Nibbles: Bees, Honey, Fertilizers, Desertification, Nutrition, Decor, Mobile phones

Socializing with plants at Kew

Kew is hosting a festival of ethnobotany, highlighting research into plant-people relationships. Featured topics will likely include medicinal plants in Britain, Spain, China and southern Africa; wild foods in Britain and Africa; natural fibres and basketmaking, home gardens in Britain, spice plants in India, and many more. The emphasis is on hands-on, table-top displays with plenty of opportunity to talk to the exhibitors.

It’s on 7 March, and it sounds like fun. If you go, let us know about it. And send us photos.

Nibbles: Paan, Homegardens, Yams, Apiculture, Sorghum, Asparagus, Vicuna

Recreational farming

An interesting triptych today on farming as recreation. Kind of, anyway. From Vietnam, an unfortunately rather brief article on how foreign tourists can become farmers for a day at Tra Que village. The piece doesn’t say whether that’s the same Tra Que which is being protected by trademark, but I would guess so. ((Incidentally, there was news today of the European Union protecting another few agricultural products through geographic indications.))

There was also today an article about the Konso of Ethiopia, who are apparently sometimes referred to as “the toughest farmers in Africa.” A so-called eco-lodge has been set up, “whose mission is to tie tourism and community development activism through permaculture together, delivering tangible community benefits.” Again, as in Vietnam, the idea is community immersion, though for longer than just a day, and in rather more difficult circumstance, I expect.

And finally, to the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center in Falls Village, Connecticut. Actually it’s a bit of a cheek including this with the previous two stories. The people attending the Centre, and others like it, are in earnest about learning to farm in a way that follows the Law: “One-sixth of the Talmud deals with agriculture.” Some, indeed, will take farming up as a profession. But not all: “We don’t all need to be farmers. To have farming be a little part of every Jewish person’s life, that’s our goal.”