BioRe and their Organic Cotton in India Article up at Ecotwaza

A Hokkaido vista near the home of good friends.
Not India, but it seemed to fit. Read on!

Farming isn't just for vegetables. Most likely, anyone reading this is wearing some form of cotton. That means you are enjoying the comfort and coziness offered up by a plant. How that plant was grown impacts a farmer and a farming community. That community includes people of all ages as well as the wildlife, other flora and fauna, water there as well as up and downstream, and air that travels distances beyond our imagination. Ultimately, those cute socks, fashionable jeans or sultry unmentionables connect you, the wearer, with another place and world. It's an amazing thing when you think about it.

Most of that cotton, though, isn't raised organically and it's not manufactured responsibly. From GMO seeds to heavy chemical use to unfair labor practices, cotton often weaves a dark tale as it journeys to a store near you.

But not always.

Enter BioRe, Patrick Hohmann, and the farmers he works with in India and Africa to change that story, to weave some light and dignity into cotton's story. I had the pleasure of interviewing Patrick recently and learn how it is possible to make change in this world. It was a life-changing experience for me and I'm grateful for that. I hope, too, to someday journey to India and visit the farmers for myself. (Fingers crossed for that one!) Read the article linked above and see for yourself what things are possible.

Comments

Finding Heirloom Seeds in Japan

Drying pods of heirloom Hutterite Soup Beans. Since moving to Japan eight years ago, one of my greatest challenges as a farmer-gardener has been to find heirloom or open-pollinated seeds. The majority of seeds available are not GMO (genetically modified organisms) as Japan, at this point, doesn't accept this material. Most seeds, though, are nearly all F1 varieties. Heirloom and F1 Varieties In plant breeding, F1 is the name given to the first generation of a cross between two true breeding parents. For example, if I decide to cross an Amish Paste Tomato with another heirloom variety tomato such as Emmy, in hopes of getting a gold paste tomato, the resulting generation of fruit is F1. In order to get that tomato of my culinary dreams, I'll need to choose members of that first generation that are headed in a direction I like - early ripening, medium-sized fruit, good taste - and save their seeds. I'll plant them and repeat the process again and again over time unti

Satoimo: One of Japan's Favorite Slimy Things

Satoimo in all their hairy glory. This post first appeared in slightly different form on Garden to Table as part of the 2012 Blogathon . The website has since moved on to the ether, but the post is still a good one. After all, people here are still eating satoimo on a daily basis, and many others are just seeing these little potato-like objects for the first time. Enjoy! Satoimo is one of Japan's odder vegetables. Under it's rough, slightly furry skin is white flesh that is a little bit slimy even raw, and with a gentle nutty flavor.* Baked, grilled, steamed with dashi, or deep-fried satoimo stands well on its own or paired up with other vegetables and meats in a wide variety of soups and stews . (The leaves are also edible.) Satoimo stores well, and like any root crop worth the effort, stocks are just running low on this household favorite as the farmers in my area of Tokyo get ready to put a new crop in the ground in May. I cannot say I was a fan of this l

Goma Ai Shingiku - Sesame and Chrysanthemum Greens

Last week I had the pleasure of helping some friends work in their parents garden not too far away. Tucked behind the house, the garden sits on a former house lot. When it came up for sale about five years ago, my friend's father jumped at the chance. Open land in Tokyo can be hard to find and expensive, but for a retired professional looking for a little spot to till in the city it was an opportunity to good to pass up. Now, it is a garden to envy. As we came through the gate rose, lily, and peony blooms greeted us with great shouts of color while rows of vegetables stood tidily at attention on the sunny center stage. Small fruit trees along with one of the biggest sansho trees I've seen yet stood quietly here and there. Near waist-high sweet corn, bushy young potato plants, cherry tomatoes, eggplants, and beans were preparing their summer fruits, while a handful of still quite luscious looking winter vegetables like komatsuna, mizuna, and kabu held one last ro

Japan Farmers Markets

Search This Blog