In between Free Farm Stand and Free Farm fun, I occasionally attend social events like birthday parties. Being socially awkward at these events, I like to drink a little to loosen myself up and then I go in a corner and scribble poems or doodles onto a piece of paper. Here are three from last week:
The first poem was inspired from an interview I listened to here with Jean Francois Noubel who talks about Collective Intelligence (” the group entity acts as an integrated or coordinated whole. At that point, the collective really has its own consciousness.”). Read the blog and you’ll be turned on. The site where this interview is posted called Global Forest Calls and it has some amazingly inspiring interviews with people that are doing such great work in the world.
Collective Sexiness
the sexy vibe
that is shared across the universe
broadcasting in subtle and not so subtle ways
from smiles to swaying hip movements
seductive & sweet
it is the love thing
and the world needs it now!
not a top down love
but a cloud 9
where the groove
is shared universally
like the internet
Praying Mantises
in a world of never ending tensions
we are all Praying Mantises
living on the edge of a green leaf
waiting for the wind
to blow us off
into the natural world
No Sweat
Meher Baba said
Don’t Worry be Happy
I say
no sweat
no sweating the small stuff
no sweat the world
gone down the tubes
no sweat the current messed up
paradigm
just love
no sweat
The Free Farm Stand was again loaded with fresh vegetables and fruit, another Greens Day in that we had boxes and boxes of every green you can think of from Fava beans leaves to arugula up the wazoo, plus kale, collards, and chard from both the Free Farm and the markets.. I was especially happy that we got two boxes of locally picked persimmons that were dropped off at my house to give away. Plus the “peeper lady” showed up with about 7 lbs of rocoto peppers (see below our handsome collection of pepino dulce, pineapple guava, peppers, and persimmons).
Buddha’s Hand
coffee grounds and pulp and from the juice lady..waste nothing
Here are two important news worthy items:
Kezar Gardens and Recycling Center are facing eviction anytime http://kezargardens.com/save-kezar-gardens/. I was approached by a friend at the Free Farm Stand if I would attend a non-violent action to stop the eviction of the garden and recycling center on January 3rd. He and the people that he is working with think the eviction will happen around that time and they want to try to stop it. I said I would be there if I am in town. I feel strongly that it doesn’t make sense to get rid of that garden (which I have visited and it seems very functional) and build a new one. Why is the city and Rec and Park spending money on this when it could be better spent in other ways? And why are they so eager to get rid of a recycling center which does a good thing and provides a source of income to low income people? One can write to our mayor and see if he responds…mayoredwinlee@sfgov.org. I just read this from my Inbox:
RALLY: TUESDAY, DECEMBER 11, NOON, CITY HALL STEPS
Sponsored by: Haight Ashbury Neighborhood Council
ATTENTION: Small Business Owners, Community Gardeners, Urban Agriculture
Activists, Chinese Community Representatives, HANC Recycling and Kezar
Gardens Center Advocates and others with a vested stake in Zero Waste,
Small Business, Urban Agriculture, and Environmental Legacy in San
Francisco.
Bring your support to the steps of City Hall this Tuesday and demand that
Mayor Lee take responsibility for the negative impacts set to occur once
Haight Ashbury Recycling center is evicted. *We need people, signs, and
voices* to be heard to achieve the following goals.
– Retain HANC recycling and Kezar Gardens Center within the Convenience
Zone it serves
– Issue a Hold on Eviction until a Task Force can determine best course
of action for all parties
– Prevent Small Business from Footing the Bill for NIMBY politics
– Preserve the sustainable economic model: recycling = green jobs +
native plants + community gardens in one space
– Preserve 51 community garden beds and their 100 gardeners
– Create a task force to find a suitable location to house this
important ecology center
– Reinstate the citizen advisory board to advise Recreation and Park on
plans to build a new garden with taxpayer money.
We gather to call attention to a mounting crisis for San Francisco small
businesses, consumers and gardens alike. The system for taking back bottles
and cans for California Redemption Value (CRV) is broken and may be on the
verge of collapse.
The California State Bottle bill requires small markets in the City to
accept recycling (bottles and cans) in store if there is no supermarket or
recycling center nearby. Stores of any size may opt out of this requirement
by paying a $100 a day in lieu fee. While this may not be much for a large
grocery store, smaller establishments will be hard pressed to pay it.
*Impacts on Small Grocers [or Markets] and Beverage Stores*
– All small stores that sell beverage containers with a CRV deposit must
also take those containers back
– If there is a recycling center nearby or a larger grocery store with
recycling services, the store becomes exempt.
– When HANC recycling and Kezar Gardens closes, there will be no
recycling in the area
– Big Business (Whole Foods) will afford the fee and small business will
have to pay up or accept recycling in their stores.
– The fee is $100/day and up to $36K per year.
*Need for Recycling Centers*
– The Small Business Commission is holding hearings to discuss the
shortage of recycling in the city now
– Suspending recycling services in the area will have a negative impact
on recycling rates-50% of recycling in SF goes through a recycling center
– Without a local recycling center, all small businesses will pay high
fees or have to accept recycling in store
The existing recycling centers in SF are well utilized but dwindling in
numbers. Numbering 30 in 1990, now there are only 21. Statewide, there is
one recycling center for every 18,000 residents while there is only one for
every 38,000 San Franciscans. Recycling centers in the City receive half of
all CRV bottles and cans recycled.
Of the 21 recycling centers in the City, only about 12 are conveniently
located at neighborhood supermarkets or nearby. The rest are hard to get to
or only consist of reverse vending machines that slowly receive bottles and
cans one at a time. As a result long lines are the norm at most City
recycling centers.
The City’s eviction of HANC sets a terrible example for supermarkets. HANC
has served the Inner Richmond, Inner Sunset and Haight-Ashbury Bottle Bill
requirements since the law went into effect in 1987. Other recycling
centers are rumored for shut down in the near future, following the lead of
the City. The HANC eviction will have a domino effect leaving thousands of
San Franciscans and hundreds of stores without a place to recycle.
The Mayor needs to address this crisis now by placing the HANC eviction on
hold while a task force is appointed to develop and implement solutions.
12/12/12 Interdependence Day Celebration is happening around the world and below is a listing of events around the city: https://www.facebook.com/events/306832426091860/. Our Free Farm will be having our usual workday at Eddy and Gough from 10am-2pm with a vegan lunch for volunteers at noon. We will be doing a lot of weeding and some work in our greenhouse.