All the recent rain has caused our community garden plot to flourish.

Lexy here from East Tennessee.  I have a confession to make: I’m obsessed with lacto-fermentation.  There are definitely times when multiple shelves in my fridge are filled with jars of homemade pickles.  Since we’re heading into the summer months, when garden produce is overwhelmingly abundant, I thought I’d share this with you.  Our community garden plot is currently popping out radishes, so what follows is a radish pickling recipe.  You can pretty much lacto-ferment any vegetable, so don’t be afraid to try this with anything you have a bunch of.

Last year, Build It Up hosted a pickling workshop with our partners at Shakti in the Mountains (a women’s community organization in Johnson City) and it was one of our most popular.  We just had a great meeting with Shakti to plan another series of food and gardening workshops.  So far we are planning pickling/kraut making, container gardening, backyard bees, low cost chicken coops, and oyster mushrooms in buckets.  I’m looking forward to planning a summer of workshop fun!

Anyway, back to the radishes.  Radishes come in a range of awesome colors.  Give them a rinse to knock off the dirt, but don’t be too thorough.  The radishes are covered in microscopic colonies of bacteria, some of which you will harness during the lacto-fermentation process.  Don’t be obsessed with sterilization.  Embrace the life already on your food!

Eat the rainbow, folks.

Slice up your radishes and stuff them into a clean–but not sterilized–wide mouthed quart jar.  Layer the colors so it looks extra spiffy.  

Radishes come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. This one is a mixture of radishes from our garden plus a giant daikon radish I had left over from sushi night.

Lacto-bacteria (the kind that make awesome pickles) thrive in a salty environment, whereas yucky bacteria (like the kind that make compost) are killed by the salt.  The salt inhibits the yucky stuff and allows the good guys to eat the sugar in your veggies and convert it to lactic acid.  Not only will you have jars jam packed with probiotics, but you will also preserve your food without the use of heat or chemicals.  I generally add 1-2 tablespoons of celtic sea salt per cup of non-chlorinated warm water to create the brine.  The amount of brine you need will depend on how many radishes you have stuffed into the jar.

Feel free to add spices, like black pepper, coriander, red pepper flakes, or whatever you have sitting in the dark recesses of your cabinets.  I often stuff garlic cloves into my pickles, because garlic is super awesome.  Try whatever strikes your fancy.

Fill up your jar with the brine until it’s about an inch from the rim.  Press the radishes so they are submerged below the liquid.  Lightly screw on the lid and place the jar in a cool, dark location.  Check it every day, making sure to unscrew the lid so the carbon dioxide from the fermentation process can escape.  If weird things appear on the surface, don’t panic.  Just scrape them off and use this as a sign that your pickles are ready to go into the fridge.  Most of my pickles are good and bubbly by day three, but yours will vary by the conditions in your location.  2-5 days should do, though.

Let them chill in the fridge for 1-2 weeks. Start tasting them after a week.  Are they crunchy, sour and awesome?  Great!  You made pickles!  The flavor will change over the coming weeks, so make a bunch and savor eating food that is alive.  Six months is probably the upper limit on their lifespan, but use your senses to judge if a jar has gone bad.

I’m letting some of the radishes go to seed, because I read once that the seed pods make interesting pickles.

Have you run a fermentation workshop before? What did you make and how did it go?

We are reminded that the garden would not have been possible without the help from the 10 volunteers and the 80 hours that we all have dedicated. We only hope for anyone who eyes the garden to think briefly that people in the community care and want to create a space for children to visually see the beauty, and the gifts that this earth continues to bless us with. Kids are asking questions about the garden and if they can help watering the garden. That is enough to keep the children engaged in something that can show them about how nature works.

We are an optimistic bunch and would like to extend an invitation for anyone who is interested in a position as a volunteer (program leader, there is a possibility for a paid position) or know someone who would like to participate (ages 10-17). Please feel free to email us to find more out about the schedule for our summer programs.

We do not tolerate any form of discrimination.  There is no future without diversity, be open and ride the wave and together we’ll sail the oceans together.

Foto_rosa@hotmail.com
818.814.2947
If I don’t answer please leave your name and number.

Thank you!Ana Rosa

Several recent occurrences have been jolting reminders of the importance of remaining grounded.  One realization was thanks to a friend who came to our April 27th garden work day and imparted some of her knowledge of Permaculture design.  She was helping us to build a lasagna bed, which basically incorporates layers of green material (nitrogen-rich) and brown material (carbon-rich) over a layer of weed block (pictures below!).  I was lamenting the fact that we hadn’t bought mulch or synthetic weed block, but she said, “what do you mean? It’s all around us for free!”  She sent a team down the alley behind the garden and they returned with wheelbarrows full of fallen leaves, which made excellent mulch.  We raided recycle bins nearby for discarded newspaper and snipped overgrown bushes and vines in an empty lot next door for green material.  The world is brimming with ample and free resources, if only we can open our eyes and our minds enough to SEE!

Lasagna beds:

Newspaper weed block layer

Layer of brown material (carbon-rich stuff like dead leaves).

Green layer (nitrogen-rich stuff like fresh cuttings from overgrown vines)

A layer of compost followed by another layer of leaf mulch makes a great environment for tasty cucumbers!

… and a great environment for other tasty garden friends

It has been a little over a month since the Mayflower, Arkansas oil spill– the debacle which many said would kill the Keystone Pipeline project.  The spill was less than 20 miles from Little Rock and was a clear reminder of the urgent need for us to move beyond fossil fuels.  Also, the Mayflower spill has been an excellent way to open conversations with fellow citizens who rarely think about these issues. Concern is certainly heightened and it has been important to remain informed about the issue (keeping my ear to the ground!) so I can make meaningful connections with Arkansans and draw their attention to the solution-seeking work we are doing.

This winter I spent two weeks in South Africa (which is beautiful, by the way!) for an alternative break trip that focused on Gender Equality, Youth Empowerment and HIV/AIDS. Now, those themes seem to be a lot to tackle in just two weeks, right? My co-leader and I were able to make sense of the interconnectedness of our themes because our central framework was the philosophy of Ubuntu. It is a hard concept to translate into English, but it is based on the premise that every human’s dignity is bound up in the dignity of other people. Therefore, we can never really be free if there are people in our community or in the world at large who are not free. Thinking along those lines, it is easy to see how our three themes tied very well into one another. It is imperative that we all remember the interconnection of social justice issues when developing ways in which to combat them so that our solutions are holistic. Full Circles Foundation‘s mission to grow strong girls, a fair economy and a healthy earth is also based on this holistic approach.

While in South Africa, my group spent our first two days in Johannesburg learning about the historical background of Apartheid and its lingering effects in the country. Then, we went to Cape Town for the remaining 12 days. In Cape Town, we met with various organizations to learn about how they are dealing with gender inequality, youth disenfranchisement, and the AIDS epidemic, as well as how each organization works to impact the community.

One organization that we worked very closely with reminded me a lot of Full Circles. This organization, called Sisters4Sisters (S4S), started out as a support group for women who were escaping abusive relationships, and it has grown into a nonprofit that provides workshops and personal development training for these women. One of the founders of S4S recognized that these women’s children also could benefit from their own programming, which eventually turned into Young Girlfriends and Youth Boys.

The students on the alt break trip worked with these groups to discover what issues were important to them. We did fun activities such as vision boards, in which kids use clippings of words and pictures from magazine to express the vision they have for their future. We also danced, practiced yoga, and played recess games. In addition to the fun activities, we had targeted discussions about issues relevant to young people such as dating, religion, education, and HIV/AIDS. After three full days of workshops, we held a leadership training with the girls in which we assisted them in developing a plan to take on the roles of leaders in the Young Girlfriends program. I am extremely excited to see the heights to which they can—and will—take it!

My experience with Full Circles in the summer of 2012 was instrumental in enabling me to lead and participate in this alternative break. Full Circles helped build my confidence, as well as my leadership and interpersonal skills, and it was truly an experience I will never forget!

I graduate in May from American University and as of now, I have no clue what God has in store for me. I may go on to pursue a PhD in sociology; I may find a job somewhere. As long as I remain active in making the world a more just and livable place, I’ll be happy.

blog written by: Rebekah Israel

Kids in the Garden: We just wrapped-up our first after school program! We had a wonderful five weeks learning about the greenhouse and seed starting, planning dream gardens, preparing the garden for planting, and cooking!

Showing off their dream gardens

We made many tasty seasonal dishes with the kids including carrot muffins, apple crisp, spinach frittata, and oven fries. Our snack for the last day of the program was 5 weeks in the making: we planted greens in the greenhouse back in April and they were finally big enough to harvest for a tasty salad. We made a home made balsamic vinaigrette dressing and enjoyed the fruits of our labors

Harvesting local greens!

Many thanks to the Clark Street Community School for giving us access to their kitchen! The cooking we did this spring is just a taste of the many delicious dishes we will be able to prepare during summer camp! Speaking of which, we are still registering campers! This summer we are offering two, 3-week sessions for kids ages 5-14. The hands-on camp incorporates food production, cooking, art, biking, outdoor education, and more! We use a sliding fee scale so families can pay what they are financially able. For more information and to register, click here.

Community Support: On May 1st, we beat our Indiegogo fundraising goal! Through the online campaign and additional donations that we received in the mail, we raised a total of $3,060 in one month, which is enough to fully fund 4 summer interns!

Our interns will receive 12 weeks of hands-on training in outdoor youth education, sustainable agriculture, and community building. We are so grateful for your generosity, which makes it possible for us to provide this opportunity!

Did you miss the chance to contribute to our Indiegogo campaign? Not to fear! We are always happy to accept donations Check out our donation page here!

I can’t believe I have changed this much in a year. I can’t believe I’ve stayed involved this much for a year either. What started out as a the need to find a summer internship in Iowa City has turned into an amazing journey of discovery from which I’m moving on to a PhD in Geography in which I plan to focus on development and climate change adaptation.

Kwame learns to caulk a window.

I came to Iowa City in August 2011 to begin a Masters in Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Iowa. Before then, climate change for me was something Americans and Europeans rambled on about. Coming from Ghana, I was more concerned about social and economic sustainability than environmental protection and preservation. For me then, the tensions inherent in environment versus people and economy saw an obvious winner – I wasn’t about to let people continue to be impoverished while the ground lay fallow. I’ve expanded my thought processes since then and now I have no clear cut solutions.

Kwame insulating a hot water pipe

My first contact with Summer of Solutions was with the question “Do you want to be a Solutionary?” printed in bold on a poster. I thought to myself “what in the world is a Solutionary?” The rest is history. Throughout this past year, I have been challenged and changed in my thinking and the way in which I work with others. I have now become an avid lover of all things “google” and attempted to get my Masters project team to embrace the “google culture” with varied levels of success (collaborating on a single document was often a bit much for them).

Kwame with a family after receiving some free CFL lightbulbs through the Our Power campaign

Summer of Solutions is not only a great experience…it is a great community. It is only within the framework of Grand Aspirations that I have seen youth leading adults and for me as a young Ghanaian man-that is a BIG deal. I am going back to Ghana this summer to see my family before I plunge headlong into the crazy world of heady academics in the fall. My time with Summer of Solutions has been truly unforgettable.

On February 15, Full Circles Foundation joined Cirque de Vol for an event celebrating One Billion Rising, a global activist movement to end violence against women and girls. Seventy-five people came together to enjoy a parade/march in downtown Raleigh, speakers and performers, and a local market and non-profit fair. Part of the donations received throughout the day went to support the 2013 Raleigh Strong Camp! One Billion Rising organizer, Grayson Gant, reports that “on the day of and during the event, people were smiling at us, running through the hills of downtown to join us in our march, stomping their feet and honking their horns at us as we marched by. It was beautiful to see Raleigh come alive and I was proud to see they welcomed our approach to sharing love, joy, and our vision for a beautiful and healthy world!” Grayson says she was particularly touched by “two women who had three children with them who joined our march – one lady asked us what we were marching for and I told her – she proceeded to tell me that last month her ex had severely beaten her and broken her nose in several places- we both teared up and we hugged and I told her I was happy she was with us today- they stayed with us for the rest of the march and for the public speaking events that followed on the lawn. It felt very healing, empowering and intense.”

**Many thanks to Cirque de Vol for including FCF Raleigh in this amazing day of empowerment.**

Community members supporting One Billion Rising in Downtown Raleigh!

Partnership Highlight: Center for Human – Earth Restoration (CHER) and FCF Unite! 

We are excited to announce a partnership with environmental education non-profit, the Center for Human-Earth Restoration (CHER). In 2010, Randy Senzig and Ross Andrews co-founded CHER. As experienced and passionate environmental educators, they recognized the a great human need for ways to reconnect with nature and renew our inner spirits. CHER provides children and adults programs to enhance their relationship with the natural world through eco-restoration, nature journaling workshops, camps, seminars, and school programs. All programs are based on the works of Thomas Berry, noted eco-theologian, and Aldo Leopold, well-known conservationist.

We will be spending time this summer with Randy and Ross at Blue Jay Point and Umstead Park. Programming will focus on team building, the girls’ relationship to the natural world, and influential female environmentalists from across the world and throughout history.
For more information on CHER please visit: http://www.centerforhuman-earthrestoration.com

Downtown Raleigh’s First Fridays has resumed for the Spring: 

Spring is here and so are First Fridays! For the past two years FCF has participated at all First Friday events. First Friday is a free self-guided tour of Raleigh downtown’s cutting edge cultural hot spots. Local art galleries, art studios, alternative art venues, and museums stay open late on the first Friday of every month and welcomes thousands of art-seeking enthusiasts downtown. This past March. April, and May Full Circles Foundation participated during First Friday. FCF sold hula hoops, body lotion and accepted donations throughout the night. Keep an eye open for future First Friday events and dates!

We hope to see everyone during the Spring and Summer First Fridays!

First Friday dates: April 5th  - 7pm-11pm *** May 3rd –  7pm-11pm *** June 7th – 7pm-11pm

FCF Program Leader Elyse Harris and Resource Generation Coordinator Marcie Hawkins Smith volunteer at March’s First Friday!

Northeast Detroit is an area stricken with environmental degradation, illegal dumping, and an unreliable trash management system. Because of this, months of trash and debri starts to pile up in our communities leaving the health and safety of our residents at risk.

However the team of HOPE4GREEN Detroit is pushing to restore Northeast Detroit with community clean-ups, urban gardening, and boarding up abandoned homes that are open and dangerous.

We are working with community block clubs, faith groups, public servants, and other nonprofits to develop and implement a strategic framework of new development around the area. We are putting together a plan that includes solar panel lighting, more green space, and more sustainable practices & resources in our community. With a plan that includes the viewpoints of the residents, it provides long term solutions to problems because the community feels more connected to the cause.

Hope for Green plans to make an impact by cleaning up multiple play grounds and parks, restoring urban gardens, and investing in sustainable resources to make NE Detroit safer, cleaner, and sustainable.

Author: Dorthea Thomas is a program leader with Hope4Green, one of Grand Aspirations‘ Local Initiatives located in Detroit, Michigan.

Generation Know has enlisted the help of 30 young women from all over the country and hired them to spread the word and get girls “in the know.” Ending myths about vaginas, sex, menstruation, and anything else a woman has that doesn’t get enough attention. Girls For a Change flew all 30 of us new ambassadors to San Francisco for a three day training. During this time we bonded with each other and spent our time talking about taboos, myths and other societal norms that hold young women back. It was a truly incredible experience and I can’t express how excited I am to be a part of it.

As a FCF program leader, I’m excited to incorporate everything I learned at the training into some kind of lesson for our campers this summer. As middle school girls, their knowledge about their own bodies and health leaves a lot to be desired. They aren’t getting all the facts from school, TV, their parents or their peers; and I feel incredibly obligated to share my new found knowledge with them so that they can feel as happy, healthy, and empowered as I feel after this amazing opportunity. Anyone looking for more information can google U by Kotex, Generation Know, or look up Whitney Smith on Facebook!

Reblogged from Summer of Solutions Hartford:

Today we launched a 30 day campaign to raise $4,000 on ioby.org to support young people who want to dedicate their summers to working with Summer of Solutions Hartford!

Summer of Solutions Hartford's IOBY Campaign 

We have so many wonderful applicants this year, and we're excited to invite them to join our program and spend their summers immersed in food justice; learning about urban agriculture, home sustainability, leadership development, and healthy cooking.

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