A letter from Chief Arvol Looking Horse and the 13 Grandmothers

A Great Urgency

To All World Religious and Spiritual Leaders

My Relatives,

Time has come to speak to the hearts of our Nations and their Leaders. I
ask you this from the bottom of my heart, to come together from the Spirit
of your Nations in prayer.

We, from the heart of Turtle Island, have a great message for the World; we
are guided to speak from all the White Animals showing their sacred color,
which have been signs for us to pray for the sacred life of all things. As
I am sending this message to you, many Animal Nations are being threatened,
those that swim, those that crawl, those that fly, and the plant Nations,
eventually all will be affect from the oil disaster in the Gulf.

The dangers we are faced with at this time are not of spirit. The
catastrophe that has happened with the oil spill which looks like the
bleeding of Grandmother Earth, is made by human mistakes, mistakes that we
cannot afford to continue to make.

I asked, as Spiritual Leaders, that we join together, united in prayer with
the whole of our Global Communities. My concern is these serious issues will
continue to worsen, as a domino effect that our Ancestors have warned us of
in their Prophecies.

I know in my heart there are millions of people that feel our united prayers
for the sake of our Grandmother Earth are long overdue. I believe we as
Spiritual people must gather ourselves and focus our thoughts and prayers to
allow the healing of the many wounds that have been inflicted on the Earth.
As we honor the Cycle of Life, let us call for Prayer circles globally to
assist in healing Grandmother Earth (our Unc¹I Maka).

We ask for prayers that the oil spill, this bleeding, will stop. That the
winds stay calm to assist in the work. Pray for the people to be guided in
repairing this mistake, and that we may also seek to live in harmony, as we
make the choice to change the destructive path we are on.

As we pray, we will fully understand that we are all connected. And that
what we create can have lasting effects on all life.

So let us unite spiritually, All Nations, All Faiths, One Prayer. Along
with this immediate effort, I also ask to please remember June 21st, World
Peace and Prayer Day/Honoring Sacred Sites day. Whether it is a natural
site, a temple, a church, a synagogue or just your own sacred space, let us
make a prayer for all life, for good decision making by our Nations, for our
children¹s future and well-being, and the generations to come.

Onipikte (that we shall live),

Chief Arvol Looking Horse
19th generation Keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe
Wolakota.org

CONSCIOUS PARTICIPATION IN HEALING OUR PLANETARY WATERS

OUR MOTHER EARTH NEEDS YOUR HELP!
Along with many peoples all around the globe, and many water prayers this spring, we are calling for a
MASSIVE GLOBAL EFFORT

Our main intention for this healing is to return the waters to their original pure crystalline blueprint, and to add to their abundance for the nourishment of ALL living things on the planet.

Pray in your local waterways, at the rivers or lakes or streams.

Or pray with a bowl of water in the middle of the cities.

We, the International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers Ask you to join us:
MAY 18, 2010
CONSCIOUS PARTICIPATION IN HEALING OUR PLANETARY WATERS
OUR MOTHER EARTH NEEDS YOUR HELP!

Along with many peoples all around the globe, and many water prayers this spring, we are calling for a
MASSIVE GLOBAL EFFORT
Our main intention for this healing is to return the waters to their original pure crystalline blueprint,

and to add to their abundance for the nourishment of ALL living things on the planet.

“We are Water Babies. Do not to forget

to say thank you every day for the water you drink,

the water you bathe in.

Without our Mother water we would not survive.”
—
Grandmother Agnes Baker Pilgrim, Takelma Siletz, Oregon

For more information:
http://www.grandmotherscouncil.com/

www.goldeneagleceremonies.com

Beekeeping Workshop

Hi Gardeners, Janaka here. Camphill Farm’s Onsite and Local Beekeeper. I am proud to announce that Camphill Farm will host a beekeeping workshop on May 16th, 3-5pm

In this basic beekeeping workshop we will cover:

Hive Site Selection
Mechanics of a hive and the tools involved
Honeybee health and disease assessment
Seasonal management and methods of organic treatment
A Naturalist approach to a hive’s needs

We will also speak about the value and importance this integral insect holds in holistic farm and garden systems, especially in biodynamics. This field workshop, includes opening a hive (weather permitting) and seeing the organization of an actual beehive.

The workshop fee is based on a sliding scale $25 – $50

Please RSVP for the workshop at info@camphillfarm.org.

Gardens That Grow on Walls

Vertical gardens — which began as an experiment in 1988 by Patrick Blanc, a French botanist intent on creating a garden without dirt — are becoming increasingly popular at home. Avid and aspiring gardeners, frustrated with little outdoor space, are taking another look at their walls and noticing something new: more space. And a number of companies are selling ready-made systems and all-in-one kits for gardeners like Mr. Riley who want to do it themselves. (For those who prefer to leave it to the professionals, landscape designers can build vertical gardens for a hefty fee.)

In the last few years, companies that sell green wall supplies have seen a jump in sales. ELT, an Ontario company that specializes in green roofs, began selling living wall systems a little over three years ago and is now one of the biggest suppliers to the United States. Greg Garner, the company’s president, said that its green-wall sales have increased 300 percent since 2008. Four months ago, the company introduced a cheaper, lighter kit to make living walls accessible to the average gardener; prices start at about $40 for a one-square-foot panel.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/06/garden/06vertical.html?ref=garden

The Rise of Company Gardens

fresh carrots from a compnay garden

The trend has caught on at more-traditional companies, too. At the headquarters for the Kohl’s department stores near Milwaukee, the organic gardens provide vegetables for a local food bank and a place for children at the company child care center to play. Abundant crops of pumpkins and tomatoes grow at the Toyota plant in Georgetown, Ky.

A National Gardening Association survey done in conjunction with Harris shows that 41 million Americans grew fruits and vegetables in 2009. That’s about 13 percent more than the year before.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/12/dining/12gardens.html?8dpc

BTTR Ventures

This is quite a cool-looking business.

“BTTR Ventures (pronounced Better) is a 100% sustainable urban mushroom farm founded in Berkeley, CA  by two 2009 grads from UC Berkeley. BTTR grows its gourmet mushrooms on recycled coffee grounds from Peet’s Coffee & Tea and is currently diverting over 7000 lbs a week from the landfill. Fresh, local, and healthy food for the community – it’s what we’re all about!”

Ananda Harvest Presents Dave Jacke

Join Dave Jacke as he graces New York and Ananda Ashram with a spiritual perspective of the building and evolving Permaculture movement. Please RSVP by Monday April 12th.  Additional information on the shuttle to and from Harriman will be provided.

A lovely weekend

And the weather was so fine! Magical photography (more here) by Winnie Au.

Ananda Harvest: How it all Began

The Ananda Harvest from Aubrey Hardwick on Vimeo.

Our Supporters Rock!!!

A Special Thank from the Ananda Harvest Team to all of you who Helped Us Reach Our Goal on Kickstarter!!!!!!!!!!

Thank You!!!

Snow Load

Ananda Harvest Ping Pong Fundraiser!!

Winter’s a good time for indoor games as we rest up and get ready for spring planting.  And with Valentine’s day around the corner, we figured, why not play ping pong and show some love for your farmer instead of buy lots of stuffed teddies?

So we’re hosting a Ping Pong Fundraiser this Friday at New York’s only private ping pong club and we’d love you to stop by!

It’s a final push for our kickstarter cabin fundraiser – there are only 6 days to go so if you haven’t donated, do it now! If you’ve already donated, we thank you from the bottom of our harvest baskets. All tickets from the Love Thy Farmer event will go toward the Ananda Harvest Cabin Project. Either way, you should come out, have some fun and learn to love your farmer!

The event will include everything from a doubles ping-pong tournament to DJs, and more!

Won’t you be our Valentine?

TICKETS: Advance Ticket Donation on kickstarter of $20 or more!) Door price ( $25.00) http://lovethyfarmer.eventbrite.com/

WHEN: February 12th, 2009 8pm- 11:30pm

WHERE: SPiN New York 48 East 23rd Street New York, NY 10010

MORE INFO: http://lovethyfarmer.eventbrite.com/

Jean Pain’s Compost-Based Energy System

Jean Pain (1930 – 1981) was a French innovator who developed a compost based bioenergy system that produced 100% of his energy needs. He heated water to 60 degrees celsius at a rate of 4 litres a minute which he used for washing and heating. He also distilled enough methane to run an electricity generator, cooking elements, and power his truck. This method of creating usable energy from composting materials has come to be known as Jean Pain Composting, or the Jean Pain Method.

Some videos of the method:

“Vanishing of the Bees” Fundraiser

Maryam Henein (friend) and Geo Langsworthy have made this incredible documentary. I am also looking to see Gunther Hauk in the film. Gunther is a famous biodynamic farmer and beekeeper who was one of my mentors.

Feb 4 in the Village. See below:

http://www.thehoneybeeconservancy.org/Events.html

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=248125679489&index=1

Bring  your friends!

Germans don’t use rows…

This is one of the greatest mysteries to me.

If they do use rows they are either like this.

Mad narrow. Or like this.

A huge row that looks way too huge to reach across. I just can’t figure out how they do this. The only thing I can think is that they walk on their “beds” as they plant and then again when they harvest. I don’t see another way.

I feel like this lady from Cornell.

Confused with lanes (doesn’t she look a little bewildered?), stuck reiterating something Eliot Coleman probably got from Europe 20 years ago.  In case some of you are wondering why I’m mentioning this.  It’s because I like to grow the most food per area (short of turning into an agro-business monster).  The Ashram has usable land crammed between trees.  Chop Chop….  NO! Not the trees!  It also seems to be the best defence against weeds.

Real Communities are Self-Organizing

A friend just passed me this excellent article from Dmitry Orlov on the fallacy of “community creation”, two words which certainly get slung around carelessly in my corner of the world. I’m particularly impressed by his observations of the diminished role of women in community building. I’m too young to really know this firsthand, but apparently they were THE community builders — and that makes sense. Ever since reading H. L. Mencken’s In Defense of Women I’ve been thinking about this exact thing in similar terms. Completely non-PC, all of it, but that’s probably telltale in and of itself. Ladies, what’s your take?

Astyk makes the excellent point regarding the destruction of community through overwork and the herding of women out of the home and into the workplace. Women can’t just be (unless they are rich) — they have to have an occupation, and the default occupation — “homemaker” — carries a bit of a stigma. Women have always been the backbone of any community, and the regimentation of women’s lives was a brilliant move in the direction of totalitarian consumerism, because it allowed relationships even within the family, such as child-rearing, to be commercialized. Once all social interaction is centered around consumption patterns, community as a notion becomes little more than an advertising gimmick, and self-organizing properties of society become restricted to pursuing the latest commercial fashion.

If you fancy, do read the full article at ClubOrlov here.