I was recently invited to be a guest on Slow Living Radio, and talk about my experience traveling with Ritual Coffee Roasters down to Honduras. One of the hosts, Sally James, is a long time customer at our store in Napa (in the Oxbow Public Market), and asked me to come share about my experience visiting several of the farms that we source coffee from.
It was a great time to reflect a bit on how amazing this trip was, and what a special relationship we get to have with our producers at Ritual. I talked about picking coffee cherries at Los Manos, and about how the cherries are processed. I tried my best to convey the impact that this beautiful journey had in my work life, and beyond.
We rarely get to track the things that we consume back to the source. To touch that land, the process and to share with those people… is unique, and powerful. So many images stick in my mind, as well as all the laughs that I shared with my co-workers/friends.
Life feels like it is unfolding… and I am finally catching glimpses of how it is all connected. TreeBed Design is rooted in all of these connections, and I am excited to watch as it pushes up through the soil to see the light of these days.
Showing posts with label farm. Show all posts
Showing posts with label farm. Show all posts
Friday, August 1, 2014
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Slow Money
Tonight Josh and I had the opportunity to go down to the Ecology Center (Berkeley), and listen to Woody Tasch talk about his new book, Inquiries Into the Nature of Slow Money: Investing as If Food, Farms, and Fertility Mattered. The book (which I will soon be reading) is in some ways the large brochure for what he is involved with at the Slow Money Alliance.
This event seemed to be timely food for thought in regards to conversations Josh and I have had about root coffee. I asked Woody about how his organization's goals (which is focused on changing the way we think about money... and where we send it) fit into the world of small business entrepreneurs who want to remain local and small (thinking... Small is Beautiful here)? "Slow Money" envisions communities that have avenues for people to invest in their community... rather than invest in markets supporting systems that slowly (or sometimes quickly) erode (destroy) our very existence (yup, I said it). His answer was less about the structures that would be used to help those entrepreneurs, and more about the need to change the conversation... a conversation that would include not only how much money an investor can make, but also what kind of social return is that investor going to see in his or her community from that business.
One of the standout lines of the night was something to the effect of equating GMO (genetically modified) food, to the crazy financial derivatives that have caused so much damage in the current economy. Think about it... those derivatives were created to minimize risk and maximize return (yield)... just like GMOs were created to do the same for our food system. What will the global crash of the food systems look like if we experience the same sort of downward spiral? You can't print more food... SCARY?!? Yes. However, there are ways to begin to fix this... NOW! Go find a CSA ... by joining a CSA (community supported agriculture) you are investing in your local food systems. Problem solved. Ok, maybe not all problems... but it is a damn good start (and it will taste good too). The point is... know where your food comes from, know where your money goes... make your community a happier/healthier place to live. I don't know many people (ok, ANY people) who feel like they are safe, and/or taken care of by this current economy... we CAN have economies of scale (local, bioregional) that work with people (and planet) as a part of the equation (not just something to extract from). The idea of a Slow Money movement can help us create healthy (and even enjoyable) economies for our communities... go find a farm and help make it happen soon.
This event seemed to be timely food for thought in regards to conversations Josh and I have had about root coffee. I asked Woody about how his organization's goals (which is focused on changing the way we think about money... and where we send it) fit into the world of small business entrepreneurs who want to remain local and small (thinking... Small is Beautiful here)? "Slow Money" envisions communities that have avenues for people to invest in their community... rather than invest in markets supporting systems that slowly (or sometimes quickly) erode (destroy) our very existence (yup, I said it). His answer was less about the structures that would be used to help those entrepreneurs, and more about the need to change the conversation... a conversation that would include not only how much money an investor can make, but also what kind of social return is that investor going to see in his or her community from that business.
One of the standout lines of the night was something to the effect of equating GMO (genetically modified) food, to the crazy financial derivatives that have caused so much damage in the current economy. Think about it... those derivatives were created to minimize risk and maximize return (yield)... just like GMOs were created to do the same for our food system. What will the global crash of the food systems look like if we experience the same sort of downward spiral? You can't print more food... SCARY?!? Yes. However, there are ways to begin to fix this... NOW! Go find a CSA ... by joining a CSA (community supported agriculture) you are investing in your local food systems. Problem solved. Ok, maybe not all problems... but it is a damn good start (and it will taste good too). The point is... know where your food comes from, know where your money goes... make your community a happier/healthier place to live. I don't know many people (ok, ANY people) who feel like they are safe, and/or taken care of by this current economy... we CAN have economies of scale (local, bioregional) that work with people (and planet) as a part of the equation (not just something to extract from). The idea of a Slow Money movement can help us create healthy (and even enjoyable) economies for our communities... go find a farm and help make it happen soon.
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