"I love that you've brought this to attention. An extensive database of uncommon but resistant and hardy plants/foods could be developed and organized by climate. Ease of growth and processing should also be taken in to account. I will try to…"
A crash course in changing the world.
First Steps to Create a Gratitude Garden
This idea has been inspired by several other Agents, from Agent McLellan's Hyperlocavore movement to Agent Buentrostro's Community Urban Farms , Garden Earth Project, and even Agent Falconer's connection with the local ecovillage and his heritage as a South African.
I think all of these agents are on the right track, so I created the Gratitude Garden Movement as a way of making this work something anyone can contribute to and create a global resource for sustainable gardening practices.
What is a Gratitude Garden?
Gratitude Gardens will be combination social enterprise incubators, living seed banks, and community gathering spaces. Their goal is to give thanks for the gifts of those who came before us, and to create something future generations will be grateful to us for.
Can I plant a Gratitude Garden?
Yes, but the first step is not planting.
First Step: Research
- Find out what grows best in your climate, where you live.
- Find out what edible and useful plants are native to your area.
- Explore the food and nature-crafts that the indigenous people of your area created.
- Learn about any colonizers to your area and what food they introduced.
- What are some heirloom or landrace plants (or livestock) that grow your area?
- What kind of indigenous cultivation and fertilization was used in your area? How did they ensure long-term fertility, instead of short term yields?
- Does any of this appeal to you? Seem tasty, useful, interesting? What do you want to grow?
So thats step one: find out about the edible and useful plants in and from your area, discover the rich cultural and culinary heritage that you've inherited from your ancestors and predecessors.
Now can I plant the Garden?
We're not ready to grow just yet. No garden should be an island (unless you live on one), we need to tie into larger networks to make sure your efforts and knowledge serve the community at large.
Second Step: Make Contact
- Find local organizations you can team up with (don't reinvent the wheel) that support farming or gardening. It could be a government agency, a university, a nonprofit, or just a club
- Interview local farmers and gardeners that still use traditional methods.
- Ask them about fertility, planting, harvesting, and seed saving.
- Working with your new contacts, find the seeds and cuttings to grow the plants that interest you. Maybe you get them from a farmer, maybe from a nursery, maybe a mail order catalog. Its possible you could share some really exciting ones with the groups or individuals that you've met...
These first two steps are the most important part of the project. This Evokation isn't just about starting a wh*** new global effort, but helping YOU tie into existing ones and support them with traditional and new knowledge. The Third Step is to plant your garden, either in your home, or better yet in a community location.
But lets do these first couple steps first, then we'll truly be able to plant a garden that expresses GRATITUDE to those who came before, and will inspire future generations to give us thanks for safeguarding something truly valuable.
If you would like to participate in this Evokation, add the tag GRATITUDE to your blog, video, or photo. We'll be getting all this info on the wiki.
Views: 979
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Comment by Nick Heyming on March 24, 2010 at 10:42pm
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@Mario - If you know of any organizations in Monterrey that are supporting farming or gardening, that would be a start. What did the indigenous people of Monterrey grow? Did they have milpas?
If you could answer any of the questions in the above post, that would be helpful.
@Patricio - Thanks, I'm also curious as to Guadalajara. I've done some research on Oaxaca and BC, but don't know much about the rest of Mexico. I understand you've got quite an agricultural legacy down there, on par with the Egyptians, Incans, and Zulu.
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Comment by Iyamuremye Jean de Dieu on March 25, 2010 at 12:08am
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Yes, Nick. You are the one who challenge me, instead sometimes I take time to think about your inspiration and I would say you do about what I like to know. Great post!
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Comment by Simon Brookes on March 25, 2010 at 9:42am
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Yet again Agent Heyming I am totally blown away by your work. This idea appeals to me on so many levels. It is wonderful! I am going to make sure this work gets promoted as a great example for other EVOKE agents to follow. Please keep me informed of the progress Nick.
Simon
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+50 Entrepreneurship btw.
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Comment by Rendani Mulaudzi on March 25, 2010 at 7:31pm
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context-culture-context - innovation +1 Spark
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Comment by michael driscol on March 26, 2010 at 3:53am
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Awesome! Love it!
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Comment by Patricio Buenrostro-Gilhuys on March 26, 2010 at 7:14am
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Yes we have a long agricultural in Mexico. Chinampas from my hometown Mexico City are inch by inch one of the most productive agricultural systems in the World .http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinampa
There is a saying "Sin Maiz (maize) no hay pais" = Without corn there is no country. And it´s also the name of an NGO that defends Maiz against monsanto seeds http://www.urgentevoke.com/video/without-corn-there-is-no
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2 videos of chinampas http://www.urgentevoke.com/video/chinampas-1 and http://www.urgentevoke.com/video/chinampas-idis272
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Thanks so much Patricio! These are exactly what I was talking about! What is the difference between a chinampa and a milpa?
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Comment by Thomas Pinkerton on March 26, 2010 at 4:47pm
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On a related note, I'd like to send some love to one of my favorite blogs to follow: http://ursulav.livejournal.com/967562.html
Ursula Vernon is an artist and chidren's book author, full-time, but writes a lot about her gardening and bird-watching.
This post, she realizes that attracting bugs is probably the best way to help your local ecosystem rebound from man-made damage, since your bugs not only take up that all-important bottom waste-removal-and-destruction step, but they also help keep the ecosystem in check. This really got me thinking about my own backyard, organic garden (it's only a half-gratitude garden... I had already done seed-buying before starting Evoke, but this one convinced me to buy only heirloom tomato plants, especially some Kentucky locals). I designed it for maximum food for me and my community and minimum invasives. The problem being that bug-removal or deterrent wouldn't help my local ecosystem in the least.
The point of all this? Just to remind my fellow gardeners to take care of the little guys. Let's try to make some of our garden bug-friendly.
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