Uncommon Currency

It is not often that i want to completely transcribe from another source, but this recent article from New Zealand's newspaper The Dominion Post so impressed me i wanted to share it with you all.

Written by Johanna Knox, it tells the story of community currencies, with a focus on the time banking system that the small town of Lyttelton has pioneered.

1st May - Catholic Church, Winchester Street, Lyttelton

Lyttelton was at the epicentre of the February 22 earthquake. The disaster claimed two local lives, tore up homes and livelihoods, and reduced the township’s treasured historic buildings to rubble. Now, with no end in sight to aftershocks, you might think Lyttelton would be (to use a phrase the media has become fond of) a town ‘on its knees’. Instead, this small port community defies anyone or anything to break its spirit.
Its people rushed to help each other as soon as the February quake hit. Just four days later, as hillsides continued crumbling and more streets were evacuated, residents gathered in a park for an all-day party, celebrating their strength.
What’s their secret? Margaret Jefferies, Chair of Project Lyttelton, says, ‘Much – but not all – can be attributed to our community time bank.’
 The Lyttelton Time Bank initiative has been running since 2005, but has only recently come to wide attention. When the first major quake struck in September 2010, Lyttelton people didn’t wait for authorities to help. Thanks to their Time Bank network, locals who could offer help or resources were rapidly connected with those who needed them.
After the far worse destruction wreaked by the second quake in February, the Time Bank’s value has been in greater evidence than ever. Jefferies says, ‘It’s as though the first [earthquake] was a rehearsal for the devastating one.’ At the local emergency centre, Civil Defense, Council, and other volunteers work closely with the Lyttelton Time Bank – because it provides ‘an amazing network of people with identified skills’ that can be tapped into fast.
Groups like the Time Bank quietly exist the length and breadth of the country. A time bank is a community currency. Community currencies take diverse forms and go by many names, but are always underpinned by the conviction that the national dollar is not the only way to trade, and that using a ‘complementary currency’ brings myriad benefits.
Community currency fans enthuse about making new friends, supporting their local economies, decreasing food miles, reducing debt, feeling extra cash in their pockets, and discovering skills they didn’t know they had.
Time banks are proliferating in New Zealand, and just as prevalent are local exchange trading systems (LETS) – sometimes called green dollar schemes.
In both systems, transactions are logged on a central database, or use vouchers. Members trade with whoever in their local system they want to, and check their balances like a regular bank account.
In a time bank, the unit of currency is an hour. Participants earn hours of someone else’s time by giving their own. It’s an egalitarian system; whoever you are and whatever you do, your hours are worth the same as everyone else’s.
One important rule ensures that time bank trades are not subject to tax: you cannot trade services related to your normal business activity.
Jefferies says a time bank unites people from all walks of life. It’s ‘like the blood supply through the body of the community. It facilitates, it links, it feeds our humanity.’
The Lyttelton Time Bank was New Zealand’s first. With a grant from the Tindall Foundation, it developed a system tailored to its locale, but ready to be adapted to others. Since then Lyttelton has supported the blossoming of time banks in Kaitaia, Whakatane, Otaki, Gore, and two suburbs of Christchurch.
With more in the pipeline, Jefferies and her colleagues hope soon to launch a national time bank organization, although local earthquake relief efforts take first priority.


Helen Dew, a founding member of the Living Economies Trust, which fosters community currencies in New Zealand, sees a core difference between a time bank and a LETS: ‘The primary purpose of time banking is community building, whereas a LETS enables its members, including business participants, to trade in goods and services, with community building a spin off.’
A LETS, or green dollar scheme, has its own unit of currency, generally equivalent in value to the national dollar. On joining, you open with zero in your account and can start trading immediately – sell and go into credit, or buy and go into debit.
Debt is not frowned on; the system couldn’t work without it. But members should move between debit and credit at least once a year, and so no one goes irretrievably into debt or hoards credit, members keep within certain limits on either side of zero. Amongst New Zealand LETS, limits range from 100 to 1000 currency units.
Perhaps most importantly, debt in a LETS scheme attracts no interest.
Dew is an active member of the Wairarapa LETS, which calls its currency units WAIS. As well as selling excess garden produce, she’s a local distributor for Bokashi composting systems and Koanga seeds. She trades happily in WAIS, conventional cash, or a combination of the two.
Several years ago she renovated her home, paying around WAI$3,000 to fellow LETS members for labour and NZD$8,000 to local businesses for materials. She says it was a ‘win win’. She avoided a bank loan, local businesses benefited, and work went to locals who wanted it.
The Wairarapa has been hit hard by the current economic crisis, and Dew says LETS allow communities like hers to genuinely add to their wealth – and keep it there. ‘One hundred percent of the wealth generated from exchanges within community currencies is retained and recycled locally’.


Golden Bay is home to one of the country’s most successful LETS. Around 8% of the population participates – 420 people.
LETS have a way of getting puns and acronyms flowing. Golden Bay currency units are HANDS (How About A Non-Dollar System), and co-ordinator Joanna Piekarski holds the official title ‘HANDy messenger’.
She subscribes new members, sends newsletters, organises events, ensures balances stay within their limits, brokers sales, and more. ‘I'm just generally helpful to members to keep everyone happy.’ She earns a few HANDS for what is in theory two hours’ work a week, but in practice, much more.
While regular money is often compared to oil greasing the wheels of an economy, Golden Bay folks see their community currency as something stickier – a ‘social glue’. Quarterly markets, where members are paid to have stalls, are highlights of the local social calendar.
LETS schemes often offer a way to afford a few luxury items, but can cover basics too. Piekarski says members have used HANDS to buy food, get cars repaired, and even pay part of their rent.
In response to Government funding cuts to community education, Golden Bay instigated its own programme where HANDS members teach classes and students pay partly in community currency.
Recently launched is ‘Young HANDS’, allowing Golden Bay children to open their own HANDS accounts without the small levies adult traders have, and with lower credit and debit limits. Budding entrepreneurs offer baking, handcrafted jewellery, dog walking, and chess help.
Other LETS schemes are in various stages of development around the country. Whanganui, for example, has REBS (River Exchange & Barter System), with a 2009 turnover of $R22,594.


Taking the art of the acronym to new heights is Ooooby (Out Of Our Own Back Yards). Initiator Pete Russell credits his wife Katherine with the name: ‘I came up with Oooog, Out Of Our Own Gardens, but Kat trumped it.’
Ooooby’s raison d’etre is to support local produce, and encourage home food growing.
Ooooby organisers wanted to make it as rewarding as possible for home gardeners to grow abundantly and trade amongst themselves. The answer was a special Ooooby currency, and what else could this small store of value be called, but a Roooby?
Russell and cohorts began Ooooby in Auckland and have watched the idea take off across the country, aided by an Ooooby social networking site they set up on Ning.



While Ooooby supports backyard growers who’d never produce the volume to sell in supermarkets, a project in the Manawatu town of Ashhurst takes a different tack, placing businesses at the forefront of their efforts.
LOAVES (Local Origin Ashhurst Voluntary Exchange) was cooked up by Sharon Stevens with help from her husband Phil, a team of volunteers, and a grant from Palmerston North City Council’s Local Initiatives Fund.
Phil Stevens explains, 'We haven't yet formally launched, and that date will be determined by a critical mass of business participants in the scheme ... We have over 30 individuals who’ve pledged to use the currency, and over a dozen businesses have expressed early interest in a commitment to accept the currency.
‘Working with businesses helps to make LOAVES visible and viable, and it creates a strong core for a vibrant small economy.’ Additionally, the team hopes to structure their system so that if New Zealand should enter a period of financial volatility, businesses could maintain stable prices when using LOAVES.
Especially important is for LOAVES to equal New Zealand dollars. It means ‘businesses don’t need to do additional bookkeeping -- trading in LOAVES will have the same tax and accounting implications as the cash economy.’
Despite their current business focus, Stevens says, ‘We're at least as interested in household-to-household trade … and we're asking people to consider what they will grow or make, and what skills they will trade …’


Perhaps they don’t need to ask. Users of time banks and LETS often say there’s something about the very act of joining such a system that has you asking yourself not just, ‘What could I buy?’ but, ‘What else could I offer?’
Since the onset of the economic crisis, we hear exhortations from many sides to consume less and produce more. Community currency advocates say their projects encourage exactly this change in mindset. But they also remind us that it’s not just about the money.
As Margaret Jefferies says of the Lyttelton Time Bank, it ‘builds social capital’.


Key websites:
Living Economies Trust
http://www.le.org.nz

Lyttelton Time Bank (with links to other time banks in NZ)
http://www.lyttelton.net.nz/timebank

The Community Exchange System – an international network of LETS where most New Zealand LETS are housed
http://www.ces.org.za/

Ooooby
http://ooooby.ning.com/

The LOAVES project
http://www.recap.org.nz/loaves.html

The Complementary Currency Resource Centre
http://www.complementarycurrency.org/

The Role of Time Banks in Crisis Response, from Community Currency Magazine, 10 March 2011
http://ccmag.net/lyttelton-timebank-quake

Untouchable Girls

Linda and Jools Topp, Cathedral Square, Christchurch

Today, I found myself taking in the atmosphere in Cathedral Square where the World Buskers Festival brought cheer to the earthquake-ravaged city. Of course I had to come in to witness The Topp Twins doing what they do best - entertaining. These girls are part of my personal (and political) history, growing up in Aotearoa NZ.
And I have something in common with Jools.
It seems that their documentary Untouchable Girls has become NZ's top documentary film, grossing $2million at the box office.
Though they didn't sing many songs, Linda and Jools managed to demonstrate the essence of great busking (and great performance), spontaneity and interaction with the audience.

Blueberry Bliss

blueberry fields forever

Yes indeed it was bliss as I gobbled my way through handfuls of delicious fresh blueberries at Halswell, near Christchurch. It's the height of the blueberry season here and the weather has been kind. This is a bumper crop and the people at Blueberry Bliss, this family-owned "pick-your-own" farm, do not spray the berries. Maybe one day they will also stop spraying the grass too.

Meanwhile, I managed to bring a 1.5kg bucket of berries back with me (minus the ones I munched on in the car on the way back). This will make for great eating over the next couple of days, and Elvi promises we will be going back there before I leave Christchurch.

Some Nutritional Facts About Blueberries
Blueberries are high in Vitamin C . A single 100g serving contains 9.7mg, 20% of the recommended daily requirement. They provide us with many essential minerals including manganese which plays an important role in bone development and metabolism of macronutrients.

100gms of Blueberries contain:

Kilojoules

214

Magnesium

7.0mgms

Water

83.4gms

Calcium

11.0mgms

Proteins

0.7gms

Phosphorus

13.0mgms

Fat

0.4gms

Iron

0.5mgms

Carbohydrates

12.0gms

Zinc

9.0mgms

Fibre

5.2gms

Sulphur

9.0mgms

Ash

0.2gms

Sodium

5.8mgms

Potassium

70.0mgms

Vitamin C

19.9mgms

*this information, courtesy of NZ Blueberry Growers Association

All of this goodness can have the following effect:
•    beneficial in reducing the risk of heart attack and stroke
•    useful in treating and preventing urinary tract infection
•    a protectant against the damaging effects of free radicals
•    beneficial in helping treat some cancers
•    helpful in reversing the effects of age related deterioration

berries in abundance at Blueberry Bliss farm

Blueberries: origin and uses

The humble blueberry is a native of North America and captured in American culture as blueberry pie. In pre-colonial times it was the native american indians who gathered blueberries for food. Their folklore explains how the blossom end of each berry, the calyx, forms the shape of a perfect five-pointed star. Elders of the tribe would tell of how the Great Spirit sent "star berries" to relieve children's hunger during a famine. Parts of the blueberry plant were also used as medicine and the juice was used for dyes.

Today, America produces about 90% of the world's blueberries. This includes a wild-harvested variety local to Nova Scotia. As a food, they are eaten fresh, frozen, canned, juiced, and used in muffins, pancakes, sauces, cakes, salads, smoothies. sorbets. My favourite way of eating them is fresh. But i also enjoy them in a banana-berry smoothie (fresh or frozen).

Blueberry Production

Blueberries are a member of the plant family, Vaccinium along with 450 other species of plants. Included amongst these are the bilberry, cranberry and many other esoteric varieties of berries not often seen in commercial production.

Blueberries grown commercially fall into three main groups:
a) northern highbush: this is the variety most often found in Australia and New Zealand production. It grows up to 1.5m high.
b) southern rabbiteye: named thus because the calyx of the berry resembles the eye of the rabbit. Most common in southern USA.
c) lowbush or "wild blueberry": cold-hardy dwarf bushes surviving in the wild as far north as Arctic North America.

Eating more than i picked!

A bucket of beautiful berries to take home.

What Am I Eating in Aotearoa

Here i am, back in the home country, Aotearoa NZ - land of the long white cloud. So my raw vegan friends who live in sub-tropical climes are always interested in what there is to eat in a temperate climate. Lots! But it helps if you can grow it yourself, as prices are high and this is a small country. Organic food and locally grown food is not always readily available in the quantities and variety that we are used to in Australia.

Fruit from Pikos Wholefoods in Christchurch

My first day here and i head down to Pikos Wholefoods to find out what fruit they have on offer. Fairtrade bananas from Ecuador at $5 kg, dates from Tunisia at $17 kg and locally grown heirloom tomatoes & courgettes (zucchinis). The apricots and avocado are also local, though from further afield.
This is my food supply for the next two days. Fortunately Elvi has lettuce growing in her garden, so this afternoon I whipped up a delicious salad with freshly picked cos and fancy lettuce from the garden. I included the courgettes, tomato, kiwifruit and a little avocado which i bought from Pikos.

heirloom tomatoes grown locally

Courgette, tomato, avo, kiwifruit & lettuce

Bob's Wonderful Plums

Jessica and Bob at Byron Markets

Raining today at Byron Markets, but Bob was still there with his chemical-free fruit and vegetables. Jessica came along for the tomatoes (and Russian cucumbers). Normally plums are not my favourite fruit, but these ones were deliciously sweet. 

Bob grows all this wonderful produce at his property in Dunoon. He tells me some of the trees there are very old – at least 30 years. Bob has a great variety of fruit for all seasons – peaches, custard apples, plums, pineapples, tomatoes, cucumbers, avocados and even a few bananas. His vegetables are great and this week he had enormous spring onions, lettuce, chokos and beans. Like everyone else in the district Bob also grows macadamia nuts, but unlike some of his neighbours, he does not spray.

Bob and Jessica and Bob's splendid market stall

Bob started life as a dairy farmer (conventional) but gave that up 15 years ago and now concentrates on growing fruit and vegetables the natural way.

You’ll find Bob at the local Sunday markets. He does Bangalow, Byron, The Channon, Mullumbimby (on the third Saturday) and travels over to Casino on a Thursday.

Raw Vegan Potluck - Uki

Amidst the rain and thunder last night, 20 of us gathered at Avi and Mehavit's organic farm in Byangum. December 2010 and the eighth Raw Vegan Pot Luck at Uki. It is inspiring to see such a beautiful group of people and the wonderful food they've brought to share along with stories, songs and laughter.

As Menkit points out, eating a raw vegan diet contributes not only to personal health and well-being but also to the sustainability of mother earth. Eating less meat and dairy helps reduce the impact that animal agriculture has on our soils and waterways. Eating fresh, local produce straight from nature (no cooking, processing, packaging) reduces the impact on the environment and climate change. It's all good.

And as we can see from the sumptious spread, eating raw food need not be boring. My preference is to eat mainly fruit and to keep meals simple. No need to add salt, condiments, spices as the food itself has it's own splendid and delicate flavours. The meal i prepared was a simple recipe; in-season local organic produce all purchased from the New Brighton Farmers' Market on tuesday (except for the mangoes). Zucchini fettucine with a mango and tomato sauce and finely chopped parsley for garnish.

The most elaborate meal was Tess' Mock Turkey Pate with fresh cranberries. Nice idea and definitely in keeping with the christmas tradition, but won't it be good when we can shift our minds away from trying to mimic the animal-based food we used to eat. Having said that, i can say it was a delicious combination of flavours.

The entire spread

Tess's Mock Turkey Pate with Cranberry Sauce

Zucchini Fettucine with mango and tomato sauce

The most popular dessert was Mark's classic banana and strawberry icecream, made fresh on the spot with the champion juicer. Was it really just frozen bananas and strawberry? How can that taste so good!

who says GM is ok? say no to contamination of organic produce

Are Genetically Engineered crops grown in Australia? You betcha. 

this was reported recently from True Food Network via the permaculture forum:

"Today, WA organic farmer Steve Marsh revealed that two-thirds of his 
farmland is contaminated by someone’s GM canola crop. The canola 
travelled at least 1.5 km and contaminated 220 hectares. Marsh could 
also potentially suffer huge financial losses, as Australian organic 
standards don’t accept any GM presence.

He is considering legal action, which would be the first case of its 
kind in Australia. The WA Government showed its bias to the GM 
industry when the agriculture minister, in response to Marsh, stated 
that zero percent thresholds are “unrealistic”. Organic certifier, the 
National Association of Sustainable Agriculture Australia (NASAA), is 
conducting an official investigation."

Don Hamsford from Warick South East Queensland says "What's the bet 
Monsanto are on his doorstep, looking for their royalties, before you 
can say "substantially equivalent!"

So if you want to know who in your area is GM-free, check out this map. Produced by Gene Ethics, it presents the enterprises who endeavor, through certification, quality assurance and audits, to exclude from their products, services and facilities all GM soy, corn, canola or cotton - and products from animals fed GM feed. Let's hope these enterprises aren't too close to any GM crops that could jeopardise their clean status.

Who Are We?

“On Russia’s religious development will come the greater hope of the world.”
–Edgar Cayce

Today I am encountering the feelings described in Book 5 of The Ringing Cedars Series. In Chapter 11, Anastasia relates how things will be in the future when the Russian people have set up their kin’s domains and are living in harmony with nature. She tells how many people from around the world will want to visit and see how this is done and most importantly experience how it feels. “. . . forty percent of foreigners who did visit the domains returned home only to fall into a state of depression bordering on suicide. “

Zen Garden Moment

A pleasant three hours weeding the veggie garden today. I love the way that gardening connects me with mother earth, with nature and with the magic of the present moment. No past, no future, just this moment. And the next. And the next.

The ground is still very wet from a rainy few days but I wanted to prepare the beds for laying down mulch. The sooner the seedlings are planted the better. It won’t be long now before the weather starts getting warmer and before you know it, spring will be upon us.

It seems a shame to have to pull all this stuff out. I am aware of how many wild edibles have been wrenched from their homes. But hey, more will grow.

Wild edibles - the rich cousins of our more cultured leafy greens - are regaining popularity through the likes of Sergei Boutenko and our own Melbourne-based Adam Grubb. And as part of this movement towards making the most of our food supply, there's now a growing interest in the inspired act of "liberating" food through foraging. I'm thrilled to see that folk in my home town have started a group which is mapping the location of foraging spots. I'll be checking this out on my visit to NZ next month.

Scrumping is another term used to describe the recycling of fruit that would otherwise go to waste. And though scrumping is imbued with connotations of stealing, it all boils down to etiquette. If the tree branch is hanging over the footpath, well that's public property isn't it? If it is in someone's yard, then a responsible forager will knock and ask first.

More resources on foraging:
On Wild Food and Foraging - a publication distributed by Free Range Activist Network (FRAW)

The Power of Process

This morning, reading from Dan Millman’s book "The Life You Were Born To Live", I realised the importance of taking things step-by-step. So much of my life I have been impatient, wishing for things to happen instantly.
Want to run a marathon? Do it next week. Uh oh. First I have to train. Do some preparation. This marathon called life teaches me that with every goal I have there is a process, a series of steps towards achieving it. I am not cinderella. The fairy godmother doesn’t appear and wave her magic wand. The ball gown is stitched together piece by piece over many laboured hours of loving work. I am learning to be patient with myself and in doing so, patient with others.
And in my haste to reach an end goal, this skipping over the process has led me to a life lacking commitment. So often when things have not worked out as expected: work, relationships, home, I have decided “this is not for me” and set off in search of some other holy grail. A life of rolling around like a smooth stone falling wheresoever the river takes me, I find I am without roots, without relationship and without a clear direction, goal or purpose.
But there is inner work as well as the outer manifestations. So I skipped a few steps on the path of career, home and relationship. There have been many obstacles on the path of achieving inner peace and calm. And now, in this time of reflection I am contemplating a way of building stability in the outer world based on the strength and calmness of a solid inner foundation.
Today rain cleanses the air, the ground. The power of moving water washes away all in it's wake that doesn't need to be there, just as tears clear debris from the path of the soul.

Ten Things to Be Aware of in the Raw Food Arena

Just been reading Nomi Shannon's post about the things to be aware of in the raw food movement. Though initially written in 2004, it is still relevant.
Her comments and advice make sense in relation to any aspect of life, not just how we eat. For example, Be Aware of People Who Tell You What To Do. And she adds, "Do not ask your neighbor or me what they eat hoping to emulate and be just like them. What works for your neighbor or me may not work for you."
The one that resonates most strongly for me right now is . . . "Be Aware that there is more to life than the food you eat." It has been too easy to become absorbed in thinking about food, eating it, buying it, foraging for it, learning about it, growing it, talking about it with other raw-fooders. But, when food takes up so much of my time, what room is there in life for doing other things?

Hyponatremia

After posting a brief note on facebook the other day i thought it time to expand on this topic. Seeing the number and variation of responses to my facebook post i realised there is a lot of information out there about low sodium levels. And when i did some investigation myself, i found there are plenty of dramatic stories, particularly in the athletics field, of deaths due to hyponatremia.

But firstly, the background, and the good news. I recently completed a 19-day water fast. I did not get blood tests prior to commencing the fast so there is no baseline on which to compare data. Seven days after the fast, a blood test was done. Two major anomalies were discovered that may or may not be inter-related.

Firstly, Sodium levels were 128 mmol/L (normal range is 135-145). Secondly Ferritin levels were 634 ug/L (normal range is 30-150). The focus of this post is low sodium, also known as hyponatremia. Will get to the elevated ferritin in a later post as more information comes to hand.

So what is hyponatremia? It is, put quite simply, an imbalance between the sodium and water levels in the blood. This can come about in three different ways[*]:
• hypervolemic hyponatremia - excess water dilutes the sodium concentration, causing low sodium levels. Hypervolemic hyponatremia is commonly the result of kidney failure, heart failure or liver failure.
• euvolemic hyponatremia - normal water levels are combined with low sodium levels. This condition is commonly due to chronic health conditions, cancer or certain medications.
• hypovolemic hyponatremia - water and sodium levels are both low. This can occur, for example, when exercising in the heat without replenishing your fluid electrolytes or with marked blood loss.

Hyponatremia is considered severe at a blood serum level of below 125. At this point an acute case of hyponatremia can cause seizures, coma or death.

Wikipedia points out that "Hyponatremia can ... affect athletes who consume too much fluid during endurance events, people who fast on juice or water for extended periods and people whose dietary sodium intake is chronically insufficient."

But what causes it? Depending on the type (see dot points above), a number of causes have been postulated. Of particular interest are the following:
• Chronic, severe vomiting or diarrhea. This causes the body to lose fluids and electrolytes, such as sodium.
• Dehydration. In dehydration, the body loses fluids and electrolytes.
• Diet. A low-sodium, high-water diet can disturb the proper balance between sodium and fluids in the blood. Excessive intake of diuretics, including beer or coffee, can have the same effect.
• Consuming excessive water during exercise (exertional hyponatremia). Because sodium is lost through sweat, drinking too much water during endurance activities, such as marathons and triathlons, can dilute the sodium content of blood.

Though my sodium intake is very low compared to the general population (i use no added salt whatsoever in food and this has been my practice for more than 10 years) i would not classify that as insufficient. My last blood test (June 2009) showed no sign of low sodium levels.

Having just completed a water fast, followed by more than 10 days of chronic diarrhea it is my guess that this has contributed to the low sodium levels. I would note that when the blood test was taken (seven days after breaking the fast), i had been experiencing diarrhea for only 2-3 days. Was i dehydrated? How could i be sure? That would depend on whether i was hypovolemic, or hypervolemic. the symptoms look the same.

So a bigger question might be why diarrhea after breaking a fast?

Now for the good news. Re-tested three weeks later, blood tests now show a sodium level of 137. Low, but within "normal" range. The diarrhea ceased after about 12 or so days. Though i started to consume more water, i also increased the amount of exercise. It is the middle of winter, so hardly likely to be losing water (and electrolytes) via excessive sweating.

And yes, there's even a facebook page dedicated to hyponatremia. Posted on this page is the story about the Kokoda Trail deaths. Read about a follow-up study here.

Breakfast of Champions

Daryl and I eating breakfast in Myuna Bay. Watermelon is one of my favourite ways to start the day, and i enjoy the seeded variety. It is quite late in the season to be finding good watermelon. i picked these ones up courtesy of Mike at the Blue Mountains Food Co-op. They came via the wholesalers in Sydney.

Feasting on Figs

This morning we stopped for breakfast at Wises Fig Farm. One of the original farms in the area it has been a fruit farm for three generations. Although it is nearly the end of the season, their Black Genoas are simply the best I have tasted, and let’s face it, nothing tastes better than a ripe fig picked that same morning. We arrived just in time to get a box of their “jam” figs. We’re talking 4-plus kgs of very ripe, squishy delicious fresh figs, picked at 6am that morning and not even been in the fridge long enough to chill.

There are two varieties being picked at Wises right now; the Black Genoa and the Brown Turkey. I liken the flavour of the Brown Turkey as the reisling of the fig world, whereas the Black Genoas have a full body, rich flavour - more like the pinot of figs. Oh yum!

Wises used to do pick your own, for a range of fruits, but bureaucracy and the Sunshine Motorway development has curbed that. In it’s heyday, the farm had a fresh fruit stall, café and PYO operation. However the government wanted to double their rates, re-zoning them from farm land to “tourism”. So they shut up the shop, ceased the pick-your-own and re-focussed their efforts onto growing the best ever figs.

Parts of the original farm, which used to go down as far as where the Sunshine Plaza now is, have since been sold. Firstly to make way for the Sunshine Motorway, which now runs along the border of the farm. And more recently, the Wises sold off a block of land to developers. As a result, the entrance to the farm is discreetly tucked away at the back of a swish-looking housing estate off Wises Road. Despite that, a growing number of locals seem to know where to find the farm.

Picking starts at 6am. They use no pest control, other than biological controls for fruit fly. So pickers compete with the birds for the ripest figs. Figs are packed into punnets of about 1kg and popped in the fridge in the shed. Sales operate on an honesty box system and it is definitely good to get there early for the large $20 boxes of jam figs. A little squishy, they definitely need eating the same day. But we had no trouble doing that! The wises have two stands of fig trees. The older ones are about 10 years old, and due to the increased popularity of their figs, they’ve found a need to plant more trees to keep up with demand. The younger trees have been in the ground for about 4 years.

MLM goes organic :: can this work?

Not quite community-supported agriculture, but only in the US and Canada could they come up with a scheme such as this. Organic Acres, they call it "the future of gardening", is a scheme designed to give you all the pleasure of eating your own "home-grown" organic fruit and veggies whilst not having to get your hands dirty. Allow someone else to grow the veggies for you, and even have your surplus sold at the Organic Acres farmers market. The concept subscribes to all the values that I hold dear - knowing where your food comes from; eating fresh, nutritionally dense, local food; being sustainable - but, what's this about an affiliate program? The system is set up like a cross between a timeshare and a multi-level marketing scheme. Lease a plot where organic veggies are grown on your behalf. Introduce others to the scheme and receive flow-on benefits. The slick presentation certainly makes organic food look appetising to the unconverted. Read more about it here.

But the question comes up again, can "big organic" work? Is it sustainable? Does it make sense to set up a system such as this, built so strongly around a money system that is starting to fall down around our ears? Could a bartering system work better? Are there other ways of funding such an initiative? And what about actually getting our hands dirty? Perhaps it doesn't make sense to have every apartment dweller in an inner urban area experience the dirt and mud of a real farm, but it sure would do them some good to have a first-hand experience of seeing the plant or tree that grows the food they eat.

the vexed question of which drink bottle to use

i recently saw this succinct article from the biome newsletter. it sums up some of the key points to keep in mind when selecting a drink bottle.

Which reusable bottle is best?
We are often asked this question by customers who are searching for the safest, cleanest bottle.

Our first criteria is that the company behind the brand discloses full information about who they are, what the bottle is made from, where and how it is manufactured and, importantly, independent test results on any leaching.

There should be information on the packaging and then more detail available on the brand's website. When you consider that all materials, even some stainless steel (which contains chromium and nickel) can leach substances into food or liquid, you should have absolute faith in the quality of your bottle.

We are wary of low cost bottles because the cheaper the product, the more potential for exposure to toxins. Materials, quality control, testing and reporting all cost money.
Companies often make misleading statements about their products (even though they say it is 18/8 stainless steel, how does one prove that?). Ultimately, we all have to make a judgment on who to trust.

Recommendations for choosing a bottle:

• Reassure yourself of the quality of the bottle and reputation of the brand.
• Choose on practical features like: the type of lid or drinking mechanism, the volume the bottle holds, whether the tops are leak-proof, will it fit your car/bike drink holder, do you need a wide mouth for easy cleaning and smoothies, how heavy is it, and are there joins/hard corners that trap germs?
• Stainless steel or lined aluminium? This can only be a personal choice, just be sure that it is a legitimate brand with testing available on any lining. Testing shows that SIGG's BPA-free lining leaches nothing into the liquid and it is taste neutral. Some people prefer the food-grade reliability of unlined stainless steel. Klean Kanteen and Nathan use high grade 18/8 stainless steel.

And finally, how to clean your drink bottle.

Green Machine

Despite the season being nearly over, kale is still about. Zucchinis are starting to enter the scene, though the season in Victoria has barely begun.

Grapefruit continues to be available and though often thought of as breakfast fare for the health conscious, this fruit makes a creative appearance in this week’s salad. With sweeter varieties around such as the ruby grapefruit there is no longer any need to shun this fruit for it’s sour taste. I recall many a morning as a young child piling on – yes – the white sugar in an attempt to make the fruit more palatable.

High in antioxidants, recent studies show that grapefruit can lower cholestrol levels. Other studies have indicated that people who eat grapefruit have lower than average levels of insulin in the blood. High in Vitamin C, grapefruit makes a great accompaniment to spinach and kale (see this week’s recipe), helping to improve the uptake of iron from the leafy greens. And for men, know that pink grapefruit is one of the lycopene-rich foods. Lycopene is known for it’s anti-tumour properties and particularly for it’s capacity to reduce the risk of developing prostate cancer .

Kiwifruit is well known as a nutritional powerhouse of vitamin C, but did you know that it is also a great source of Vitamin E and very high in folic acid (vitamin B). A lesser known fact about kiwifruit is that, despite being a vine, it is a member of the berry family. Some 90% of the fruit is water. With twice the amount of Vitamin E of avocadoes but only 60% of the avo calories, the humble kiwifruit is good nutrient value for money. Vitamin E is important for heart health and addressing vision loss. As an anti-oxidant nutrient Vitamin E has a role to play in any chronic disease where free radicals are causing havoc. This includes cancer and other inflammatory conditions. Kiwifruit is also higher in fat content than other fruits, behaving more like an avocado than a berry when used to bind a dressing or salsa. But don’t be concerned. The fat in kiwifruit is less than 1gram per serving (equating to about 8 calories).

Most kiwifruit is cultivated in New Zealand (one of our greatest exports - apart from us fabulously creative people), however in Victoria we fortunate to have Ian and Angela of Beenak Farms growing biodynamic kiwifruit beyond the Dandenongs near Yarra Junction. Vitamin C can be lost during storage, transportation and display of fruit, so it is good to know that the kiwifruit from the Beenak Biodynamic Farm have a food mile footprint of 50kms. But make the most of it, as the season is ending now.

Grapefruit and Green Salad with Kiwifruit Salsa

If the presence of longer days and warmer weather is prompting you to think healthy thoughts, then this low-fat dressing is the perfect accompaniment for a grapefruit and greens salad. Simple, refreshing and quick to make,

2 zucchini
100-150 gm (2-3 large handfuls) spinach or kale
½ tsp Himalayan crystal salt
Juice of ½ lemon (about 20mls)
1-2 ruby or white grapefruit
7-8 cherry tomatoes

Peel and cube the grapefruit. Remove the seeds, if necessary.
Cut the cherry tomatoes into quarters.
Julienne the zucchini or put them through the spiraliser to produce zucchini spirals.
Wash and de-vein the kale, then slice into 1 cm strips. (or loosely chop the spinach) Put in a bowl with about ½ tsp Himalayan crystal salt. Gently massage salt into the kale or spinach until it becomes limp. Then add lemon juice and massage again.

Toss together the grapefruit and greens.

Kiwifruit Salsa
1 stick celery
small handful parsley (reserve a few sprigs for garnish), with stalks removed
2-3 medium kiwifruit, peeled
¼ green capsicum
pepper to taste (optional)

Blend the above ingredients into a smooth salsa. Add water as needed to reach the required consistency.

Toss through the salad until the greens are entirely coated. Add the tomatoes.
Arrange on a plate and garnish with reserved sprigs of parsley.

Makes 2 large servings (yum, lunch) or 4 side salads.

Le Cru in Epicure today

Congratulations to Le Cru on appearing in today's Epicure (The Age). I guess it would have been nice if the reviewer had an understanding of the cuisine. On the other hand, it is interesting to read how it looks to the standard restaurant reviewer.

This is typically the situation when some brave soul breaks new ground. At first no one really understands (you might even be thought a little crazy). After all, there's nothing to compare it to except the prevailing paradigm. Then an inkling of understanding slips through as the idea becomes more accepted. Finally it seems to become a part of the terrain. We only have to look at how vegetarian food is now a standard item on most menus (i mean, at least you can order a vegetarian meal and the chef won't look at you strangely).

Helena's tips for dining out on raw food.

Unless you are going to Le Cru for the evening, choose a good quality restaurant known for fine cuisine. Don't worry about prices, after all there's only so much they can charge for beautifully prepared fresh vegetables. Then, when you order, look for a fresh salad on the menu and ask for that. Check that they don't add any cheese or cooked vegetables and ask if you can have the dressing "on the side". You may want to check what is in the dressing, particularly if you are vegan as well as raw and don't want honey in your food.

If nothing on the menu is to your liking, then you can always ask if the chef could prepare you something using only fresh vegetables. You could, for example, suggest a garden salad with avocado.

If the restaurant really cares about their food they will be only too happy to explain how they prepare the dishes on the menu. A good chef will enjoy the challenge of creating a dish for your needs (though some do rile at the thought of preparing a meal with only vegetables, as this is still generally not considered a "real" meal).

It is that easy. No need to make excuses, or present a big list of what you can't eat. Just know that a good chef is more than capable of preparing a decent salad with fresh greens, and a good quality restaurant will always have a stock of fresh vegetables.

There are now a few places that also serve organic food, though in most restaurants the organic fare is limited to the meat, dairy, eggs and coffee. Funny that. Did you want chemicals in your lettuce?

Pad Thai Noodles with Spinach Curry Sauce

Spinach, known as the popeye vegetable, has been the mantra to many a growing child. Eat your spinach and you'll have muscles like popeye. And it is true. Spinach is one of the best plant sources of iron, but remember that absorption of iron from plant sources is greatly improved when combined with foods high in Vitamin C. In the Pad Thai noodles recipe below grapefruit not only gives it that smart tangy flavour, but also serves to improve the uptake of iron from the spinach.

Just as important as iron for muscular and bone strength is Vitamin K. Spinach is one of the high sources of Vitamin K, along with kale and cauliflower. As well as promoting bone health, it's main function is the control of blood clotting and it also regulates calcium levels in the blood.

Only carrots and parsley contain more beta carotene than spinach. This special nutrient is required for making Vitamin A, important for eye health and vision.

Is this enough to convince you that spinach is good? What about the fact that around 49% of calories in spinach come from proteins? It is the richest known source plant protein, providing 12% of recommended daily requirements (depending on serving size).

And no mention of spinach should be without a reference to oxalic acid. In it's inorganic form oxalic acid is known to be harmful to the body. It can cause calcium deficiency and kidney stones. However spinach, when eaten raw, contains oxalic acid in it's organic form. This has a number of benefits, including promotion of peristalsis in the gut. It combines well with calcium and aids assimilation in the digestive tract.

This recipe is a bit of fun to spice up a special occasion, but it is also a good one to make beforehand and have on hand for that busy moment when you don't have time or don't feel like preparing a meal. The sauce will keep in a jar in the fridge for up to three days.

Pad Thai Noodles with Spinach Curry Sauce

For the Noodles

Marinate 1/3 red onion in 2tbsp Nama Shoyu for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, julienne the following:
2 zucchini, small
1/2 capsicum (red or green)
the meat from 2 young thai coconuts
Chop 1 medium grapefruit into chunks, removing the pips

Combine all these ingredients in a bowl with 1 cup mung bean sprouts. Mix together well.

Fresh Thai Herbs

1/3 bunch mint, chopped
1/3 bunch coriander, chopped
1 small red chilli, seeded and chopped

Mix herbs together and reserve a small amount for garnish. Add to the noodles.

Spinach Curry Sauce

2 cups spinach

1 cup coconut water

2 medium tomatoes

3 tbsp fresh coriander

1/2 avocado

1 tbsp olive oil

1 stick celery, large

2 tsp grated ginger

1/2 tsp garam masala

1 1/2 tsp coriander seeds (i like to grind these first, then add to the mix)

fresh chilli, to taste

Combine all the above ingredients in the blender and mix to a sauce consistency.

This will make about 2 cups of sauce.

Now arrange the noodles into bowls and pour spinach curry sauce over. Garnish with herbs and serve.

Tips: If you have one, use a spiraliser or mandolin to make zucchini noodles. If you can't find fresh mint leaves, substitute with parsley. Make the sauce the day before to save time and give the flavour time to develop.

Glass or Plastic

It started with this really interesting eco-innovation - a glass driveway. An interesting way of recycling glass. What i most liked about this idea was the porous nature of the surface. We have lost so much ground water due to run-off in urban and built-up areas. Concrete and asphalt is very unforgiving and very solid.

Then Ben sent me this link to some information about glass and plastic. Thank you.