Permaculture Sketch and Travel

A Very Rough Sketch

This is my first preliminary drawing of what I'd like to do to my little spot of land in Minnesota. Here is a pic of that again:
So the yurt that Id get for about $10-12k US, (A VERY affordable way to live in style) www.pacificyurts.com

I should friggin' work for these people, especially when I think of how much I talk about their product. Seriously though, I think these yurts can be done with a high level of eco-style and they are really resource efficient. I would put a trellis of grapes and planters around the outer wall. Lots of windows, lots of natural light. Just by viewing their 3-D tour, I saw how much ANYONE could improve it. I would totally put up something to cover that interior wall!

So fix that up, make it really cool and cozy inside, and then put it on a circular terrace or deck made from recycled plastic and reclaimed (recycled) wood. Ideally, you want to build the yurt on the deck, so have the deck made FIRST. I think the main structure would be under $20,000 including the deck. Then just add in the fruit trees and berry bushes and get the poultry area built (so my dad can have his eggs...at least they would be fresh and from unstressed and well-fed birds.) And they would provide excellent organic manure for the compost. Add the hoop-house/greenhouse, and build the rest. You could even build your own greenhouse with 2x4's and plexiglass. Im not saying that its going to be easy, but it will be fun and a great project to work on with my family, and especially my dad.

This smaller style could be further back into the woods

I'll talk more about all of this really soon (Water, Solar, Wind especially) so feel free to ask me questions if you have any.

Question:

hey anthony! i know this is waaaay past commenting time already but.. in relation to this post- what are your ideas on travelling green? i too am planning the whole eco lifesyle with travel options thing but flying anywhere on a plane just kills the environment. i was thinking about driving from malaysia to the UK or taking trains. i'd love to know if you have any ideas about this. also.. what do you think about the eating local idea? in some places, perhaps even in nyc, unless you grow things yourself it's pretty hard to eat organic, local and raw.. what do you think?



Let's face it, flying IS REALLY BAD for the atmosphere. Ive heard that it's equal to a whole year of everything else...? Can this be true? Probably because its spewing all the CO2 WAY up in the upper atmosphere, doing serious direct damage. I did this game called Consumer Consequences, and the only thing that really nailed me was the flying.

Your journey would be 1000 times richer if you traveled by land. However, if you have the time, consider yourself a rare and lucky soul. Few can take the time from needed and unneeded responsibilities, so if you can, I would surely do it. It sounds like a VERY long trip though...
Arrange an itinerary that would allow you to stay at eco-villages/resorts or wwoof as you go along. Im sure some people will take you for shorter periods of time if they need the extra help. Eat local fruits, support local farmers, maybe share ideas about the future...you can't go wrong with that.

I think after peak oil really changes things, and affordable flying is no longer an option whatsoever, its going to become all continental journeys via hi-speed train and other continents via ship. Can't wait to pull into Victoria Harbor! Could you imagine going over the ocean like in the old days? This whole airplane business is going to come and go within our lifetime...at least the widespread public use of it.

NYC pretty good for eating locally, esp in the summer and fall of course. We are located near the Hudson River Valley and all the good farms in New Jersey as well, so we have really good local produce all the time, from less than 100 miles. To really increase the locality factor of your diet, consume a ton of local sprouts and definitely grow them yourself if you want to save alot of money and try to make a little hobby of it. You can become THE urban farmer! But if you had a greenhouse and lived in the suburbs, you could probably grow year round here and live off of your apples and root vegetables throughout the winter if you wanted to stay raw. Honey and dried fruit added in plentifully, I hope. It would take a while to get the fruit trees established and producing (or maybe not...you can order large trees now) but it shouldnt take long overall to reach the point of feeding yourself.

And we have a strong number of raw restaurants here in NY, so if you dont feel like making something, you can find a great alternative not far away. And some might even deliver. Its pretty good here. Im tired of it(NYC) for sure, and ready to start this Permaculture stuff, but its a really cool city, with lots of good resources and cool people. Its worth trying out at least from April to July, or Sept-End of Dec if you dont mind the cold. There's just so much more out there...its been 3 years...time to move on, right?

Anthony

Raw Couples and Tree Update

Blended Together -
Durian
1 Young Thai Coconut with water (you know what to do, scoop it out with the spoon...)
Cacao Powder (as much as you like)
Green Superfood (So many, go as pure as possible). Avoid ALL with bran and soy lecithin or apple fiber. Big waste of money. Just buy bulk spirulina or chlorella or blue green algae. There are good blends out there as well so just check the trusted raw websites to find out which ones we're thinking about.
Next...blend it all together until its soooo smooth. Im not going to give a specific amount of durian and cacao powder because this is really up to you. You will know how much you want. You can even throw cashews or macadamia nuts in, even avocado! Have this early though, at LEAST 6 hours before bed.

After its all blended, throw a fierce handful of:
Hemp Seeds (look into Manitoba Harvest Online Bulk, (the best price around and especially to support the best company out there that is promoting organic hemp growth)
And...Cacao Nibs. Look for the Criollo variety. This is definitely the best quality kind of chocolate.
You could easily modify this with bee pollen on top, goji berries or different seeds and nuts. Its really up to the creator of the dish.

with pistachios (and less green superfood)
-
This is a dish for LOVERS!

There should be some more insight about couples who are living-foodists. Im trying to avoid saying RAW as much as I can, it does have this rough all-too-natural-and SCARY sound to it. So living-foodists...ahh....so peaceful and pleasant sounding....Living-Foodist Model doesnt sound all that great.

Anyways, these couples should be talking about their experiences with transitioning and what they do for recreation and how its changed their lives overall. And how about raising KIDS raw? Ive seen some examples, but I would think that there should be bunches more in the past couple of years. There has to be some kind of study to compare these children to regular kids eating white bread and drinking soda and kool-aid. This would convince more parents to switch over than anything else could.

How about those fruit trees? Did anyone happen to check out those fruit tree sites that I posted earlier? I bought alot of smaller ones from Peaceful Valley, but after looking at Willis Orchards, I've discovered all these trees for sale which are already 6-8ft (2-2.5m) Tall. So you are getting your valuble pesticide-free-fruit in much, MUCH less time. True they are more expensive, but if you consider the value of all the fruit you will get compared to buying the same amount, its much closer, if not a cheaper price. Think about persimmons and figs! Or guavas and jujube trees! Damn!....those are so cool, and so expensive...so if you have loads of these...Think about it - if they are charging $8/lb for them here in the states, you could have yourself easily enough to pay for the tree. And they will keep producing for a very long time. So GOOD.

If you or someone you know ends up getting some fruit trees, Id love to hear about the story. I'm planning on getting from Willis Orchards the Italian Everbearing Fig, 1 of each Paw Paw, Black Mulberry, and maybe try a Hachiya Persimmon since I'll have the greenhouse to keep it warmer in winter. I also ordered Walnut trees. Remember, this is just because of my area. I would get an avocado tree in a second if I knew I could grow it where I live.
The whole idea is that with the right storage, you can eat off of your own piece of land 365 days a year. With good year-round food growing techniques and a dehydrator you can do it. Nuts provide the fat. Hemp seed would be the perfect fat to have, but walnuts or almonds would be do-able.

I can't grow olives in Minnesota either, but those trees would be a definite selection if I lived in the right climate. Many of you probably do, so look into those, along with avocados!.

Have a good Tuesday evening! Its the best night to eat out! No weekend rush, so you know your food is cared for, and the food is fresher. Some places are always fresher, but most will buy in bigger shipments and hold food for days and days before serving it. If you or your friend eat fresh fish, I wouldnt go out to eat on Sundays or Mondays...think about it...

Rawmodel

Raw, but Unbalanced

Fresh Cherries tossed in a mixture of:
Hemp Seed
Cacao Nibs
Agave Nectar
Hemp Oil.

The Best. Works with apricots also.

These are the kind of dishes you just start to imagine. There was really no set recipe, you just work with what you have on hand. With raw foods you can really become an alchemist with your diet...so many "raw" materials to work with...haha

I stayed raw this weekend, but was eating LATE and heavy. Really low on the greenery scale and way too many nuts and seeds. I ate that whole FIG (I just corrected this after WAY too long)-coco tart right after I made it! It was soooo good though. But way too much. When you live alone you don't have your partner there to share it (the raw dessert) with...or to have them nearby to tell you to stop being a pig and not to eat that whole raw pie! Haha...I need that person every so often to keep me in line, because I really do pay the price afterwards. The weather was hell this Saturday here in NY, and I just stayed inside the whole time. That's really rare for me. I have to admit it, but its just SO depressing riding that subway around. The bike was quick freedom, and now everything is in slow motion when it comes to getting around.

I walked down to Chinatown from 21st St and bought a durian. I walked over to this basketball court area on Grand and Allen or Chrystie St down in the Lower East Side. I was watching these young 20-somethings play polo while riding on their single-speed bicycles. Young women and men playing together...it was really great to watch. I felt like such a lazy spectator though. Here they were, so active and having a good time with friends, and there I was, eating a durian (awesome) in the park alone(not awesome).

I gotta give my mom that damn dehydrator too. Its just too convenient to make all these amazing raw treats, and then since my dehydrator is easily within my reach from this desk that Im typing on...its just too easy to eat a pound of raw granola in 30 min. NOT GOOD.

She (my mom) will be able to experiment a bunch more with it as well, so its best that she has it. Once you really start using it, and always have items in there...rotating all these different creations...it really gets a person excited about living-foods. This is what can really help a new person transition. The crackers, and crusts, and cookies, and chips...SO much easier to leave the cooked side.

So whats worse? Eating heavy raw fats and superfoods late at night, or being 90% raw instead of 100%? I have to tell you, even at 100%, with a diet like I had this weekend, it really made me more lethargic that the usual green smoothie fresh fruit diet that I have been doing lately. Keep this in mind everyone.

A reader of the blog recently asked me if I have ever had any tooth pains since going raw. Nothing yet, but I havent experienced any eyesight changes either like some have. However, I have not been 100% the entire time either. We could be in the realms of LONG term change when we mention teeth and eyes. Usually when I end up traveling somewhere I try some local dishes. So my 100% for many times of the year is more like 90-95%, some rare days much less than that.

Ive eaten a ton of goji berries for extended periods of time though, and didnt notice any changes. But I would honestly believe that it takes a longer time before the change comes. I do believe after years and years of goji berries, senses like eyesight and hearing will definitely be different. 3 years of my experience as raw (usually 100%) shouldnt be considered yet as a source of long term changes.

Here's a thought...Living-foodists might be one of the smallest minority groups out there today. In per capita numbers, the living-foods percentage must be beyond minuscule. All the more reason to stick together for when we need support. Keep on brainstorming about get-togethers to watch related movies and having potlucks, lets really use the internet to our advantage.

Im about to watch some more episodes of "Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia" . I know there are those out there that would never ever watch a tv show ever again, and especially not a comedy sitcom! Well...its good to laugh, and this is really smart humor. I've found myself laughing out loud many times. Check it out if you'd like, I dont think you would regret it.

So Im gonna try to post every other day. Lets shoot for 3-4 a week...that way I wont run out of steam so fast. Many times the ideas just flow, and I cant reason to just sit on them for a while. So we'll see how this goes. Lots of plans for my Permaculture project in Minnesota too...much more to come.

Question of the Day - Craving Cooked Foods

Question of the day:


Hi Anthony,
I love your site! You are doing a great job updating and adding videos which livens things up and really gives insight into the raw/live foods lifestyle.

I have a question for you as a person new to raw food: Do you ever get terribly hungry and/or have cravings for cooked food? I am 50% raw right now and can feel a difference due to adding a greens smoothie to my day and fresh fruit and veg. But I am concerned that I will get really hungry with higher % of raw foods each day, then eat too many nuts or high fat raw and get fat. Neither condition is desirable to me. Any suggestions?

Thanks so much!
Kiki
P.S. Those figs look GORGEOUS!

Kiki...

For me, it was always specific dishes that I was craving. Like some kind of Indian food like saag paneer or Italian food like eggplant parmesan (sp?), or of course - falafel. Its amazing how falafel can even be referred to as "healthy". And I referring even to the regular deep-fried falafels. For some reason, many individuals will still relate "vegetarian" to "healthy". You can be a vegan that drinks and eats all kinds of bread and noodles and other cooked carbs, and be headed straight for sickness. The difference with me eating raw carbs and cooked carbs is shockingly noticeable. I'll add on 10lbs of water weight in 3 or 4 days. Once you go full raw, that fine line becomes so apparent. All of our years before, we literally floated around in the "meso-health" area. I had a little padding on my body (probably that last 10lbs) for years. I was around 180lbs (81kg) - 6'1'' (186cm), working out but still eating lots of cooked food.
When I reached 100% for extended periods of time, I leaned out and reached 165-168. You could see all the muscles that were underneath...as they are there for everyone else too. We just have to remove the padding (both interior - the colon build-up) and exterior (excess water weight) and the beauty will again shine through.

Giving up cooked vegan dishes was MUCH harder than giving up meat. Vegans think they are making big sacrifices sometimes...it's laughable. Going raw is COMPLETELY different. You are in a different paradigm once you are raw. The whole concept of rejoining the rest of nature by eating RAW food is totally new for most of us on this planet.

So if you are craving dishes that you miss because you are trying to go raw, its likely that those dishes are cooked, because its all we have ever eaten basically. Sure, we ate our fruit and had our salads. However, the GOOD dishes...the ones that our parents would make for us, or that we would have when we went out on special occasions, we always COOKED. So, save that dish for when you reach the two or even three week mark of being raw. Make that your special occasion. But really give raw a serious effort and know that your special meal is coming. Once you have the breakthrough, you will be able to make an honest choice of whether you want to keep it at 100%. I've experienced profound moments being at 100% with lots of greens and by being active, and that feeling then replaces the old longing of those cooked dishes. And once you find unbelieveably good raw dishes, its so much easier to replace those cravings.

One more thing everyone, if you know someone having a hard time viewing this page, let them know that its best viewed at 1280x800 resolution. My mom was having that problem and a very nice woman from the UK just contacted me and said the same thing. Hope this helps! Have a juicy weekend...

Anthony

Raw Food Nation

When you first become raw, you realize that you are living in a world full of addicts. I'm totally more easy-going about it than when I started, because I was way more vulnerable back then.

Maybe one could slightly compare it to quitting alcohol, except that every single person you know, including all of your family and friends, are still indulging 3+ times a day. And they want you to drink again with them! They ask, why dont you join them? Even dear old grandma is trying to pour a pint of beer down your throat. This sounds insane, but its pretty much the world of a new raw-foodist. You can be a 100% when you are at home and with other people who are like-minded. Then you can usually try and go cooked when you spend time at family events and get-togethers with friends...OR you can choose go 99%-100% and REALLY feel the difference. I could always tell the difference when I went back to 5% cooked. Not as drastic as many people have claimed, but I would sleep a bit longer and be just a little slower throughout my waking hours. I hated this feeling, but I wanted to still be a part of what was going on around me.

Wouldnt it be amazing to go to a family reunion some day in the future and all that was there was exotic fruits, amazing raw food dishes, and glowing, radiant people? Wouldn't it be easier to stay 100%?

My good friend Dhru from We Like It Raw just wrote about Community, and it inspired me to make this post. I was a lone wolf doing raw for almost 3 years. I didnt attend or even know of any pot-lucks, and knew one other person in NY that was about 75% raw. I felt like an alien. My social life was non-existent because whatever we tend to do socially involves food and alcohol. It was too much of a sacrifice for me...so I ended up staying home a lot or going to the gym. I justified that it was good for work, which is was, but I was surely missing the human connections that we really do need in life.

If I would have had a closer raw community when I was in my first year, my transition would have been SO much easier. I would not have felt like I was trading my social life for raw radiance. I would have had both! And now WE CAN have both. I beg you to start up raw food meetups and potlucks...wherever you live. Its tough in NY and some other cities because many people do not have the space in their apartments (or this is an excuse?) but if you are anywhere else, you should be able to have great potlucks at your home at least once a month. Its like having instant friends because when you share the raw food lifestyle, you can empathize with what they are going through and understand a good deal more about them. All you need is the space...and maybe a little background music.

So if you want to instantly improve your social life, become a Living Foods Champion and start hosting pot-lucks. Get some raw dvds and put them on while everyone is enjoying great raw food creations. My apartment could maybe seat about 6 people in our living room, so it would be tough for me, but if I had the space, there's no doubt I'd have one, and likely I would make it a once-a-week occurrence.

Dhru mentioned that any kind of community support is essential. There is no need have to have 20 people over in order to call it a community. Even having one or two other raw-foodists to talk to when times are tough can make all the difference. For this reason, Dhru started the We Like It Raw group on Facebook. I just joined a few days ago, and there is a good presence of people on it. The Universe Provides.

The internet was made for raw food. Can you imagine where this movement and lifestyle would be if it werent for the internet? It would all still be through books and movies, and most of us probably never would have heard enough about it to be interested in it. The truth about some things are so prevalent, that when something comes along that spreads the message easily like the printing press and now the internet, the message EXPLODES. Living food is so obvious, that when people seriously give it a try, they usually become living-breathing advertisements for the living-foods lifestyle. Thats alot of LIVING. Like leads to like. Its impossible not to happen. And when you simply live the radiant life you have helped to create through living foods and higher consciousness, there is no need to even say a word. People will notice. All the better to not say anything, and just let your life do all the talking.

When I finally shut my mouth about raw foods to my family and friends and just started living it, slowly more and more became receptive to it. We dont want to sound like religious born-agains trying to spread THE TRUTH. It doesnt work for those people, and it wont work for us either. Just live...and see what happens. And if people dont want to switch, its their path and they will do what they need to do. I would LOVE for the whole world to be raw (except other Caucasian male models with brown hair...haha) but we have to be patient. This truth is so powerful that it will reach everyone eventually. The tipping point will come.

Join some groups. Life can be so much better and fresher if you do. We want our fruit and greens fresh, but a lot of times we forget that our lives should be too. Groups bring fresh people and ideas into your life. If you are in an area that lacks a raw food "scene"...CREATE ONE. Be the vanguard of living foods in your area. Even if you live in a smaller town, you can put up flyers and show some websites that people can look at for recipes...this is what the internet is for. Its spinning faster and faster, so let's use it to get people turned onto this lifestyle. Once you know "the truth" i.e....we are the only species that has chosen to cook and alter our food...it will be hard to go back. Red pill or Blue pill?

I think I'm going to do a 6 person pot luck at my place. Better 6 than none, right?

Anthony (Andrew?...some nice girl mistakenly called me Andrew in a comment. Funny stuff..)

Click here to check out
The New York City Raw Food Meetup Group!