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I've spent the past week immersed in local San Diego goodness. First off, there was the NBC airing of a Victory Gardens San Diego Garden build that I attended and wrote about here a few weeks ago. And on the same day, my city (a suburb east of San Diego) held a meeting where they requested public input on the future of our city, specifically focused on health & sustainability. Food issues where very much on the table in that discussion, so my roommate and I both went. And we both advocated for urban agriculture including legalizing chickens. The meeting, of course, gave me a migraine... but it was worth it if that's what it takes to make change.
The next day, around 11am, I heard a knock at the door. I was still in bed, dealing with that migraine. I got up, in my underwear, without my glasses, and ran to answer it. It was a reporter from the local ABC affiliate, and she wanted to do a story on my chickens. I told her I'd go put pants on. So my little chickees were on TV! The best part of the experience for me was the reporter's reaction to my chickens, because she was surprised how they did not smell at all and there weren't any bugs. I explained that chickens are natural composters and that compost, done right, should not smell bad. She was also impressed that the chickens were part of a larger, very well thought out plan for my garden.
But the big kahuna of local San Diego food activism came this weekend with the Cultivating Food Justice Event. This is a conference held annually that never fails to impress me. I attend food-related conferences around the country, and this one is unique. It's all local attendees, focused on local, national, and international issues. There's a mix between workshops that cover larger issues, like the farm bill, and workshops with immediate hands on applicability, like building solar ovens. In the past, I've attended workshops on backyard chickens and beekeeping.
This time, I went to one on farming in areas of scarce water and I learned some mind-blowing strategies for growing food without much water. For example, give your plants a few deep waterings a week instead of shallow waterings daily to encourage the roots to grow deep. Or direct seed when you can instead of growing or buying starts, because it will make the roots grow deeper, down to where there is moisture. But the craziest was a story about how people in some parts of Africa will trim the leaves and side shoots off of tomato starts until they have a 2-3 foot tall plant with leaves on top. They dig a narrow hole and lower the plant in, back fill it with rich compost, and give it some water to start it off. The result is that the plant is rooted deep enough to reach the moisture in the soil and survive without rain. Amazing!
The event was held in City Heights, a low income area with a large population of immigrants and refugees from all over the world. You can hardly walk a few blocks without seeing a thriving garden there. It's truly inspirational.
A new event this year was gathering into groups of people by their neighborhood in San Diego to make plans for how to improve our own communities. We gathered email lists for each neighborhood, so that activism can continue beyond the conference.
To me, the best part of the conference is its inclusiveness. It's always free, accessible via public transportation, with child care and translation available, and there is usually free food too. The result is that the attendees come from all segments of society, reflecting the diversity of our city. This is crucial, but it's not something that every conference like this achieves.
Saturday night, after the conference, we all gathered at a nearby home for a fundraiser for a new non-profit, Grow Strong. Founded by Amy and Malaki, a couple that is invaluable to our local food justice community, the organization is going to work toward food sovereignty in Malaki's home region in Kenya. The fundraiser included traditional Kenyan foods and locally brewed beer and mead, including an East African style beer made from millet and sorghum that was delicious.
Every year I am so inspired by the amazing people and knowledge of San Diego, which is, by and large, a conservative area where you wouldn't necessarily expect to find such an amazing food justice community. This year is no exception.
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