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Saturday, November 21, 2015

The Fall


We are being prepared for the quiet. For the rooting and the digging in that offers great clarity and full nourishment. We are in the Fall, moving towards even cooler times. We are being given the opportunity to go inside and seek the warmth that will carry us through the cold season. There is the blessing of not only memories in the Sun, but through the preservations of abundant harvest, we have tangible access to that which brightens up our experiences and nourishes our bodies. What I will  bring with me are the conversations centered around the lessons learned from yellow jacket stings and the seasonal habits of carpenter bees. 

Growing and serving has blessed us with a growing community. We will gather around fire pits to process corn into masa harina and sorrel into herbal tea blends. As our laughter and tears echo off the trees we will gather in community sipping the Amaranth and Sorghum porridge that has now replaced our cold fruit smoothies. From our abundant Green harvest, we will nourish  our blood and fortify our organ systems with “Green Shots” and wild harvested herb tinctures. Ginger and Clove will color our Pumpkin Stews cooked slow over wood, clay and flame. Peppers from summer’s harvest will be pickled and made into hot sauces, bringing the sweetness of the Sun to the Fall and Winter, and provide a burst of Sunshine to every meal. 

In the large scheme of this Earth, this work, this exchange and experience matters. Nature gives us endless opportunities to be amazed and to be humbled. She is gracious and she is exact. She is balanced and her subtleties and flairs are all filled with purpose and grand design. Through communion with her we will be informed and instructed on how to continue to move forward through not just the Fall and the Chill, but through it all. Nature yearns for the interaction, for the relationship and she entices us with rich experiences and intense healing. She shocks us into inspiration and calls upon our attentiveness and ability to serve. Nature fortifies and we preserve what she gifts and shares with us. And we are all made whole from the exchange.




My Kitchen Sounds Like: "Simply Beautiful" by Al Green

Thursday, April 16, 2015

Feed Your Farmer!

Here at MaituFoods we just launched our Feed Your Farmer initiative.  For all of our Grow Where You Are farmers and farm volunteers, we will now provide Vegan Meals prepared in Maitu's kitchen utilizing produce from the farms. Without our farmers we don't eat. Yet we realize that farmers and farming communities are the least served and the most undervalued in society. Oftentimes the very same farmers, who grow and harvest our food are food poor and live in poverty.

According to studies conducted by the world bank, 75% (883 million people at the US $1 a day poverty level) of the world's poor live in rural areas. Most of the rural poor depend directly or indirectly on agriculture for their well-being. It's a source of livelihood for roughly 86% (2.5 billion) of rural people and provides jobs for 1.3 billion smallholders and landless workers. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, whereas farmers produce the majority of the world's food, they are generally much poorer than the rest of the population and are less food secure than even the urban poor. It can be said that there are efforts underway to increase small farming, not only in efforts to eradicate hunger but to also improve the livelihood of farmers. However, it still remains that farmers, especially in rural areas remain marginalized and impoverished.

MaituFoods with this small gesture, hopes to bring more attention and awareness to this issue. Also to let our farmers know that we appreciate them and value their work. So from our kitchen, to our farmers' tables, Come Eat!  #FeedYourFarmer #FarmersEatFirst