Small Revolutions: Voluntary Simplicity in Devon

Food Crisis: The Silent Tsunami

I've been meaning to write more about the food crisis, but I've been studying for my massage exams coming up soon, so it's bee a little quite on this front.

The next thing I was going to mention in my exploration of food was something Mahatma Gandhi espoused. He said that people should try to look after themselves. If they could not, then the family should look after them. And if the family cannot look after them, the village should. And if the village couldn't the region should etc.

In short, he espoused self-reliance and autonomy at the most local level possible.

Particularly in the developing world, I believe that developing countries are better off developing their internal economies and their internal level of affluence at the most local level. Because the globalised market is pitted against them.

Take supermarkets sourcing vegetables for example. They don't buy from poor individuals, they buy from large companies that pay lots of workers small wages. The trickle down effect of wealth is negligible particularly if individuals and families, becoming landless through the process of industrialisation - then sink below the level of subsistence because they can no longer grow their own food or forage on common land.

These people would be far better off if they had some land on which they could grow food, and  be able participate in small scale economic activities and production on a local level as part of a local economy, rather than being employed by large companies and the smallest and least powerful units in a massive globalised industrial complex.

Globalisation was supposed to make everyone richer.

My professional insight and analysis of this is this: bollocks. It was designed to leverage open national economies across the world to the clutches of large companies seeking new markets, cheaper labour with fewer human rights, supporting their transnational expansion.

Globalisation was supposed to work because of "comparative advantage theory". In short, we all do what we're best at. On a superficial level, it sounds quite smart. I mean, no-one can be good at everything so it;s good to share jobs out.

That's as may be in a town or a city with people, but on a global level it doesn't work for a number of reasons - prior accumulation of capital and information advantage through colonisation of countries; inequal distribution of world resources (forests, minerals, raw materials); different weather patterns etc. etc.

So it ends up being like this: one country which has already got the money and resources, technical knowledge and capital, starts producing computer chips. Then another country without the benefit of similar development and support and resources, gets to be good at making bananas. Who do you think is going to turn out to be richest?

I think that in the long term (and this is quite apart from the forthcoming necessity as a condition of peak oil) we are all better off by becoming more local. Because local economies are going to be what matters in the post carbon age.

In the age of peak oil and resource depletion, efficiency is key. And with spiralling fuel and food prices, globalised economics will actually come to be seen as a bloated, wasteful and inefficient means of meeting our real, basic needs.

To meet the coming challenges, we need to localise our food production, and localise to the closest possible unit - like Mahatma Gandhi's sentiments above. This has happened with Cuba in its (albeit artificial) experience of peak oil. Something like 50% of Havana's vegetable food is produced within Havana itself.

The best way of maintaining food security will be for it to be produced as close to home as possible. Local independence and self-reliance unhitches people from the trials and the uncertainty of global food economics.

Which is why I think we should all be growing our own, and participating localised food economies.

Although it's more contingent for people in developing countries to start moving towards food independence, it's only slightly less relevant for us here in the UK because we're richer. The changes will certainly hit us where it hurts sooner or later.

And I've wondered for a long time whether all this isn't just crazy thinking and maybe I'm some crazed doomster survivalist just itching for societal breakdown.

But then I read this evening on the BBC that the results of a UNESCO report cites a healthy proportion of what I'm saying here. The WTO chief says aid should focus on improving agriculture.

It's late and I'm not sure I have an easy conclusion to all of this. Perhaps I'll just leave it there for tonight.

But I am interested in your opinions. What do you think about food crises being reported around the world? What's the solution? I'd love to hear from you.

 

Food, Biofuel and Peak Oil: No-one gets left behind.

This is about the coming food shortages.

Well, I say coming. What I actually mean is that it is already happening for some.

There were the Mexico Corn riots where hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets because the price of corn had gone up 400%.

Because the price of oil is so high, it is more profitable for farmers to produce and sell corn for the biofuel market where it fetches higher prices.

That's land not being used to feed people.

The rush to produce corn has caused the world price of fertiliser to double in 2007 meaning that the poor farmers in sub saharan Africa who really need the fertiliser to grow stuff, may well not be able to afford it - producing less food in that region.

The price of wheat has rocketed too. Kazakhstan, Argentina and Russia have all put export restrictions on wheat. Source: BBC

The World Food Programme has outlined stark choice of getting more money, or rationing and feeding fewer people (this isn't luxury stuff, we're talking about the basics to simply stay alive and maintain a basic level of health to escape disease and malnutrition). Source: BBC

According to Independent Bangladesh, wheat is up more than 180%, soybeans are up 82% and rice has doubled in the past year. In America, 16% of land formerly planted with wheat and soybeans is now growing corn, most of it going into biofuel.

The price of rice doubling means that a 2kg bag of rice now costs half a day's wages. This is about the margin of survival, not luxuries. (Independent Bangladesh)

We're beginning to see a convergence in food and energy prices. Right now, it's not just because of biofuel, but at heart I believe, we are seeing the beginning effects of peak oil with oil at $100 plus per barrel being the main trigger for all of this.

There are other reasons of course which I will briefly spell out here:

• Inundations in some parts of the world, drought in others (shifting weather patterns are a feature of global warming
• Meat production - growing affluent markets such as China are increasing the demand for beef and more grain is needed to feed the beef animals

If, as I suspect (and I am not an educated commentator, I surf and find things out in my spare time) that peak oil has in fact hit and this is the frontier of what is to come, then it shows a haunting overture to what is to come.

And here’s the central point:

I really absolutely believe that we can all get through it. I really do.

But it's going to be much bigger than a battle for food. It's going to be a showdown between the twin forces selfishness and fear (in all its manifestations, including denial) on the one hand, and love and compassion on the other.

There is a classic line in the kids cartoon movie Lilo & Stitch: "no-one gets left behind" and that's the policy we have to take.

No-one gets left behind. Whatever happens we’ve got to make sure everybody is fed.

How do we do that, and how does it relate to our individual actions, how does it relate to what I can do every day to be part of that change right here?

That’s what I am going to explore in my blog over the next few weeks.

Blatant plagiarist that I am, I am going to call it Digging for Victory.
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Fresh Mackerel

I was pleased to find out that on the Devon coast you can actually fish for mackerel from the shore. If any seasoned anglers are reading this, I would forgive them for shaking their heads.

But that's actually the extent that most people in the UK are disconnected from their food today.

I've never shown the slightest interest in fishing, but now it looks like there's a possibility of catching food, my ears have pricked up. The promise of free food, the chase betwixt hunter and hunted, man against the elements - all that stuff.

So when we get down there, I'm going to start fishing to catch food. I have no idea how to do it, but I've found a great guide that's helping me no end called Torbay Fishing.

Does anyone know of anything else I can catch from the shore?

What is Permaculture?

This came through to my inbox courtesy of the Naturewise yahoo group in London. It's a program about the concept of permaculture featuring Bill Mollison. I have watched the first part and it's good, so I thought it would be worth sharing with you - it's all hosted on YouTube:

Part 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUr4uPe9WBk

Part 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7g2mmqqEn08

Part 3:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ye90FxJmuw0

Part 4:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlPZKggxZ0E

Part 5:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPokZm_z9zM

Part 6:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bda8TbW9MrQ

I can't wait to go on my permaculture course later this year and really get my hands stuck into al this stuff. I can tell that, as a design system that optimises the relationships between things for maximum productivity with minimum environmental impact and effort, it's going to be something that is right up my street.

Have a great day,

Rob

P.S. If you want to save time and get my posts by email,  you can use the sign-up box on the right hand side of this page. I've started writing my posts like emails, and I'm learning to keep my posts shorter and more digestible!

P.P.S The banana bread looks fantastic.

A free composting wormery method

A black bin bag. Simple as that.

1. Make a hole or two in the bottom.
2. Fill it with your composting materials.
3. Leave it (sun can help warm it up)
4. Add any worms you find in the process of gardening.
5. Let the worms do the work and multiply.
6. Turn about once a week, water if necessary.
7. Leave it some more.
8. Is it ready? Start gardening with it.

When life hands you curds and whey, make yoghurt cheese

I tried making my own yoghurt yesterday by scalding a pint of milk, letting it cool down to about body temperature then adding a live culture from yoghurt we already had. 2 hours later (it should be 3 1/2 hours but I was impatient) I had a look and it had set, mostly.

Being a little separated, and my early intervention proving a little premature, I hoiked it all into a sieve lined with material from an old shirt (you don't need cheesecloth - any cloth will do as long as the material is fine enough). Taking the corners up to make a bag I twisted it to gradually put pressure on the yoghurt inside and drain out the liquid.

Once it got to cream cheese consistency, I scraped it into a bowl, added a little sugar to dumb down the sour taste of the yoghurt, and added chopped chives, herbs and garlic. Add a little salt to taste and voila - you have a cream cheese that actually tastes better than the commercial alternatives on the high street and for half the price.

Granted, it takes time. But in this instance, simplicity was not about making it easy.

It's an experiment to gain the skill of making something, using nouse when the yoghurt didn't set, exercising a little creativity and intuition, a little self-reliance, then the satisfaction (and surprise) at having created something pretty tasty.

And that's what they don't sell in little plastic packages...

The End of Suburbia

Last night I went to Haringey to see The End of Suburbia. Along with the Cuba documentary, these are the two main films that are out there about peak oil. It's must see, chilling stuff.

Free Book Download: Plan B 2.0 - Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble

Every now and then you come across a book and you want to buy everyone you know a copy of it. This is one of those books.

We know what the problems are for the planet. Now it's time to get behind a solution.

Written by the president of the Earth Policy Institute, Lester Brown, it's an examination of the problems we face right now and how we can make the transition to a new economy which is sustainable - without overshoot, without collapse - and solving third world poverty at the same time.

I haven't read it all yet, and I will review it when I have finished it, but so far this book does what no other book I've read so far has done: it's putting together all the solutions we know we already have, and envisioning them on a planetary scale.

It is big picture stuff. It's about solutions and not problems.

More than ever, we need a shared vision which we can buy into collectively - at all levels - because too many of us just feel like 'individuals doing our bit' which can be lonely sometimes, and frustrating when we see the prevalence of the problems.

More than ever we need the hope and the optimism that we can really bring about change in a cogent and structured way. This book shows how it could all knit together in a plan for a new economy - Plan B.

Whether you buy a copy of Plan B 2.0 - Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble or you download chapters for free it's a book I think will be very important.

I'll try and review it in the next two weeks, but you can dip in and out of it and judge for yourself by visiting the Plan B 2.0 minisite at the Earth Policy Institute.

"Your actions are your only possessions." ~ Lao Tse

Speaks for itself.

Room enough for all of us...

If you haven't bought a house in the UK yet, and you're not destined for great things, you're in a pretty awkward situation. Prices have been going sky high.

On my road, in a not so lovely part of Hackney (it's East London, not Chelsea or Mayfair) a 3 bedroom house is currently on the market for £394,000 (that's a shade over $760,000 at today's rates). Which is why we're renting one bedroom in part of a house.

The problem is, I read, that housing stock is increeasing by only 160,000 houses a year. But the numberof people for them is increasing by 200,000. So the market stays high and edges higher.

Green belt laws mean that houses can't be built in certain areas designated as countryside. Meaning that all those fields remain just fields. It has the specific purpose of stopping dwellings encroaching on the countryside, towns merging into each other etc. etc.

This stops new houses being built (any type of house). Although I can see the point of this, I feel disappointed and let down that they don't consider ecological houses as a different class of house.

In the UK, with land at a premium, we're going to have to re-think the way we house ourselves and the way we use our land (and that the rules about using it properly work too).

So it was a welcome sight to see these tiny houses showing that you don't need to build big to have a roof  over your head.

This is my 5 minute crash surfing course on small houses:

• Let's go and look at Henry David Thoreau's house at Walden Pond
• Then watch the video of Gregory Paul Johnson's 140 square foot house (about 3.6m squared) from PBS
• See the gallery of small houses here
• What about a Jot House? Sustainable, low cost, prefabricated.
• Going traditional? Why don't you build your own yurt?
• Visit Jay Shafer's Tiny Tumbleweed Houses - beautiful aren't they?
  

Light-hearted surfing aside though, in the very real housing shortage we have, with sky high prices, houses like this might just become viable prospects for those who, like me and Glenn, don't own our own homes.

Obviously these dwellings test the limits of their art, but living smaller might just be the way that all of us can get the opportunity to live on and own a tiny patch of this, our sceptred isle...

P.S. Antony found a great link to a guy in Denmark who lives in an allotment house. How beautiful life would be if I could live in an allotment house!