future reference. I'll be amongst those helping to manage this blog and giving frequent updates on our activities. Please read along with us - you may learn new ideas to try in your place, or you may learn that you too want to come experience TLC Farm.

To start things out, I'd like to catch up to speed on what we've been experiencing so far. Day one at the farm was largely spent becoming introduced to each other and to this place. This place is unique for a number of reasons. First of all, it's a 7-acre farm amidst a major U.S. city - imagine that! It exists on the edges of Tryon Creek State Natural Area, a beautiful 645-acre park that is Oregon's only state park within a major metropolitan area. The space began as a farm in the 1930s. It passed out of farming hands from 1977 until 2006, when the current incarnation of the farm officially began.

This place is also unique because of the confluence of different energies and purposes that come together here. TLC Farm exists side-by-side with Cedar Moon, an intentional community of over 20 residents. The Farm itself is open to the public many days a week, and is used for a number of public purposes, including hosting Mother Earth School during the school year. It's a site for many community events, and indeed, it's the surrounding community that saved TLC Farm from development and made it what it is today.

The full TLC Farm story is amazing, and it's much more than we can do justice for in this blog. A great telling of the story can be read on the TLC Farm website at http://tryonfarm.org/share/story. A short version is this; this land had been rented as a residential space for a number of years preceding the current incarnation. The owners had some big visions for the land which never came to fruition, and they decided to sell it. A couple developers showed interest and backed down after community resistance. Then, Brownstone Homes stepped to the table and envisioned a 23-home development which would dramatically alter the landscape. A complicated legal process ensued, and in the end, a coalition of community and governmental organizations were instead able to purchase the land themselves and create TLC Farm as we know it today. That whole process was truly epic, so I'd really encourage anyone who's interested to read the full story.

Cedar Moon resident Jenny, one of the farm's founders, gave us an very thorough and inspiring tour on our first day. Here a some photos to share which give a glimpse of the some of the tour's highlights.

The "T-Whale" is a great example of the community aspect of the farm. First of all, what it is is a very neat, sheltered community gathering space. Secondly, it shows the community connection that extends beyond the farm - like many things on the farm, it was a donation from the community, in this case a local school.

These are Portland's first public composting toilets. That's right, they're toilets that use no water and instead collect waste and create compost through a dehydrating, sanitary system. This compost can then be used as an extremely nutrient rich fertilizer for any place that food will not be contacting directly, such as the farm's fruit orchards. This is just one example of how the farm uses what seems to a problem, in this case waste, and creates, instead, a solution.

The community at TLC Farm works not only to improve our physical environment, but our social environment as well. This is a sauna built with cob, a sustainable natural material, and which is wood-fired. It can fit upwards of 30 people for relaxing, healing gatherings.

The gardens at TLC Farm are all organic and include a vast array of fruits, vegetables and herbs. They are tended using permaculture principles - more later on what those are.

This greenhouse is used to extend the warm growing season. It's built to utilize the natural airflow of the incline that it sits on.

TLC Farm is home to many farm animals, including goats, sheep, and chickens. Aside from being nice companions, they provide useful goods (milk, wool and eggs) and also tend and fertilize the land.

The Farm is very kid-friendly. There are currently seven children living at Cedar Moon, some of whom we've found to be quite knowledgeable and helpful to us newcomers.

This is the office space that us interns are using. It's upstairs in the barn, and has been insulated and finished with natural building materials.

-Nick