Community Friday - Self Reliance Saturday - Meaningful Make it Yourself Monday: Unplugging from Mass Consumerism.

Thanksgiving is over, and everyone knows what that means. Black Friday, happens. The craziness ensues.  And then the official "Holiday Shopping Season" begins.  Apparently we don't shop enough every day of every season, and this is a SPECIAL time, to buy even MORE.  

For the more liberal minded, for those not into the crazy, or for those who want to support local home town businesses, then perhaps, "Small Business Saturday" is more your speed.  A great idea, don't get me wrong.  Shopping at small local businesses is certainly a hands down, vastly better choice than shopping at large mega corporations that do not help the local economy and destroy the environment.  But still, it's shopping.  It requests your continual participation.  Please RSVP.

I guess um, Sunday...we take the day off?  I dunno, nor do I care.  Stores are still open I'm sure, but I dunno if Sunday gets a special name. However, fear not! On Monday, if you still haven't shopped enough yet, or if you weren't into the holiday crowds, you get the opportunity for "Cyber Monday."  Lucky you!  Ca-ching!  Get out the credit cards and get shopping!

Ok, so the small local business groovy option is my favorite, if I have to choose.  But wait!  What if I don't wanna choose?  What if I don't wanna do any of it?  What if, even though I love my local candle shop, I have no need for a candle right now, beeswax or otherwise?  I may love my local crafts people, but what if I really do not need any more chatckas, none whatsoever.  Nor do I want to buy these things for my loved ones, considering I am perfectly capable of making them cool things on my own.  Not to be a buzz-kill.  But as always, I like to take things a step beyond the "fitting into the system, but doing things differently" option.  

So, yeah.  Here's my choice.  How about NOT shopping, at all?  And while we're at it, how about re-naming the days?  I'm proposing, "Community Friday", "Self Reliance Saturday", and "Meaningful Make it Yourself Monday". I am also a strong supporter of replacing the reigning title "Holiday Shopping Season" with the simple yet traditional, "Autumn".  A time where you stay at home, often, with your friends and family.  Making apple cider and mead, sewing sweaters and making stew.  Buying nothing except the regular essentials, stepping off the hamster wheel of this money based society for just a minute. Initiating a bold, yet practical act of resistance.  What if all the crazed holiday shopping just stopped, period, and like my wise little brother said the other day, we put our collective energy into our communities instead? 

Regular person: "So, how do we even begin doing what you are suggesting?  Money is our means of survival and there is no way to change that.  Shopping locally is the best we can do.  You're just an Idealist."

Idealist: "Well, regular person, here are some very practical ways that you can start unplugging from mass consumerism and start plugging into a culture of co-operation and sustainability.  Enjoy." :)

Step One- "Community Friday": 

Instead of participating in "Black Friday", create "Community Friday" in your town.  Organize the event at your local community garden or community center.  Request that everyone bring their Thanksgiving left overs or if left overs are already over (or if one does not participate in the holiday), ask folks to bring some other delicious dish to share. 

Also request that everyone able, bring items they no longer need or want, to give away to those in need or to barter.  Blankets, electronic equipment, clothes, bikes, children's toys, tools, canned goods, anything that is usable.  Also crafts or homemade goods to barter like herbal salves and tinctures, jams and sauces, pickled/ lacto-fermented goods, leather products, pottery/ glass works, handmade clothes or blankets, woodwork, anything you made yourself.  Especially great if the ingredients were grown by you and materials were recycled or acquired sustainably or locally. Give your kids the opportunity to get involved by having them bring or make things they can barter as well.  Stuff like lemonade, cookies, cool shells or rocks they found and decorated, pretty dried leaves or flowers, drawings or artwork, toys and dolls they have grown out of, stuff from your farm like eggs or milk that they helped collect.  

If you are having the event at the community garden, have everyone harvest some veggies to take home with them. If there are chickens, then give all some eggs to take home as well. Make sure to give the kiddos their chance to do some harvesting, and to get eggs from the chicken coop.  Help them understand the connection between food and community.  Let em have the opportunity to see how enjoyable it is to connect with their food in such an intimate way.

Set up workshops, or lectures (see below links for content), or just sit and talk about possible community projects and activities. One idea is to create a discussion on what a strong local barter and/or local currency could look like longer term. Ask questions like, what would happen if we started viewing our economy in a different way?  What if the economy we know now, no longer supported us, how would we make the transition?  What if we considered ourselves and our human community as part of the larger ecosystem, as opposed to an isolated economy?  And, if you succeed in creating a strong local barter system or local currency, invite your small local businesses to participate.

Some ideas and resources for long term change and sustainability in your town: 

How to build a Community Garden if you don't already have one: http://www.communitygarden.org/about-acga/

How Todmorden England is growing all it's own vegetables: http://www.incredible-edible-todmorden.co.uk/ and http://www.guardian.co.uk/theobserver/2012/feb/18/50-new-radicals-incredible-edible

How to become a Transition Town: http://www.transitionus.org/about-us

How a Massachusetts County Created a Local Currency: http://www.berkshares.org/whatareberkshares.htm

How a Greek town developed a Local Barter System: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17686384

How Santa Fe, New Mexico Utilizes the Barter System: http://www.santafetimebank.org/SFTB/SFTB.html

Step Two- "Self  Reliance Saturday":

"Small Business Saturday" has an important place and function. We all love our local businesses and many of us have one of our own.  Supporting them and ourselves, is important.  However, there are many ways we can become more self reliant and less dependent on the monetary system.  So, in addition to "Small Business Saturday", try also creating "Self Reliance Saturday".

"Self Reliance Saturday" can be another day spent in the community garden together, or at a community center, or even at home with a large group of friends and family.  Instead of shopping all day, dedicate most of the day to learning from your community and teaching your special skill sets.  Sewing, cooking, canning, herbal medicine making, proper use of tools, DIY projects, etc.  Organize a wild food walk with a local person in the know. Become acquainted with your natural "community" as well, and what it has to teach

Set up classes or workshops for the day, and have the community sign up for what classes they want to take and what they would like to teach.  Or do it more informally at home with your family.  Make beautiful gifts together or simply learn how to craft the simple necessities.  Teach your kids how to knit a scarf or take them fishing.   Build a tree house together.  Make a special doll with natural materials together.  Milk the goats and make cheese together.

All that you harvested from the community garden on "Community Friday", can now be utilized in what you make on "Self Reliance Saturday" and again, include the kids.  Instead of dragging them from store to store, teach them where things come from and how it's done.  Incorporate projects you know will excite them, engage them in activities that peak their interest and get their creativity flowing.  

Many stores, even some local small businesses, buy their stock from overseas factories, who employ local people who are often hired because they can still utilize basic self reliance skills.  We can re-learn these skills ourselves.  Sometimes buying from grassroots organizations that support poor villages or who enforce safe working conditions can help support the impoverished.  However, more often than not, our global economy is what is impoverishing other nations.  Ultimately, local self reliance helps us all.   

Step Three- "Meaningful Make it Yourself Monday":

Short and sweet.  Don't spend all of your time shopping online on "Cyber Monday".  Let the day instead, be "Meaningful Make it Yourself Monday". Sure there will be some deals you can't pass up at places you regularly shop online, small businesses even.  But here's the thing.  Email a friend, while you are online and tell them you love them.  Call a family member and say hi.  Make it a meaningful day.  Put your skills to work that you learned on "Self Reliance Saturday". Finally make that homemade mascara recipe you saw online, that natural homemade deodorant, or the amazing looking homemade shaving cream.  If it comes out great, make a couple more for friends and family as gifts.  Invite the neighbors over, and do it together.  Keep the momentum going.

I actually do want to make all the things I just mentioned.  Here are the links, if you want to make them too... :)

Homemade Mascara: http://thankyourbody.com/all-natural-homemade-mascara/ 

Natural Homemade Deodorant: http://frugallysustainable.com/2011/11/homemade-probiotic-deodorant-that/ 

Amazing Looking Homemade Shaving Cream: http://earthchangesnetwork.blogspot.com/2012/11/for-guysrosemary-mint-shaving-cream.html

And here we are.  Overall, try spinning the wheel differently this year.  Put the breaks on the fast car and bring it to a stop. Or at least slow it down enough so that someone you care about can walk alongside you. Take in the view together.  Stop for a picnic.  This is about reclaiming our natural rhythms, returning autumn to it's well earned roots.  This is a time to reflect, to go inward, to find peace, to nest with the family.  I think it's way past time to take back the holiday, the once considered holy-day, season.  Go for it. 

~ECN  © 2012 All rights reserved

52 Uses For Coconut Oil!

 

Click here to Read Article: http://www.deliciousobsessions.com/2012/01/52-uses-for-coconut-oil-the-simple-the-strange-and-the-downright-odd/:

What GMOs and Fund-Raising for Disease Have in Common

Before the clock runs out on this month’s breast cancer and GMO awareness, I’d like to point out some facts that may not be obvious to some consumers.

No doubt you’ve seen the pink ribbons all over food labels in the grocery store or on fast food products like KFC.  These labels are easy to spot on packages, cups, cans, boxes, and other containers of many foods and beverages.

But there’s something else to notice too – a majority of these foods bearing the pink ribbon for cancer awareness are full of harmful, toxic ingredients. Don’t believe me? Just pick up one of these food products and have a look.  Read Full Article Here.

Indonesia’s Mt. Rokatenda spews ash, hundreds evacuated

Mount Rokatenda in Sikka regency, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), continues to spout volcanic ash.

Residents living around the volcano have reportedly been evacuated to the shelter at Hewuli village administrative office in Alok Barat district.

The Sikka Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) reports that 196 residents living around Mount Rokatenda had fled to Maumere city.

The ash cloud from Mount Rokatenda has affected water kept in tanks on the roofs of houses around the volcano. Residents have collected rain water to offset the impact of an eruption. As many as six of 109 Awa village residents in the shelters have been taken to Maumere regency hospital suffering from various illnesses, such as respiratory, eye and skin irritation.

A team from Sikka Health Office recently provided evacuees with medical treatment against influenza, cough and respiratory infections. Sikka BPBD head Silvanus M. Tibo said the alert status of the volcano remained at level 3, with the highest being 1, according to the report from the Rokatenda volcano observation post in Ropa, Ende regency, so the volcano is not yet considered dangerous. -Jakarta Post

Magnitude 6.8 earthquake Kuril Islands, Russia

Strong earthquake measuring M 6.8 struck Kuril Islands, Russia at 18:12:42 UTC on November 16,2012 according to USGS. This is still preliminary magnitude, updates will be available soon. The epicenter was located 162 km (101 miles) SSW (198°) from Severo-Kuril’sk, Kuril Islands, Russia (49.200°N, 155.700°E) at depth of  4.9 km (3.0 miles). EMSC registered M 6.0 at the  depth of 60 km (37.3 miles).  Read Full Article Here

What the Mayan Elders are Saying About 2012- By Carlos Barrios

 

This is one of my favorite pieces of information shared, if not my favorite, on the subject of Mayan Prophecy and 2012.  I have been referring to this same piece of writing and Carlos Barrios's work in one form or another for the past few years and his offerings continue to unfold as truth.  He offers some profoundly deep and balanced insight and guidance and I trust it, so I share it time and time again. There is so much misinformation and fluff out there, I feel this really gets to the heart of the matter.  Please read and share.. Peace...ECN*

 

Originally Published in SERI-Worldwide

Carlos Barrios, Mayan elder and Ajq'ij (is a ceremonial priest and spiritual guide) of the Eagle Clan. Carlos initiated an investigation into the different Mayan calendars circulating. Carlos along with his brother Gerardo studied with many teachers and interviewed nearly 600 traditional Mayan elders to widen their scope of knowledge. 

Carlos found out quickly there were several conflicting interpretations of Mayan hieroglyphs, petroglyphs, Sacred Books of 'Chilam Balam' and various ancient text. Carlos found some strong words for those who may have contributed to the confusion: 

Carlos Barrios: "Anthropologists visit the temple sites and read the inscriptions and make up stories about the Maya, but they do not read the signs correctly. It's just their imagination. Other people write about prophecy in the name of the Maya. They say that the world will end in December 2012. The Mayan elders are angry with this. The world will not end. It will be transformed." 

"We are no longer in the World of the Fourth Sun, but we are not yet in the World of the Fifth Sun. This is the time in-between, the time of transition. As we pass through transition there is a colossal, global convergence of environmental destruction, social chaos, war, and ongoing Earth Changes." 

He continues: "Humanity will continue, but in a different way. Material structures will change. From this we will have the opportunity to be more human. We are living in the most important era of the Mayan calendars and prophecies. All the prophecies of the world, all the traditions are converging now. There is no time for games. The spiritual ideal of this era is action." 

Carlos tells us: "The indigenous have the calendars and know how to accurately interpret it -- not others. The Mayan Calendars comprehension of time, seasons, and cycles has proven itself to be vast and sophisticated. The Maya understand 17 different calendars such as the Tzolk'in or Cholq'ij, some of them charting time accurately over a span of more than ten million years. 

"All was predicted by the mathematical cycles of the Mayan calendars. -- It will change --everything will change. Mayan Day-keepers view the Dec. 21, 2012 date as a rebirth, the start of the World of the Fifth Sun. It will be the start of a new era resulting from and signified by the solar meridian crossing the galactic equator and the Earth aligning itself with the center of the galaxy." 

At sunrise on December 21, 2012 for the first time in 26,000 years the Sun rises to conjunct the intersection of the Milky Way and the plane of the ecliptic. This cosmic cross is considered to be an embodiment of the Sacred Tree, The Tree of Life, a tree remembered in all the world's spiritual traditions.  

Some observers say this alignment with the heart of the galaxy in 2012 will open a channel for cosmic energy to flow through the Earth, cleansing it and all that dwells upon it, raising all to a higher level of vibration. Carlos reminds us: "This process has already begun. Change is accelerating now and it will continue to accelerate.  

If the people of the Earth can get to this 2012 date in good shape without having destroyed too much of the Earth, we will rise to a new, higher level. But to get there we must transform enormously powerful forces that seek to block the way." 

The date specified in the calendar Winter Solstice in the year 2012 does not mark the end of the world. Many outside people writing about the Mayan calendar sensationalize this date, but they do not know. The ones who know are the indigenous elders who are entrusted with keeping the tradition. 

Carlos tells us: "The economy now is a fiction. The first five-year stretch of transition from August 1987 to August 1992 was the beginning of the destruction of the material world. We have progressed ten years deeper into the transition phase by now, and many of the so-called sources of financial stability are in fact hollow. The banks are weak. This is a delicate moment for them. They could crash globally, if we don't pay attention. Now, people are paying attention." 

The North and South Poles are both breaking up. The level of the water in the oceans is going to rise. But at the same time land in the ocean, especially near Cuba, is also going to rise. Carlos tells a story about the most recent Mayan New Year ceremonies in Guatemala. He said that one respected Mam elder, who lives all year in a solitary mountain cave, journeyed to Chichicastenango to speak with the people at the ceremony. The elder delivered a simple, direct message. He called for human beings to come together in support of life and light. 

"Right now each person and group is going his or her own way. The elder of the mountains said there is hope if the people of the light can come together and unite in some way. We live in a world of polarity -- day and night, man and woman, positive and negative. Light and darkness need each other. They are a balance.

"Just now the dark side is very strong, and very clear about what they want. They have their vision and their priorities clearly held, and also their hierarchy. They are working in many ways so that we will be unable to connect with the spiral Fifth World in 2012." 

"On the light side everyone thinks they are the most important, that their own understandings, or their group's understandings, are the key. There's a diversity of cultures and opinions, so there is competition, diffusion, and no single focus." 

Carlos believes the dark side works to block unity through denial and materialism. It also works to destroy those who are working with the light to get the Earth to a higher level. They like the energy of the old, declining Fourth World, the materialism. They do not want it to change. They do not want unity. They want to stay at this level, and are afraid of the next level. 

The dark power of the declining Fourth World cannot be destroyed or overpowered. It's too strong and clear for that, and that is the wrong strategy. The dark can only be transformed when confronted with simplicity and open-heartedness. This is what leads to unity, a key concept for the World of the Fifth Sun. 

Carlos said the emerging era of the Fifth Sun will call attention to a much-overlooked element. Whereas the four traditional elements of Earth, Air, Fire and Water have dominated various epochs in the past, there will be a fifth element to reckon with in the time of the Fifth Sun --- that element is 'ETHER'. 

The dictionary defines Ether as a "hypothetical substance supposed to occupy all space, postulated to account for the propagation of electromagnetic radiation through space." Perhaps it could be defined as the "space between space". I would suggest it could be manifest as the alignment of charged particles from our solar system (Sun), and our galaxy (Milky Way) surge. The Ether element represents spiritual energy. 

"The element of the Fifth Sun is celestial. Within the context of Ether there can be a joining of the polarities. No more darkness or light in the people, but an uplifted unity. But right now the realm of darkness is not interested in this. They are organized to block it. They seek to unbalance the Earth and its environment so we will be unready for the alignment in 2012." 

"We need to work together for peace, and balance with the other side. We need to take care of the Earth that feeds and shelters us. We need to put our entire mind and heart into pursuing unity and unity now, to confront the other side and preserve life." 

"We are disturbed -- we can't play anymore. Our planet can be renewed or ravaged. Now is the time to awaken and take action. Everyone is needed. You are not here for no reason. Everyone who is here now has an important purpose. This is a hard but a special time. We have the opportunity for growth, but we must be ready for this moment in history." 

Carlos says: "The prophesied changes are going to happen, but our attitude and actions determine how harsh or mild they are. We need to act, to make changes, and to elect people to represent us who understand and who will take political action to respect the Earth." 

"Meditation and spiritual practice are good, but also action. It's very important to be clear about who you are, and also about your relation to the Earth. Develop yourself according to your own tradition and the call of your heart. But remember to respect differences, and strive for unity. Eat wisely --- a lot of food is corrupt in either subtle or gross ways. Pay attention to what you are taking into your body. Learn to preserve food, and to conserve energy. Learn some good breathing techniques, so you have mastery of your breath. Be clear. Follow a tradition with great roots. It is not important what tradition, your heart will tell you, but it must have great roots." 

"We live in a world of energy. An important task at this time is to learn to sense or see the energy of everyone and everything -- people, plants, animals. This becomes increasingly important as we draw close to the World of the Fifth Sun, for it is associated with the element 'ether' -- the realm where energy lives and weaves. Go to the sacred places of the Earth to pray for peace, and have respect for the Earth which gives us our food, clothing, and shelter. We need to reactivate the energy of these sacred places. That is our work." 

"One simple but effective prayer technique is to light white or baby-blue colored candles. Think of a moment in peace. Speak your intention to the flame and send the light of it on to the leaders who have the power to make war or peace."

Carlos reminds us this is a crucially important moment for humanity and for Earth. Each person is important.  

He said the elders have opened the doors so that other races can come to the Mayan world to receive the tradition. "The Maya have long appreciated and respected that there are other colors, other races, and other spiritual systems. They know that the destiny of the Mayan world is related to the destiny of the whole world." 

"The greatest wisdom is in simplicity. Love, respect, tolerance, sharing, gratitude, forgiveness. It's not complex or elaborate. The real knowledge is free. It's encoded in your DNA. All you need is within you. Great teachers have said that from the beginning. Find your heart, and you will find your way."

Click here to listen to El Vuh: Mayan Hip Hop

How to Build Your Own Cheap, Simple Solar Oven

"The “Minimum” Solar Box Cooker is a simple box cooker that can be built in a few hours for very little money. When this cooker was designed, it was named it the “Minimum Solar Box Cooker” because, at the time, it represented the simplest design we could devise. What we didn’t communicate with that name was that this is a full-power cooker that works very well, and is in no way minimum as far as its cooking power goes." Click Here to Read Full Article

After GMO Labeling Shot Down, Citizens Start Labeling Themselves

By Anthony Gucciardi- Published in Natural Society   

Activists and concerned citizens around the world have had enough with corrupt corporations censoring their right to know what’s in their food, and frankly they’re beyond upset. And if the government will not side with the 90 plus percentage of consumers who are in favor of GMO labeling, then they’re going to do it themselves.

Read more: http://naturalsociety.com/gmo-labeling-shot-down-citizens-labeling/#ixzz2CLNVFdGa

Activists and concerned citizens around the world have had enough with corrupt corporations censoring their right to know what’s in their food, and frankly they’re beyond upset. And if the government will not side with the 90 plus percentage of consumers who are in favor of GMO labeling, then they’re going to do it themselves.

As it turns out, many are doing just that through the ‘DIY’ GMO labeling campaign known as ‘The Label It Yourself Campaign’. Sporting a skull with cornstalks for crossbones, the DIY labels inform customers as to whether or not a product ‘may’ include GMO ingredients or most certainly does.

Below is one label taken from the campaign website that activists are now placing on products found in grocery stores, homes of friends and family (to incite discussion), and just about everywhere else:

People Will Not Stand for Corporate Food Lies Any Longer

With 80% or more of many staple crops like corn and soybeans already genetically modified, there is a large chance that most products containing these ingredients (or deriviatives) does indeed contain GMOs. Even more so for highly processed high-fructose corn syrup and other harmful ingredients which are arguably modified 100% of the time. You can print out the labels from the campaign website and stick them on products for yourself.

With a lack of real GMO labeling thanks to dirty tricks by pro-GMO groups like No on 37, grassroots initiatives are the only methods of alerting the public to what they are putting into their mouths. Pro-GMO campaigns have impersonated and illegally used the FDA seal, posed as phony cop and democrat groups, and poured more than $45 million into keeping consumers into the dark.

Now, citizens are fighting back through peaceful grassroots initiatives. As a picture from one Treehugger blog shows, consumers are honestly labeling processed foods across the shelves of international grocers: 

As for the legal aspect? The Label It Yourself Campaign states:

“At the moment, the law protects misinformation and private property above truth-telling, and public well-being…”

Meanwhile, corporations like Monsanto continue to pump out GMOs that have been time and time again linked to disease, environmental disaster, and even the center of ‘slave labor‘ issues. When government legislation is shot down through corruption, it becomes a grassroots responsibility to take action and make a real change.

Activists and concerned citizens around the world have had enough with corrupt corporations censoring their right to know what’s in their food, and frankly they’re beyond upset. And if the government will not side with the 90 plus percentage of consumers who are in favor of GMO labeling, then they’re going to do it themselves.

Read more: http://naturalsociety.com/gmo-labeling-shot-down-citizens-labeling/#ixzz2CLMAd9zy

Activists and concerned citizens around the world have had enough with corrupt corporations censoring their right to know what’s in their food, and frankly they’re beyond upset. And if the government will not side with the 90 plus percentage of consumers who are in favor of GMO labeling, then they’re going to do it themselves.

Read more: http://naturalsociety.com/gmo-labeling-shot-down-citizens-labeling/#ixzz2CLMAd9zy

Read more: http://naturalsociety.com/gmo-labeling-shot-down-citizens-labeling/#ixzz2CLMAd9zy

How Garbage is Becoming Our Next Source of Sustainable Energy

'Re-Nuble' is a startup that gives cities the ability to cut pollution and create their own sustainable energy. 

By now everyone has heard the startling statistic that over 40 percent of all food in the U.S. ends up in the trash. As landfills, and the greenhouse gas emissions they create, reach critical mass, a new need is opening up to discover all the ways we can turn trash into fuel. Starbucks is researching how to do it with their leftover pastries, aqua farms in Long Island are devising ways to do it with killer algae, and now one D.C.-based startup is hoping to do it with locally-sourced waste from small businesses.

Re-nuble is a for-profit social enterprise that promises to collect and reuse organic waste, including food and gardening trimmings. The Huffington Post reports that instead of dumping that garbage in a landfill, Re-Nuble will turn it into two different forms of energy― green energy that’s used for waste-free electricity consumption, and organic fertilizer used in sustainable farming.  Read Full Article Here.

How To Build A Bicycle Generator

"Building your own generator requires a number of items. A person, a bike, a way of supporting your bike off the ground, a motor, an energy smoothing system and an inverter if you want to use your bike generator to power mains equipment. Each of these parts needs to work efficiently in order to generate between 50 and 100 watts of usable energy for your generator..." Read Full Article Here.

Another Cool DIY Root Cellar Idea...

To make a nifty, mini root cellar right in the garden, simply bury a bucket and cover it with a straw bale.  For sweet, crisp carrots all winter, we always left them in the ground under a thick layer of leaves or straw to keep them from freezing. But going out in midwinter to dig carrots was not my idea of fun.

I wanted a better way to store the carrots, so I made a miniature root cellar right in the garden. First, I cut the bottom from a 5-gallon bucket. Then I dug a hole in the ground just big enough to hold the bucket with the top of it flush with the ground. I filled the bucket with just-dug carrots, placed the lid on the bucket and plopped a bale of straw on top for insulation.

The carrots stay sweet and crisp all winter — just as they did in the ground. -Mother Earth News

Plant Totems: Identifying Our Most Personal Herbal Ally by Jesse Wolf Hardin

 

 

Questions to ask yourself about potential Plant totems:

•Does it feel especially familiar, allied, relevant, related?
 

•Or significant, communicative, essential, momentous?
 

•Is there anything about its form, shape, color etc. that reminds you of yourself?
 

•Do you act on the world – or contribute to it – in any ways similar to how the observed plant does?
 

•Or do you respond similarly to stimuli, threat, reward, isolation, exposure, stress, nourishment or care?
 

•Has it been in your life for a long time, appearing again and again like someone seeking your attention?
 

•Or has it only fairly recently become significant in your life, but in a very dramatic, vital, extreme or timely way?
 

•Has it proven to be particularly potent medicine for a chronic ailment or imbalance of yours?
 

•Or has it been medicine for your emotional balance, helping you deal with especially difficult traumas or situations, to calm you enough to function or arouse you sufficiently to accomplish what needs to be accomplished?
 

•Do you find yourself thinking about it for no obvious or urgent reason?
 

•Or did it come to you in a vision, or appear to you in dreams?
 

•Does it feel like you have somehow dishonored or trivialized it, when you speak of it loosely, to those who may not care?
 

•When you have avoided it or ignored the thought of it for awhile, do you feel out of sorts, neglectful, unassisted or unmoored?
 

•Do you feel unreasonably relieved when reunited after a physical absence, or after a long period of not giving it any mind?

 

•Does it seem to ask anything of you, require response, point to a mission or calling, excite significant acts?

Click Here to Read Full Article...

How to make Lacto Fermented Garlic Dill Pickles

Today's homesteading activity is making Lacto-Fermented Kosher Dill Pickles!  So quick and easy to make and so healthy and delicious.  Goes great with just about anything...with any kind of burger or sandwich, cut up in a salad, as a snack, even with eggs in the morning.  Sometimes I will eat one just for the digestive enzymes after a heavy meal.  They are so yum!

These are some crazy weird new jars I got, long and thin, but they work great.  Pint and a half mason jars.  I got them by accident but they are actually really fun looking.  Anyway...Pickles!!!

Ingredients:

-Cucumbers:  As many that fit whole in the jar, or I also slice them in quarters.

-Sea Salt: I use about 1 1/2 teaspoons. You want the brine to taste salty but not overly salty.

-Dill (Dried or Fresh):  About 1 1/2 teaspoons.  I'm an eyeballer.  So any recipe you get from me, play with!  Just assess how much dill you want with your pickles!

-Raw Garlic: 2-3 cloves sliced

-Mustard Seeds: 1-2 teaspoons...Eyeball it! :)

-Filtered Water

Put cukes in jar.  Put the salt and spices in.  Fill with filtered water, cap well and shake to mix.  Let sit out at room temperature for 3-5 days, check them after 3 days and see if they are sufficiently pickley tasting!  Put in cold storage and enjoy!!!

 

For the guys...Rosemary Mint Shaving Cream!

 

How to make homemade shaving cream with coconut oil and shea butter that smells like delicious rosemary mint... Click Here For Recipe and Instructions.

How to make Lacto Fermented Beets and Beet Kvass

Lacto-fermentation is a method of preserving vegetables. The process uses no fuel or preservatives, and allows vegetables to retain nearly all their nutritional value. Fermentation by natural lactic-acid-bacteria was used long before freezing and modern canning became standard food preservation methods. Vinegar has replaced lactic acid in most vegetable pickling processes. Before the advent of modern refrigeration and freezing, fermentation, drying or smoking were the primary methods of food storage and preservation. Asian, Indian and South Pacific cultures still utilize lactic-acid fermentation to preserve fruits and vegetables.

Fermented foods are those that have been overgrown by edible micro-organisms. These foods are pleasant tasting or nutritionally advantageous to humans. Lacto-fermentation involves converting the fermentable sugars in food to lactic acid by any of a number of "Lactobacillus" or related organisms. Diced or shredded vegetables are submerged in cool water, along with a quantity of sea salt or canning salt. The vegetables are held under the water by a weight of non-reactive material. Fermentation from naturally occurring bacteria takes place in this environment, leading to a bubbling, effervescent effect in the liquid surrounding the vegetables. The resulting product is kept in cool storage, and eaten in its raw, fermented state. 

Lacto-fermented beet products include a beet-juice beverage called kvass. Beets soaked in filtered or spring water and sea salt creates Kvass. (Some use whey but I skip it). The drink is sometimes touted as a beneficial morning drink. Lacto-fermented beet juice retains the active probiotic cultures of lactic-acid micro-organisms after several weeks in cold storage. -Excerpts from Livestrong Article

How to make Pickled Beets and Beet Kvass: 

Makes approx. 1 Quart

3 Medium Sized Beets 

1 1/2 tsp Himalayan or Real Salt

Filtered Water

Seeds from two Cardomom pods or three cloves (optional for beets but skip for kvass)

1/2 Medium Onion (optional for beets but skip for kvass)

Chop the Beets (and onions if adding) into pieces as pictured above.  Place beets (and onions) into a well sterilized, wide mouthed, quart sized mason jar and press down lightly with a meat hammer or juicer pressure. Add salt (and spices if using) and fill jar with filtered water, enough to cover the beets.  The top of the beets should be at least 1 inch below the top of the jar.   Cover tightly and turn up and down several times to mix, then open and press the beets down again so they are below the water.  Cover tightly again and keep at room temperature for about 3 days before transferring to cold storage.  During the three day process if you notice the beets rising above the water open and press below water, and then close tightly again.

For Kvass, just remove the beets...and drink the liquid!  One four ounce glass, morning and night, is an excellent blood tonic, cleanses the liver, and is great for digestion and maintaining healthy intestinal flora. 

And here is a magical recipe I found for Citrus Ginger Beet Kvass! OMG.

Enjoy and have fun Lacto-fermenting!!!

Five Wild Foods That Are Hiding In Plain Sight

"I specifically asked John Kallas, director of Wild Food Adventures in Portland, for a list of wild foods that are often overlooked. I mean, I love chanterelles and blackberries, but I’d also like to branch out a little.

Kallas is the author of Edible Wild Plants: Wild Foods From Dirt To Plate. It’s the first volume in a series of wild food books he plans to publish. He’s spent decades studying wild foods and applying his Ph.D in nutrition to them. Now he teaches at wild food workshops and events.

And he had no shortage of suggestions for under-appreciated wild foods I should try. However, I was surprised to find that, well, they’re all weeds: Dandelions, goosefoot, garlic mustard, chickweed, and broad-leaf dock. They’re super nutritious, he said, and you can find them anywhere you find people.

“Other people might call them weeds,” he said. “I call these plants native to humans. They grow where we are. Weeds is a diminutive term, and a lot of these plants are better nutritionally than some of the domesticated ones. They’re right under our noses. They’re everywhere, and most people don’t even know about them. They grow in your garden. You’re probably weeding them out.”

Let’s take them one at a time..." Click Here to Read Full Article

Fukushima Updates...

 

Sky-high levels of radioactivity in fish from Fukushima means inedible seafood for at least a decade.

"Scientists were shocked to learn recently that levels of ionizing radiation in sea life living off the eastern coast of Japan are still exceptionally high following the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck the region back in March 2011. And according to a new paper published in the journal Science, which draws on a myriad of data collected by the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), the discovery could mean that seafood from Japan will be inedible for at least the next decade.

Since the disaster first occurred, researchers from Japan have been routinely catching and analyzing sample fish from the waters near the Fukushima Prefecture, which became tainted by radioactive runoff from damaged cooling pools and failed reactors following the disaster. The goal has been to continually test fish in the area to see whether or not levels of radioactive isotopes have fallen since the time earlier tests were conducted, which were verified at the time to be in excess of federal limits.

Much to the team’s surprise, radiation levels were found to still be about the same as they were before, indicating that either the Fukushima plant is still leaking radioactive materials, or that these radioactive materials have been accumulating at the ocean’s bottom, where fish continue to become exposed to them. In either case, cod, flounder, halibut, pollock, skate, sole, and various other bottom-feeding fish living in the area are likely unsafe for human consumption for at least the next ten years."  Read Full Article Here

Many massive pools of contaminated water are spread around Fukushima plant.  

 

“Water works well for this system since it has a very high capacity … and can be treated if it is contaminated,” said Angie Moore, associate professor of geology. “However, when there is a reactor accident like at the Fukushima, the systems that prevent nuclear contamination of the cooling water have failed and there is direct contact between the water and the radioactive material.” Read Full Article Here

6.0 magnitude earthquake strikes the southern coastline of Chile

 

A shallow 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Aisen, Chile at the shallow depth of 9.7 km (6.0 miles). No tsunami warnings were issued for the region, and there have been no reports of damage. The earthquake struck the southern coastline of Chile and the epicenter was 338 km (210 miles) W of Puerto Chacabuco, Chile. This is the fourth major earthquake to strike the planet in 48 hours. -TEP

DIY Dehydrated Egg Powder & Hamburger Rocks For Long Term Storage

Dehydrated Egg Powder

 

Unbeknownst to many people, eggs can in fact be stored (up to 10 years if stored correctly) in the form of dehydrated egg powder — perfect for bug-out bags, camping trips and long-term food storage.

They can be used in baked goods just like normal eggs or reconstituted and made into fluffy scrambled eggs.

Here’s how you can do it at home:
-A food dehydrator

-Eggs
-Something to store the powder in when complete

 Click Here to Read Full Article

Dehydrated Hamburger Rocks for Long Term Meat Storage 

 

 

This is a great way to store hamburger for long periods of time or as a portable hiking component of meals. Once prepared it only requires a cool, dry place safe from pests. If properly prepared and stored, they can last up to two years. Rehydrated as needed, Hamburger Rocks are perfect for tacos, spaghetti sauce, hamburger helper, tamale pie, lasagna and any other recipes calling for lean ground beef. You can start with regular ground hamburger but ground rump and pot roast yields a slightly superior product. My advice is to make your first batch with regular ground hamburger then try other combination as your budget, sales and tastes dictate. If you’re feeling truly experimental, you can try hunting/game animals such as rabbit and venison. These are generally much leaner than domesticated stock so be sure to let us know how it turns out.

Click Here to Read Full Article

70% of Venice Underwater - Major Flooding in Haiti

70% of Venice slips underwater in the worst flooding in 140 years

 

     People sit at a table in flooded St Mark's Square in Venice, Italy Photograph: Luigi Costantini/AP

"High water measuring 1.49 metres (5ft) above the normal level of the Adriatic sea came with bad weather that swept Italy at the weekend, causing floods in historic cities including Vicenza as well in the region of Tuscany 250 miles further south.

Venice's high water, or "acqua alta", said to be the sixth highest since 1872, flooded 70% of the city and was high enough to make raised wooden platforms for pedestrians float away. The record high water in Venice – 1.94 metres in 1966 – prompted many residents to abandon the city for new lives on the mainland...." Read Full Article Here 

 Floods claim as many as 16 lives in Haitian city

 

   

"Flood waters inundated impoverished areas of Cap Haitien, Haiti's second largest city, killing as many as 16 people, including three children, city officials said Friday.

 "The city has been struck by disaster. There are many dead and major damage. All the populous areas are flooded," Cap Haitien Mayor Wilborde Beon told AFP by telephone.

Beon said many people had to be rescued and given shelter from the high waters, which swept through the northern city Thursday night amid heavy rains in the region.

"The entrance to the city is completely flooded, all the rivers and ravines are swollen," he said, appealing for aid and support.

Preliminary estimates put the number of dead at 16, most of them when their homes collapsed in the flooding and heavy rains, the city's police chief, Kenel Pierre, told AFP..." Read Full Article Here

Magnitude 6.4 earthquake: Gulf of Alaska

"Strong earthquake with recorded magnitude 6.4 struck Gulf of Alaska on November 12, 2012 at 20:42 UTC according to USGS. Epicenter was located 289 km (180 miles) SW (221°) from Yakutat, AK and 370 km (230 miles) SSE (153°) from Cordova, AK at coordinates 57.544°N, 142.889°W. Recorded depth was 55.2 km (34.3 miles). EMSC also reported magnitude 6.4 but depth of only 2 km.
No tsunami warning was issued...."  Read Full Article Here

Berkey Water Filters Provide Clean, Fresh Drinking Water At Home and In Disaster Relief

"With bottled water and potable tap water both so readily available in developed countries, it’s easy to take clean drinking water for granted. But when natural disasters strike, one of the first things to sell out on store shelves is bottled water, and running water may be either turned off or compromised by pollutants. Domestic water purifying pitchers and faucet filters are perfectly fine for every day use, but most of them simply weren’t designed to filter untreated water like the kind you may need to drink in emergency situations. Unlike those other off-the-shelf, refrigerator-sized water filters, Big Berkey water filters were actually made to purify water from untreated sources like remote lakes, streams and stagnant ponds and are used by relief organizations such as UNICEF, the Peace Corps, and the Red Cross. They use a much more powerful filtration system that removes harmful pathogenic bacteria, cysts, parasites, and unhealthy chemical contaminants such as chlorine to levels higher than 99.99%, a capability that would be invaluable to your family in a disaster situation where you were unable to secure clean water..." Click Here to Read the Full Article

How To Make an Electricity-Free Refrigerator

"Conventional refrigeration does an incredible job keeping food fresh. But that technology hasn't helped desert dwellers without steady electricity. A more recent development in refrigeration—the Zeer pot-in-pot refrigerator—only requires water, sand, and a hot, dry climate to preserve produce through evaporative cooling. Here's how to make the simple gadget..." Click Here to Read Full Article 

First US Wild Foods and Medicinals Market to Open in Asheville NC

 "Wildcrafters from around the region are planning to converge weekly to sell edible and medicinal mushrooms, and plants...The market will  include wild foods education and foraging classes, as well as providing a weekly community space to come meet local foraging experts to answer questions or to help identify wild mushrooms, medicinals and foods. No exact date has yet been finalized for the eventual opening of the market, but it is expected to begin in the spring, and run for nine months out of the year..."

...Click Here to Continue Reading Article

Evacuation and Emergency Preparedness

Update: November 2012 

As I prepare myself and speak with friends and family going through one natural disaster after the next, this list grows and becomes more thorough.  I have been updating this very blog post for over two years now, moving it to this new site in September. Because of all that is happening on our planet right now, I have felt this a really important step to take for myself, and am posting this for those who might find it useful.

It seems wise to prepare your evacuation kit, as well as a stay at home emergency plan, especially if you live in more volatile areas such as earthquake zones, coastal areas, flood zones, near volcanoes etc.  But since things have been so unpredictable, best to be prepared wherever you are.  As climate and earth changes escalate, there will be mass evacuations, migrations and lifestyle changes both in the short and long term. As most of you know by now, this is already happening around the world.  Please keep aware and be prepared.

Ready.gov | "World Upside Down" 

Where you will go if you evacuate, will depend on the circumstances.  It could be a large temporary shelter, a tent camp, or Fema housing for the longer term.  If you can stay with a friend or family member in a safe area, or are an experienced camper all the better.  If you can stay at home, there are many ways to be prepared.  In big picture land, intentional communities and eco-villages are good places to investigate.  As our social and economic structures are breaking down along with our changing earth, it will be most useful to live with others cooperatively, who are focused on sharing resources and who have knowledge of how to live self-sufficiently, off the grid. If community life isn't for you, then consider relocating to a safer area and making your home and property self sufficient/ off-grid ready. 
 
Evacuation and Emergency Preparedness: 

1) General Evacuation: If preparing to evacuate or living in Earthquake/Tsunami zones (where you have little to no warning), you can keep many of the following items near your car (in your garage or somewhere close by), in a box or plastic bin that you can just grab in an emergency.  Keep some essentials in your car, in case you can not get home.  If you have an RV or leisure van, another idea is to stock it up ahead of time and take the fully equipped vehicle with you to your evacuation site.

2) Gas and Electricity:  If a looming disaster is approaching and you think you may need to evacuate, keep your vehicle's gas tank full, making especially sure to top it off when returning home at the end of each day.  If you have the capability to store gas, store enough for another full tank. If you are preparing for a possible electricity outage, consider buying a generator. One option people consider, is having a generator professionally installed that will turn itself on when the power goes out. These automatic generators usually run on existing underground gas lines from the city or town, same as your stove-top and/or clothes dryer. As long as the city keeps pumping natural gas throughout your town, these generators will continue to run. But they are reliant on the pumps and machinery that the town uses to send the gas through the system. Plus, the source of natural gas is fracking, which many recognize as extremely dangerous to human health and the natural world.

Small solar/battery systems, consisting of photovoltaic panels, deep cycle batteries and an inverter to turn the DC current into AC household current are another option. It's an investment but once it's set up, there's no fuel to purchase, handle or refill, no motor oil to mix with the fuel and no exhaust smoke or loud engine noise. Diesel generators are more efficient than gasoline, but they are more expensive to purchase. Diesel generators are a good option though, considering that gas will be in high demand and most likely, there will be rationing and shortages in a longer term, more serious situation, (as we are seeing now with Superstorm Sandy).  Diesel generators can run on biofuels, like biodiesel made from reclaimed cooking oil, and can even be operated on pure vegetable oil if it's been sufficiently heated before it's sent into the engine. There are a number of fuels that will work in a diesel generator.
 
3) Water: Keep at least 5-7 gallons of drinking water (per person) stored at home or in your car, or close enough to your car that you can grab it in a hurry.   Make sure you have some for washing as well. You can purchase a water bottle with a spigot, to have running water for hand washing.  Also make sure to have water purification tablets, a water bottle with a filtration unit, a portable water filtration unit or a small pot to boil water.  Over the shoulder water bottle carriers can also come in handy if you have to walk or hike some distance.  Fill up your bathtub for toilet flushing if you know you may lose water. In a pinch you can also filter this water and use it for drinking.  Losing water can happen if you have an electric well pump or if municipal water becomes contaminated.  In the case of an electric well pump, consider solar backup for your well, or a hand pump.   

Water Boiling: 
Step one: Find a clean, non contaminated source of water.
Step two: Filter water through a cloth or coffee filter.
Step three: Boil for one minute. If you are at a high elevation, boil for 3-5 minutes, since water boils faster at higher elevations.
 
4) Food: Canned foods (tuna, chicken, soups, stews, beans, fruits, veggies) jerky, rice cakes, other non-perishable packaged goods that you don’t have to heat up.  Bring or have stored at home enough food for at least five-seven days per person.  Also, pet food if you have a pet.  Also forks, spoons, a knife to cut with, drinking cups or thermos, small pot if you are cooking, paper plates, (I use all biodegradable), a few rolls of paper towels, a sponge. And make sure to have a can opener!
 
5) Cooking: Small propane camping stove, wood-gas/ rocket stove, or solar cooker if you want to be able to cook. Also small camping axe, matches, lighters, and a magnesium fire starter.  You can use whatever kindling and wood is around with the wood gas/ rocket stoves.  That is my preference, because it is fast, and does not rely on fuels, batteries, or electricity, which may not be available.

6) Bathing and Personal Hygiene: Solar or battery powered showers are handy for washing.  Dr Bronner’s soap is an excellent choice for all purpose washing, and is non toxic and biodegradable.  Aluminum free baking soda and coconut oil used together make an excellent natural deodorant and baking soda can also be used for washing and for other cleaning purposes.  Also of course toothbrush, toothpaste dental floss, shampoo and conditioner, coconut oil (for deodorant or moisturizer), crystal stick deodorant, maxi-pads/ tampons, condoms/ birth control.

7) Bathroom needs: First of course bring or have many rolls of toilet paper. 
In the case of a flood, you may be unable to flush your toilets if your municipal sewage system stops functioning. Prepare for this by buying a small portable camping toilet with disposable bags; you can use this both at home or in an evacuation situation. Also a traveling plastic urinal, is good to have.  

Flushing the toilet without running water:
Use the water that you filled your bathtub with. Open the tank.  Pour in about 1 quart to 1 gallon, depending on how much there is to flush.  Then flush as normal. (Only can do this with working sewage)
  
8) First Aid kit: band-aids, first aid gauze, medical tape, tweezers, prepared alcohol pads, tea tree oil, magnets (for injuries), advil, rescue remedy, arnica, echinacea/ goldenseal, yin chiao, zan gan ling, old Indian wild cherry bark syrup, electrolytes, potassium iodide tablets and/ or natural potassium iodine supplements, comfrey salve (or other healing salves), rubbing alcohol pads, tweezers, aloe vera gel, whatever you think you might need. (I use mostly natural medicines).

9 ) Communications: Hand cranked or Solar powered Emergency radio and your cell phone.  Many of these new emergencies radios also have a place to charge your cell phone and can be used as a flashlight.  See blog post about Wood Powered Emergency Camping Stoves for another cell phone charging option.
 
10) Sleeping, Clothing, Warmth: Have a good tent ready, a warm blanket or sleeping bag, camping mats, pillow, an outfit or two of both warm and cold weather clothes, comfortable weather appropriate shoes, extra socks, underwear, a warm coat, raincoat, towel, etc.  A bucket from the hardware store comes in handy for hand washing clothes.  You can use baking soda for cleaning clothes or apple cider vinegar.  Mylar emergency blankets are very important. They can be used for keeping warm if you are stuck in a white out on the highway, or need to sleep in your car in colder weather.  They can also be used to insulate your car, so bring tape as well. Foil tape is my favorite choice. Tarps are always good to have, and some rope.  Scissors are necessary or a good knife in the case of needing to cut rope.
 
11) Special needs: Supplements, herbs, medications, stuff for baby or child or elderly person, if you have a chronic illness or a disability whatever essentials you need to have on hand.

12) Odds and Ends: Flashlights, headlamps, lanterns, extra batteries, paraffin free candles, compass, disposable vinyl gloves, all weather work gloves, travel size sewing kit, safety pins, swiss army knife, plastic ziplock bags, basic survival book, book of local edible wild foods and medicines, natural sunscreen, playing cards, favorite book, mason jars, foil tape and aluminum foil (for people with MCS), small wood cutting axe, hemp twine, duct tape, sunglasses, sun hat., safety whistle, signal mirror, fishing line and hooks,

13) Respirator masks: In case the air quality is greatly compromised or you are around other’s who are ill.  You can get paper ones from any medical supply store, or respirators from a store like Grainger’s or Lab Safety Supply.  Also consider getting an air purifier for your car, especially if you are prone to being more sensitive to contaminated or polluted air.

14) Cash and Valuables: Have cash on hand. Also put in one place, any valuables that you would want to take in a hurry, or know ahead of time where and what they are.

15) Important Documents: Make sure to have all your important documents with you and any special photos.  Passport, driver’s license, registration, insurance, social security card, birth certificate, car title, wedding or children’s photos…etc.

16) Prepare to be off the grid: Print this list out in case you can not get on-line.  Bring your cell phone, charger, and gps, but be prepared with maps and directions in case the grid goes down, and print out multiple evacuation itineraries in case roads are closed, heavily trafficked or blocked… bring your laptop, but same goes for the grid going down, backup your files on a zip or external hard drive.

Good luck and be prepared!  The best thing that can happen is nothing happens and you were prepared.  The worst thing that can happen is that something happens and you’re not prepared.  So… you have nothing to lose.

Please feel free to add suggestions if I missed something!!!
 
Click here: Preparing For Earth Changes 101 for an overall view of how to best prepare for Earth Changes.

And please click here: Earth Changes Network Store to shop for relevant and necessary Emergency Preparation supplies!  Your purchases through our site helps keep us going!

  Here is the FEMA website for Emergency Preparedness, with overall support as well as guidance on how to prepare for specific natural disasters. http://www.ready.gov/

In the spirit of Peace and Change~

ECN 
*Thanks to Earth Changes Network members for all of their contributions to this article.* 
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