This is a must read for everyone who wants to explore a sustainable future

The Handbook of Sustainability Literacy ? Skills for a Changing World

In this ground-breaking book, leading sustainability educators are joined by
literary critics, permaculturalists, ecologists, artists, journalists,
engineers, mathematicians and philosophers in a deep reflection on the
skills people need to survive and thrive in the challenging conditions of
the 21st century. Responding to the threats of climate change, peak oil,
resource depletion, economic uncertainty and energy insecurity demands the
utmost in creativity, ingenuity and new ways of thinking in order to
reinvent both self and society.

Suhas Chakma admonishes the Maoists: “Nepal is landlocked by India. Nepal can get financial support from China but it is simply not possible to bring gasoline and food supplies for 27 million Nepali people by air. To bring Nepal to a standstill all India needs to do is to put two police constables respectively at the Mahendra Nagar side and the Kakarbitta side along the Indo-Nepal border to strangle Nepal.” Read more »

ke bhayo yesto 14 sept 09I made this song recently. Will post better version later, after my exam is over and i have proper time for recording.

ke bhayo yesto 14 sept 09

Those who are interested in making compost tea, this might be useful

I’m following an established method of brewing that produces an
excellent diversity of soil microbes, so the goal is as you say
Marisha, to  ”pump up the populations”. I’m also looking for precision
in this effort. I intend to verify the presence of the desired soil
life under the microscope, leaving little to chance. Read more »

How well said. I have been trying to come up with something like this. Here you go, Bill, as always, you are the pioneer and it really takes guts to leave the beaten tracks and pioneer the paths–while gently walking!

“…the greatest change we need to make is from consumption to
production, even if on a small scale, in our own gardens. If only 10% of
us do this, there is enough for everyone.

Hence the futility of revolutionaries who have no gardens, who depend on
the very system they attack, and who produce words and bullets, not food
and shelter.” – Bill Mollison

Stuart Tristram’s Waste sounds like an important book that lays bare the level of food that goes waste throughout much of the super-market dominated world.

Much of South Asia, and it appears, much of the world seems to be going through drought and the occurance of drought seems to be increasing in both intensity and frequency. However, the governments have hidden behind the veil of market sentiments to explain the rising food prices, growing hunger and increasing farmer suicides. As Devender Sharma reports, there are places where innovative practices have transformed the conditions, but these don’t interest the planners because they could be done with very limited, but crucial resources. In other words, the corruption potential in them remains too little for those who control the resources to be interested in.

Here is the full Hardnews article by Devinder Sharma

Norman Borlaug passed away this week. Considered as one of the main architecht of green revolution, he obviously left a long lasting legacy. But not a nice one, for sure, for the majority around the world, barring a few scientists, some corporations, some US policy makers. If we look at the situation of really farming community (here please differentiate between agriculture economy and farming community, as the former includes the host of people/corporations ranging from fertilizer manufacturers, GMO seed companies, seed cartels, machine producers, etc..), it’s not a pretty sight. They have the highest number of suicide rates and lowest self-esteem.

My friend Tom Philpott wrote this on Borlaug’s legacy on his Grist page.

Ajamvari Farm is a family run farm. It is getting more and more productive each year. However, it’s survival in the long run will depend not only on how it builds the soil, but how it gets embedded in broader economic activities. For now, it is surviving in the most hostile environment. Farming everywhere is being done in the most hostial environments, except in places, very few but promising ones, where farmers are organized, have control over the inputs and their outputs in terms of setting priorities and prices.

The longer term goal therefore has to be to slowly contribute to building economic activities that share the issues of sustainability, dignified life of farming communities. Part of that also involves financial institutions and investments.

This Time magazine article on slow money alliance is quite interesting in that regard

My mom made sauerkraut when I was a kid, and it was good. But during the years I lived in Nepal, I discovered a fermented world that went beyond cabbage – daikon radishes, bamboo shoots, gundruk, amla, green mango, lemons. And these new culinary delights included lots of spice.

Kakdooki (left) and Nepali mulako achar.

I now look first to fermentation when trying to preserve my garden abundance. I’ll admit the method appeals to my laziness. I don’t enjoy spending hours sweating over boiling pots in late summer heat. But I also worry about what so much heat does to the food. And I know that all my work will yield vegetables that often loose their distinctive flavors and end up tasting like the vinegar I drown then in.

I prefer the tang of natural fermentation and draw on culinary traditions form around the world to achieve it (for more details, see resources below). This summer, I’ve brewed radishes into Nepali pickles and kakdooki (the all radish version of Korean kim chee). Based on old European recipes, I’ve also brined half-ripe cherry tomatoes and fermented tomato juice (a great addition to soup). My happiest discovery for preserving tomatoes is lacto-fermented salsa. It’s so much better than vinegary canned versions. We’ve almost finished our first gallon and have a second beginning to bubble.

Fermented salsa and brined cherry tomatoes

I do have moments when I long for pantry shelves stocked with pretty little jars of sterilized garden color. My odd assortment of jars filled with rotting vegetables won’t win me any domestic diva awards. But when I’m looking for taste, I’ll take a good ferment over beauty any day.
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My Current Favorite Pickle Book:

The Joy of Pickling

Linda Ziedrich gives clear directions for making pickles from around the world, including many fermented or refrigerated ones. The kakdooki recipe I used is delectable. Her boiling water methods look better than many I’ve seen (though I haven’t tried them). They tend to rely on cider or wine vinegars rather than the harsh distilled white vinegar. The author also provides ideas for interesting variations.

Other Resources:

Preserving Food Without Freezing or Canning by the Gardeners and Farmers of Terre Vivante. This small book has lots of interesting ideas, such as the fermented tomato juice that’s been spiking our soup stock. But the directions are pretty vague.

Wild Fermentation by Sandor Katz. I just bought this one and am eager to try it out. Based on his own experiences living with HIV/AIDS, the author makes strong claims for the health benefits of naturally fermented foods.

Food-Nepal and Nepali Cooking have recipes for fermented radish pickle. I’ve tasted many different version of these and usually add roasted and ground cumin, coriander, fenugreek, chili pepper to mine. Spice them to your own taste.

Lacto-Fermented Salsa Recipe. I increased the number of chili peppers (a common theme in my cooking) and added garlic too.

The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) offers a technical report on fermented foods from around the world.

Cross-posted at Yips and Howls and included in Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade for September 18.

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What’s your favorite Nepali pickle?  Feel free to comment and share recipes.