Eco Design + Living

As industrial agriculture is under attack from Michael Pollan and his followers, the debate over how we transition to sustainable agriculture AND feed the world’s population rages on. One ‘agri-intellectual’ addresses the criticisms and misleading arguments of one farmer, who defends the combined use of GM seed and herbicides as a solution to reducing soil erosion. Michael Pollan’s book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma is at [...]

Seaside Farmers Market Saturday 8-12pm
KIDS FUN DAY with THE RECYCLED ART COMPANY
Join us every Saturday from 8am-12pm for a fun morning at the juice bar in Seaside.  Find the seasons freshest produce available, purchase delicious local organic eggs, and enjoy the best breakfast on 30-A featuring guest chefs each week!  The farmers market will continue [...]

1. Plant something: transplanted Old Virginia tomatoes, basil, and peppers, French Marigolds, Scarlet Salvia. Started sunflowers & sprouts. Oh, and planted a Malabar spinach plant that a friend started from seed.
2. Harvest something: My dear friend Kat took me for a walk in the woods behind her home and we picked the very first blackberries of [...]

1. Plant something: transplanted Old Virginia tomatoes, French Marigolds, Scarlet Salvia, Sunflowers for shoots, and mini red peppers
2. Harvest something: sprouts, basil, chard
3. Preserve something: Nothing here
4. Reduce waste: composted cardboard boxes and food scraps from the Hibiscus Coffee and Guesthouse. This happens every week. The compost is filled with worms and looking righteous!
5. Preparation & [...]

1. Plant something: transplanted Genovese basil, French Marigolds, and mini red peppers
2. Harvest something: sprouts, Marconi red peppers, Mammoth melting snow peas
3. Preserve something: finally put my dried Marconi red pepper seeds in paper envelopes. For the past 3 months they have sat on the counter - I hope they germinate.
4. Reduce waste: composted cardboard [...]

 
Over the years I’ve watched from the comfort of my own home, many a challenge mushroom into something quite inspiring. Much like watching reality TV, the viewer can witness the unfolding events of a fellow citizen’s declared challenge and mentally assess their progress toward some goal. It’s self expression and peaceful activism all rolled into one.
One of [...]

 
There is a quiet shift taking place across the country - a shift to eating locally grown food and less meat. An indicator of expanding wealth, meat consumption in the American diet has risen with the GDP. OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries are also facing rising demand for meat as their GDP’s rise and [...]

Last Thursday, SWELL (South Walton Environmental & Low-impact Living) hosted a discussion on fair trade coffee provided by Amavida’s Dan Bailey. The attendees gathered at the owners lounge at Redfish Village to watch a beautiful slide show of Dan’s recent journey to Chiapas, Mexico. Accompanying Dan at the SWELL gathering was Miguel Mateo Sebastian from the [...]