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I
n honor of International Seed Swap Day, Santa
Barbara Permaculture Network presents Lorenz Schaller of the Kusa Seed
Society, speaking about Humanity's Ancient Relationship with
Edible Seed Crops, on Friday, January 30, 7:30pm at the Santa
Barbara Public Library, Faulkner
Gallery.
The precious edible seeds of the earth - the cereal grains,
grain-legumes, oilseeds and other precious edible seeds - have a history
of small-scale cultivation and utilization which dates back more than
10,000 years. Lorenz Schaller's work and the mission of the Kusa
Seed Society is to increase humanity's knowledge and understanding of
this very ancient relationship.
Experience a colorful slide show of humanity's relationship with sacred
cereal grasses such as barley, amaranth, kamut, spelt, millet, oats,
quinoa, and other edible seed crops from around the world. Twenty
years in the making the presentation is a pictorial tapestry woven from
the threads of more than 400 international photo-images of spectacular
beauty taken from remote agricultural villages and fields in places like
the Himalayan mountains; rugged Ladakh; the Kingdom of Bhutan; the
Tibetan plateau; rural Korea, Turkey, India, and many other
lands.
A
longtime Ojai resident, Lorenz
Schaller is a remarkable steward
of his environment.
Having worked as
a gardener and landscapist for many years, he developed a keen interest
in the ancient tradition of seed saving.
Formerly a staff member at the California Institute
of Technology (Cal-Tech), Schaller studied and has taught the
nutritional, culinary, and ecological significance of biodiverse seed
crops for decades.
Over time, his
scientific knowledge merged with a deeper spiritual connection to the
life cycles of the planet. He could see the bigger picture of how
se
ed crops supplied
most of the world with important, densely nutritious foods. These
miraculous plants feed more humans and wildlife than any other food
source. Lorenz
founded
Kusa
Seed Society
(
www.ancientcerealgrains.org)
in
1980.
Kusa is a
Sanskrit word meaning sacred grass.
He is currently writing a book on
Tibetan Barley Tsampa, the story of hulless barley, an ancient food for
humans and their evolving civilizations. The book is dedicated to
the Tibetan people and the Dalai Lama.
A special part to
the evening will be music provided by flamenco
guitarist Russ Baggerly ("Chato"). Chato lived and
studied in Seville, Spain, where in the heartland of Gypsy music, he
learned the art of flamenco guitar.
The event takes place at the Santa Barbara Public Library, Faulkner
Gallery, 40 East Anapamu St, in downtown Santa Barbara, on Friday,
January 30, 7-9pm, 2009. No reservations are required, donation
$5. For more information please call (805) 962-2571, or email
margie@sbpermaculture.org;
www.sbpermaculture.org.
Presented by the Santa Barbara Permaculture Network Non-Profit.
Co-Sponsors: Food Not Lawns/SB Chpt; Fairview Gardens; SBCC Center for
Sustainability, Healing Grounds Nursery, The Green Academy, Island Seed
& Feed, the Santa Barbara Organics Club, Gary Atkins Sound Systems,
and Sustainable World Radio
- SEED SWAP EVENT NEXT DAY: January 31, 2009,
International Seed Swap Day
- Community Seed Swap on Saturday January 31,
2009, International Seed Swap Day
- 10-3pm, Alameda Park, downtown Santa Barbara (between Garden and
Santa Barbara Street)
- A Celebration to bring seeds & people together. A fun day to
share & exchange seeds, plants, & cuttings. Seed saving
demonstrations, kids crafts, seed ball making, music & more.
Free
- This local community Seed Swap event is inspired by Heather Flores
and the Food Not Lawns movement (
www.foodnotlawns.net), which is encouraging seed swap events across
the nation on this day. Local organizations participating for the
event are the Santa Barbara Chapter of Food Not Lawns, Santa Barbara Seed
Exchange, Santa Barbara Permaculture Network, Fairview Gardens, SB
Info Shop, the Green Academy, Santa Barbara City College Center for
Sustainability, Healing Grounds Nursery, Island Seed & Feed Nursery,
Santa Barbara Organics Club, Sustainable World Radio and others.
- To Learn More about Event Sponsors:
- Santa Barbara Permaculture Network,
www.sbpermaculture.org
- Food Not Lawns/SB Chpt ,
www.sbfoodnotlawns.org
- Santa Barbara Seed Exchange,
http://www.sbseeds.blogspot.com
- Fairview Gardens,
www.fairviewgardens.org
- SBCC Center for Sustainability,
www.sustainability.sbcc.edu
- Healing Grounds Nursery
www.healinggrounds.org
- SB Info Shop,
http://sbinfoshop.org
- The Green Academy,
www.thegreenacademy.com
- Island Seed & Feed,
www.islandseed.com
- Sustainable World Radio,
www.sustainableworldradio.com
- Santa Barbara Organic Garden Club, lbsaltzman@aol.com
- ***Friday, Jan 23, 9-10am interview with Lorenz
Schaller on Sustainable World Radio on KCSB 91.9 FM
PST, streaming live on
www.kcsb.org. Also
found on
www.sustainableworldradio.com later in the month.
-end-
Santa Barbara Permaculture Network
an educational
non-profit since 2000
(805) 962-2571
P.O. Box 92156, Santa Barbara, CA 93190
margie@sbpermaculture.org
www.sbpermaculture.org
"We are like trees,
we must create new leaves, in new directions, in order to grow." -
Anonymous