With great fanfare and after a lot of fundraising Slow Food Charlotte accomplished the huge task of sending over 14 people to Turin Italy for Terra Madre 2008. As a part of the observer arm of the delegation we were there to experience something special and unique. Which if you are in to food, culture, and a wider world view should be experienced.
The real question upon return is how to best speak of the event. How to best capture, seal, and use as a foundation for our local conversations and action. I’ve found it difficult. Speaking with many of the delegates there are similarities of not having just one thing but a peppering of tens if not hundreds of little moments that remain indelible.
Picking up our passes and checking in with the US liaisons we were able to meet some of the other US delegation and see a plentiful and diverse group of peoples. The opening ceremonies was long yet brilliant.
Beginning with a procession of Sardinians showing off one of their rituals (impressive, daunting, and powerful) to follow was the marching of the flags. Many countries of the world were represented and as we later found out from Winona laDuke a hope that indegenious cultures will be able to fly their flags next session.
Passionate Speakers, We Listened in Awe
Speakers included those in Slow Food and beyond, Alice Waters introduced a video of Prince Charles, UN Asst. Secretary General Carlos Lopes spoke on behalf of Ban Ki-Moon, Vandana Shiva was passionate and fiery in her remarks, a student Sam Levin blew us away with his youth, determination, vibrance and step-taking, Carlo Petrini brought it all home in the poignant thoughts of our development and rich diversities.
We were awash in the power of the people.
I had chills so many times I thought my brain was going to fry out. I’m not sure everyones world view is ready to accept what is going on. The world is being dominated by those with power and we are constantly seeing large companies leverage that power into poor decisions; squeezing the bottom of the chain, selling consumers marketing and bad health, while replacing nature with man management which is leading us down a very bad road.
United States Delegation, 800+
America will always amaze me. We are a super culture, a mixing pot of everyone. Including the great diversification of the indigenous countries within our country. How often we forget our own brief history.
The meeting of the US delegation was huge and very long. I understand why Slow Food Nation was conceived. We have a lot to talk about. With over 300 million in our borders we have a lot of work to do to corral this great nation.
We heard from many great regional speakers (session notes from Robin):
Josh Viertel, President of SF USA
We cannot take out without putting back in. Our priorities: #1 The Youth, #2 Social Justice. We are a movement, not an organization.
Farmer Dominic
We feed the community, and the community feeds us.
The importance of teaching.
Green Mountain College Farm and Food Project
Initiated under three goals: #1 Food, #2 Minds, #3 Ideas
Community supported agriculture (CSA) in the classroom to the kitchen and dining.
Common goals with continued partnership and community building.
White Earth Land Recovery Project Winona laDuke, protecting our sacred wild rices, listening and talking to our relatives (the vegetation), cultural diversity is as important as bio-diversity, remember where we came from and how we got here, honor the history of food, and that we all have the right to own and eat food.
Kellen Vaughn Shelendewa, the crops are your children, learn from your elders, the ancestors are with us and watch us, the earth has been entrusted to us.
Brett Ramie, community inclusion cannot be done without elders, our world cycle is a non-linear progress and we must apply the knowledge of our elders before it is lost to us.
Ian Marvy, creating future eaters and teaching young people to farm.
Peace and refuge exists in the garden.
From seed to sale, helping the youth see potential in alternative markets.
Embrace the joy, understand the anger, and transform one to the other.
Chef Tony Miller, cook to farmer collaboration.
Let the food be the food, the star of the plate. Finish strong, show the youth what we need to continue. Keep the dollar in your yard, source locally whenever possible.
What Novice Farmers Need to Succeed
Access: land, info, market, cultural institutions, encouragement.
Land, liberty, sunshine, stamina. serveyourcountryfood.net
Inter-generational collaboration in activism Coalition of Immokalee workers, a 32 pound bucket of tomatoes gets $.45, the same as in 1978. Equating to $8-10,000 a year. 7 cases of slavery in the last decade. They have fought and won cases against large companies to pay more for their produce. Big companies can not keep applying this financial pressure downwards.
Strengthening Food Communities,Will & Erika Allen
Engage and inspire the community. The need to break down the social constructs that are oppressing people. Food justice, generations of justice. Look for the small projects to produce tremendous results, “Below the Grass”. Rich food for all folks.
Overcoming Cultural Divides with Smiles
Robin and I wanted to break through the cultural divides and meet people. We built a photo book, packing it with pictures of who we are and where we are from. Upon meeting someone new usually it involved the act of smiling and gesturing for a photograph.
I would take their picture and then we would approach showing them their picture. This then turned into an often funny trial and error of english, italian, french, hand signs, and laughter.
What really helped was showing our pictures.
Showing our city at night, Robin and her classroom, our farmers and local agriculture, our family.
Through this exchange we would learn who they were, where they were from, what they brought with them, and with many contact information for penning them later. Our parting gift to those we met was a simple photograph of Robin and myself surrounded by some of the pictures they had seen with a set of email and snail mail addresses so that we might keep in touch. We hope they do.
Classes, Lectures, the Public Speaks
There were so many things to learn and not enough time to learn them all. Between Salone de Gusto’s formidable tasting, pairing, and food explorations you had multiple tracks that you could run on in the Terra Madre sector. Climate change, soil protection, fair trade, bee colonies, getting to market, how to market, activist luncheons, youth meetups, and so much more.
We attended many which I’ll go in to in individual postings later, but would have loved to entertain more. Watching and being a participant with all these groups of people, each having a headset and a translator was just brilliant in being able to communicate across the gulf of language.
Do You Value Yourself? Do You Value the World?
In the end we all share this world and many of us are experiencing the same problems. How we face those problems, find solutions that are good, clean, and fair, will be a monumental challenge. If we don’t face it head on though it will get no easier later and if the damage is irreprable, then what.
I’ve said it before, I got into this movement for a hunt for quality. I fell in love with the chain of agriculture and now am in it for my future family. If we can adopt a greater outlook for ourselves and for those in our charge maybe there is hope yet.
Continued Thought, an Evolving Experience
More to come. We thank all of those who helped us achieve our goal and look forward to building further essays and pictorials that give light to what we learned. I end with a musical slideshow that encompasses some of the sights and similar musics heard during our time abroad.
The whirlwind of Andy’s life never stops, rarely slows, and is always ready to start up again. Why? Because he’s insane. Anyhow, the voices urge me onward. Recently I was able to organize and participate in a Slow Food Charlotte event that was with a local forager named Reed.
A rule on foragers. They know the value of a secret and are good to keep their best ones close to their heart (or stomach). I don’t want to give any more than I have to on where we were or Reed’s full name. I respect this self-proclaimed lummox and want to keep the integrity of the wood, per say.
Stay Away from Brown and Whites
We weren’t but a few yards away from civilization when Reed shouted out that we should stay clear of all white and brown mushrooms. Unless of course you know what you are doing. Of course we don’t, and not knowing, this gave us our first framework to work in.
There are plenty of good white and brown mushrooms, there are also plenty that will do you harm from indigestion to liver failure. There have been many families snuffed out by collecting of simple white mushrooms with a death cap mixed in. The difference between a species being identified is of extreme importance.
There were six of us, as we got comfortable with the terrain we learned a little bit more about each other. Educators, chefs, executives, and more. One goal in mind, to learn more about the wild around us and how to better scout for the delectable within. We couldn’t have been paired with a better local guide.
Reed is an impassioned man who loves being outdoors. He is a living tome of knowledge that was first catalyzed as a small child. When asked where he got started thinking about mushrooms he recalled a science fair project and how after that he never stopped looking into the natural world around him.
So Much Knowledge!
I wish my mind could have held it all. He pointed at trees that would have different species at different types of year. Bushes that held edibles, and wild roses that might have the greatest little blooms. Everywhere he turned he could practically tell us something else about the landscape around us. It was impressive and inspiring.
We eventually came to a set of stream-beds. Reed found some small red/orange chanterelle and had us all get a good eyeful. We were then instructed to fan out and look for more based off of a kind of grid search heading north along the stream. Slowly we began to spot little patches here, there, all in a fairly juvenille state, but chanterelle’s none the less.
Over the course of a few hours, a couple of miles, and a few of us getting famous left or right, mud-foot, we learned so much. We found good species and bad, the edible and the repelling. Reed even found a few new that might be good. He would take them home for spore printing and testing. We also stumbled upon an old homesite marked by giant oaks and the remnants of the stone foundation for a wood cabin.
Injury Count, Zero^b^b^b
We came, we saw, we got stung. Oh yea, the only real injury of the trip was when Laura and I, third through a wasp nest finally pissed them off enough to send out a full on assault. We danced violently with spurts of run walking before shedding a portion of clothing and asking the wasps to please go home. While we got the brunt and large amount of stingers I think everyone got stung once. (Which for the record wasp stings take up to 6 days before they fully stop itching.. what a drag!)
While we harvested only a small amount on this trip Reed thought it was a great success. We all now know what to look for on a few edible species. We now know what to not touch from panthers to death caps and a host of bitter bites.
We will try and continue to do this in intervals so that more can become a bit more forage worthy and collectively we can understand more of Charlotte’s natural bioculture.
I love to experience life and the world. To many it looks like I am defiant or full of challenge but really it is a zest for the experience. Maybe I have some kinesthesia issues. Recently during a scuba trip on Grand Cayman I was to find myself in a position I have rarely, if ever, found myself in. Near panic.
When you are a child, or young adult, being locked in a dark place is probably the closet to panic you get. The overwhelming fear of the unknown, a confined space, darkness, can usually evoke a pretty good shriek from many people whereupon you are released by teasing siblings or friends from your torment.
In scuba diving many people cannot do it. Whether it’s the water, a bunch of gear on you, breathing apparatus, or something more simple many people I speak with do not have what it takes to submerge themselves.
Being a Floridian I’ve always loved the water. My mother affectionately called me part fish for my comfort and never ending joy I found in pools or the sea. I started diving in 1992 at Seacamp. While I have more skydives than water dives I have always considered diving like riding a bicycle. Once I learned it’s all fairly rote in my memory. Gear assembly and testing, signs, the only thing I have to reference is my dive tables.
Heading to Cayman this year I found myself with a sinus headcold. For the first two days on island I thought my eyes would never stop tearing due to the unwanted pressure in my head. We scrubbed a few dive days to allow this to work itself out. During which time my wife and I took to snorkeling and free diving. Free diving allowed me to test what parts of my head were clogged and not by having to equalize multiple times and varying depths.
On the third day my head felt clear with minimal if any pressure build ups. We decided to make a comfortable dive at Eden Rock. Robin and I were buddies following my father and step-mother down to Devil’s Grotto (a series of little tunnels and such). Like normal I felt comfortable, breathing was zen like, everything felt good. Robin and I stayed down about 55 minutes in total.
We then went to lunch at the Sunset House, calculating our surface interval we prepared for another dive. I wanted to see the Mermaid again and my new dive buddy Beth and I were going to visit the wall at about 60ft. We swam out to our marker with family, submerged, and slowly found our way to the Mermaid standing tall in waters clear to about 50-60ft. Taking pictures of my dad being a hooligan we turned and began to make our way to a sunken deployment craft.
We descended further and I began to swallow what I was thinking was salt water. I began to think there was a light leak in my mask and somehow during breathing I was inhaling water. Diversionary thoughts began to enter my head as this sensation increased over the next few minutes. My mind was starting to echo really stupid thoughts of, ‘Sure would suck to have to emergency ascend’, or ‘How do I breathe again?’. Slowly but surely my mind began to get on a tear as this fluid—drinking—sensation built. My heart began a sympathetic response and began to race.
With Beth in the lead and my father next to me I motioned that I needed to stop. I was starting to hyperventilate at about 45ft and my logical mind could not for the life of it get my emotional self under control. I knew I could breath, I knew the life line of tubes connecting me to my can of air was worthy so I sank to my knees, motioned unease and held my mask and my mouthpiece. I know stupid things happen in the moment so I just sat there with my eyes closed, letting the sine wave of panic pass through me. I motioned that my heart was racing but how it was perceived I can only guess. I was blowing so many bubbles I went from 2400psi to 1700psi in moments.
We split the group up, Beth to go with my step mother Page and I would return to shallower waters to exit with my father. We turned and parted ways. A few minutes later my heart stabilized, the fluid in my throat stopped running, and my logical self retook control of my senses. I communicated with my father and we tooled around for a few minutes more then exited for what would be a short 27m dive.
When I took my mask off I found out I had a nose bleed, my medical father thinks I had sinus rupture and I was swallowing the drainage / blood from the blow out. What an amazing and frightening experience.
When you find yourself in an alien environment, or maybe just out of your situational comfort zone, and your body begins to abreact at something it can’t internalize properly it feeds your emotional mind a lot of dark fodder. The more I try to be my rational, logical, normal self, the more tenuous the feeling of actual control is when a situation is spinning out of your control.
The best thing one can do is stop and hold on. We are a thermodynamic device so inputs will be cyclical and responsive to what is happening. If you can ride out the wave you will probably see yourself safely through to the end but going all out emotional, or reptillian mind, will only cause you harm. Can you imagine if I had bolted to the surface? I would have put myself from a bad situation to worse in heartbeats.
The next best thing you need to do is extract yourself from the situation. Once I regained some function of mind the safest thing for all of us was to abort the dive. With clear instructions and good buddies I was able to make my way back to safer waters and further regain my faculties and composure. Am I disappointed I didn’t get to see the wall this time? Sure. Am I forever happy to have my health and know I can dive another day? Undoubtedly.
The older I get the more I understand that sometimes we have very little control of ourselves. When the amplitude of panic rises you have to be ready to react in safe manners. Whether it’s deploying a canopy, diving the seas, or driving the highway, you have to be ready for any situation and be ready to try and handle it, or escape from it, like a pro.
We’re back from our quick stint in New York City. Whenever we are in the area I feel like crack is in the water. Our senses—palate—eyes, were sated. Let’s catch up those that weren’t following the twitter’s, or photos on the go.
What do you do in the city that never sleeps and can offer you nearly anything. Actually not much if you don’t have a clue (i.e. analysis paralysis). Luckily through trial and error we’ve figured out a loose organization of ideas, recommendations, and select guidance can make a trip perfect. Like I said when we were heading out we took our Slow Food book and a few itinerarys.
I love the Grumpies. How can you not? Chris parachutes (figuratively) with his wife, Caroline and a severance package to open the first Grumpy in Brooklyn. Then they lateral and open into a great slice of Chelsea. Each location thumping a soul of great people and coffee. The world needs more of these powerhouses. They know the coffees they serve and happily educate those who enter their halls.
We had heard the tales and had to see what it was like. My mental map and it didn’t align. I thought it was America’s answer to the St. Lorenzo Market in Italy…well…a guy can dream right? It did however have all a foodie could generally want. I could not stop jibbering about finding frozen & dried porcini. A bunch of bakeries, a great wine shop, butcher, Italian importer, and a few other good things in a neat corridor/concourse of a building.
A first timer to any MoMa museum. Target’s sponsoring “Target Fridays” that let the public in for free during Friday afternoon/evenings (4p-8p I think). We like the idea of saving a little cash while seeing some culture. The culture was on the walls and in the halls as the place was packed with people. We saw some fantastic artwork but couldn’t help wonder why there weren’t many (any?) modern artists in the modern museum.
Robin and I had a fun time seeing Mary Poppins. It’s childhood classic that had us comparing memories to the show. Ashley Brown does a stellar job while being supported by a well polished cast. We thought about waiting around to say hi, but this day the wind and chill really penetrated and ripped that heat off us. We also wanted to get another show in but felt like it would be crowding an already bouncy trip.
Restaurants
Nusantara
651 Ninth Avenue, between 45th and 46th Streets.
Aka Bali Nusa, an Indonesian restaurant with the tastiest ginger tea. Bring cash and a to-go cup (if you want some tea for the road) at this little establishment. We dined on beef satay, corn shrimp fritters, a shrimp vegetable curry, shrimp crackers, jasmine rice squares, and for dessert a steamed coconut custard with palm sugar.
Barbetta
321 West 46th Street, between Eighth and Ninth Aves.
This place is over 100 years old and straight out of Italia. They even claim to have been the first family to bring the espresso machine to New York. It was a great restaurant and took us back to a more formal side of Italy. The wait staff was attentive and polite, serving up a nice array of dishes. Robin fawned over the softness of the gnocchi and I really got into their savory porcini risotto. The prices ranged from $16-$50 per piece or main entree, but it’s not every day you can say, “Gratzie Mille”.
Victors
236 West 52nd Street, between 7th and 8th avenue on 52nd st.
I happen to have a great soft spot in my palate for cuban-carribean-puerto rican influences. Whenever we visited my Grandfather he often cooked up some of these dishes. We enjoyed a meal of classics, fried yuca appetizer followed by ropas vejas and arroz con picadillo with fried egg. Washed down with a crisp white sangria. For dessert we needed something soft and found it in a coconut rice pudding (arroz con crema) with a few spicey cafe con leche’s to go with it.
Pink Tea Cup
42 Grove Streeth, between Bleecker and Bedford Streets.
A place to grab some soul for cash. I wanted a good breakfast and we found it in this perfectly sized restaurant. Can’t beat a place that will serve you some fried chicken and pancakes. We had a ham and cheese omelet, grits, strawberry stuffed pancakes, buttery home-fries, and some biscuits that’d make you cry. Fast service made possible by some hard working and smiling individuals. This might become a regular stop from here on out hehe!
db Bistro Moderne
55 West 44th Street, between Fifth and Sixth Aves.
From the famed Daniel Boulud this restaurant puts the fine in fine dining. Each location db has creates a burger like no other as a specialty. In the bistro he has the Burger Royale; where else can you throw down seventy bucks for a sirloin burger stuffed with braised short-ribs, black truffle and foie gras topped with shaved black truffles? It was two of my favorite things, fine ingredients and a burger. A really exquisite experience, and I told the manager so. We finished our dinner with a roasted pineapple, ginger cookie, coconut sorbet concoction which was beautiful as well.
You can find all our photos of our trip over on flickr. Now it’s time I turn my focus on what I learned during our eight hour intensive with David Allen. It’ll be up on Nuance Labs as soon as I condense my mind-map into text.
Finally caught some free wi-fi in the Grumpies. Quickly checking my email in detail, saying hi to a few in IM, responding to some flickr, but about to brave the cold and windy streets again to catch the Mary Poppins play.
The GTD seminar was fantastic and I’m processing notes for a writeup on Nuance Labs. As well once home I’ll need to process a few hundred shots and get them up on flickr.
The fun never stops and it’s great! Catch you all in a few days.
