I am wanting to make my vegetable garden into a series of raised beds. I am looking to barter for the materials and/or labour to do this one section at a time. I have many skills to trade. Drop me a line and we can talk.
For those who missed it, great gardens, great weather and great company. Thank you to the homeowners who were kind enough to give us a peak over the garden wall!
Love the diversity of people, and food! All stirred into one big pot makes for a delicious, healthy, community :) So many forward looking folks in the U.K are really inspiring me further toward transition and resiliency. Thanks for the post :)
Yay Donna!! Really great pics too! Have not experimented yet. Will really try my best by the 9th to have something built. Writing a flyer blurb to print up and poster around this month, as well as a press release for local papers and the town and farmers market websites. Sent you an email this eve re: getting togther in person :) Excited about this event!! Oh, and fyi to all, the alternate date for this event is the 23rd should the sun choose not to shine on the 9th.
Jennifer was able to get confirmation for the date and location of the demo at the Farmers market. We will send an email soon! I am wondering if anyone else experimented...
Thank you Andy for this very inspiring read. Apparently one is never too old, or too young at heart, to change direction! I too find myself at this crossroad, and find it both scarey and exhilerating. What motivates me most as well is to choose wisely for my 7 year old daughter. To leave her a legacy of a sustainable living arrangement for her and her childrens continued well being. My dilemma at present is to build rural, or remain in town. Much can be said for and against both.
Best of luck with your garden this spring. I would be happy to assist in some fruit and nut tree planting if need be.
I was happy to finally meet you at the film night, and hope to see you again one day soon.
Hi S, happy you are inspired :) I left a phone message at Dawn Kings place this morning and will hopefully get some info from her soon. Perhaps she might be interested in connecting with Transition, and vice versa.
Sure I like this idea. New, positive experiences that stimulate personal growth are great gifts! But I also feel an experiential gift bazaar may exclude those people in our community who may not have reached that place of feeling they have everything they need. I think there are many people who still require many basic needs; food, clothing, paying the bills...... An experiential gift seems to me like a luxury in that case. So I feel more comfortable with many varieties of gifts offered. Something for everyone :)
I humbly say I still have so much to learn! This was really, really informative. Thank you for sharing. Chaste berry......from definately not, to maybe, to an 11 month year old!! LOL :)
I also really appreciated the filmmakers youth and that teen/early 20's perspective, which is seldom heard. I think this could be a great film to share at our YAK center one evening. Peer to peer knowledge and perspective can be so readily embraced. Perhaps this could open a door to showing it in our local high schools as well. Our youth are a fantastic resource and potential catalyst for change :)
i also like the sunday crystal palace market idea because as S said we could offer everything! after church hours are best i believe :) and once a month sounds like a healthy start. the saturday market season starts up again on mothers day in may. shall we aim for that sunday and approach the town in the early new year? this allows for 4 months of prep time and generating a buzz via posters, media advertising etc.
I like the Crystal Palace too! For its central location and also because it is very underused in my opinion...
Maybe we could first talk to the town and see if it is even something they would consider having there.
I would suggest starting with a once a month market in order to limit the commitment and expectations... Maybe a Sunday? Or Friday eve (4-8pm)?
I would like to see a free market where anyone is free to bring anything. No restrictions as to it is already in sale at the market, or it is food or not... Would love to keep everything as simple as possible for potential participants and visitors...
I think this film was made by the ISEC (International Society for Ecology and Culture), and their web site shows some really interesting work starting up eco-villages.
Perhaps this is a film we could source out to show in Perth?
I absolutely agree that any free food/edible's gifting could be done via the food bank and not the farmers market.
What I like about the farmers market venue is that it is established and it draws muti-generational faces. It's also central, very pretty, and attracts tourists as well. The idea is never to step on the toes of the food sellers and/or craft vendors. A point will always be made to not give for free like items that are being sold by market vendors.
I like the share market idea occurring alongside a tradional pay for goods market because it demonstates that the 2 can be complementary. And I like as S said the encouraging of face to face gifting/sharing/exchanging amongst our friends, neighbors, etc as we already do with the market vendors, and the free gift/exchange is yet another experience of deeper sharing.
So perhaps we need to agree on a venue(s) before any digging about for details can happen? And what would take place at that venue(s) A good first step I think :)
So far in agreement .....1) farmers market to have a table offering a needs list people could fill out ? 2) food item sharing via the food bank ?
* initially I loved the idea of doing it all in Stewart Park, but the weather is always an if, whereas the crystal palace is always dry!
I was in Toronto this past weekend and happened upon a poster advertizing a Free Organic Food Give-Away. It was last weekend, but I went online to see what it was all about. Anyone who is interested in seeing what they did can google Toronto Zeit-Geist. On their site they have a description and photos of the event.
I have considered becoming the moderator of a "Perth" Free-Cycle group to get it going, but feel I can't give it the time it might require vetting spam messages etc. I used "Free-cycle" like a mad-women when we moved here to help me get rid of a ton of stuff. It was great for gifting with no strings attached. Maybe I should re-think it. Or if anyone else is interested, maybe we could start a group and split the duties. Then when we do have a public event, we could make public the groups existance.
I noticed that the "Real"-Reuses store in Smith Falls has ramped up abit. I posted some free things last winter, but had no takers, as I don't think there was much traffic to their site. At the time, mine was one of three offers on the website. Lately, the store has started posting pics of things they have for sale, but they also have a "free" and "wanted" section.e
The idea of collaborating with the Food Bank (a potential new community and food hub!) really resonates for me! I agree with you Sebastien; when I think about it more, I also don't feel comfortable having free food and stuff beside farmer and artisans who are trying to make a living. J, I like your idea of having a table at the market to tell people about it and even fill out needs lists... Ideas and possibilities!
The more I think about it, the more I think that the Farmers Market may not be the best place for that. I don't think free stuff goes very well with not free stuf... Today, I went to harvest the rest of our carrots and beets. I remembered that in the Summer we had so much food we were giving a lot away. The Community Share Market would be awesome for that, but I don't see myself giving food away right beside my farmer friends... And I can imagine the same for the craft folks...
I heard recently that the food bank has a project of expanding and becoming more of a community hub. I could see this project potentially collaborating and fitting well with that...
It would be great if the folks offering stuff could stay around their stuff so they actually gift it to the person interested in taking it. I don't think we're planning a dumping event, but a community share.
I am very excited at the idea that we're talking about that! No matter what form it ends up taking!... :)
I am wanting to make my vegetable garden into a series of raised beds. I am looking to barter for the materials and/or labour to do this one section at a time. I have many skills to trade. Drop me a line and we can talk.
For those who missed it, great gardens, great weather and great company. Thank you to the homeowners who were kind enough to give us a peak over the garden wall!
Love the diversity of people, and food! All stirred into one big pot makes for a delicious, healthy, community :) So many forward looking folks in the U.K are really inspiring me further toward transition and resiliency. Thanks for the post :)
Yay Donna!! Really great pics too! Have not experimented yet. Will really try my best by the 9th to have something built. Writing a flyer blurb to print up and poster around this month, as well as a press release for local papers and the town and farmers market websites. Sent you an email this eve re: getting togther in person :) Excited about this event!! Oh, and fyi to all, the alternate date for this event is the 23rd should the sun choose not to shine on the 9th.
That's Awesome Donna! Can't wait to check it out!
Jennifer was able to get confirmation for the date and location of the demo at the Farmers market. We will send an email soon! I am wondering if anyone else experimented...
Andy,
Thanks for sharing your story and giving us your inspiring example of a way to be.
Gerry
Thank you Andy for this very inspiring read. Apparently one is never too old, or too young at heart, to change direction! I too find myself at this crossroad, and find it both scarey and exhilerating. What motivates me most as well is to choose wisely for my 7 year old daughter. To leave her a legacy of a sustainable living arrangement for her and her childrens continued well being. My dilemma at present is to build rural, or remain in town. Much can be said for and against both.
Best of luck with your garden this spring. I would be happy to assist in some fruit and nut tree planting if need be.
I was happy to finally meet you at the film night, and hope to see you again one day soon.
Jennifer Martine Druker
Hi S, happy you are inspired :) I left a phone message at Dawn Kings place this morning and will hopefully get some info from her soon. Perhaps she might be interested in connecting with Transition, and vice versa.
Thank you for posting this! Very inspiring!
Fantastic! Bravo Mike and computer tech guy !
Sure I like this idea. New, positive experiences that stimulate personal growth are great gifts! But I also feel an experiential gift bazaar may exclude those people in our community who may not have reached that place of feeling they have everything they need. I think there are many people who still require many basic needs; food, clothing, paying the bills...... An experiential gift seems to me like a luxury in that case. So I feel more comfortable with many varieties of gifts offered. Something for everyone :)
I humbly say I still have so much to learn! This was really, really informative. Thank you for sharing. Chaste berry......from definately not, to maybe, to an 11 month year old!! LOL :)
Exactly what I was thinking! Showing it to youth!
We could show it around Earth Day and have the youth get togetehr and come up with a plan using Open Space Technology.
I cannot take credit for the review however, as it is taken from the movie website page! :)
Well reviewed Sebastien, bravo!
I also really appreciated the filmmakers youth and that teen/early 20's perspective, which is seldom heard. I think this could be a great film to share at our YAK center one evening. Peer to peer knowledge and perspective can be so readily embraced. Perhaps this could open a door to showing it in our local high schools as well. Our youth are a fantastic resource and potential catalyst for change :)
Thanks Peggy!
i also like the sunday crystal palace market idea because as S said we could offer everything! after church hours are best i believe :) and once a month sounds like a healthy start. the saturday market season starts up again on mothers day in may. shall we aim for that sunday and approach the town in the early new year? this allows for 4 months of prep time and generating a buzz via posters, media advertising etc.
This meeting date and time will be re-scheduled due to the potluck party :)
Yes, we could definitely show short videos like this one!
It is already available for free online, so no need to "source"...
I will make a list of potential short movies like this one that I will bring to the next meeting.
I like the Crystal Palace too! For its central location and also because it is very underused in my opinion...
Maybe we could first talk to the town and see if it is even something they would consider having there.
I would suggest starting with a once a month market in order to limit the commitment and expectations... Maybe a Sunday? Or Friday eve (4-8pm)?
I would like to see a free market where anyone is free to bring anything. No restrictions as to it is already in sale at the market, or it is food or not... Would love to keep everything as simple as possible for potential participants and visitors...
I think this film was made by the ISEC (International Society for Ecology and Culture), and their web site shows some really interesting work starting up eco-villages.
Perhaps this is a film we could source out to show in Perth?
I absolutely agree that any free food/edible's gifting could be done via the food bank and not the farmers market.
What I like about the farmers market venue is that it is established and it draws muti-generational faces. It's also central, very pretty, and attracts tourists as well. The idea is never to step on the toes of the food sellers and/or craft vendors. A point will always be made to not give for free like items that are being sold by market vendors.
I like the share market idea occurring alongside a tradional pay for goods market because it demonstates that the 2 can be complementary. And I like as S said the encouraging of face to face gifting/sharing/exchanging amongst our friends, neighbors, etc as we already do with the market vendors, and the free gift/exchange is yet another experience of deeper sharing.
So perhaps we need to agree on a venue(s) before any digging about for details can happen? And what would take place at that venue(s) A good first step I think :)
So far in agreement .....1) farmers market to have a table offering a needs list people could fill out ? 2) food item sharing via the food bank ?
* initially I loved the idea of doing it all in Stewart Park, but the weather is always an if, whereas the crystal palace is always dry!
More thoughts ?.........
I was in Toronto this past weekend and happened upon a poster advertizing a Free Organic Food Give-Away. It was last weekend, but I went online to see what it was all about. Anyone who is interested in seeing what they did can google Toronto Zeit-Geist. On their site they have a description and photos of the event.
I have considered becoming the moderator of a "Perth" Free-Cycle group to get it going, but feel I can't give it the time it might require vetting spam messages etc. I used "Free-cycle" like a mad-women when we moved here to help me get rid of a ton of stuff. It was great for gifting with no strings attached. Maybe I should re-think it. Or if anyone else is interested, maybe we could start a group and split the duties. Then when we do have a public event, we could make public the groups existance.
I noticed that the "Real"-Reuses store in Smith Falls has ramped up abit. I posted some free things last winter, but had no takers, as I don't think there was much traffic to their site. At the time, mine was one of three offers on the website. Lately, the store has started posting pics of things they have for sale, but they also have a "free" and "wanted" section.e
oops! on the right hand side under More on Money, click on The Gift Circle..... thats it :)
The idea of collaborating with the Food Bank (a potential new community and food hub!) really resonates for me! I agree with you Sebastien; when I think about it more, I also don't feel comfortable having free food and stuff beside farmer and artisans who are trying to make a living. J, I like your idea of having a table at the market to tell people about it and even fill out needs lists... Ideas and possibilities!
The more I think about it, the more I think that the Farmers Market may not be the best place for that. I don't think free stuff goes very well with not free stuf... Today, I went to harvest the rest of our carrots and beets. I remembered that in the Summer we had so much food we were giving a lot away. The Community Share Market would be awesome for that, but I don't see myself giving food away right beside my farmer friends... And I can imagine the same for the craft folks...
I heard recently that the food bank has a project of expanding and becoming more of a community hub. I could see this project potentially collaborating and fitting well with that...
It would be great if the folks offering stuff could stay around their stuff so they actually gift it to the person interested in taking it. I don't think we're planning a dumping event, but a community share.
I am very excited at the idea that we're talking about that! No matter what form it ends up taking!... :)