News & Events

Variety Tasting from Heirloom Organics & Cooking with Jesse Cool, Chef of CoolEatz
Ferry Plaza Farmers Market in San Francisco, 10 am-Noon, Saturday, August 7th, 2004

Please join us in a sensory exploration of Seeds of Change gourmet vegetable varieties at the Ferry Plaza Farmers market hosted by CUESA, the Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture. Chef Jesse Cool, owner of Cool Eatz, will discuss the unique culinary qualities of Seeds of Change Gourmet Greens and other specialty gourmet varieties in an on site cooking demonstration certain to whet your appetite. Jesse's Cool Eatz includes three restaurants, a catering business, and 30 years of dedication to cooking with local, organic, sustainable food in the Bay Area. Heirloom Organics, a Seeds of Change cooperating trial grower, will supply fresh produce of Seeds of Change varieties for sampling, taste testing, and culinary fare. See why Heirloom Organics chooses to grow Seeds of Change heirloom, specialty and gourmet varieties like Red Core Chantenay Carrots, Persian Garden Cress, and Red Ruffled Pimento Peppers. As Stuart Dixon, farmer/owner of Heirloom Organics, puts it, "If the variety doesn't have flavor, then what is the point?" You're certain to come away with a few new recipes and an appreciation for the availability of fresh, organic, specialty varieties at the farmers market.

Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market: www.ferryplazafarmersmarket.com
Heirloom Organics: www.ferryplazafarmersmarket.com/heirloom.htm
Jesse's Cool Eats: www.cooleatz.com

Head Seed Cleaner Job Opening at the Seeds of Change Research Farm

This position is primarily responsible for supervising the raw seed receiving and cleaning process at the Seeds of Change research farm. It requires specialized skills in seed handling and use of seed cleaning machinery. Besides coordinating and training other seed cleaning staff this person communicates with and provides information support to Seeds of Change contracted seed growers throughout the seed receiving process. In addition, this position works in horticultural operations at the Seeds of Change research farm. As a member of the research team this person aids in the growing and data collection of the Seeds of Change variety trials, breeding projects, and seed growouts.

For more information click here to see the full job description.

Farm Tour Date Change: August 28th & September 12th

Are you interested in visiting the Seeds of Change Research Farm this year? Our Farm Manager, Erica Renaud will be leading two tours on August 28th and September 12th, from 10am to 1pm. This is a pretty spectacular time at the farm with close to 1000 different varieties under cultivation and approaching maturity. You'll also get a look at our ever expanding seed cleaning facility and new hoop houses. Please be aware that the conditions out there are a little rough so you will want to have sturdy boots, a hat and sunscreen, and maybe some repellent to keep the mosquitoes off. To sign up for a tour, please e-mail Erica and put "Farm Tour 2004" in the subject. Be sure to specify which day and for how many people, as space is limited. We'll sign you up and send you an e-mail with directions.

Progress in Kenya's Greenbelt

Some of our readers may remember Wangari Maathai, founder of Kenya's Greenbelt Movement from reading Hope's Edge by Frances Moore Lappé and Anna Lappé, or at least our review of the book in eNewsletter 27. After much success with planting millions of trees across that essentially deforested country, E/The Envorionmental Magazine reports that much has happened with Ms. Maathai since the Lappé's visit with here in 2000. On International Women's Day in 2001, Maathai, the first woman to earn a Ph.D in East and Central Africa, was jailed in a protest for planting trees on land that had been clear cut to make way for developers. A year later she was overwhelmingly voted into parliament in Kenya's first free and fair elections in decades. Subsequently, she was appointed Assistant Minister of the Environment, Natural Resources, and Wildlife by President Mwai Kibaki. In a pit of poetic justice, E reports that her police escort for the inauguration included officers who had previously arrested her.

Click here to learn more about Kenya's Greenbelt Movement: www.greenbeltmovement.org

Ecological Design Workshop: September 10-12, 2004
Natural Patterns & Permaculture Principles, With Toby Hemenway & Larry Santoyo
Tunitas Creek Ranch, Half Moon Bay, California

Renowned Permaculture teachers, Toby Hemenway, author of Gaia's Garden, A Guide to Home Scale Permaculture, and Larry Santoyo, an experienced teacher and master permaculture designer, will present a system of practical techniques that develop the skills of ecological design. The workshop will empower you to work with the land and apply design principles that increase the diversity, resilience and harmony of your own home-landscape or farm.

For more information on the workshop and presenters, please visit:
www.bioneers.org/rdi/eco_design.html
e-mail: agworkshops@bioneers.org
Call: 831-338-1202

David Holmgren on Energy Descent

"It started from the premise of looking at the redesign of agriculture using ecological principles, but it extended out from that to the redesign of the whole of society using those principles. The foundation text was Permaculture One which was published in 1978, a joint work between myself and Bill Mollison. The biggest development of permaculture applications was then Bill Mollison's Designer's Manual, which he published in 1988. And then more recently my new book, Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability, has taken those ideas to a broader frame of reference, away from just talking about land management and practical issues to dealing with the fundamental underlying principles behind permaculture and the link to resource limits, especially energy peak."

David Holmgren, co-originator of the permaculture concept with Bill Mollison and author of Permaculture: Principals and Pathways Beyond Sustainability, speaks with Adam Fenderson from Energy Bulletin about permaculture and its role in an energy-constrained world.

Click here for the complete interview with David Holmgren.