DAY 83 - Organic 4 Life: A Reflection

Thank goodness I write a bit. I find it both pleasurable and valuable to look back at what I thought, said and did, in this case, ten years ago. Looking back provides me with something akin to depth perception; giving me a greater, a more complete sense of where I am.

The following was published in HopeDance Magazine in the April/May 2002 Food Issue. The website referred to, no longer exists due to the then unimagined work required to maintain it, and the emergence of web-based resources that filled the need.

So, ... Sherman, set the Wayback ....

*****

This haiku may give you a feel for why I have written this article, and why the website, Organic4Life.net now exists.

no escape through flight
our fouled earthly nest needing
organic farming
7/28/00 ky

Make what you will of my haiku. For me it contains the power of clearly seeing the reality of our condition and the excitement of what can be. It is hopeful.

During the last century (in 1999), as I strolled and shopped through the Farmer’s Market in Ojai, California each Sunday morning, I began to wonder where else, other than our farmer’s markets and our local health food stores, organic foods might be found in our community. I also wondered how others, less committed or less connected, would find organic foods and products in our area. I began asking the organic farmers at the market if there were a central source for information on buying organic food in our area. There was no source. In the midst of conversations about organic food and how to locate it, I would often comment that it would be great if we had a website resource for organic food in our community.

A year went by and nobody took care of the problem; my problem. On July 11, 2000 I took the bull by the horns and registered the domain name Organic4Life.net. With zero knowledge of website building or site hosting, my daughter Jovi and I jumped in and began the process. We researched and bought website development software, contracted for site hosting, and at a snail’s pace we were off.

A year and a half later, we have a very simple site that contains information primarily for Ventura County, California on the following; calendar of events, community gardens, farmer’s markets, organic farmers, food stores that carry some organic products, nursery/garden supplies, organizations, produce stands, recipes, and restaurants.

To complete the circle, I would like to go back for a moment to the why of creating and maintaining this site. I realize that we need to be more gentle with our planet and with each other. I realize that awareness is key to gentleness. I realize that we can only achieve these goals through an integrated web of communication and function. I realize that each of us can contribute. This is one of my small contributions.