Wild Food workshop this weekend, and some reading and watching...

Don't forget Alexis' Wild Food Identification, Gathering and Preparation workshop this Sunday 30th. There's still space, so email us or call 5348 3636 to book in! It will be really great finding and gathering wild food, then preparing and eating it! I very much enjoyed my meal when I attended a previous workshop and have made use of my identification skills in finding food to prepare meals since!

Also don't forget to head to the market stall for Sally McCrae at the Daylesford Market before you head down for the workshop.

If you aren't able to make the dinner and films tonight, you can check out the update from the Chile building project here. Worth a watch to see what our funds are helping them do over there.


And just a few other things to check out while you're at it:

A new article by David Holmgren, on Bee keeping for the energy descent future, is available for download from the Writings page of the Holmgren Design Services (HDS) website. This article is a reflection on "the prospects for apiculture (bee keeping) as a sustainable and resilient livelihood in the future" and considers the current state of apiculture and future possibilities from a number of different angles.

Also on the HDS website, a press release by David entitled Urgent need to recreate flood resilient rivers and floodplains. This press release is a response to the recent floods and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of streamside vegetation management strategies that are currently in use and that are recommended by David Holmgren and others. 

David also recommends that "Tradable Energy Quotas is probably the only public policy that might have a chance of giving us orderly energy descent," and that "this report should be widely read and discussed."


Also check out a video, 300 years of fossil fuels in 300 seconds, here.

Dinner & short films Thursday 27th - change of venue, Wild Food Gathering and Preparation (and Eating!), and market stall for Sally!

A late change to the venue of our upcoming dinner and short films Thursday 27th January, it will now be at Conti, still at 7pm for dinner, 8pm for films. Book with us by email or phone 5348 3636. Come along to share a meal and catch the Chile building update and Transition message from Rob Hopkins.

Now for the promised details about Alexis' upcoming Wild Food workshop on Sunday 30th January...

The full workshop will run from 10am until 2pm and will include a walk to find our yummy weeds and then cooking up a storm with said weeds to share a meal. $45 for the full deal, including lunch. If you really can't come for the whole session, $20 for the walk, $30 for the preparation and meal. Book with us by email or phone 5348 3636.

And before you head to the Weed workshop, check out the market stall for Sally McCrae that morning (30th January), at Daylesford market. Sally is a local midwife who is facing pressure from the medical profession to justify her homebirth practice. Supporting homebirth is important so that people can have right to choose how they give birth. Karen and Sarah are organising a market stall to raise funds for Sally's legal costs, she has yet to hear about hearing and the costs are mounting.

If you have any donations of good quality household goods, furniture, clothing, kids' stuff, toys or books, or if you can help with the running of the stall on the day, please contact Sarah on 5348 7993 or Karen on 0434 261 306 or email to organise pick up/delivery of goods and advise of your availability.

See the flyer here, or the link on facebook here.

First HRN event for 2011! Thursday 27 January

Our first event for the year will be a dinner, with an update from the Chile building project and a transition message from Rob Hopkins. (Rescheduled from late last year as it was a busy time for everyone!) See our previous blog post for more info about the message from Rob Hopkins and the update from Chile...

The dinner will be at the Savoia, 7pm Thursday 27 January. Dinner is a set menu with bookings in advance, in line with our sustainable eating out guidelines for minimising food waste. Please book with us, by email or phone - 5348 3636.

On the topic of Chile, a long overdue big thank you to everyone involved in helping to raise funds for the Chilean community of El Manzano who were affected by the earthquake early last year, particularly those who were involved in last year's benefit dinner, gig and art auction. It was a wonderful night with a delicious dinner, excellent company and fantastic music to dance to. Thanks to the cooks, the musicians, organisers and helpers and also special thanks to the artists who donated their art works for the silent auction and to those who donated prizes for the raffle. See a few pics from the night below. :-)

It will be great for us all to hear a much awaited update on the progress of their project that we helped support AND learn a little more about sustainable building!

Enjoying the delicious local organic feast prepared for dinner.

Scattersoul delighting the audience...

who kicked off their shoes to dance...

and enjoying themselves while they were at it!

Also, advance notice that the next Edible weed walk with Alexis Pitsopoulos will be on Sunday 30 January. More details in next week's blog or email us for early bookings.