betterArts Residency Info Now Available through New York Foundation for the Arts

Information about the 2012 betterArts residency program is now available through the New York Foundation for the Arts' website:

betterArts Residency
betterArts, Inc.
(Redwood NY)
www.betterarts.org

betterArts residencies seek to provide an opportunity for creative exploration and growth to visual artists, writers, and musicians within the context of Better Farm's dynamic environment.
 
Located 10 miles from Alexandria Bay and the Thousand Islands, Better Farm is situated on 65 acres of property and offers an unparalleled rural living experience. There are two lakes within walking distance; an on-site pond; vegetable, fruit, and herb gardens; a 1400-square-foot Art Barn and gallery space for dance, choreography, painting, sculpture, and more; and a practice space for musicians. 

Food, all linens and towels, wireless Internet, on-site parking, and field trips are included in a low stipend we require of all residents. The environment is simple and communal. Residents are expected to cook for themselves (group cooking is common), and to do their share in maintaining the condition of Better Farm as well as its peaceful environment.

To that extent, betterArts residents are expected to interact and participate in the goings-on around the property (helping with farming, doing minor construction projects, helping with house chores, or assisting with other odd jobs). All those accepted for betterArts residencies are expected to work seriously—and to conduct themselves in a manner that aids fellow residents in their endeavors.  
 
The standards for admission are talent, desire to live and work at Better Farm, and a willingness to have a go at the Better Theory: a belief that each moment presents us with the opportunity for exponential personal growth. RESIDENCIES WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON A ROLLING BASIS WITHIN ONE MONTH OF RECEIVING YOUR APPLICATION.

Website: http://www.betterarts.org/residency-info

Deadline to Submit Art for A'Bay Winter Art Show is Tuesday!

The Ninth Annual Heart of Winter Art Show is slated in conjunction with the Ninth Annual Chocolate Reception from 1:30-5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 11, at the Macsherry Library Community Gallery in Alexandria Bay, N.Y.

The deadline to submit original art, haiku, and poetry for this event has been extended to Tuesday, Feb. 7. This is a great way to support the local arts and encourage community involvement in free, public art events. All pieces should represent what the “Heart of Winter” means to you. There will be a few Peoples Choice Awards for different categories. And, there will of course be chocolate deserts and Valentine Card making!

The exhibit will hang for one week.

Macsherry Library is located at 112 Walton St. in Alexandria Bay, N.Y. Download the artist participation form here. Please contact Sue-Ryn Burns with any questions at (315) 482-2985.

Divine Design: The wonderful world of white

I grew up begrudging my mother for keeping so many walls in our home white. I thought it was too plain, too boring, too conservative. I pushed for color, then pushed harder; painting several murals across the walls of my own bedroom, collaging over my door, covering every inch of wall with something, anything.

I am still a huge fan of color, of organized chaos, of walls and walls of books, of knick knacks and pieces of art and yes, of course I am still a fan of murals. Better Farm's got no shortage of color and personality and works of art and little keepsakes, each of which tells a story.

But the key is organized chaos; controlled color; disciplined design. And so as I plan the overhaul of two of our bathrooms at the farm, I'm struck by the many ways white (and its sneaky counterpart, off-white and cream) can be truly wonderful when done in a deliberate, decadent kind of way. Behold: The Wonderful World of Whites.


In living rooms:

 

In bathrooms:

In bedrooms:

Got a great, green design idea you'd love to share? Send it to us at info@betterfarm.org. For a great eco-friendly paint resource, click here.

Better Farm's 2012 Sustainability Internship Features New Initiatives

Better Farm's sustainability internship program has since its inception in 2010 welcomed a dozen individuals from all over the world to join us in our efforts to live more in tandem with natural earth systems. Whether building raised beds, wiring for solar panels, implementing a rainwater harvesting system, serving the community, or gardening organically, our internship program has equipped people of all ages and backgrounds with practical skills they can bring back to their hometowns and neighborhoods to continue their journeys and inspire their friends and families to incorporate natural earth systems into their daily routines.

We will continue all those initiatives into 2012, and plan to expand our organic herb, flower, fruit, and vegetable gardens. We'll also be revamping certain elements of the 2012 season to include (check back on the application page for more updates in the coming weeks!):

• Poultry Care—We plan to participate in the New York State DEC's Day-Old Pheasant Chick Program, which means Better Farm's interns will try their hand at raising chicks, monitoring their health, and releasing them into the wild when they are eight weeks old. We will also be adding some more hens to our chicken flock!
• New Workshops!—Knitting, sauna construction, rainwater-fed outdoor showers, earthships, and DIY chicken coops are just some of the on-site workshops we're slating in 2012. Stay tuned for specific dates!
• Tree Planting Initiatives—We will be continuing our work to plant several hundred black walnut trees on the property here, and will be expanding our planting efforts by linking up with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's School Seedling Program, which would provide interns here with 50 seedlings to nurture and grow. 
• Farm to Table—Better Farm's interns will put on one large farm-to-table dinner party in September, and work throughout the summer to integrate home-grown, local food into soup kitchens, supper clubs, and local restaurants. Our interns will also make strides in researching and designing our budding delivery CSA program, due to launch in 2015.
• Homesteading Tips—We're going to team the 2012 interns up with seasoned locals to learn about canning, freezing, living off the land, and more. Stay tuned for the weekly rotating schedule!
• Dragonfly Surveying Initiative—Better Farm has volunteered to survey dragonflies on the property during peak summer months and submit that data to a statewide dragonfly and damselfly survey. Information collected by interns here will help guide conservation activities beneficial to those species that are in greatest need of such efforts.
• Better Farm's 2012 Local Farm Outreach Program—In 2012, we'll be upping our community outreach efforts to include local farms. Our interns will spend all or part of one day each week at a different local farm to learn about the processes involved with milking dairy cows, grooming horses, raising alpacas, harvesting maple syrup, rearing bees, and more.
• Festival Season Participation—Better Farm's interns will help coordinate, organize, and present at the summer festivals in the North Country, including: Redwood's First Annual Dandelion Wine Festival, the Keith Brabant Memorial Music Scholarship Festival, North Country Arts Council's Summer Arts Festival, and more.

We'll continue updating you with our plans as we get closer to spring! To learn more about Better Farm's sustainability internship program or to apply, click here.

How Much Land Does it Take to Feed One Person?

Watch and learn. Thanks to Permies.com for posting such an informative video!

Potato, Potahto

In a recent post, we regaled you with the seven foods food-safety experts won't eat. To accentuate our previous point, we found the above video that shows just how dramatic treated foods are (scorched earth, anyone?). Here's some more food for thought about America's most popular vegetable, the potato.

Root vegetables absorb herbicides, fungicides, and pesticides that have washed into the soil. So these chemicals are not just on the vegetable's surface, they're absorbed into its flesh. Washing and peeling can't get rid of them.

Because potatoes are the nation's most popular vegetable and demand is so high, potato plants are sprayed at every opportunity to keep the spuds blemish-free. During the growing season, the potato plants are sprayed with fungicides... which wash and seep into the soil.  At harvesting time, the vines are obliterated with herbicides to get them out of the way. More seepage down to the taters.  After the potatoes are harvested, they're sprayed directly with a chemical to keep them from sprouting. And they usually won't sprout, even if you try to get them to.

The Daily Green reports that more than 35 pesticides have been detected on potatoes in USDA testing. And Jeffrey Moyer, chair of the National Organic Standards Board, has this to say: "I've talked with potato growers who say point-blank they would never eat the potatoes they sell. They have separate plots where they grow potatoes for themselves without all the chemicals."

The only solution is buying organic potatoes, or growing your own. (Read a complete list of the "Dirty Dozen" foods to buy organic, grow your own, or avoid here.

Remember - when you buy organic, you're protecting not only your own health, but the health of the wildlife and ecosystems adjacent to and downhill from those farm fields. When crops are sprayed, so are the soil insects and worms, which are eaten by frogs and birds and lizards....the toxic sprays move right along the food chain, poisoning the whole system. And that includes the streams and lakes and rivers downhill from the cropfields. Rains flow across the sprayed fields and into these surface waters... as well as ground and well water. 

Heard enough? Find out how to grow your own organic potatoes here.

A note about the above video: Chlorpropham is considered non-carcinogenic (ES EPA Class E). In one study it did cause tumors in rats, which is where people may be "citing" from, but it was in excessive amounts that people would never consume. When humans consume it, it's metabolized into forms that don't cause this same effect, and much of the toxicity associated with chlorpropham is because of the original compound. Up to you whether you think it's appropriate to have any harmful chemicals at all in your food...

Spotlight On: Dan Phillips

By Kate Murphy for the New York Times

AMONG the traditional brick and clapboard structures that line the streets of this sleepy East Texas town, 70 miles north of Houston, a few houses stand out: their roofs are made of license plates, and their windows of crystal platters.

They are the creations of Dan Phillips, 64, who has had an astonishingly varied life, working as an intelligence officer in the Army, a college dance instructor, an antiques dealer and a syndicated cryptogram puzzle maker. About 12 years ago, Mr. Phillips began his latest career: building low-income housing out of trash.

In 1997 Mr. Phillips mortgaged his house to start his construction company, Phoenix Commotion. “Look at kids playing with blocks,” he said. “I think it’s in everyone’s DNA to want to be a builder.” Moreover, he said, he was disturbed by the irony of landfills choked with building materials and yet a lack of affordable housing.

To him, almost anything discarded and durable is potential building material. Standing in one of his houses and pointing to a colorful, zigzag-patterned ceiling he made out of thousands of picture frame corners, Mr. Phillips said, “A frame shop was getting rid of old samples, and I was there waiting.”
So far, he has built 14 homes in Huntsville, which is his hometown, on lots either purchased or received as a donation. A self-taught carpenter, electrician and plumber, Mr. Phillips said 80 percent of the materials are salvaged from other construction projects, hauled out of trash heaps or just picked up from the side of the road. “You can’t defy the laws of physics or building codes,” he said, “but beyond that, the possibilities are endless.”

While the homes are intended for low-income individuals, some of the original buyers could not hold on to them. To Mr. Phillips’s disappointment, half of the homes he has built have been lost to foreclosure — the payments ranged from $99 to $300 a month.

Some of those people simply disappeared, leaving the properties distressingly dirty and in disrepair. “You can put someone in a new home but you can’t give them a new mindset,” Mr. Phillips said.

Originally Published Sept. 2, 2009, in the New York Times.

Want to learn more? Check out one of Dan's tutorials:

• Getting Started
• Tile Shard Floors
• Lumber How-To
• Fans of Fans

The Timeless Health Benefits of Baking Soda

Originally published at Alternative Health Zone

by Howard Jamison on December 14, 2009

I recently acquired this amazing booklet: A Friend in Need – Facts worth knowing about Arm & Hammer Baking Soda as a proven medicinal agent. (copyright 1922!!)

Here are some excerpts from the publication:
“The proven value of Arm & Hammer Bicarbonate of Soda as a therapeutic agent is further evinced by the following voluntary testimony of Edward R. Hays, M.D., in his letter to the Church & Dwight Company (Owner):

“In 1918 and 1919 while fighting the ‘Flu’ with the U. S. Public Health Service it was brought to my attention that rarely any one who had been thoroughly alkalinized with bicarbonate of soda contracted the disease, and those who did contract it, if alkalinized early, would invariably have mild attacks. I have since that time treated all cases of ‘Cold,’ Influenza and LaGrippe by first giving generous doses of Bicarbonate of Soda, and in many, many instances within 36 hours the symptoms would have entirely abated. 

Further, within my own household, before Woman’s Clubs and Parent-Teachers’ Associations, I have advocated the use of Bicarbonate of Soda as a preventive for “Colds,” with the result that now many reports are coming in stating that those who took “Soda” were not affected, while nearly every one around them had the “Flu.”

Baking Soda Treatment For Colds and Flu
Recommended dosages from the Arm and Hammer Company for colds and influenza back in 1922 were:

• During the first day take six doses of half teaspoonful of Arm & Hammer Bicarbonate of Soda in glass of cool water, at about two hour intervals.
• During the second day take four doses of half teaspoonful of Arm and Hammer Bicarbonate of Soda in glass of cool water, at the same intervals.
• During the third day take two doses of half teaspoonful of Arm and Hammer Bicarbonate of Soda in glass of cool water morning and evening, and thereafter half teaspoonful in glass of cool water each morning until cold is cured.

In addition to the above, a hot Soda Bath is very beneficial. Use half pound to one pound of Bicarbonate of Soda in as hot a bath as can be borne. Remain immersed in the water for about fifteen minutes. It is important to go to bed at once after this bath in order to avoid exposure.

A bath taken in this way causes the Alkali to penetrate the system and is a material aid to the human system in throwing off the germs of Grippe (flu).

On another page, an additional health tip:
“In continuous hyperacidity and in fermentative conditions a dose an hour before meals will tend to prepare the stomach for the next meal; or sometimes a dose will be necessary immediately after eating, because of abnormal acid or base having been present at the commencement of the meal. (For the average person one-half hour after meals is recommended).

“A dose at bedtime tends to check the early morning acidity, or a dose on arising cleans the stomach of acid and mucus before breakfast.”

Whenever taking a bicarbonate solution internally the soda should be dissolved in cold water.
Dr. Hays also stated:

“Besides doing good in respiratory affections, bicarbonate of soda is of inestimable value in the treatment of Alimentary Intoxication, Pyelitis (inflammation of the pelvis of the kidney), Hyper-Acidity of Urine, Uric Acid disturbances, Rheumatism and Burns. An occasional three-day course of Bicarbonate of Soda increases the alkalinity of the blood, assists elimination and increases the resisting power of the body to all Infectious Diseases.”

Isn’t this amazing! In 1922, people knew about a simple inexpensive way to avoid colds and flu and yet this information is not widely known now. Try it—use baking soda to be more alkaline and avoid getting colds or the flu – it works.

Alkaline Lifestyle

Review my other post on the importance of balancing your body pH: use-baking-soda-for-better-health

To learn more about living an alkaline lifestyle, click pHMiracleLiving.com I enjoy using several of their products


Sodium Bicarbonate is inorganic, very alkaline, and like other mineral type substances supports an extensive list of biological functions. It is fundamental to life and health.

Sodium Bicarbonate Can Heal Cancer

Sodium bicarbonate is probably one of the most useful substances in the world; no wonder the pharmaceutical companies don’t want doctors or anyone else to know much about it. It is essential when treating cancer, kidney and other diseases.

We do not have to fear bicarbonate intake. And in fact, people who live in areas of the world with high amounts of bicarbonate in their drinking waters have a striking decreased mortality rate and a decreased prevalence of disease. Sodium bicarbonate, though often used as a medicine, is unlike pharmaceutical compounds. It is a natural non-toxic substance that does not require clinical trials for an assessment of toxicity. Spring waters contain bicarbonate ions which are coupled mainly with sodium, potassium, calcium or magnesium ions. 

A deficiency of bicarbonate ions in the body contributes to a range of chronic diseases and medical conditions.
Sodium bicarbonate helps to save countless lives every day including cancer victims. Get your eBook copy today: Sodium Bicarbonate

This eBook is full of contributions from universities, hospitals and clinicians who have for decades been researching and using sodium bicarbonate for many medical applications.
Take the actions necessary now to avoid chronic diseases.

Subsidized School Lunches Get Meager Nutritional Overhaul

Pffft. Nice work, Team. Photo from Healthline.

Free and low-cost school lunches subsidized by the government for low-income children have met their first nutritional overhaul in more than 15 years to include less sodium, more whole grains, and a wider selection of fruits and vegetables on the side, the Associated Press reported. Yet backlash from potato growers, food companies that produce processed, frozen pizzas for schools, and congress (!) kept the regulations from actually going the distance to provide students with unprocessed, truly healthy meals.

Under the new rules, pizza won't disappear from lunch lines, but will be made with healthier ingredients (read some of those "healthy" ingredients here). Entire meals will have calorie caps for the first time and most trans fats will be banned. Sodium will gradually decrease over a 10-year period. Milk will have to be low in fat and flavored milks will have to be nonfat.

First lady Michelle Obama and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the new guidelines during a visit Wednesday with elementary students. Obama, also joined by celebrity chef Rachael Ray, said youngsters will learn better if they don't have growling stomachs at school.

"As parents, we try to prepare decent meals, limit how much junk food our kids eat and ensure they have a reasonably balanced diet," Obama said. "And when we're putting in all that effort, the last thing we want is for our hard work to be undone each day in the school cafeteria."

The nutrition standards will additionally extend for the first time to other foods sold in schools that aren't subsidized by the federal government, including "a la carte" foods on the lunch line and snacks in vending machines. Those standards, while expected to be similar, will be written separately and have not yet been proposed by the department.

Despite the improvements, the new rules aren't as aggressive as the Obama administration had hoped. Congress last year blocked the Agriculture Department from making some of the desired changes, including limiting french fries and pizzas.

A bill passed in November would require the department to allow tomato paste on pizzas to be counted as a vegetable, as it is now. The initial draft of the department's guidelines, released a year ago, would have prevented that.

Congress also blocked the department from limiting servings of potatoes to two servings a week. The final rules have incorporated those directions from Congress.

Among those who had sought the changes were potato growers and food companies that produce frozen pizzas for schools. Conservatives in Congress called the guidelines an overreach and said the government shouldn't tell children what to eat. School districts also objected to some of the requirements, saying they go too far and would cost too much.

A child nutrition bill signed by President Barack Obama in 2010 will help school districts pay for some of the increased costs. Some of the changes will take place as soon as this September; others will be phased in over time.

While many schools are improving meals already, others still serve children meals high in fat, salt and calories. The guidelines are designed to combat childhood obesity and are based on 2009 recommendations by the Institute of Medicine, the health arm of the National Academy of Sciences.
Vilsack said food companies are reformulating many of the foods they sell to schools in anticipation of the changes.

"The food industry is already responding," he said. "This is a movement that has started, it's gaining momentum."

DIY Hugelkultur

A great alternative to paying for your dead trees to be hauled away and mulched—or for anyone out in the country who's got some big logs on the property.

How to Build a Simple Earthship

From Hubpages.com:

What do you get when you put together pop cans, glass bottles, old tires, chicken wire and concrete? Would you believe, it's a house? This would be a special earth friendly house design called an Earth Ship.

Michael Reynolds is the architect who developed the original design which has now been constructed all over the world. It is the ultimate for those interested in sustainable living. The concept is to take waste materials like pop cans, glass bottles and old vehicle tires and recycle them into a valuable commodity, something everybody needs, a house. The resulting house costs nothing to heat or cool, can be built by the owner, has no utility bills, can grow vegetables year round, and is a very earth friendly structure because it becomes part of the land rather than just being perched on top of the land.

An Earth Ship can be as simple as a one room with a loft or as complex as a multi-family apartment complex. One of the most famous Earth Ship homes was built by the actor Dennis Weaver and cost millions of dollars to complete. A small one can be constructed for a few thousand dollars, basically just the cost of the cement mix and if you are in a climate that is compatible with adobe type construction, and will do the labor for yourself, even less.

So, how is an Earth Ship constructed?
The design concept utilizes modules that can be mixed and matched to form a unique finished product. For those wishing to build on a shoestring, the modules can be added as you go, allowing for the expansion of your living space as money allows.

The simplest way to describe how and earth ship is built is to walk you through the construction of the basic module called "The Hut". The structure forms a circular "tower" so to start off you would lay out a circle of whatever size you wanted for the interior of the building. A break would be left in the circle on the southern exposure for the greenhouse front.

1. On the bare earth, mark the outer walls in a circular or U shaped layout.
2. Lay the first row of tires, shoulder to shoulder along the wall line.
3. Using the dirt from the inside of the wall line, firmly pack the tires until they are solid bricks. The earth cliff on the inside would be excavated down to roughly three feet in depth.
4. Stack the second row of tires, in a staggered layout, on top of the first, paying attention to keeping them level with each other. Continue this pattern until the walls have reached the desired height.
5. Fill any voids with empty pop cans and/or glass bottles and cover the tire walls, inside and out, with mud adobe, cement or stucco to create a smooth finished surface.
6. The roof can be domed shaped, formed from rebar that is wired or welded together then covered with chicken wire and cement. Other options would be log beams or even traditional trusses. A skylight/vent is included in the design to the rear of the structure to help regulate internal temperatures.
7. The front of the structure is a sloped greenhouse wall built upon a low wall of earth rammed tires and includes a large planter box on the inside. The glazing is recycled sliding glass door panels or similar materials. The entry door is constructed at either end of the greenhouse hallway.
8. Any interior walls are constructed of a cement and pop can matrix that is covered by an adobe finish. All the planter boxes are built the same way.
9. The house systems include a rain water catchment cistern, a battery bank, solar panels, power inverter and a composting toilet. The kitchen waste water is filtered via the greenhouse planters which grow fresh vegetables year round.

Finishing touches include tile or flagstone floors, glass bottle accent windows and wood inlays. Two story designs can include spiral staircases and just about any kind of custom design feature you can imagine.

The exposed surfaces on the outside of the structure are coated with a layer of cement, mud adobe or stucco as the climate demands. Most of the external tirewalls are earth bermed and the roofing material is chosen to facilitate capture of rain water for use inside the house. Of course attention must be paid to things like drainage and choosing the best southern exposure for the greenhouse front of the dwelling, but otherwise it is a pretty simple design.

JCJDC's New Business Venture Award

Each year, the Jefferson County Job Development Corporation (JCJDC) recognizes a company established and located in Jefferson County that has been operating for at least two years, but not more than four years, and has shown that it is effectively implementing its business plan and experiencing growth. The winner of the award will be presented with a check for $1000.

We are so thrilled to have been one of four finalists for this award, and offer our most sincere congratulations to this year's winner, Fourth Coast Inc.!  Above is the video reel of the four finalists. Better Farm's clip starts at 3:02!

Lasagna Made with Stinging Nettles