So glad our farm lady, Abigail, got us out of the house yesterday to attend the first ever Transhuman Festival at David Yearsley River Center, Petaluma! Was a sweet, oddly intimate, yet special event with all the right elements – delish Cowgirl Creamery cheese and meat appetizers, a flock of sheep to herd and one to watch being sheared, booths with flower-dyed wools, you get the picture – natural beauty of the River Center enhanced with beautiful, crafty, farmers and friends. Food and dancing to follow keynote speakers and a short, funny play.
Very much enjoyed conversations with Friends of the River (get thee to the BIG BARN dance end of summer), CAFF/Farmers Guild, Ruthie of the Grange Farm and more. Both keynote speakers were inspiring!
John Wick, Marin Carbon Project, shed a ray of light on prospects for reversing global warming! Wick and associates created Marin Carbon Project, now ten years old, with plans to fit every kind of acreage, increasing carbon sequestration (absorption) while building the soil. He believes, with research from UC Berkeley and UC Davis, among others, that “agricultural land management practices can measurably increse rates of carbon sequestration, resulting in enhanced soil quality and soil water holding capacity and increased soil cardon and forage production,” (from a paper published by Ryals and SIlver, 2013- available on the Marin Carbon Project site. The science is strong! It appears that carbon sequestration could greatly enhance efforts to reverse global warming! Check that out in the science section: https://www.marincarbonproject.org/science/papers
Stephen Satterfield, writer/publisher, Whetstone Magazine, spo http://www.whetstonemagazine.com/home/ talked to us about Food Sovereinty, Justice issues, how slaves were fed like hogs sometimes in the same trough! How “soul food” originated from the overly fatty refuse left from the food the “house people” didn’t want; to be seen as little more than animals was the fate of great numbers of slaves. Welcome to Whetstone — a print magazine on food origins and culture, for the culture. Excellent presentation but mentioned to Stephen afterward “you didn’t plug your magazine!” Here’s the linK: http://www.whetstonemagazine.com/home/ Some great articles and viewpoints.
Great 1st Transhuman Festival, guys and gals! We’ll be there next time and engage with many we met up with.