LOCAL SEEDLESS ORANGE, HAIKU, MAUIGarden and health enthusiasts, take note: The Hawaii Health Guide's 2008 Hawaii Healing Garden Festival comes to Maui on Saturday, September 27th. To be held on the campus of Maui Community College, the event is seeking booths and vendors with a variety of interests, including gardening resources and plant growers, local organic food, herbal and cultural medicines, alternative energy resources, and much more. Early registration for booths by this Friday receive a $50 discount.
Community events such as this are wonderful opportunities to network with others dedicated to supporting more locally grown food. But if you are looking for a way to find inspiration in the comfort of your very own home, consider renting The Real Dirt On Farmer John from Netflix or your local video store. This video is a winner. It chronicles the story of an Illinois farm boy who evolves from, "counter-culture rebel to a beacon of today's booming organic farm movement and founder of one of the nation's largest Community Supported Agriculture farms."
In the end, he is instrumental in helping to save his family's farm from the trend of selling out to big agribusiness or development interests. I give it two green thumbs up!!
Are you hip to Slow Food Nation? This non-profit organization has caught on like wildfire, and is the greatest thing since the Bacon Double-Cheeseburger. Last weekend, 60,000 people participated in their annual conference in San Francisco. Big time partners include Rodale Press (publishers of Organic Gardening, Prevention, Runner's World, Men's Health, etc.), Whole Foods, and more. Their Slow Food Nation blog may be one of the most attractive blogs you will see, and contains a cornucopia of information of interest.
Heard a lot about the controversy of growing food versus fuel, as in biofuel crops for ethanol or biodiesel? You may be interested in reading this Maui News story on possibilities of growing sorghum as an energy crop by Hawaii BioEnergy LLC. We used to grow sorghum on my brother's certified organic farm in SW Wisconsin, and would hand harvest the cane and take it to a local processor who would cook the cane juice into sorghum syrup. But, in many parts of the world, the seed heads are harvested and ground into flour. So, perhaps there may be possibilities for food AND fuel. It serves all of us to carefully review our renewable energy options, usage of our ag lands and water resources (sorghum uses one third the water of sugar cane), and our best options for growing local food.
Finally, we invite your input for ways to help connect like-minded food activists throughout the Hawaiian Islands, and beyond! Please share this blog with those in your `ohana, and let us know what resources, ideas, and support you may be seeking. We'd love to hear your comments.
In good health, peace,
ROB
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