Ways to look outside your box

[michelle_j_r]

there seem to be sooooo many new (or maybe not so new) ways to broaded our community and get out and meet people. Or ways to help with environmental impact, sustainable living, or fostering community, or just ways to broaded our experiences and those of our kids.

I'd not heard much about Eats on Feet until Milkymumma mentioned it. And i know Bel has been involved with LETS for a while and i've thought about (but not bothered!) getting something started around here, cos i know it would work. And who mentioned recently that they were looking into starting up a Transition Town or something in their area????

Anyway, we have WWOOFers (Willing Workers On Organic Farms) coming here this afternoon and i am really looking forward to meeting them. The kids are excited too.
:hyper
They are from Canada, so no huge cultural revelations, but the boys have looked at where Canada is, and their flag, and what animals live there, and they are quite excited about hearing stories of snow.

[boy wrangler]

I'm the one that is starting up a TT Chelle! We've had two meetings so far and I'm hoping that something will actually get off the ground this time. The last time we started was about 7 or 8 months ago and everyone said they wanted to do something but no one actually wanted to do anything IYKWIM? Anyway, we seem to have two groups within our group, loosely classified as the oldies and the youngies! :2lol Quite a few people are talking community garden type projects which I'm not so keen on. I can't see it working when almost everyone here lives in a house with at least 600-800sqm and small houses. Also there are already 4 community gardens in town that have been unsuccessful in the past and are all just weedy and overgrown. I'd rather us put our time and effort into supporting local producers and businesses, increasing awareness about sustainability, recycling, reusing, repurposing, workshopping gardening basics, composting, worm farms, seed raising taking cuttings, workshopping cheesemaking, preserving, bread basics etc and setting up a LETS style trading system. I definitely need to pick Bel's brain on that one!

So after 2 meetings, that is where we are :2lol everywhere and nowhere all at the same time!

[Eilleen]

Nothing really formal but at work, about 3 months ago, someone started to leave their excess produce from their vege garden in the kitchen with a sign saying "help yourself". Then a few people started to do it too. And now I go to work and there's always variety of veges/fruit available there - zucchini, tomatoes, lettuce, beans, pears, plums etc etc. I've even managed to contribute to the free produce with mint and cherry tomatoes.

I also get quite a lot of chocolates from my relatives - more than what the kids and I can eat, so I also usually leave a tin of chocolates for people to help themselves to for snack. Others have taken it up and have brought in exotic peanut butter/nuts/cheese spread (basically food that they get given as gifts or part of food baskets but their kids are allergic to - so there's lots of nuts and nut-based stuff) for people to help themselves to. Its great to be able to go into the kitchen when I'm feeling peckish and just help myself to whatever fruit or snack food is on the free shelf.

So our informal free kitchen at work has worked out really well. I hope we can keep it up.

[jodiemiller]

I love that, Eilleen! I can't wait to have a box of excess *something* to take up to the kids' school and share. Mostly it seems to be the teachers who benefit from the freebies that gardeners bring in.

I take my excess produce to my co-op. Generally just mangoes and custard apples, sometimes guavas when we have a glut, but everyone is always happy to receive. Now and then I've also been able to take home citrus and stuff that others in the group grow.

There are a few formalised growers clubs around here, but they seem a bit cliquey - and not very 'consumer-friendly' so having trouble breaking out of the 'gung-ho greenie' mould. I'd really like to change that.