Greetings folks,
We have some news segments to share with you
this month and we are also announcing a few upcoming events.
This summer, we encourage
(challenge!) everyone not to only think “outside the box,”
but to LIVE “outside the box.”
Have a great and proactive summer.
So without further ado --
::NEWS::
In the
Spotlight
In The Garden: Hosted By Ann
Martin
In The Garden airs every Thursday on KCAL9 in
the 4 p.m. newscast. Ann Martin visits prominent area gardens, such as Descanso
Gardens in La Canada Flintridge and the Huntington Botanical Gardens in San
Marino, and also offers gardening tips from her own backyard garden. http://cbs2.com/inthegarden
PTF Video
Brochure
This short video clip was done in such a hurry we
left out a lot of aspects (and people too!) that make Path to Freedom the
homestead it is. Our next updated video will included those missing
"scenes" -- projects such as our grey water reclaimation, more of our
produce/edible flower business, vermiculture, using the solar shower, sun ovens,
powering down, bartering etc., etc.
2006 Path to Freedom Video Brochure (BETA
version: 1)
Settle in for your own private urban
homestead tour. Wander among the edible landscaping, catch a glimpse of
"homestead life", meet the animals, and learn about the projects that Path to
Freedom incorporates in order to bring about a homegrown revolution.
This is
an experimental film, it is a work-in-progress as we move toward making a
full-length documentary
"100 Mile Potluck" Sweeps
the Southland
Path to Freedom is proud to have hosted the
first ever Los Angeles "100 Mile Potluck." We are excited
to note that this concept is being replicated throughout the
Southland and many parts of the States!
Since this potluck was such a hit, we want to
acknowledge that part of our inspiration came from the folks who brought about
the Eat Local Challenge and "100 Mile Diet."
We wanted to challenge folks
on a community level and through these events, it was evident that
many of the participants were proud of the dishes they brought. It
was as if there was a personal connection with the food.
It wasn't an impersonal/passive potluck, where you could just pull something
tasty off the grocery shelf and plop it down on the table. You had
to engage yourself with the item you brought, thus forming a sense of community
through food.
Many of those who attended liked the concept so
much, they informed us that they will definitely be copying this potluck
challenge/concept we had initiated. Again, we thank those who inspired us
with the idea.
It was interesting to observe what foods
were brought to the table during this proactive potluck assignment.
Many attendees said that this was a good lesson and learning experience for
them. One lady described how she and the produce guy at the local Wild
Oats took the challenge seriously and tried to figure out where the produce had
come from. This made them aware of what was in the local foodshed and what
was not. Lots of tasty vegetable dishes and fruit were brought, either
from Farmer's Markets or backyards. Wine from California, homemade
lemonade, Mexican food from a local restaurant, deviled eggs from one lady's
backyard chickens, and more. It was interesting to note that there were no
rice or pasta dishes, breads, crackers, chips, no cheese or anything of
that nature ( someone did bring homemade almond bars). Besides a few
cookies, it was mostly a vegetable/fruit faire.
Thank you all for participating and making this a
successful and educational experience for all.
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Green Resource Guide
GREENOPIA - The urban dwellers guide to green
living {Los Angeles Edition}
Filled with eco-friendly retailers, services and organizations in the
Los Angeles area, Greenopia is a post-consumer
recycled world designed to help you transition into living a more sustainable
life.
You'll find PTF listed under "Specialty Markets(pg 67)" In addition, our
produce business is a proud recipient of Greenopia's 'Four Leaf
Award.'
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Summer
Break
This will be our last e-calendar email to you for
some time. Don't fret, no we aren't leaving the country - not yet.
;)
We have a good reason! Much of July, and
probably even August. we will be busy re-roofing our house - one
step forward in our rainwater collection project!
Please understand that we will not be available to
give any tours during this construction period. However, we are
available for community outreach events if you would like for us to give a power
point presentation about our project
In the meantime, we are working with a local church
in the area to host a new global warming film We hope to use its
facility to screen the film sometime in late July or early August, so stay
tuned.
Brewing
Biodiesel
For all those of you who emailed and called, asking
when our next biodiesel class would be - thank you for your patience! If
and when the roofing is complete (hopefully, sometime in August) Path to Freedom
will host an Biodiesel 101 workshop. Stay tuned for details.
!!Veggie Oil For
Sale!!
We have surplus hydrogenated vegetable (soy) oil to
sell, cheap (50 cent a gallon), if anyone is interested. This oil has only
been used once and titrates out to ~.5 grams of lye.
What's Happenin' On the
Homestead
If you would like to be kept informed of all
the exciting new projects (and updates on the baby goats), visit our online
journal at www.pathtofreedom.com/journal
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:: JULY CALENDAR
::
INTERDEPENDENCE DAY
CELEBRATION (& PIZZA PARTY)
"Interdependence is and ought to be as much the
ideal of man as self-sufficiency...."
~ Gandhi ~
When: Tuesday, July
4th
Time: 5:00 pm
Where: Path to Freedom
$5 - $10 suggested donation / Space is limited so please rsvp
Celebrate summer and our interdependence
connection with each other and our planet earth.
Come relax in a
garden setting, sharing in music, discussion and dine on wood-fired organic,
vegetarian pizzas provided by American Flatbread Pizza ( www.americanflatbread.com ) that we will cook in the cob
oven!
This event/party will be a potluck so please bring
something to contribute (drinks, fruit, chips, or a dish). If you are a
musician, bring your musical instrument and join others in an impromptu
sing-along. Afterwards enjoy the
fireworks display put on at the Rose Bowl.
In keeping with the "100 Mile Diet
Pledge" please try to bring food within 100 mile radius if you
can.
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FILM SCREENING &
POTLUCK
BLUE VINYL (90 min)
The world's first toxic
comedy
When: Sunday, July
16
Time: 6:00 pm
Where: Path to Freedom, 631
Cypress Ave Pasadena, CA 91103
$5 - $10 suggested donation / Space is limited so please rsvp
::Event Schedule::
6:00 - 7:00 pm - "100 Mile"
Potluck
7:30 pm - Film
screening Blue Vinyl
{ if you decide not to attend, please be
considerate, and send us an email informing us of your
cancellation}
::Film Description::
With humor, hope, and piece of PVC vinyl siding in hand (a remnant from her
parent's suburban house), Judith Helfand and Daniel B. Gold explores home,
family industry-sponsored science and the ecology of denial.
Questioning her parents decision to put blue vinyl siding on their house,
she sets out to find the truth about vinyl: what are the hazards, are there
side-effects, are there dangers in the production and disposal of vinyl?
Having lost her uterus from DES poisoning, she shares a bond with the
cancer victims who work in and live in the shadow of the vinyl and PVC
factories. Judith has this gravelly high voice, a quirky sense of humor, and a
vulnerability in the face of corporate America that makes her irresistible.
Exposure to vinyl chloride is an extremely underrated hazard. Research has
shown for years (and Helfand makes a strong case for this in her movie) that
vinyl chloride is a carcinogen, and that the production & disposal of vinyl
is a serious environmental and health risk.
Vinyl (or PVC) is the “most environmentally hazardous
consumer product in the world.” The chemical released in its creation
and disposal (and likely gradually emitted, at eeenie weenie levels, during its
life in between) is the exceptionally deadly dioxin, “the Watergate of
molecules.” And as one of the many scientists interviewed for this film asserts,
the highly carcinogenic dioxin sticks around for a very long time: if you were
“exposed to ten units of dioxin, ten years later, you would still have five
units in your body.”
What You Can Do?
Plastic is a substance which we (and which was not addressed by the film)
are exposed to on a regular basis. So-called "inert" vinyl, found in
PVC pipes, vinyl siding, shower curtains, car dashboards, etc., emits small
doses of toxic chemicals, which also pose serious concerns.
100 MILE POTLUCK
Continuing the Eat Local
Challenge
PTF joins the Bay Area Locavores (www.locavores.com) as they challenged people from all over the world
to eat within a 100 mile radius of their home.
We invite all local eaters (this means you) to join
us in a celebration of our local food cornucopia and in an effort to raise our
own awareness of our place within the foodshed.
::Potluck Guidelines:: Our goal
for this potluck is to eat from within a 100 mile radius of our homes.
Failing that, we will attempt to eat foods that come from within our State, or
are purchased directly from small scale farmers elsewhere in the world. Some of
us will interpret these guidelines more strictly than others, but the main goal
is to pay attention to where the food that we eat comes from.
REMEMBER THE PLEDGE OF THE
LOCAVORE:
If not FROM BACKYARD then locally
produced.
If not LOCALLY PRODUCED, then Organic.
If
not ORGANIC, then Family farm.
If not FAMILY FARM, then Local business.
If
not a LOCAL BUSINESS, then Fair Trade.
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:: ZERO WASTE & LOW IMPACT
::
We, at Path to Freedom, endeavor to make our
each of our events as "eco- friendly" as possible with solar (or other
"alternative green") electricity, oil/biodiesel lamps, candles and a "low or
zero waste policy" by providing reusable plates, cups, and utensils to ensure
there is no unnecessary waste.
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Follow our path...
Organic Gardening, Urban Permaculture, Solar Energy, Homebrew
Biodiesel,
Citified Farm Animals, Cob Oven, Waste & Water Reclamation,
Appropriate
Technologies &
More!
~ A
pioneering journey towards self sufficiency, one step at a time
~
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PATH
TO FREEDOM
Sustainable Living Resource Center
& Urban Homestead
Jules Dervaes (founder
/director)
631 Cypress Ave
Pasadena, CA
91103
phone: 626.795.8400
email: dervaes@pathtofreedom.com
web: www.PathtoFreedom.com
In our society growing food yourself has become the most radical of
acts. It
is truly the only effective protest, one that can-and will-overturn
the
corporate powers that be. By the process of directly working in harmony
with
nature, we do the one thing most essential to change the world-we
change
ourselves. ~ Jules Dervaes
~
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