Join conversation with gardeners, Costa and I about Sustainable Food book

For those near Bondi, Sydney:  a conversation at Bondi with local gardeners, Costa and I about my new book, Sustainable Food, and all the issues we face with food, water, soil, health and community – 17 October. There’ll be local food on the table and we’ll acknowledge the champs who grew it and hear from them, too, of course. And thank you, Transition Bondi,... Read More

Public meets to discuss plan to sustain a suburb

The Sustainable Communities Team have arranged a public meeting on Tuesday 16 October at 545 pm to discuss the plan to sustain a suburb, The Sustainable Communities Plan.   They’ve put the event onto Facebook where any person, even if they don’t use Facebook, may visit to see what’s planned.  Here’s an extract from the site:   The Sustainable... Read More

Do successful politicians have more erect ears?

We come now to ears.   In the first chapter of his book, The Origin of the Species, Charles Darwin notices that domesticated animals tend to have drooping ears because  they’ve grown to have less need to hear or listen for predators to protect themselves. *   On reading this I wondered if successful human politicians may be characterised by more erect ears than... Read More

Free mulch service, Australia-wide

Thais has posted this offer in the Sustainable Chippendale Facebook page. “Gardeners – free truckload of mulch for you to take away in open yard, Chippendale Yesterday we received a massive truckload of mulch to protect our gardens from the heat that is about to come; and it was free!! MulchNet has kindly donated the mix of beautiful mulch this afternoon, the... Read More

A reminder of Italy in Lombok

Sunset from Cafe Alberto If escaping, perhaps finding yourself, or running from the law, exercising your curiosity or a whim . . . if any of these is yours – whatever the impetus may be that brings you to Lombok, come you to Café Alberto. Lombok Straight from Cafe Alberto This dash of Italy is on the southern headland of Senggigi.  On the web it categorises itself a “B... Read More

A typical Lombok petrol station

Typical Lombok petrol station  Read More

Octopus’s gardens, myths and seeing what’s there

Through the clear water we could see the octopus’s garden on the lake bed below.  It was bare. Rocks. Sandy backing only.  But outside the desert circle it’s borders were green, ripe seagrass, whizzing fish and abundant life.   So much for that myth.  *  (And I thought I could trust you, John Lennon!)   While I laughed at the Beatles song in my head, Graeme, a... Read More

How to promote my book with least ego?

I’m way over me.  A subject that bores me. But I do want to promote my new book’s ideas and solutions. Almost every idea and solution in Sustainable Food is someone else’s. The book is really about other people, other ideas, the little critters and plants and all the wonders that make our food. It’s just reviving and repeating what ancient cultures, peasant... Read More

kite flying in the land of rats for breakfast

The thick bread slice I’d left on the bench was gone. I’d been away five minutes, maybe. Through the dawn dark outside the raw, soaring, male voice called men to prayer. But the floor, the benchtops, the table were still.  Empty. Suddenly the darkness embracing me a moment ago outside the wall-less, door-less, window-less roofed kitchen pavilion asked me in distinctly Western... Read More

ten more conversations for you at farmers markets than supermarkets

This is a useful study for its research on, among other things, urban farming; here are some snippets – enjoy: “Farming the Cities An estimated 800 million people are involved in urban farming worldwide. (p. 50) Consumers in urban areas pay up to 30 percent more for food than people in rural areas. In some cases, poor urbanites spend 60–80 percent of their income... Read More