Waking up into another cold, rainy morning I am still excited to once again begin my trek into knowledge. After breakfast we had a Plenary Session where Amigo eulogized and praised those fighters for sustainability who have passed in the last year. I can’t say that I knew any of these people nor really know much beyond what I heard today of their exploits, but admire each and every one very deeply.
One of the speakers for this morning, Will Allen of Milwaukee, was unable to make it due to snow on the Grapevine. It seems ironic for a Midwesterner to be snowed out of an event in California. So that left only three people to speak as “Successful Organic Farmers”. The first were Chuck and Lily Boerner of Hawaii. They had a wonderful presentation including photos to make even the most spoiled Southern Califonian jealous of their residence. They spoke of family, respect, and love of the land, farming, and each other. They really represent what family farming is and should always be. They also talked about their style of farming which they call “intuitional farming”. They listen to the land, the wind, the rain, and the plants to find where each plant wants to be. To see their beautiful farm check out www.onofarms.com
The next speaker was Tony Azevedo who is a dairy farmer from Stevinson, CA. He spoke from humility and humanity. He spoke of his family in a way that put tears in everyone’s eyes. He philosophized a bit talking about how part of today’s problems with young boys in particular is that there is no right of passage anymore. Nothing seemingly dangerous that is acceptable within our current norms that signifies the change from adolescence into manhood. He also spoke of the need to be honest with those you owe. He may not have always been able to make every payment on time but he always was up front and honest with his lender and let them know why and what he was doing to rectify the situation before it was past due. He didn’t need to duck calls or lie to avoid collectors — he was straight forward and honest. Tony ended by giving his tidbits to success which I will post at another time.
My first workshop of the day was on Permaculture in the Public Interest. It was given by Penny Livingston Stark and James Stark of the Regenerative Design Institute. Penny spoke first of what permaculture is and the ethics that it encompasses. She followed that with the trail they have followed as a community to achieve the success that has occurred in West Marin County. She relayed how the community has developed a strong bond with each other to achieve common goals and formed groups that have grown to not help just farmers but everyone.
James followed with a more spiritual based discussion of what is needed emotionally to achieve these successes. He brought across some very helpful ideas and some guidelines to practice in how we look at our world. An example is instead of saying “Why didn’t they plant trees when they did that job?” we should be saying “They did that job but wouldn’t it be great if we planted trees there as well?” He also talked of how our society suffers from Nature Deficit Disorder. An idea that should be self explanatory.
The second workshop of the day was “Nature Friendly Farming” which ended up being mostly a powerpoint tour of three farms that are using techniques such as hedgerows, riparian habitat, ponds, and native plants to not only improve the environment on and around their farms but that also provide habitat that increases their sustainability. The line that stuck with me the most was from John Anderson who said that overall we are not really sustainable. We only have islands of sustainability.
My last workshop of the day was “Education as a Tool to Encourage Customer Loyalty”. This was geared to my work in the retail sector but definitely brought out some information that will be useful as we are able to create the educational component of our vision.
The evening started with a mixer hosted by the Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF) who promote the “Buy Fresh, Buy Local” campaign. It was a packed house with everyone enjoying the local beer and wine and tasty appetizers. It was a great place to network and talk to other attendees on a more social level.
Dinner was a fantastic mix of delicious food (including my favorite bread — Irish soda bread) and enlightening conversation. Tonight’s dinner really seemed to exemplify what meal should be. They should be sit down events that aren’t hurried, with quality food and drink, and conversation with friends. To try and recount all the different topics we covered in one form or another would be about as easy as nailing jello to a tree. The conversation continued beyond dinner and long enough into the night — where any ideas of hearing the band that was playing at the large hall were replaced by thoughts of a cozy fire and relaying my day to you.
Doug