local-grain-initiative

Post Script: A peasant loaf

2007-04-16T21:44:00.000-07:00

I must comment that although the task is complete the bread (as an art form) is average. It is a firm and very rough peasant loaf but, a success in the fact that it is only comparable to a bag of bouncy white 'bread' in name alone. People will eat a slice to celebrate the accomplishment but might not be asking for seconds. Taste wise- it is a bit coarse, very raw and nutty. My wife and I had a piece each last night and I had three slices with Jam this morning. I imagined it eaten by more people but my family is community enough... The art needs to be developed further with more practice harvesting and processing. But there is time for all I dreamed the process would be. Communion bread, free bread with soup for the hungry, maybe not even a bread at all. Cereals, pancakes, pie crusts. The future holds many things. But I think I'll go have a slice now. It is too much of a symbol to be wasted. We must consume that symbol despite its coarse nuttiness....

Chris Hergesheimer signing over and out

The moment of truth

2007-04-15T19:19:00.000-07:00

One golden whole wheat loaf of bread, grown, harvested, processed and baked by my own hands. One week shy of last years planting date, the epic loaf is steaming on my counter ready to be eaten. Not only was there enough flour for one, but another loaf is rising beside this one. Local grain triumphs at this moment in time. As far as I am concerned, this bread blog is complete. A new site I have begun will focus more on the experiences of others- participatory research into where local grain fits into social life- can be found at http://localgrainchain.wordpress.com/

It was a pleasure dragging this out over the last year and my thanks to those who checked in now and then to see if a loaf would ever appear. If internet archaeologists ever uncover this record of history, they will probably ask " what kind of a man keeps 1 kilogram of wheat for a year and brandishes it about like some sort of trophy? Is this compulsive behavior or the beginning of some revolution? Take from this story what you may but the moral remains the same: Local grain has triumphed at this moment. Now excuse me, I've got a loaf of bread to eat....

The next level

2007-04-04T21:13:00.000-07:00

The local grain initiative is taking it to the next level. Beginning this saturday, I will be providing hand milled flour blends at the local farmers market. Since I anticipate this venture will not be a money-maker (since I am using an hand grinder thus negating any notions of large market driven efficiency) I look forward to it as a chance to use this social environment and the symbol of grain to navigate a collective dialogue about the hidden magic of grain and its offering to us at this time when we need it.

April 7th, 2007 and most saturdays after that through the summer
Sechelt, B.C. Farmers Market
8:30 Am to 1PM

The Local Grain Initiative: Hand milled flour blends

See you in the community

Social Science or Storytelling...

2007-03-24T09:37:00.000-07:00

I like media critic Neil Postman's observations about the similarities between storytelling and sociology. Postman argues that our obsession with science creates the desire to constantly be separating narrative from social commentary with 'empirical evidence'. Maybe the local grain initiative is telling us a story, maybe it is stating the obvious to some, maybe it offers something that could be developed further to find its way into the scholarly realm. I am not sure anymore. Take from these posts what you will. If its truly a social commentary and a story about a part of the ecological crisis there is no need to classify its objectives. I am not claiming to be an expert on grain or grain systems, a master baker, a botanist, a perfect sociologist or a flawless environmentalist. I'm just telling a story.

Information transfer

2007-03-14T23:29:00.000-07:00

Backyard Grain: seed, symbol and social capital

This workshop will cover the basic botany of cereal grains and address part of the history and sociology of grain systems. It will focus on why growing small-scale grain plots is important at this time as well as advocate the role local grain systems can play in connecting people with place. To support the theoretical premise that working with small-scale grain is a symbol of the origins of cooperative life, this workshop will encourage collectively participating in ‘the evolution of grain milling’ and involve planting grain crops on site.

Held at Edible Landscapes, Roberts Creek. April 29th, 2007. 10AM-11:30AM. See www.ediblelandscapes.ca under the Sustainable Living Arts School programs for registration information.

Wheat as catalyst

2007-03-12T10:09:00.000-07:00

“During its life cycle the grain of wheat dies and is reborn months later in the form of a spike capable of providing sustenance to human beings. Wheat is the quintessential nutritional plant. It was believed to contain the mystery of life and death and thus it became a sacred plant. One of the essential features of the Neolithic era was plant cultivation. This led to a way of life that had previously been unimaginable and gave birth to new beliefs that completely altered the spiritual universe of humankind”

Food and Culture information about Symbolism of Bread
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture. Copyright © 2003 by The Gale Group, Inc.

Note** I have been practicing baking bread over the last two weeks. I have a much greater appreciation for the craft of a baker- the art and creativity that is worked into each loaf. When I am confident with my abilities, the spring wheat grown in Roberts Creek last year will be milled, mixed, kneaded, baked and eaten.

Chasing our food

2007-02-26T20:50:00.000-08:00

The years of localized and community-based agriculture in between the commonly known 'hunter and gatherer' or 'foraging peoples' and the present day symbolizes a time when humans stopped 'chasing' their food. The present 'consumer-mechanical' stage of food production still forces us to chase our food all around the globe and with heavy input costs of ecological capital. However the thrill of the hunt is gone since the complex division of labor encouraged by agribusiness giants and their distribution systems catches the food for us and lays it out neatly in the over-lit aisles of a grocery store. Growing grain again small scale reminds us what that last piece of bread in the bag on the counter is worth. It reminds us of the smell of fresh wheat and the sound of the milling. It reminds us that we commune with bread in many regards. Bread and water for prisoners and mystics of the past. Our daily bread if we ask for it.

Signs and Symbols

2007-02-15T10:33:00.000-08:00

People always ask me if the local grain initiative is about food security. As much as issues of food security are related to re-localizing parts of the food system then the answer is yes. But there is something much more fundamental at work and the theory, at least what I am proposing, looks like this:

If Local food is about healthy relationships and motivated community building, both with other humans and with the surrounding ecology, then we need to be looking at the signs and symbols that represent this happening. Grains were the first cultivated crops that brought groups of people together and grain cultivation and processing became 'placed-based' through this activity. Food production took place somewhere specific and people could identify with this. Growing local grain will not provide all the food needs even for a small, local population like Southwestern B.C. But growing grain is a symbolic action- one that recognizes the role grain played in building place based, human communities around food production and it signals that the root link between food production and human societies is not lost, hidden or forgotten. Grain as a sign of a coming food era and grain as a symbol of renewal and collective history is what this growing is all about. This link cannot be forgotten simply because we have come to believe that grain production needs to be large scale. Signs and symbols are powerful since they stand for and represent something-purposeful, place based cultivation of food and community. Cultivating grain somewhere meant that we were here to stay, to nurture and to experience a relationship with a place through the growing cycle. The buzz about local eating, especially in southwestern B.C. is amazing and I am very supportive of it and the role it plays. But I believe that a local diet to build community could be complemented by the symbolic action of growing grain. It signals a new and exciting time for food, the planet and community.

Thanks for the seeds

2007-02-13T09:15:00.000-08:00

On February 24th, the yearly "Seedy Saturday" is being held at Van Dussen Gardens. This is an event where people can buy or trade seeds, exchange knowledge and stories about how important seed and growing are to community life. What started with a small envelope full of wheat seed has grown into a hobby and a challenging passion for me. I want to go and find the woman who sold me this inspiration for $2.00. I want to tell her that this package of seeds has changed the way I look at grains and that I will never forget the smell of spring wheat or the rough feel of the straw on a summer's evening. Plus, in terms of seed and grain, I really need to meet someone who actually knows something about this. Heres a good chance.

Note: I am not suggesting that we can't be proud of Canada's role as a grain producing nation. I am not suggesting that we abolish the Canadian Wheat Board. I am certainly not suggesting that we abandon our 'efficient' and 'highly productive' grain farms. This is NOT grain anarchy. But I do stand behind the need for local grain to be experimented with in our food system in some fashion if we are to truly understand the potentials or limitations of eating locally. I am really going to start using this local grain theory to stir things up....

Help wanted

2007-02-08T22:30:00.000-08:00

Wanted:

Small amounts of land (20-30 m square) in the lower mainland that might gladly host a grain field trial for the Spring and Summer of 2007. Good sun is wonderful and healthy organic soil is a plus! We can talk about the details.

Local Grain Initiative seeks other residents/farmers/gardeners of the Sunshine Coast interested in starting a grain cooperative for local product. This would be developed through participatory meetings and will function on a consensus basis.

Collaborators with an interest in history, ecology, bioregionalism or food systems are needed to submit articles or stories (2000 words max) to a local-grain-initiative/bioregionally themed journal. Please make submissions to the local-grain-initiative by March 30th, 2007.

All positions are re-imbursed on a seasonal basis...in grain of course.

Just getting started...

2007-02-03T09:24:00.000-08:00

Although the ideas surrounding bread, sustainability, community and ecology are really at the heart of the local grain inititative, one of my readers told me that it is really the bread that keeps them interested. I must admit, what started a place to chronicle my wheat growing experience has become much more than that to me. The bread will be baked and the bag of kernels is still sitting in my cupboard. I know this whole process is becoming a bit epic. Before the end of this month (for those of you who also find that its mostly the bread that keeps you reading) I will bake this loaf of bread. But know that when this loaf of bread is baked and eaten the local grain initiative will not stop spreading the message that inspired the scattering of seeds in the first place.

Last year's crop was symbolic- an impracticle amount of grain to do anything substantial with. But the seeds grew and people who never imagined that grain could be a backyard garden crop learned something. Begining in April I am going to be conducting another field trial in wheat growing on a slightly larger scale. I may end up with five times the harvest of last year. If you are drawn to this site in order to see a loaf of bread be baked, so be it. I will bake last years crop for you and the earth. For those of you who want to see the way these ideas about local grain, community and the natural world intersect and work to carve out their place in a dominant food system that prides itself on the large and the mechanized- the local grain initiative is just getting started.

Between the lines...

2007-01-16T21:20:00.000-08:00

I recently connected with someone from my bio-regional community who had wonderful things to say about the message of the local grain initiative. In our meeting, this person shared a story with me that brought them to tears. It was a powerful story and gave me great joy to hear in someone else's words a similar message of hope and promise for the magnificence of this planet earth. Baking this seemingly elusive loaf of bread should not be seen as the central focus of this quest. If we take the bread out of the equation, the message still resounds:

Moving towards a more locally produced and consumed diet will restore damaged ecological and social relationships around food.

Restoring ecological damage, damage that has been perpetuated through the unsustainable absurdity of a global food system is our duty as citizens of the planet earth.

Making a covenant with the ecological systems on the planet earth to refrain from causing further degradation will bring us closer to an understanding of the human place in this universe.

Repairing social relationships associated with food will effect our physical health and our social health. Our social health has sustained human communities since their beginnings.

Interspecies relationships will flourish after the assault on this beneficent planet ends. Through these relationships we will begin to understand many things about life that are obscured from view simply because we believe they cannot exist. A tree, a mountain stream, a crow and myself can share a moment of communication and understanding.

Local grain has its role to play. The local grain initiative is not suggesting that we retreat to an archaic time in human history where we gathered grains and milled them with crude tools into nearly indigestible cakes. In the present day, local grain will find its way into a harmonious relationship with appropriate technology, a just economy and the surrounding ecology. This you can count on....

History speaks- let us answer

2006-12-09T19:47:00.000-08:00

“The Mainland Guardian” a Journal Published out of New Westminster in 1872 notes that “A minimum yield of from thirty to forty bushels of wheat to the acre is the ordinary average yield in the districts of Kamloops, Okanagan, Sumas, Chilliwack and the lower Fraser. Between the town of New Westminster and the mouth of the river, a yield very much exceeding this is often obtained.

In 1892, Thomas A. Sharpe, the Superintendent of the Dominion Experimental Farm in Aggasiz, B.C. sent his annual report to Ottawa. This report, the fourth in a series of annual reports, noted the successes and failures of certain crops and planting procedures at the farm in Aggasiz. The experiments with Spring Wheat, Barley and Oats yielded quite well on plots 1/20th of an acre in size. (Sessional Papers, 1893l 56 Victoria).

With Spring Wheat at the rate of 90lbs per acre, Red Fife Campbell’s White Chaff and Campbell’s triumph all produced upwords of 65 lbs per plot. Campell’s White Chaff was the highest yield, producing 81.5 lbs per plot in 108 days. Goldenthorpe, Duckbill and New Golden Grains Barley, sown at the rate of 96 lbs per acre show an average yield of 70 lbs per plot, taking 105 days to ripen. Giant Cluster, Improved Ligowo and Early Gothland oats, sown at about 110 lbs per acre, produced an average of 110 lbs per plot, taking 109 days to ripen.

The Second Report to the Ministry of Agriculture of BC for the same year (1892) reports on certain crops for specific regions. Many of these regions noted are included in our local bioregion and the experience and recommendations of local farmers are reported alongside a general overview of the agricultural productivity of a region. Sorting through the agricultural history of specific regions looking for grain statistics is taxing and it is suffice to say that the report is lengthy and detailed. For our purposes here, I will provided some excerpts that I feel support our case at hand.

In the region of Delta “[m]ost crops and fruits do well, and it is needless to say that the yield is enormous, and large quantities of wheat, barley [and] oats…are grown”. Mr. E. Hutchenson reports that approximately 6000 tons of grains were produced and recommends Red Fife and Democratic wheat as well as Peerless Barley and Banner oats (788-789). A compilation of other personal testimonies show that Red Fife wheat is the number one recommendation with Banner and Gypsy oats as well as rough barley being the top recommendations accordingly (790). In Langley, Mr.Rawlison claims that there was approximately 1000 tons of grain produced and Fife Spring Wheat, Hulless barley and Mane oats are recommended (805). In Chilliwhack, Mr. Webb reports approximately 1500 tons of grains produced. Red Fife wheat and Colorado Spring Wheat, Swamp Spring wheat and Campbell’s white chaff wheat are all endorsed. Banner oats and rough and six-rowed barley are also recommended (814-816).

Statistics Canada reported approximately a 70 percent increase in B.C. grain production over 75 years (1921-1996). Wheat production rose approximately 2.2 percent and barley production rose approximately 20 times, from 5, 786 acres in 1921 to 111,483 acres by 1996. Rye and Oats are also produced. In 1921, B.C. had approximately 110,000 acres in grain. By 1996, B.C. had approximately 295, 000 acres in grain. (Statistics Canada- Catalogue No. 93-358-XPB; 42-43).

About 85-90% of B.C. grain is grown in the Peace Region with the balance occurring in Vanderhoof, Creston and Armstrong. This is helpful to know when seeking out grain in the province, but is still far from offering us in the south a local, or sustainable source for grains. There is a small amount of grain produced in the Fraser Valley.
In terms of the area we are concerned with, the B.C. Ministry of Agriculture reports that in 2001 in the Lower Mainland/ South Western B.C. region, grains and oilseeds produced only 0.05% of the province’s total farm income and that farms producing these crops were only 0.21% of the province’s total farm force (www.agf.gov.bc.ca/stats/regional/mainland.htm). If grain production could successfully provide even 1-2 percent of this area’s agricultural output the option of local grain would be there for interested parties. In terms of higher costs to the consumer, local grain growing and production costs will simply have to be accepted and supported by those concerned and commited to increasing the demand for local products.

The prophecy of local grain II

2006-12-09T19:29:00.000-08:00

"....And the message will be the same again and again- local food has its limitations but without experimentation we cannot write off grain production. The fear of land slipping to industrial uses is real, the possibility for grain farming discarded because of notions of grandeur. And this fixation on the 'massive' and the 'uniform' will lead us away from our history. The seeds that were scatered by human communities ten thousand years ago were a meeting point-an intersection of food and society. The time to find a new meeting place is upon us. Local, small scale grain systems can lead us there. Ask the people to think for a moment about their relationship to cereal crops. There are many who desire to renew that connection to history, to community to bread. Find one another for the time is now."

One loaf can go a long way

2006-12-05T20:21:00.000-08:00

For those of you who thought that I have abandoned my bread making- think again. I am here but have been keeping a low profile- trying to figure out a way to link this loaf of bread with community. There is one way to share a few loaves of bread with a 150 people. It takes the form of holy communion in my church. The bread becomes part of an ancient sacred drama which links people together through common ritual. If there is a better way to have this many people whom I care about share in this bread I would love to hear it. As far as I am concerned, this is what my bread was meant for- sometime in the new year. Since time is short, I will have to mill these grains by hand and get on with the baking.

Midterm review

2006-11-18T22:27:00.000-08:00

The purposeful cultivation of grain played a key role in the establishment of human communities to particular places and to each other. Long ago, people gathered together to plant, harvest and to make the toughest rough-milled grain cakes to last them all winter. This process encouraged social interactions. It progressed and was refined from there.

Baking is a very old craft, a skill, a trade. When you pay five dollars for a loaf of fresh baked bread crafted by someone's hands it is worth the extra dollars to complete that link.

We need to start thinking about local food in general- I just use grain as an example. There are people out there who want to provide local food for you. It takes effort but you can find them. Shorter travel distance for food equals fresher products and improved social relations.

Good. If you don't know by now, these are the key points that we need to go over and over again.

Although grains interest me a fair bit I am quite simply an experimentalist at this point. I had one small plot of land which yielded four cups of whole grains. I need to link up with someone who knows more. I don't even know what kind of wheat it was that I grew since it was bought at the "seedy-saturday" event, an annual seed exchange and social held in Vancouver mid February. It was in a small manilla envelope with the inked word "wheat" nearly illegible on the outside. I will order some specific seed for this spring so I can begin to be more methodical with my trials.. ie: know what kind of wheat is grown.

I grew many things this summer in my first dedicated gardening endevour, but the wheat was by far the most satisfying to grow. With the heavy rains I miss clipping leaves from green plants and making a salad but I really miss the smell of that golden wheat at sunset. It somehow seemed out of place in the small garden- like I had discovered a secret that others did not yet know. Now I am storing the grains like treasure until the opportune moment.

Fall daze and confessions

2006-10-17T19:18:00.000-07:00

I must admit there was a time when I didn't think that I would be at this point. Would the wheat even grow? Now that it has and the harvest has been sucessful I must note the fact that I have never baked a loaf of bread in my life. Maybe I have- a long time ago with my mother but I couldn't recite or even recall any particulars of the process. I have kneeded bread, looked at loaves of bread in the oven and smelled them on my counter but, with the exception of 'the bread maker' (a machine that requires you only to add ingredients at the right time in the right consistency- I am not sure if you even touch the bread with your hands or not?) I have never been through the process. Without relying on our friendly bag of Robin Hood white flour, how do we deal with grains? Don't you need a millstone or something? Would a mortar and pestle work? What about a blender? (any suggestions are welcome as comments but I don't expect anyone to coment because these were almost rhetorical questions simply to cast any interesting transition to a pitch I wanted to make for...

a granary in Powell River, B.C.- a wonderful operation working at the community level to enhance the social component of grains and breads for people. There is definitly a kind of historical calm that follows the sound of the grindstones and the smell of the fresh flour. Fresh flour, Valued added processing, a personal relationship with a community and individuals is exactly who the local grain initiative wants to work with! (When I find out their information, I will put a link so contact can be made) This is exactly the type of thing we need to be willing to pay more for. This operation has benefits to numerous sectors of social life, local economies and bread quality. What are these things worth? We need more than ever to allow food to present its hidden 'values' -the way it comes into being, exchanges hands and is consumed has value.

Grains were undoubtably the first cultivated food crops to work their way into social life. Socializing was embedded in the process. Where that opportunity exists take it. In a dominant food system that is trying harder and harder to desocialize food relations and socialize food presentation, find the alternatives and the chance you take on them will be worth the extra monetary cost. I can get 10 pounds of apples at a farm less than a kilometer away from a store where there are apples from New Zealand all shiny on the shelves. When's the last time you knew who baked that piece of bread you toasted in the morning? Who ground the flour that made our spaghetti- I cannot say anymore. Its a maze of relations and I get lost just thinking about tracing the processes. But I am trying to imagine and be a part of a different course.

I am currently talking to some friends- arranging for some wheat land for springtime. If I can do five times what I did this year and still keep it manageable by hand this will work out perfectly. in year three, 10 times that and then the following year I will provide some local grain to a local mill and that bread will be at our local farmers market. For now, I'll just share this loaf with my family and some friends.

I cannot give an exact date on when this bread will be made and eaten and I cannot guarantee another post before the 13th of November- as I will be in Cuba with my family (there is the whole issue of sickening amounts of fossil fuels from planes and the health of our planet and atmosphere as a result. My awareness and struggle with this issue must count for something. I do plan to see community and urban food systems operating in Havana.) Lets say that it will be a late november loaf. Until I write again.

I know that I am dragging this bread thing out like its such a huge deal and trying to make it such a huge deal etc... well, I feel that it is a huge deal and since I am not trying to please any corporate shareholders I will bake when I have time

This breadblog will still be here. Check in again at the end of November!

Deeper than grain

2006-09-26T22:12:00.000-07:00

The philosophy of the local grain initiative goes much deeper than simply encouraging the small scale growing and production of grain. By using a grain experiment like this as an example in 'reclaiming', it's hope is to address issues of regional food security which are inseperably linked to issues of ecological balance, bioregional self-sufficency, and re-defining our 'use value' notions of resources. The local grain initiative is for healthy ecosystems. It encourages the recognition of the past power of geological systems and the processes of the mighty Fraser River at work in this unique watershed- which we share with many other species of life. Cookie-cutter houses built over farmland with soil 20 meters thick in places! Are we really offering this irreplacable land up as a sacrifice to sub-urban sprawl? At least keep common farmland for each housing community- the natural world demands it. We need to respect the limitations that watersheds and airsheds pose to urban planning and suburban sprawling.

In the city... Grow an organic garden on part of that manicured lawn. Plant trees that offer their fruit to children walking by on the sidewalk. Learn to save seeds and trade them with your neighbors. Hold weekly food swap meets on the street where people can exchange cukes for radishes if they please. Lets celebrate the social power of food. The social component of food is stolen by the homogenization and uniformity of 'super' markets- take it back. The trucks that feast on oil will soon sit idle and with that will come the gradual loss of fresh food. Lets start making preparations....

1)Begin to understand that humans are do not have free reign to destroy or deplete the habitat and homes of animals and plants to gratify their selfish desires.

2) Understand that paying more for organic food is only a short term monetary sacrifice and casts your vote for healthy farming practices. Better yet, save some money where you can and learn to grow your own.

3) Accept that farming practices impact heavily on the surrounding ecology. Farms are not 'sealed off' from forests and rivers- they are a component of a complex and living system that requires respect and balance. Bugs and birds are part of farming ecology. It ought not be a pesticide war against them with the collateral damage forceably accepted by the surrounding life.

4) Understand that each area on the planet is unique in its own way. Geography, geology and hydrology are like fingerprints- they mold and form land into a distinct place. We have simply come to inhabit each place. Try to live with this in mind.

5) Never underestimate what you can do to offer alternatives to others. I knew nothing about growing wheat nor if it was even possible in this region. Now I have the potential to bake a loaf of bread from my garden. If even one person gives this a try, the education component of my experiment has succeded.

I'll get back to the bread now I promise.

Before baking we need a bit more ranting....

2006-09-22T20:51:00.000-07:00

How long will it take us to realize that we are slowly erasing our collective history by increasingly distancing ourselves so much from our food? I’m finished thinking that the social and environmental costs of a food system based on gasoline, pesticides and a cut-throat market economy are simply ‘externalities’. I propose that a local ‘Cereal Grain Liberation Brigade’ free grain production from the hands of agri-business giants and their ‘medicated mono-culture’ grain production lines. I don't care anymore about bread that is akin in texture to a plasticine/spackle combination. Give me something that feels like grain when I bite into it.

A bag of kernels...

2006-09-21T15:59:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of the threshed and winnowed wheat kernels. I am guessing that it is about 4 cups of kerenels, maybe more when its ground. Soon my friends, the bread will be eaten....

Seperating the wheat from the Chaff

2006-09-14T13:07:00.000-07:00

September 14th 2006. I cut all the heads off of straw and threw them onto my dining room table. There must have been upwards of 300 and I began the time-consuming process of taking the grains out of the husks. By rubbing the heads of the grass between my hands, the kernels fell onto the table with a triumphant sound. The real experiment is just starting now- will it bake into anything edible?

Why a local grain project you may ask?

Firstly, sedentary populations began cultivating cereal crops at least 10,000 years ago in a distinct region. Throughout time, the transference of these skills through cultural diffusion around the world has inspired innovative and groundbreaking work on the adaptability of such an important food source. This makes grain production an inseparable and highly significant part of our collective history. The ability for people in this region to watch and, if they choose, participate in the ritual of such an ancient tradition is a contribution to our collective consciousness about food production in the past and its relationship to the future. It is a celebration of sorts with the small scale; low input production system is brought to the present time- offering an alternative to the industrial paradigm of food production and distribution.

Secondly, by drawing on the resources of a committed community with diverse skills the project assures the larger population that there is practical learning going on regarding how to provide (or at least attempting to provide) local products for a local population through value-added processing at the local level. By adopting community based research strategies the learning and the project reflects varied interests rather than having only an economic bottom line. Encouraging local growers, processors and retailers to offer their contribution at various stages in the farm to plate operations will help all of us to better understand the notion of a local food community.

Lastly, a local grain project if successful will provide consumers in this region the option of local, organic grains. We need to attempt to offer these products rather than simply a discourse surrounding the potentials of local eating. We need to know for the future of a local diet what is possible and what is not; what is practical and what is not. If such a product produces a crop and is supported by local interests, the local eating movement in this region will undoubtedly benefit on a number of levels from the reintroduction of cereal grains. Organic grains would add even more variety to the already diverse array of local food, making the commitment to this type of a diet more attractive. It will help us to challenge the common assumptions about agricultural potential and what people are willing to sacrifice to eat this more local diet.
By re-introducing small scale grain production to this region we offer an important contribution to the ingredients of a local diet. Of equal importance, we also offer support to the potential of community oriented food projects to have incredible influence in re-defining food systems that are healthier for both the local environment and to ourselves.

Harvest time

2006-08-24T15:32:00.000-07:00

With overcast skies and the possibility of rain this morning, I decided that today was the day to cut the wheat down. The grains and stalks were dry enough and I have hung them to continue this drying cycle. A few more days in the sun and I can begin to process them further. Harvest day was certainly memorable. I speculate about the possibility that this is some of the first wheat grown on the Sushine Coast for at least 60 years. I didn't know if it would get to this stage and often imagined having to post pictures showing dying wheat covered in blight or eaten by bugs. If it dosen't work out for baking now, it is a result of post-harvest processing losses. The exploration continues. 124 days after planting, it now hangs drying on my front porch.

Spring Wheat in Roberts Creek #4

2006-08-19T13:21:00.000-07:00

We are certainly getting close to harvest time.

Looking to the past for possibilities

2006-08-14T16:21:00.000-07:00

Let us not forget that humans were producing grain for thousands of years on a small scale. It is only recently that we have come to imagine grain production taking up hundreds of acres and involving large scale mechanization to make production and processing possible. Small scale grain production is part of our culture, our history, our transformations. Growing grain, even a few square feet in your backyard garden plot is a symbolic statement and makes a contribution as it starts to re-invent the perceptions of grain production. The more people who start to imagine the possibility and throw some seeds in the soil offer hope.

Spring Wheat in Roberts Creek #3

2006-08-11T13:13:00.000-07:00

The golden transformation is underway. Running my hands through this local wheat is a wonderful feeling. Maybe another month until threshing.

Spring Wheat in Roberts Creek #2

2006-08-09T11:48:00.000-07:00

The previous photo was taken on the 2nd of June but posted on the 27th of July. So, two months and a few days later, here is the wheat.

Spring Wheat in Roberts Creek

2006-07-27T00:08:00.000-07:00

I will grind the grains by hand and I think it will make flour. Then its no longer theory. I'll post another photo when it begins to turn golden with the help of the late summer days.

2006-07-26T23:52:00.000-07:00

I am on a quest. I call it a quest since in the common terminology; a quest is an exploration of magnitude and quite often involves setting goals, engaging in a search, enduring some trials along the way and, if the quest is successful, involves being rewarded at the end. The reward that I seek from this quest is not treasure or fame. The only reward I desire is being able to be a part of a significant transformation, or re-invention of a significant component of our food system: the re-introduction of local grain. A person who embarks on a quest alone is asking to fail. Cooperation among those with a variety of knowledge is the only way.

I feel such a transition will be both challenging and inspiring. Challenging because it will involve thinking about what we are willing to trade in order to practically challenge the way our grains are produced and transported. Inspiring because I feel it will be an exercise that involves forming a network of people who find pride in proactively forming a locally-based ‘grain chain’. When the globetrotting system of our food ‘products’ breaks down because it cannot sustain itself the chain itself and the idea of this type of arrangement will not come as a shock to the larger population. People will be able to say “Local grains are possible and practical. Sure it costs a little more in the short run, but I can get a loaf of bread at Bakery X that was made from wheat or rye grown organically in Mission. This close-to-home system is something we ought strive for further in coming times”.

Local food is given a social relationship when it based in a local region and perceived as a necessary ecological and cultural component of that region. The excitement of moving products around the globe and gratifying ourselves with any taste sensation we want whenever we want it has taught us to overlook the potentials of our own local circumference; also known by some as a bioregion. Bioregionalism is by some standards, a theory of living and exchanging fairly (with both other people and the surrounding ecology) that is ‘place based’ or in other words, has boundaries. In direct opposition to the dominant food system which has neither allegiance to or is limited by regional, national or continental boundaries, Bioregionalism involves consuming and producing with the idea of ‘place’ in mind and therefore is a most appropriate theory to apply to the idea of a local grain movement. In this new food system, the choice for local grains is there. Right now, it’s not even an option because of the pressure and expectations put on the local system by its ‘subservient’ role in the global one.

It is not in our history to be so separated from our food. This public dialoguing space may be only a ‘drop in the bucket’ in terms of how we really make this happen. However, I believe that it is a drop that will coalesce with others through time to quench the thirst of a parched system searching for a way to adapt to and confront the challenges posed by the future of our food system. Collaboration and networking will turn theory to practice and longevity is key to keeping the momentum alive as part of the ‘permanent landscape’ rather than a passing phase.

The Prophecy of local grain

2006-07-26T23:13:00.000-07:00

...And in the sixth year after the double thousand mark the people of Salmonopolis* will dream about fields of golden grains. They shall begin to wonder about bread and cakes. "Wheat and Rye do not abound us, yet still we eat breads" they will say. And their eyes will be opened and they will see the trails of pollutants that mark the path that the grains must travel, across the plains for days and over the lofty mountains, then down through the valleys and canyons towards the sea. From out the community there will rise a plan. And it will focus on the local and the natural and it shall teach them the language of local grain. It will rejuvenate the noise of the millstones and offer the aroma of rising bread on the streets. Bakers can work with local ingredients making their loaves fresher and healthier. And the empty space in between the people and their grains will narrow, ushering in a new sense of connection with the land and its beneficance. And this shall act as symbol to others who wish to follow.

*The name given to the Bioregion encompassing roughly the Lower Fraser Valley Region of British Colombia, Canada and extending downwards into the state of Washington. Bioregions can be seen as physical and social geography outlining a unique ecological and ecosocial space and place.