Man in Overalls

Just a quick note to say hey from Switzerland. On this leg so far, we flew into Madrid, and then spent two weeks with friends in the south of France. Tomorrow, we're headed to Zurich, then to Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, and back to France, where we'll spend a couple weeks in Paris before we head back to Madrid at the beginning of June to catch our flight back to the States. Everywhere we go we're learning! In Madrid: Spanish recipes (Tortillas, yum!). In France, bread making, stone walls, old architecture (that orients towards the south to maximize passive solar... that then informs where the garden goes: also to the south), home-made, gravity pressurized irrigation, cheese, and did I mention cheese! We saw countless coops, one example of how businesses can operate pairing the ideas of community benefit and economic viability, a way to to ensure sustainability for the long haul-- which reminds me of the economic development happening in ...

I'm back in Tallahassee! (for two weeks). As I mentioned in previous posts, my wife, Mary Elizabeth and I spent the last two months in Nicaragua and Ecuador studying spanish , culture, dance, history, and community-based good food systems. Though we're back, there are more stories to tell. If you need a food garden consult, compost delivery, garden design, or a couple raised beds, let me know. Send me an email with subject line "Food Gardening Work"  or ring me at 322.0749, and I'll get right back with you. - - - In addition to the household-level food economy smarts of folks in Nicaragua, we also learned of many organized efforts to "alimentar" their communities, i.e., to ensure their communities are taken care of and are eating well. The good food movement, indeed, has many expressions! Take the the spanish language school, Hijos del Maiz  in el Lagartillo where we studied for example. On the surface, it is simply a community-based l...

Mary Elizabeth and I spent 3 weeks of our stay in Nicaragua as students at  Hijos del Maiz  spanish language school in El Lagartillo near Achuapa. We lived with a homestay family, shared meals, conversation, riddles, day-to-day life, and lots of laughs. Nuestra familia Nicaraguense. Whalder, Yelba, Mercedes, y Margarita. (Mary Elizabeth and I are in the middle.) Everyday we received 4 hours of 1-on-1 language instruction with professional teachers who rotated weekly. Our classes were comprised of formal grammar lessons or informal conversation- based on our personal preferences. Typically, any given class was a mix of grammar, exhanges of personal & family stories, and stories about their community's history that is rooted in a farming cooperative that brought them together in the early ´80´s and the US-backed Contra's attack on their community in '84 that cost many in the community the lives of their brother and sisters . Beyond our classes, we were free to vi...

And we're off!  Mary Elizabeth and I are hopping on a plane this afternoon for a two month stint in Nicaragua and Ecuador to learn spanish, culture, dance, as much about history, and, of course, community-based food systems as we're able. We'll be back in March for the month. While I'm around, I'll be partnering up with Sundiata Ameh-El of  iGrow  to put in and ramp up as many food gardens as possible (which means, if you've got food gardening work that needs doing, send me an email with subject line "March Food Garden Work"  to get on my list asap. Compost deliveries, consults, new gardens, edible orchards, workshops, & community garden developments all apply). My other major goal during March is to grow Tallahassee Food Network 's financial base. Tallahassee Food Network is our regional coalition of the global movement that works to grow community-based good food systems. I'm eager to see its internal capacity grow through staffing...

What does Apple, Inc, the multinational corporation that designs, develops, and sells consumer electronics have in common with north Florida local food efforts like Red Hills Online Market , the Frenchtown Heritage Market , and iGrow Whatever You Like ? A line to enter at the Apple Store in Miami's Southbeach This past weekend (still traveling), my wife and I passed by this Apple store in South Beach, Miami. There was a line of people outside waiting to get in for the opportunity to shop. Wow. Picture op! I thought. But why is Man in Overalls, a food garden entrepreneur and community food system developer interested in a tech store?  Because Apple, Inc. and local food efforts are largely pursuing the same business model: direct marketing, also called "direct-to-consumer" sales. Let's take a look: Red Hills Online Market  Red Hills Online Market (a project of the Red Hills Small Farms Alliance) is an online farmers' market where local farmers can...

TFN board, staff, and advisors joined for a retreat 11/22/14. Happy Thanksgiving. I am grateful.  Not only have I had a chance to travel the US the pasted six months -- not to mention I will be traveling internationally with Mary Elizabeth come January-- I've been wildly lucky to spend the last two weeks in Tallahassee.  I had a chance to visit family, share meals, and catch up.  There was also time to check in with loads of good folks doing great work around good food. I wish I could tell you all the stories. But, I tell you what: instead of my stories, go collect your own at Leon County's Food Summit January 24th. All our key food stakeholders/players will be there, and we need all our area's peoples and networks present because the conversation and the survey they collect is going to help set regional food strategy. Be there. - - - One of the highlights of my time in Tallahassee was the Tallahassee Food Network (TFN)  board retreat. We reflected at...

Greetings from Tucson, AZ. Yesterday, Mary Elizabeth and I visited the Mercado San Agustin. The sign painted on the outside wall of the market A central square surrounded by sidewalks, farmer/producer booths, and restaurants. For-rent commercial kitchen for food-based businesses  backyard-gardeners consignment table ran by the Food Bank There was a farmers market that was woven into the mosaic of a larger market: shops, a bakery, a rent-by-the-hour commercial kitchen for food-based businesses, a communal square, a bar, and a backyard-gardeners consignment table ran by the food bank, which is actually the umbrella organization for the farmers' market itself. (Check out what Tucson Community Food Bank is doing  to grow the food movement!) The market was linked to downtown by a newly developed streetcar! So cool! It reminds me of the vision for the Frenchtown Heritage Market being developed in Tallahassee. Mary Elizabeth and I are here for a few days visiti...