no boredom on this board

i've been largely absent from this online life for a while. juggling a number of projects, of which the co-op is one.
this week i've been in katoomba occupying my role as a Director of the Blue Mountains Food Co-op. recall in my previous post that, as the food fight festered on (so to speak), we eventually saw the resignation of the previous Board. It's been messy, but that is life. It has been uncomfortable, as many of us did not want to see it happen this way. We are a Co-operative, for goodness sake.

As one of the caretaker directors it has been a delight to be a part of supporting the Co-op in healing and rebuilding trust. I see a real opportunity to move out of a dark place and into seeing the Co-op flourish. the hard stuff is not yet over however, and there are still more conversations to be had. This is a small and strongly interconnected community and many of the people involved in the events of the past few months are also friends, people that have known each other for many years.

And, i am discovering, these people have long memories. yesterday i received a post on this blog from an ex-worker at the Co-op. Someone who remembers me from the time i sat on the board 5 years ago. They are questioning the behaviours of that board in relation to a couple of decisions made at that time. i would like to respond. but i won't be publishing the post, as i would prefer to have that conversation offline. so if you are willing to enter into dialogue, i have an open door - call me, email me, contact me through the co-op. you know how to find me. there is nothing to be afraid of, but our own shadow. as HH Dalai Lama said, i am a human being just like you.

BigTree and CultureLab :: Beginner's Guide To Going Raw

Had a wonderful day at Springwood, catching up with Taffy and Glenys, then a leisurely late lunch with Paul. My mountains friends are a diverse bunch, but one thing that we all have in common is a certain passion and delight in food - not to mention our desire to see fresh organic food made available to as many people a as possible, and with a commitment to sustainable principles.


I had seen Taffy's video of the solstice circle, but today i got to experience it and what a magnificent ly crafted structure it is. i shot some footage of Taffy talking about CultureLab, and then we got to talking about raw food. CultureLab, by the way, is the food co-operative in the lower Blue Mountains which runs a food box scheme for it's members and customers. i love the model they have chosen, which is similar to a Japanese model i had read about. It involves staying small - a group of no larger than 50 - and "expanding" by helping other groups form along a similar basis. I like working in groups of 50-80, because at that size it is possible to know everyone in the group. Cohesiveness is possible.



both taffy, glenys and paul were curious about raw food and there are always questions. what do you eat? where does the protein come from? what difference do you notice when eating raw?


there is much already written (on the web and in many great books) but whilst riding on the train back to katoomba, i gave some thought as to what my key thoughts were on eating raw. mainly in answer to the question of what eating raw foods looks like. \



What Does Eating Raw Look Like?
i like to keep it simple. think of food in three main food groups. 1. fruit 2. vegetables 3. nuts, seeds and oils. eat mostly fruit and vegetables, with small amounts of nuts. fruit has a cleansing action on the system, so it is best eaten in the morning and ideally, not eaten at the same time as vegetables. i personally don't mix my fruit and vegetables, though some raw foodists do. i soak nuts before eating them. put in a bowl and cover with water, then leave overnight (or soak in the morning and rinse in the evening). rinse them the next morning (do not use the soaking water) and then eat. raw vegetables are loaded with vitamins, minerals and are enzyme-rich. these foods have a nourishing and enriching effect and are the building blocks of the body. two things that i do in the vegetable realm are 1. juicing and 2. sprouting. Vegetable juices, especially green juices are a way of getting large quantities of trace minerals, enzymes, antioxidants, etc. directly into the bloodstream. Sprouting - lentils, mung beans, and buckwheat are my current favourites - is a great way of eating living food.

that's it really. i soak dried fruits, make my own nut milk (usually almond) and use the blender for smoothies, soups and sauces. everything i eat is a variation (an experiment, actually) on these principles.

Benefits of Eating Raw
Ahhh, well this is the bit i love. Not only are you doing your body a favour, but the planet benefits as well. Eating raw is even more sustainable than being vegan. Not only are you consuming plants and therefore not contributing to the energy that goes into producing animals and animal products for food, but you are not eating processed (vegan) foods which use energy in the making. And to top it all off, by preparing raw food you are saving on the energy that is used to cook a meal. And if you grow your own food organically, there's a further saving on transportation (food miles), and on artificial inputs - petro-chemical fertilisers and pesticides.
As for the health benefits, some raw theorists say that for every month a person is eating 100% raw they are healing one year of eating cooked food. As a result the body becomes regenerated at a cellular level and you experience the effect of becoming younger. i personally have seen this both in myself and others. Symptoms are, an increased level of energy, clearer and more focussed mind, more tone in my skin and clearer skin, loss of those tree-trunk thighs (storehouses of waste that the body is unable to process and eliminate immediately).

caretaker board

Yesterday i accepted a position on the Caretaker Board for the Blue Mountains Food Co-op. This is a transitional role and i am expecting to be doing this for about 3 months or so - until the Co-op is in a position to elect a full board to carry it forward. How did this come about? A letter, mailed out from the previous board, informed Co-op members of the board's was resignation. To keep the Co-op operating they nominated two Board nominees (from last November's election) step in and form a caretaker board. To form a quorum, three board members are required. I was approached to make up this number. And here we are: Ian, myself and Yeshi (Paul).

This is a pivotal time in the history of the BM Food Co-op. A number of issues remain to be resolved, though the most important in my view is that of healing the Co-op community from the divisiveness and hurt that has been part of the fabric of the Co-op in the months (some say years) leading up to this moment. On a practical level there are governance issues to address. There is the potential relocation of the Co-op to the proposed Waratah Street address, and the financials need assessing to ensure that the present trading situation is sustainable. There may well be other issues, and this is what i shall find out more about when i rock up next Tuesday to have meetings with the Board, staff and the accountant.

feisty food

what a provocative title for this article in the Blue Mountains Gazette this week. yes, the meeting last Thursday attracted a record number of members. it was a challenging experience yet i felt significant movement was made towards resolution. the discourse was highly emotive at times, yet thanks to Will's expert facilitation skills, a space was created in which members' voices could be heard. it may be some time before we see the light at the end of the zucchini. as of writing this, we are awaiting word on whether the incumbent directors will act on the motion that was carried at the meeting and call a second general meeting in 5 weeks time to vote in a new Board. mention is made in this article of the discussion paper that i prepared and that Di tabled at the meeting.
earlier in the year, the Gazette published this article. It makes reference to an "“an unauthorised Save Our Co-op campaign.”

food for thought

phew! it's done. i have written a document containing observations, thoughts, and suggestions for the Food Coop governance framework. this is my contribution to supporting the coop through this challenging period.

more on the BM food coop | an ex-Director speaks

i've just returned from 10 days in the blue mountains where the food coop situation has been developing on a day-by-day basis. to summarise, the petition was successful. another example of online advocacy. 500 signatures were gathered in two weeks using the website and gathering signatures by hand outside the coop.
in response to this campaign, the Board held an information meeting on 26th march. on 28th march the "save our food coop" group submitted the petition to the Board requesting that a General Meeting be called. the Board have responded and called a General Meeting for thu 8th may. on 20th april, the "save our food coop" group submitted four resolutions to the Board, calling for the current Board to step down and for the re-election of a new Board of Directors. Margot Turner submitted resolutions (see insert above) to the Board on 25th april, calling for open dialogue and the swift election of a fully operational Board.

meanwhile, the Board and Management of the food coop continue with the change management intiative started late last year when external change management consultants were engaged facilitate the process. on sat 19th april a change management workshop was held with staff (i want to say more here, but this post is already turning into an essay).
following the information meeting, another group formed. this was initiated by Dianne Jacobus who felt that something more needed to come out of that meeting. this group is calling itself "friends of the food coop".

i attended a couple of the "friends of the food coop" meetings and felt that although there are tensions between the various groups (board, staff, members); significant break-ups in communication (and an erosion of trust); and, a lack of transparency with some practices in the current management of coop, there is a genuine intention by the board, staff, coop membership and the community, that the food coop continue to exist and thrive - and a desire on all sides to see a positive outcome.

my observations are centred around the need to review the governance structure and address issues contained in the current structure that make it inherently difficult for the current (or any) board to function in true cooperative spirit (that is, following cooperative principles). put bluntly, the food coop has grown significantly from one part-time shop coordinator and a handful of staff, to a team of about 20 staff, including coordinators with specific roles in marketing, stock ordering, financial, and overall management. there are some varying views amongst the membership and the Board about how the food coop needs to address this growth (management structure, active member participation, etc.). this divergence was present when i was on the Board 5 years ago. there are also some changes that have been made to policy and rules in the last few years that i don't believe are in the interests of the coop.
these and other governance issues will be the subject of the paper i am writing for presentation at the 8th May meeting. it will suggest some positive ways of taking this forward without moving into an adversarial (us and them) or blaming approach.
it is worth noting that in amongst all this, the current board has 4 members, of which 2 have resigned (to take effect from 31st May). No matter what else happens, the present Board is barely a quorum and therefore, as Margot's resolution states, it is imperative that a full Board be established with the requisite skills and diversity of views to adequately represent the coop's members as soon as is practically possible. Coop members with those skills, and the desire, need to step up now :-)

save our blue mountains food co-op

received and email today from my blue mountains friends, and with it, a call to action. there are some concerns about recent events, including resignations from the Board of Directors. a petition has been launched to request that a General Meeting of the Directors be called. I see that Sybbi has resigned as bookkeeper. this must be serious. Sybbi has been bookkeeper for the food coop for as long as i have known her (6 years), and has been an active member since almost the beginning of the coop. i have always respected Sybbi's input. though we might not always have agreed on matters, Sybbi has consistently stood up for what she believes in.
residing in melbourne means i'm no longer actively involved the blue mountains food coop, however i have a strong interest in seeing the coop continue to thrive as a sustainable community resource for the blue mountains. it embodies all those things i feel passionate about; food, community, organics, sustainability and local action.
i recall that even during my time on the Management Committee, there were tensions. aren't there always? the issues then were related to the two "p"s. people and premises.
back in 2002-03 a fair amount of discussion, and some division, arose around the issue of whether to remain small, or whether to grow. despite varying views, a search for new premises began in 2002. this proved to be a difficult proposition as few sites in central Katoomba (ie. the main street) provide the necessary floor space in which the coop could expand.
at the same time, some issues were arising amongst the coop workers. i saw some of this activity as a response to growth. with the need to increase staff numbers and extend opening hours, the coordination of staff became a larger and more complex job. yes, personalities were involved, but more importantly what was missing was the ability to sensitively and compassionately manage the impact of the changes that were resulting in problems. trust was becoming an issue, and i could see a rift opening up between "workers" and "management" which i know neither party wanted.
these issues remained unresolved when i resigned my directorship in 2003 (or was in early 2004?). seems like they are coming to the surface to be resolved now.
i have cast my vote on the website to call for a General Meeting, because i believe that the only healthy way to resolve a situation like this is through open and honest communication. because this is a cooperative, it absolutely must honour the views of it's members. open forum is essential.
i'll be watching this space . . .