Haiti- ways to help

Looking at the situation in Haiti enables me to realise how fragile our lives are and how much we take nature for granted. It is heart wrenching to see children and adults being buried in rubble from crumbling buildings.

Human beings are resourceful with aid organisations set up for these scenarios that seem to take on biblical proportions.

Here at home we have found simple ways to reach out :

Donations from regular contributions in our charity account can be used for occasions such as this. Following Janine Bolon's suggestion to give 10% to charity, we use the Charities Aid Foundation to make a regular contribution. Now that we have a focus on Haiti, a click of a button sends the money towards aid that is needed.

The children's schools are raising funds in their own way by holding a uniform free day for which each childs pays a fee and another school is raising money to purchase Shelter boxes that enable 10 people to survive for a long period of time out of the contents of the box. The village wassail night shared its proceeds between a children's hospice and Save the Children with a specific focus on Haiti. You can choose between individual charities or direct funds to the Disasters Emergency Committee ( DEC).

All sales from Amazon books, DVDs. CD's ( through Magpie), and ebay sales are diverted towards Haiti and whatever we spend on a given day will be matched by a contribution to charity. The day remains secret otherwise family members may not spend anything but at the end of that day, all receipts will be accounted for. Sometimes adversity provides opportunities to share with our children how we can turn a feeling of helplessness into action so that a hand can be reached out to those who need it most.

' Courage does not always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying.' I will try again tomorrow.'
Mary Anne Radmacher

Come out, come out whoever you are?

In the midst of the snow we also had a small hazard appear in the shop.While I was mopping the floor my foot simply disappeared into a hole the size of a dinner plate. Not a good thing in a shop!
On further investigation by the man who came to fill the hole, a stash of walnuts was discovered and a nice set of oak leaves, a few corridors going in different directions. So who could this mystery escapee be?


Squirrel Nutkin is probably hibernating and lack of food must have directed him to very old passages underground. Where better to keep your produce for winter than underneath the village shop. Rumor has it that squirrels can burrow up to 160 m from their base tree but alas no more escapes will be made this way. The hole has been filled with concrete and when summer arrives, the area will be excavated and secured.

So are you lurking somewhere in the ether? Why not make yourself visible with a comment. Let me know what interest brings you to this blog and if  you have a blog, leave a link as  I would love to read it.

What vegetables to grow in the garden?

No matter how small or how big your plot it can be daunting to decide what you are going to grow.
Much depends on where you are situated on the globe, what hardiness growing zone you are situated in. This will help determine what plants are most likely to survive in your climate band. Our  garden is situated in hardiness zone 8 meaning that the lowest average temperature is - 7C. It does not mean that we can grow olives but it does mean that our soil may warm up quicker than in other places in the UK.

Having established which zone you live in a trip to the local garden centre and visiting local gardens will give you an indication of what you can grow in your climate.

My first list is made up of the vegetables that can be produced in our climate:
Potatoes
salad leaves
chard, spinach and broad beans
courgettes
borlotti beans
peas
globe artichoke
asparagus
spinach
leeks, onions and garlic
butternut squash and pumpkins
sweetcorn
french and runner beans
carrots
beetroot
florence fennel
cabbages, broccoli, brussels sprouts


With heat the following could be grown :

tomatoes
cucumbers
courgette
peppers
chillies
tender herbs such as basil and chervil
aubergines

Secondly, I have a list of foods that we eat regularly as well as vegetables that are produced by local farmers  such as asparagus, onions and potatoes. I will still grow a small amount of these such as small tasty carrots, salad potatoes, spring onions, but not vast quantities as I am limited on space. It is however important to include them in small measures for diversity and the nutrients they bring to the garden.

My vegetable plot is allocated to 4 categories :
50% are vegetables we eat daily and weekly ( i.e. salad leaves)
30% are vegetables that we eat 2 or 3 times per week ( i.e. potatoes, carrots, onions, peas, beans)
20% are vegetables that we eat every couple of weeks or are more specialised ( pumpkins, sweetcorn, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc)

The above gives an indication of what  we can grow, how much space in the garden will be allocated to that produce to avoid gluts of items we will not eat.

I like growing vegetables that are best eaten freshly picked from the garden and give my tastebuds an explosion such as tomatoes, salad leaves, herbs, sweetcorn and cucumbers that in general are quite tasteless in shops. 



( broadbean seedlings - January 2010)

Resources

Garden action provides a tool to set your town in the UK and it will then produce a vegetable gardening calendar for each month based on your area.

My interest lies in edible plants and Plants for a Future has an interesting selection of unusual plants that could be used in the garden.

What fruits to grow in the garden follows in a few days.

A relationship with coffee - part 2

The second part of the sustainable business model.



So where do your coffee come from?

A relationship with coffee - part 1

Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.

St Exupery

Today's reflection is on St Exupery's words and how they relate to the simple act of enjoying a cup of coffee. It looks simple but in fact the chain of events to bring you that cup of coffee are immense and full of buying decisions we need to understand together with its worldwide implications. Before I savour my cup of coffee, do I really know how it got created in the first place?

Many gadgets were created to provide solutions to tasks that were being achieved manually, changing the world gradually towards mechanisation. Personally, I am unravelling some of the mechanical operations being done in the home in a bid to increase my personal productivity and use the time available to create a better relationship between the elements it presents. Knowing more about where coffee comes from instead of accepting the instant jar enables me to make decisions with regards to the outcome of my cup of coffee.

The gadgets required to provide a cup of coffee are staggering.

Ever since coffee was taken as a beverage, roasting grinding and leaching comprise the trio of essential preparation stages, prior to consumption, irrespective of where and how they are carried out.

Soluble coffee turned out to be a truly global phenomenon .It occurred in Guatemala, home of some of the world's great Arabica origins. A George Washington, born in Belgium of English parents and bearing the same name as the first President of the U.S.A, happened to notice a deposit building up under the spout of his sterling silver coffee pot. He tasted the deposit to find that it possessed real coffee flavour corresponding to origin and blend of beans blend he was drinking. His chance observation has not only made soluble coffee possible, but the core science and basic mechanics of what happened over 100 years ago are used today by soluble coffee manufacturers. They capture the entire soluble fraction of roast coffee beans in a highly concentrated solution of liquid soluble coffee and subsequently evaporate off the water using spray drying or freeze drying, thus encapsulating the water soluble coffee compounds in a solid instant coffee formulation, as powder or granules depending on the method used.

It did increase coffee consumption as the arduous task of grinding the beans, straining them through a filter to create the dark sensuous liquid at the time demanded equipment, personal energy, time and effort to get a cup of flavoursome coffee. More granules could be shipped easily all around the world than roasted beans of the coffee plant.

An electric kettle provides an amount of boiling water in an instant to pour on coffee that for my convenience has been pulverised and freeze dried. No need to percolate because that has been done somewhere in a factory. The resources used to create that cup of coffee are immense.

My grandmother used to have a coffee grinder and coffee making used to be a ritual when we visited. Her best linen tablecloth would be spread out on the table, china set out and some ' koffiekoeken' ( cakes to be eaten with coffee) would be served on a silver platter. Then she would disappear in the kitchen to take the roasted beans out of a tin, put them in the grinder and when its little drawer opened, the ground coffee would be tipped in a ' Melitta filter', water boiled on the stove and poured through the filter into the coffee pot. Having coffee was a special occasion and we would enjoy its aroma at the table. I also had no idea how the bean got to the shop and the process involved in getting it to the grinder.

The world is visible in a single cup of coffee.

Resources

Sustainable harvest international
Where does coffee come from
Fair trade coffee campaign
Huffington post article about Fair Trade and Eco Friendly Coffee, Tea and Cocoa

Breadmaking tutorial

Let atree guide you through the therapeutic way of making bread.

Part 1




Part 2



Upgrading your bread options

Living in a shop it seems silly to be making bread on a regular basis but nevertheless its an enjoyable, beautiful, creative food item to make and it takes time.

We do have a variety of bread options available within the shop with various levels of nutrition:
sliced white bread ( mass produced, sliced and locally known as ' pappy bread'
bread baked by the local baker ( unsliced, white, brown, malted brown)
Part baked bread - baked on the premises ( rosemary and cranberry loaves, baguettes, malted brown rolls).
Bread flours to make your own bread : white, brown, mixed seeds, locally produced wholemeal flour.
Sourdough bread will be introduced shortly.

The art of making bread has been covered in a variety of posts previously on this blog and these are listed in the resources.
So why would you want to make your daily loaf given time, space and ingredients?

Baking bread is easy. When you bake your own bread you can guarantee exactly what goes into it and have a fresh, organic loaf at a snip of the price you would pay at any shop. What’s more, the smell of baking bread is irresistible.

Baking bread is immensely satisfying and involves a process of flour, yeast, water and sugar and turning them into a loaf of bread. The process itself can take up to 6 hours.

You could use a breadmaker as a step towards making your own which we used to for while but sadly, the amount of sugar and salt in the recipe are quite high due to the fact that the bread process needs to happen within a short space of time and baking space inside the bread making machine. It can however happen during the night so you wake up the lovely smell of freshly baked square loaves.

All options are described on the breadinfo.com site to get you started. Baking bread by hand is enormously satisfying.

And if you do not want to knead any dough, try this method.


Resources from previous posts

the 5 min bread
Easy bread

Woodstoves and Ecofan

Melissa from Lehmans country store explains the ins and out of a wood burning stove.

Creating heat without central heating systems does not come naturally usually but it does provide an independent means of creating heat in our home. The wood burner does more than merely warm the room.
The kettle placed on the stove eliminates the use of an electric kettle during the winter months; there is always plenty of boiling water on hand ( without the use of electricity). Hot drinks are a must when the weather is snowy.
In general the wood burner has the ability to dry the air and warm air tends to move upwards and stagnate in the area around the stove. As our stove did not have the ability to distribute heat evenly throughout the room, a neighbour introduced me to the Ecofan. It is a sizable investment but it is a fantastic piece of kit that uses a thermoelectric module to create its own electricity and is really quiet. It always provides a discussion point when people ask what ' that thingy' is at the back of the stove.
The third item on our stove is a pan with water ( which is noisier) but it contains aromatherapy oils that change with the season. Currently I am using eucalyptus oil to help those in the house that are suffering from a chesty cold.
Lastly by using a cast iron casserole, it can be used to cook a one pot meal or reheat food that has been stored in case of power cuts.

How big a garden do you need for food production

Once you have made a decision to grow all or some of your own herbs, vegetables and fruit the next step is to find the right place in your garden to do so.

The vegetable garden should have the following elements:

• requires maximum sunlight ( not shaded by buildings and trees)
• requires good soil which is well drained
• is free from weeds and other competing plants
• has access to a suitable water supply
• is sheltered from prevailing winds.

In the end it all depends what you have available. In our garden some areas are sheltered by trees and walls and sunlight is not always prevalent all year around due to the surrounding buildings. I am trying to use the sun facing patio to create more growing conditions for sun loving plants. Shady areas in summer are great to grow salad leaves as they tend to bolt in sunny places.

Some herbs such as parsley, coriander and basil can be grown amidst the vegetables but annual herbs such as rosemary, sage and lavender can be grown as hedge plants at the edge of borders.

The size of your vegetable garden depends on what space you have available but to feed a family of four with a rotation of crops ( 2 seasons in each plot) would need to be between 80 and 100 square metres. ( An allotment is 250 square metres).

In principle it is therefore possible to grow much of your food requirements from a family garden or allotment. What to grow follows in the next post in this series.

Resources and inspiration for small gardens with big yields:
The Dervaes family- urban homestead
City Farmer
Butterflyhillfarm

Ice map of Britain

This may not happen ever again, or maybe it will be a sign of things to come but the whole of the UK is covered in snow and ice. Pretty and brutal at the same time.

How does this fit in with global warming you may well ask but it is possible that in the future our climate will permanently change and resemble more the colder winter months of Scandinavia.

This is not a situation the country plans for as snow has been rare in our area, it usually happens once every 4 years or so, but last year's blast caught everyone unawares although it lasted about a week. This year we are seeing snowfall, icy conditions all around the country which makes travelling and transporting foods and goods rather more difficult.

If the economy is based on transport then it figures that it will be difficult for goods to reach their destination. Salt for gritting roads is being rationed around the country and as energy demands increase, it is likely that some rationing too will follow if the situation lasts longer. Schooling is disrupted, work is disrupted.

Birds are finding it hard to live in these unusual conditions and thus many people are going out to ensure that seeds, peanuts etc are made available. Deer that usually stay in the woods are venturing closer by in search of foods.

1981 was a very cold year too with snow for many weeks and the younger me went shopping in town swapping pram for a Davos sledge with my toddler daughter holding on to shopping. It was a rare sight.

Tiny growing spaces

Every little space counts

In a small garden you need to use all your available space efficiently. Using the plan created of your garden enables the creation of every feature and structure as growing opportunities for plants.

• Walls and fences can support climbing plants and espalier trees ,shelter plants and absorb heat to help ripen fruit.
• Balconies and patios can be used for growing plants in pots that need extra protection or different soil conditions.
• Sheds can be used for holding plants that need extra protection, potting up plants, tool storage and drying of herbs and other produce.
• The garden shed may be a base to add a greenhouse or chicken run.
• Pergolas can be used to support climbers
• Ponds can be used for ducks and productive water plants.
• Terraces can be created on sloping sites supported by retaining walls.

Explore areas that can take window boxes, pot stands and shelves in greenhouses.

Patti's video shows how to build an easy vertical plant support system.

Paying yourself first

Paying yourself first is a strategy to save money in an automatic way to make saving a simple habit. Your savings become a ‘ bill’ requiring an automated payment.

For some years now I have followed Janine Bolon’s principles of saving money this way and indeed have seen our savings grow ( despite having 3 teenage sons). As a business at the end of January we have to file our tax return which gives me a rough indication of the amount of profit the business has made and I use that as a ballpark figure to calculate the amount to automatically save into business savings account. Janine’s formula talks about 10% to charity, 10% tithe to church, 10% short term savings and 10% into long term savings. As a business we do not directly give to charity but we do use a percentage of funds to raise money for local causes and successfully held a raffle in November for the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance raising a total of £ 270. I therefore set aside 5% of profit for charity and community projects, 15% into short term savings( emergency fund) and 20% into long term savings ( pension contributions).

Once decided on the amount they are set up as regular payments into the different savings vehicles and adjusted only at the end of the 12 month period.

What happens if you fall short?

If there is not sufficient money left at the end of the month then there is something wrong. To cover the shortfall it would be easy to dip into savings but that defeats the plan, so the only way to cover the shortfall is to either earn more ( i.e. work harder) and at the same time cut down expenses.

Paying yourself first is a great way to start the habit of saving and once it happens automatically, the rest will follow.

Getting stuck in dirt

The amount of food you can grow in your garden will to some extent depend on the type of soil you have. The fertility of the soil can be improved and is the key to a healthy, thriving garden.

Some soil improvers :

• Compost all the kitchen scraps and garden clippings, animal manures , ( not dog and cat),paper towels, tissues and inside of toilet rolls, then dig the compost into the soil.
• Add seaweed from seaside foraging as well as other organic material that will break down the soil.
• Collect leaves at the side of the road in autumn.
• Check the amount of earthworms you have in your soil. Worms aerate the soil and turn organic material into compost. If low consider adding some to your compost bin to improve worm population.
• Set up a worm farm and harvest their castings and worm juice to use as a soil conditioner
• Use organic mulches on the soil surface to stop weeds competing with the productive plants and to reduce the need for watering.

Resources

what I put in the compostbin

composting101

wormcafe

composting worms

Organising a pantry

Creating Space & Removing Clutter:
How To Organize A Kitchen Pantry

Organised cupboards and pantries can become a reality this year and before starting a pantry full of fancy goods this year, it makes sense to have a tidy up. The above video has some excellent points to make. Little labels would indeed make it easier for others in the household to look at the contents and maybe venture cooking something without creating chaos.

Stackable containers are worth considering and Lakeland offer a variety of sizes and shapes to achieve a neat and tidy cupboard.

Community spirit - 4 x 4

There are times when 4 x 4 's are useful. They do use a lot of fuel but when other cars falter in snow, they are invaluable to drive on snowy, icy roads.

Food supply chains are fickle in the country but local suppliers brave the roads and deliver on time as where suppliers from further afield simply do not turn up. Not even a phone call. It definitely pays to build relationships with your local suppliers. The further produce has to travel, the less likely we are expecting a delivery.

The shop has been full of people in wellies, with rucksacks looking to buy whatever was available such as bread, milk and porridge oats. Some people had walked 3 miles to get to us. The boys were off school as buses simply did not venture down non gritted side roads and spent most of the day sledging and throwing snowballs. The adults are really tired after a busy days work but a game of cards around the table should finish the evening off nicely, and then.....off to the pub for a social drink. It probably will start all over again tomorrow.

The arctic weather conditions may prevent us from leaving but the beautiful blanket of snow and ice create great community spirit, lots of conversations and discoveries. And neighbours really are looking out for each other.

The children are not really having a day off school, as far was we are concerned they are learning new skills, spending time outdoors and having to negotiate risks which they would not be doing at school. School closed because the playground was too icy and transport unavailable. It is so easy to teach our children to be afraid of ice and snow instead of embracing the weather and sharing their excitement. Boys with rosy cheeks, wet wellies and dripping clothes sipping hot chocolate near the wood burner is definitely a sight I have been missing since childhood.

And as a bonus, noone is complaining about my handknitted hats, socks and gloves, I knew they would come in handy one day.

Creating a garden plan

Creating a garden plan will assist this year in maximising growth space and create a work plan to enable me to be more precise in my attempts to grow food in the garden. It is not an allotment and has a variety of raised beds that have been used this year. I want to explore possibilities for using the walls and pergola and adding a variety of produce to be grown in containers.

The process of planning the garden :

• create a plan using your drawing skills ( mine are basic)
• create a plan on how your garden space can be enhanced.
• create a list of plants that can be grown in your area( fruits, vegetables, herbs)
• check plants that are already growing in the garden
• create a plan of how growing space can be increased
• analyse soil and how fertility can be increased.
• plan when plants need to be sown, transplanted and harvested
• work schedule for improvements

Its a work in progress, harnessing what the garden provides already and planning what can be introduced.

Reconnecting with nature

In Children of a Virtual world, ( Guardian, 3rd January 2010) carried photographs of our youthful generation all attached to technology, seemingly connected to eachother but disconnected from a living environment that nurtures us. Surprisingly easy to turn around according to Satish Kumar from Resurgence.




Nature indeed has the ability to draw us out of ourselves. As the country comes to a standstill because of snow it occurs to me that as adults we run inside our homes and our younger children cannot wait to enjoy and envelop themselves in the beauty, fun and sheer abundance of the beauty of a snow landscape. Lets join them and remember.

Frost as inspiration

Sea holly, leaves, bare shrubs, stones and earth. Frozen in situ.

The Victorian Farm

The BBC ran a Christmas special about the Victorian Farm which was interesting to watch. Downshifting is not about returning to the ways people lived in the 1880 period but it helps me personally to understand how our historic home used to function. Ruth Goodman in particular has some excellent suggestions about how to cook on a range, how to preserve foods and how to live without electricity.

If you are planning a holiday this year and you want to experience a downshifting lifestyle without modern conveniences you can do so at Henley Cottage on the Scott Acton Estate. There is however a garden shed that houses a shower in case that is taking the experience a little too far.

Nevertheless, it would be a fantastic experiment. Last year we visited Thomas Hardy's cottage in Dorset only to find that it was not all that different from our own home.

As a general observation, people lived closer to the rhythms of nature and every task needed to be carried out with a vast amount of personal energy. Washing laundry took a whole week, people had fewer clothes and more care was taken of the few possessions they had.

Living comfortably with less heat

Our home behind the shop is north facing and every room has outside walls. It was bitter when we moved in 2 years ago and the central heating did very little to warm the place up. Our gas consumption was 3 x 47kg propane gas bottles every 10 days between September and March, so for 7 months of the year we used to get a delivery every other week. The heating was only on morning and evening and really just took the chill off the air. It was very cold but we also felt the cold as we had come from a centrally heated house.

Some improvements were made to the property when we installed loft insulation which required an investment cost of £ 900. We also had the boiler serviced last year and the engineer showed us how we could lower the control on the boiler as well as the controls on each radiator to reduce consumption.

The shop and the ground floor do have radiators but are on a second circuit which we choose not to use.Most of the year the shop door remains open. We did close the door when the temperature plummeted to minus 5 Celsius.Usually the heat given out by refrigeration units is sufficient to keep the place bearable.

The wood burner installed downstairs keeps the temperature cosy at around 21 degrees Celsius and the office is the warmest room. The heat rises to the lounge providing us with 2 rooms that are heated throughout the day. The central heating is only on to take the chill off the place early morning and late afternoon. There are plenty of afghans, duvets and blankets to cuddle under with a book and hand knitted woollen socks, sweaters and hot water bottles go a long way to warming us up when we need it.

This year, not only did the heating only go on in October but we manage 3 x 47kg propane bottles for 30 days instead of 10. Although the cost per bottle is higher this year I anticipate our costs to be less. In effect we have reduced our heating costs by 60% and have also increased our ability to withstand colder temperatures.

When we visit people with full central heating we usually boil very slowly and cannot bear the heat and upon investigation,their heating is on mostly during the day and night to maintain a steady temperature.

This is our way and may not be your way but from experience I know that by increasing personal and building insulation, reducing the overall temperatures required gradually can lead to an adaptation by our bodies and minds and reduce our dependency on fossil fuels. And when power cuts happen, we still have the wood burner to keep us warm.