Sunday, July 24, 2011

Do You Know Your Farmer?

BIJA~"the seed"
Today is Sunday afternoon.  I just got home from the coolest latest thing SLOW FOOD LAKE TAHOE put on: a food swap!  I was wondering how this was going to work, since the only swapping parties that I have attended, are clothes swaps.  Also very fun!  Now I have a few more jars of homemade jams, dilly beans, homemade toffee, macaroons, beer, etc.  The list goes on!  Kevin will be more than happy when he comes home from climbing today!

It has been a very busy week (or 6) for BIJA Gardens.  Between figuring out the succession planting schedule, wondering how to make my crops extend through 3 different markets, working the 3 markets, showing up to support local food events, and finding time for the rest of my life...needless to say...today I am taking a break and just sitting here in silence.  (and catching up on my blog:)

Here are the last few weeks in pictures around both planting sights:

"Spirit Bed" filled with sunflowers, tobaccos, and sage
Garlic is now harvested and drying in the "pack shed" a.k.a~the garage
"FunGuy" Don and his Oyster Mushroom patch
Oysters in coffee grounds, cardboard, hay, and water
Ms Scarlett and Brody join in on the fun
Seed heads forming on the quinoa!
quinoa is now as tall as I am!

I have been meeting some really nice people at the markets.  Sometimes they ask me to inform them about my products, and then other times they inform me about my products!!  For example, one evening a couple came walking up and said, "Where did you get that wooden crate?" (see picture at the top of the entry)  I told them I had bought it at the thrift store here in Truckee.  The man said, "Well I worked for that company for 24 years."  He proceeded to tell me that the wooden crates were once used out in the peach orchards in Turlock, CA,  but they retired them because they were bruising the fruit.  They switched to plastic and ended up burning most of these crates.  My crate was made in 1962 and is somewhat of a collector's item these days.  His wife told me to hold onto it, so I most certainly will.

On another occasion, two Indian men came up to the stand and commented that they liked the name of my business.   They then told me of a woman named Vandana Shiva and all of her efforts over the years to save small farms, organic practices, and seeds from large corporations and patents.   On her link you can also download her Manifesto on the Future of Seeds for free.  This second clip was the story they told me of her saving seeds:


Sometimes I feel like I am living in a dream state.  I feel like I don't really know what I am doing, but then I just go out and do it.  Like someone or something way down deep is driving me and "I" just follow.   But I continue to love this project for all it stands for~freedom & real change.  That's it for now~thanks for reading.

Saturday, July 16, 2011

NPR: Global Impact from the Rising Costs of Quinoa



A man cleans quinoa grain in Pacoma, Bolivia. Quinoa's rising popularity in the U.S. has been a boon to some farmers in the semiarid highlands of Bolivia, but there are fears that the rising demand is pushing up prices for the grain, making it unaffordable for many Bolivians.
 Juan Karita/AP A man cleans quinoa grain in Pacoma, Bolivia. Quinoa's rising popularity in the U.S. has been a boon to some farmers in the semiarid highlands of Bolivia, but there are fears that the rising demand is pushing up prices for the grain, making it unaffordable for many Bolivians.

January 13, 2011
Quinoa, once a staple of the Incas, is now increasingly popular in the U.S. It's high in protein and iron, and much of it comes from the windswept, high-altitude plains of Bolivia, known as the altiplano.
The Bolivian altiplano doesn't look like good farmland. It doesn't even look fertile. Everything is covered in bleached-out scrub and rocks. Llamas graze on the barren landscape amid occasional whirls of dust.
But this seemingly hostile environment has ideal conditions for quinoa: It's about 2 miles above sea level, sandy and arid. The nearby Uyuni salt flat provides the right minerals, and dung from herds of grazing llamas and sheep means good fertilizer.
Lives Transformed
Farmer Ernesto Choquetopa admires the soil. He says quinoa's recent popularity is changing the lives of farmers.
"Before people didn't go to study," he says. "They were born, they grew up, and that was it. They went on to herd sheep and llamas. Nothing more.
"Now people here, we think about doing something with our lives."
Thanks to his earnings from quinoa, Choquetopa's oldest daughter is now in medical school.
The dark-green quinoa plants have cone-shaped flowers, filled with the edible seeds, and look like a cross between broccoli and lupines. Once ready for harvest, they'll turn gold, deep red, even purple.
Choquetopa is part of an association of organic farmers. His harvest will go to their processing plant where it is cleaned, rinsed, packaged and bought by exporters like Fabricio Nunez, general manager of Andean Naturals, which sources quinoa to stores such as Whole Foods and Trader Joe's.
"Once we promoted it and the product was on the shelves, it started flying off," Nunez said. "People are still looking for quinoa and we're not able to supply as fast as they want it."
Rising Cost
But for all the health benefits, and the way sales support small farmers, popularity abroad is pushing up prices and gradually making it harder for Bolivians to buy.
Nunez says a few years ago, 16 ounces of Andean Naturals quinoa retailed for $2 at Trader Joe's. It's now $4. And if prices keep climbing, quinoa could stop showing up in traditional soups and porridges in Bolivia.
But on the street corners of downtown La Paz, quinoa remains a popular breakfast: The delicate, curly seeds are served with hot milk and sugar, as a thick drink. At about 30 cents for an 8-ounce cup, it's still cheap even by Bolivian standards.
The Bolivian government is backing quinoa, supporting loans to small farmers and promoting internal consumption by giving rations to pregnant women and young children.
Dr. Margarita Flores, who works for Bolivia's Ministry of Health and oversees the program, says that a drop in production would worry the government because Bolivia has obligations at home and abroad to produce quinoa, and because it's part of the country's strategy to fight malnutrition.
The challenge is striking a balance. In spite of growing prosperity, many quinoa farmers are concerned about the environment. In fact, in Choquetapo's community, people who use chemical fertilizers or uproot native grasses around quinoa fields are fined, or even punished.
"We want to keep the production sustainable," Choquetapo says. "We don't want to exploit every bit of it. This piece of earth has to support our kids and grandchildren, too."

Friday, July 8, 2011

In the Heart

Bike commute to Truckee River Sanctuary
It has only been about 5  weeks since it last snowed, which now makes it almost the heart of summer.  Life has become filled with 4:30 a.m. starts, harvest days, markets, and late evening watering schedules.   The wildflowers  are in full bloom here in Truckee, while up high, snow still melts away.  Time on the computer is limited to a weekly reminder for a market and community thank you's. 
Kiva in full bloom
Keeping with the intention of this sight, here are some of the trials and tribulations that I have been experiencing:

*Time:  Harvest days for this summer are Monday & Wednesday early mornings, preferably between 6:30 and 9:30 before the sun gets too hot.  In week 2 of the market, I harvested very early Thursday morning before the Tahoe market~rushed through the market~rushed home~packed the arugula and cilantro~rushed to the next market~sold at the market~rushed to take down~rushed out the the gardens to water~came home and promptly collapsed so I could go to work again at 8:30 a.m. at the Resort.  As we passed week 4, scheduling has gotten a tad easier mostly in large part to my partner, Kevin, who has jumped in to help watering in the mornings and evenings.  He is my saving grace.

*Harvest:  What I have realized is that it is important to have an idea of how much of each item to bring along to each market.  There is a certain population and vibe that each market produces.  Tuesday mornings are cilantro lovers...I wasn't bringing anything to Tues. a.m. market in large part to politics of the market organization, but those in charge are lifting their spirits as the summer progresses, so I am starting to bring cilantro.  They love the cilantro!  Thursday mornings are mint lovers.  So I will now bring the mint!  Thursday evenings are my time to introduce myself and the crops, so I bring it all.  The trick is to bring enough that you won't sell out, but you won't have too much leftover.

*Politics:  There is a silent game that happens that if you follow the rules (if you can figure them out!) you will be able to figure out that they are more guidelines and you just have to wait for someone to say, "o.k. go ahead."  This part doesn't make much sense to me because I don't fully understand why things are run the way they are.  This is an area I have to get better acquainted with in the winter when life isn't so insane.

*Help:  Get over the bashfulness and ask for it.  There is too much to do with only 2 sets of hands.  **Thank you Kevin & Sarah** 

*Competition:  Of all the lessons, this is one that I lost my cool. Without competition, though, no one would strive for higher goals.  AND hopefully we can coincide and communicate one day to work TOGETHER.

*Outlets:  My good friend happens to be the produce manager of New Moon Natural Foods.  I am lucky because he is giving me suggestions of different ways to distribute my product.  He is also purchasing my market goods that I don't sell.  I am so proud to be a supplier of my community by way of my home store.  It is great to have such support during this first summer.

*Communication:  Always important in every relationship!

*Heart & Soul:  You have to live it to give it.  To feel the connection and spirit of the plants, I plant, eat, and enjoy them myself~ try preparing them in different ways, and then share these experiences with the public.  For example:  Quinoa greens are AMAZING  sauteed with some good olive oil and a little salt and pepper.  The essence of the plant comes through in a fresh mild nutty flavor that is to love love love!
Beautiful Bed of Cilantro
Quinoa leafy greens are so delicious!  Flash fry and eat!
Right: Arugula & Cilantro   Left: New Quinoa Beds
More pictures to come of my backyard.  It is turning into a square foot homestead by the week!  Kevin built me a new raised bed last week for all my nursery plants.  Sore, sleep deprived, and in love with this project!