Georgia Organics Conference...at last!

Where did March go…? I’ve been meaning to sit down and bring you all up to date on the Georgia Organics Conference…I, having been tethered to a very old desktop computer for the past 9 years, just couldn’t find the time to sit at the office desk and muster up the patience to endure that slow-as- molasses computer any longer; so, I’ve now done my part as a good American and put some money into the sluggish economy to purchase a laptop! Now I can take it outside, sit down in the Adirondack chair in front of the chicken coop and watch what Bob calls “Chicken TV” while I blog away the hours! What a wonderful life I have, ey?

Day One of the Conference..or should I say Day One/Morning….

It was even more awesome than I could’ve imagined AND was right here in Decatur! Two weeks ago Friday, I awoke at 5:30 a.m. to be at the Conference registration at Agnes Scott by 7 a.m.!...I, being the anal person that I am, didn’t want to be late for registration…so, I was there even before they were setup..and was the 3rd person to register! It was still a bit dark and quite cool, especially in the event tent which was set up on a luscious carpet of thick long, dark green grass. I grabbed a blueberry muffin and some juice from the buffet and headed out the door towards Presser Hall for the extended workshop which was to be given by Jules Dervaes of Path To Freedom . I was just rounding the corner when I spotted a man bending down attempting to pick up several bags and boxes when he, looking up at me, asks, “Do you know where I’m supposed to be setting up?”….oh my gosh that’s Jules Dervaes, I’d know that face anywhere…I’ve watched Homegrown Revolution and other hours of his YouTube ‘episodes’ about urban homesteading in Pasadena! I’m trying not to be star struck, and I never thought of myself as a groupie…I’ve been to lots of concerts of famous artists and never once thought of rushing the stage or camping out for hours to buy tickets…but this was different…this guy symbolizes what I only thought was possible, and yet, he’s been doing it for almost 20 years…farming his suburban residential lot in downtown Pasadena just a couple of blocks from the Rose Bowl and inbetween 2 freeways! He and his 3 grown children grow enough food (about 6,000 lbs. on average) to live off of and to sell (about $20K a year) to local restaurants. Oh wait, he’s not alone…he’s brought the whole family and, …. here comes Anais, the older daughter, schlepping more bags and boxes than Jules. As I walk over to her to see if I can help her carry something, I say to her in my excitement, “I didn’t know you were coming, as well!” She replies, “Yeah, that was a surprise to all of us!” What a deal!...the whole family and even Janice, the administrative assistant, loaded into a van and drove to Decatur from Pasadena, California just for the G.O. Conference! The first thing Jules spoke about was how he used Map Quest to plan his trip route, being so pleased with himself that he figured out how many hours it would take to make the trip, he forgot one little thing…the 3 time zones he would pass on his journey, thus throwing him off by 3 hours! They had arrived in Decatur at 2 a.m. and were on the Agnes Scott campus by 7:15 a.m….I just wanted to hug them all and thank them from the bottom of my heart for sharing with us, for those 4 wonderful and informative hours, for telling their story of how they’ve pioneered the Urban Homestead movement! They grow many varieties of veggies and fruits, gather eggs from their chickens and ducks, and have 2 goats (heavy sigh….) that will soon be giving milk for cheese, they make bio-diesel fuel for their delivery truck, use a solar oven, utilize solar panels for most of their energy (even selling back some energy to their local electric company) and even have and use a solar shower in their garden that waters their banana trees…OK, so maybe that’s taking it too far for some of you…but, just think about it….growing your own food, right there in your own backyard!...they, the Dervaes family, were my inspiration when I happened upon them in my delirium of Googling last April…I finally got a chance to tell them in person that they have given me the confidence (through the virtual medium of cyberspace) to jumpstart my dream of growing some of my own food! Come to think of it, it was about this time last April that I decided to get the chicks and plant a garden after taking up the 100 Foot Challenge on their website. It was a weekend much like this one,…Bob was out of town and I had too much time on my hands…by the end of that weekend and by the time he came back home, I announced that I had this idea of raising chickens and doin’ a little farmin’ in the backyard…he asked me what we needed to do to make it happen, then he helped me make it so! Thanks to Jules and the Dervaes family for showing me that urban homesteading is possible and thanks even more, Bob, for your love, support and assistance in making it a reality!..(pssst, don’t tell anyone but I think Bob’s almost as hooked on this idea as I am…shhhh!)……to be continued ...