Permaculture News

The home economy

Ta da! Kamut bread fresh out of the wood oven ready for lunch. We’re all starving today, having built up quite an appetite.
Su bread
We’ve been harvesting pears, nashis and apples and are now removing the nets from all the trees.
net removal
Above left is Taron. Taron’s been spending every Tuesday here at Melliodora since he was 4 years old. Don’t you wish that your parents had arranged such schooling for you when you were growing up? We look forward to watching him continue to mature into a wise, thoughtful, creative and healthful young man.
Taron
We’ve been marvelling at the colours of the quinoa plants, waiting for their leaves to drop so we can harvest the seeds. Did you know that you can eat the young leaves of the quinoa plant, too?
Quinoa
We’ve been tending to the seeds we planted a week ago, as they slowly and miraculously grow into our winter veggies. On this tray Mitch holds leek, cabbage, beetroot, cauliflower and broccoli.
Mitch
We’ve been harvesting corn, which we are now drying to cook and make into tortillas, and to save as seed for next year.
corn
And we’ve been having meetings with our accountant who assures us that our home economy is in great shape. David adds, “This home-based and community way of life with more exchange and less money is healthier and more fun at the same time in that it builds household resilience and community connection. The big surprise for some is that it might be the most effective political action we can take to create the world we want and stop supporting the world we don’t.” If you’re interested in reading more of David’s writings on the issue of the household economy you might be interested in his essay, Household economy counts, originally published in#123 of Arena magazine.
Leunig
OK, let’s eat. Please, come and sit with us a while as we talk and gobble and share stories. There’s a spare plate next to me. Itadakimasu!
lunch

Comments

6 thoughts on “The home economy”

  1. What a lovely post & lunch looks yummy! We take great delight in identifying where every bit of our meal has come from; either tiny home garden (we are in Adelaide CBD) or produce from friends similarly tiny gardens or the various community gardens we are involved in, cheers julie 🙂

    1. Thanks Julie! If only everybody was so conscientious in wanting to know where their food comes from. Bon appetite! xx

  2. Good to see Quinoa being grown at this scale. I recall receiving Quinoa “407” from Bill Hankin of Wombat Bluff near Buchan back in 1988. It grew well in the yard at Armidale NSW but my subsequent sojourn in the big smoke has seen the seed I harvested then remain unsown so I doubt it would be still viable even if I still have some stashed away. I recall also that it’s longitude(?) specific so varieties need to attuned to the locality. Thanks for such a nicely written and well illustrated post!

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