There is a lot of talk going on about the passing of Steve Jobs and he will be missed. But let us not forget that we lost another being that changed the world. On September 25 Wangari Maathai, 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Winner became an ancestor. I first heard about Wangari in 2002 when a colleague of mine asked me if I had heard of the Green Belt Movement. At the time I was working for an environmental organization and I was ecstatic to find out about an African woman that was doing environmental work.
She endured prison, beatings, and losing her children. But she still moved forward to change the lives of women and men in Kenya.
WE MUST NOT TIRE, WE MUST NOT GIVE UP, WE MUST PERSIST-
Wangari Maathai
Her strategy was simple and yet it changed a country
Barack Obama said “The work of the Greenbelt Movement stands as a testament to the power of grassroots organizing, proof that one person’s simple idea—that a community should come together to plant trees—can make a difference, first in one village, then in one nation, and now across Africa.
And the Dalai Lama said” Her movement combined women’s rights, conservation and transparent government.
How did Wangari Maathai change things?
She taught women how to plant trees and trained them in grass roots organizing around an idea she called the Wrong Bus Syndrome
“What could possibly make anyone get on the wrong bus?
1. Ignorance — You do not know how to read the signs or you asked for directions but was misled by someone else who also does not know how to read the signs
2. Naivety — You think there is only one direction (whatever direction the bus is going)
3. Fear — You are too afraid to ask for directions because you do not want to disturb other people’s peace or hurt their feelings (by making them aware of the fact that they too are sitting in the wrong bus).
4. Pride — You are too proud to ask for directions. You find an inquisitive mind embarrassing and asking questions of strangers stupid
5. Pack mentality — Everyone else was getting in the bus and you too got in because you didn’t want to be the “odd one” looking in from the outside
6. Absent-mindedness — You are preoccupied with other thoughts, not mentally alert or focused
7. Indecisiveness — You got on the right bus but midway changed your mind about the direction you want to go. Got out and got into the wrong bus. Now you’re so confused and can’t figure out exactly which is the “right bus” and which one is the “wrong bus”
In honor to Wangari Maathai I am going to make a conscious effort to see the ways that I have gotten on the wrong bus and move to change these behaviors in myself.
My get off the wrong bus resolution
- Put my money in a credit union
- Grow my own food in a community garden next year
- Talk to a young person about their hopes and dreams
- Volunteer at an organization that feeds people
- Help clean the Anacostia River ( Maferefun Oshun)
- Create the Osoosi Peace Garden that I have been talking about for 8 years
Yes, It is time for me to get off the wrong bus and walk my path.
We love you Wangari Maathai and will miss you!
So this post is going to veer from my normal routine because something became quite apparent the other day during the earthquake. My fellow east coasters don’t know anything about what to do when the ground moves. I can imagine that if you have never felt an earthquake, this would be a very frightening thing.
As a native-Californian I experienced my first earthquake when I was about 6 or 7. I was in bed with my big mama and I was SCARED. She just gently told me not to be scared that it was only the earth rocking me and then told me exactly what to do when they happen. Because of her, I have never been afraid of earthquakes. The best thing you can do when going through this totally unexpected natural phenomena is to be prepared.
How to Prepare For an Earthquake
- Create a family earthquake plan
- Know the safe spot in each room.Under sturdy tables, desks,or against inside walls.
- Know the danger spots.Windows, mirrors, hanging objects, fireplaces, and tall furniture.
- Do a pre drill.
- Develop a meet up space.
- Have a number out of town where everyone can call and let family know you are OK.
- Know how to turn of gas, water and electricity in case lines are damaged.
- Check walls, roofs and chimneys for stability,
- Keep breakable and heavy items on lower shelves
- Keep hazardous liquids on lower shelves.
- Maintain emergency food, water,first aid kit and flash light.
KUA NUMBER
How do the stars affect you? The moon affects the tides and we are a large percentage of water, so it makes sense that planetary changes would affect you. You were born in the winter, spring,summer or fall. It only seems logical that a baby born in the snow will have a different experience than one born in the heat of August.
In funki shui we use the time of birth to create a life that is balanced. One of the ways that we can live in harmony with the planets is to find our Kua number and what our corresponding auspicious and inauspicious directions are.
To find out your personal kua number, use the formula below.
1. Take the last two digits of the year you were born (example: 1964 = 64).
2. Add the digits. If they result in a two-digit number, add them again and again until you get a one digit number (example: 6 + 4 = 10, 1 +0 = 1).
3. If male, take your single digit and subtract it from 10. (Example: 10 – 1=9). If female, add five to your digit. If the result is two digits, add again.(Example: 1 + 5 = 6). After you know your kua number, use this chart to determine your auspicious and inauspicious directions. You should focus on your auspicious direction when arranging objects in your room.
Kua Number
| Try to sleep, work, and sit with your head pointed in your auspicious kua number direction. The inauspicious direction lets you know what to avoid. |
YORUBA/LUCUMI PRAYER FOR BLESSING THE FRONT DOOR
Omi tutu.
Tutu ile
Tutu Laroye
Kosi Iku
Kosi Ano.
Kosi Araye.
Arikú Babawa.
Fresh Water
Freshen my home
Freshen Laroye, the keeper of the crossroads
Let there not be death
Let there not be sickness
Let there be no confusion
Freshness that has no end.
In the morning take a jicara (gourd bowl) of
water and say this prayer while flicking water
on the door entry. Take the remaining water
and throw it out across your doorstep.
The idea is to freshen your door every day before you go out.
The environmental movement -through my eyes.
Culture
I was born just six years before the first earth day. That same year, Rachel Carson died of breast cancer and John Coltrane wroteThe Love Supreme. Our world was changing.
Sixteen years later I read Frances Moore Lappe’s Book Diet for a Small Planet and became a vegetarian. Not many of my friends were vegetarian and it became a running joke around my house and earned me the nickname “Rabbit.” I was gung-ho about environmentalism and would go into a speech about it at a flick of a dime.
My uncle convinced me to cut up the soda pop plastic holders and never let go of balloons into the air. He emphasized that they ended up in the ocean where birds and fish found them, ate them and died.
One day when we were out on my uncle’s boat, I saw a deflated balloon floating on the surface of the water and was appalled at the idea of all the fish and birds dying because of people’s extravagances.
Since then I have worked for many environmental companies and now run Earthwise Interior Design and Consulting dedicated to sustainable design.
Would I have chosen this path, if it were not for the culture that I grew up in?
Capital
When my daughter was in Kindergarten she would call me around lunch time and say she wanted to come home because she was sick. After a little investigation I found out that her school was renovating and the chemicals were making her sick. After that I always spent extra money to buy healthy products. I was a single mother raising three children but my daughter’s health was not something that I could compromise on.
Money is important, especially when you don’t have any. But is it more important than the health of the people and the planet?
Convenience
I always recycle, but people tell me that there are many reasons why recycling is not convenient. There is now something called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch where all the garbage that we have been throwing into the ocean is converging.
What will we tell future generations about how we took care of the planet?
So environmentalism has gone main stream. Most people know about recycling, solar, healthy foods and green building. The average American says that they want to go green, but still struggles with how to make these choices. Capital, culture and convenience continue to be the issues that are slowing down progress. The old paradigms are changing and we are moving toward sustainability. I am excited about this movement. Progress may be a little slow for me, but it is progress nonetheless.
Ginger tea from DC’s Everlasting Life Restaurant $4.00
All I can say is yum. Everlasting is a long time DC vegetarian restaurant on Georgia Avenue in Washington, DC.
Kinky curly hair gel $17.99
Finally! A natural product to control my curls. What a lifesaver.
Afm Safecoat carpet sealer $12.00+
Did you move into an apartment with a brand new carpet filled with toxic chemicals? Afm Safecoat has a three process system to protect you from those naughty chemicals:
Carpet Shampoo
Carpet Guard
Carpet Seal
I have used these with many clients who are moving into a new apartment or office.
Oxo Good Grips Touch 10-1/2-Gallon Garbage Can $119.00
Fashionable Recycling? Yes, with Oxo touch recycling/garbage can. They come in many bright colors including stainless steel.
Aqua barrel
Collecting water to use in times when there is no rain makes practical sense and Aquabarrels rain box is a great design.
Sunplugged solar powered messenger bag $129.00
Weekend at green gulch Farm Zen Center $135.00 -$225.00
http://www.sfzc.org/ggf
| About Staying at Green Gulch |
| Muir Beach is a 20-minute walk from the central area; trails lead to Muir Woods to the north and the Golden Gate National Recreation Area to the south.Meals: The guest house rates include three meals per day. Meals are vegetarian (including dairy and eggs) and are served buffet style at 7:15a, 12:15p and 6p. On Fridays we typically offer a picnic lunch; please make a bag lunch right after breakfast. |
Silo House $90.00 sq. ft
http://www.gigaplexdesign.com/pjct/index.html
I have an obsession with round buildings. There are no sharp corners. These are eco because they are reclaiming Silos. Buy some land and put these small buildings on it.
Bedroom Feng Shui
1. I know you have heard it before but please no TVs in the bedroom. The bedroom should be a place of rest and relaxation.
2. Find your best direction. The idea of the best direction is to lie with your head pointed toward the direction that is going to give you the best energy. What if your partner has a different best direction than you? Check to see which direction the front door is facing. Whichever one of you has the best direction for the front door let the other partner have the best direction for the bed. The most important thing is to use beneficial energy for both partners.
3. Use colors that are soothing.
4. Try to keep your head away from the window.
5. The best direction for the bed is diagonal to the door, but at best try to make sure that your feet are not facing the door. This is called the coffin position and more than anything else it is too much energy coming into your feet.
6. Use soft surfaces under your feet.
7. Use aromatherapy in the bedroom. Lavender is great for peaceful sleeping. Lavender and Ylang Ylang is great for making loveJ.
8. I like to use organic sheets because they smell good and feel good.
9. Also natural and organic pillows, keep those chemicals out of your brain.
Remember sleep is vital part of creating health for you and your family.
Night, Night,
Erin
When I first moved to Washington, DC there was something that I noticed right away, the lack of recycling in the city. I had come from a background in recycling. I worked for the Ecology Center in Berkeley, CA which ran the city residential recycling program. They are a great model for a non-profit organization using money received to run their other programs i.e. the information center, farm fresh choice, and the eco-house. People seemed to be confused by the recycling process and acted as if it was more problem to recycle than just throw it in the garbage.
I wondered why recycling was so hard in DC and then a friend took me to the Fort Totten transfer station and I was shocked when we didn’t have to pay for it. My friend was confused by what I was asking him. “Where is the scale?”
He told me that DC residents don’t pay for garbage and this is when I realized that having to pay for garbage encouraged recycling. Why would you throw away recycling if you have to pay for it.
The second thing that I noticed was that there was no recycling center for e -waste. If you wanted to drop off your cfl bulbs or other household waste you dropped it at a store and they had to voluntarily drop it off at a site in Maryland.
Well, I am excited to say that there is now a program for hazardous waste in DC. We still have figure out where it goes after the transfer station but at least it doesn’t have to be co-mingled with garbage
Household Hazardous Waste/E-cycling/Document Shredding services will be offered once a month only, the first Saturday of the month, except holidays, at the Ft. Totten Transfer Station, 4900 John F. McCormack Road, NE, between 8 am and 3 pm.
Another step forward toward sustainability.
-Erin
Let me spin you a story of rainbows and wishes,
and angels and faeries with earth saving missions.
A story of people from faraway places
who believe that the weaver is the mother of creation.
A people that build their houses of clay.
Whose tradition is to speak to the land when they pray.
Painted houses shine bright in the desert.
Creativity is free,
Whether you are pauper or president.
Remembering times when tradition was passed down
from mother to daughter.
When the community came to the center for solace.
Where houses are round because corners are sharp.
Where buildings breathe like we do!
Cut! Now it is two thousand and nine.
Janine Benyus tells us that bio-mimicry has reached its time.
Build like the ancients and make products like webs.
Forget about dams and build Permaculture swales instead.
As we re-member, society can thrive.
And the people will say thank god we’re alive.
Because to live in concrete boxes and breathe in toxic fumes,
has left us with way too many problems to consume.
Thank god we have answers taken from the past.
From the people who believed that there is spirit in the land.
Give honor to the ancestors like Chief Seattle
and of course William Morris.
They taught us to see sustainability as progress.
The concept of creation and innovation is simple.
Take only what you need and leave some for the rest of us.
In the windows of the web there are thousands of possibilities.
The task is to find the right light and illuminate the entry.
-Erin Alexander
