These days there is a crime taking place in the area of Ovriokastro, Keratea in Attica, Greece. The government has decided to create there a rubbish landfill dump, which is a crime in itself, as this is a harmful method of waste disposal and there exist more advanced and environment-friendly methods and technologies.
Moreover, the Greek government is not taking into consideration the danger of groundwater contamination, nor the fact that there is an archeological site where they are planning to establish the dump.
At the same time, though, this was the sparkle that lit a fire in the hearts of the local inhabitants of Keratea and urged them to create a resistance movement, in order to protect their and everyone’s right to a cleaner environment and a more responsible treatment.
Unfortunately this has not affected the government’s decision, which instead of calling of this plan and coming up with a more responsible one, has actually violently repressed and abused the people of Keratea by constant attacks of the police!
Although there is a court decision forbidding any works taking place until some legal issues are solved, the riot police is still there every day in order to protect the worksite and guerrilla fights are taking place on the streets almost every other day.
I am currently researching the issue to find out and provide you with more information, but until then you can contact the inhabitants of Keratea here: http://antixyta.blogspot.com/
My apologies to my multi-national friends but this post mostly concerns Greek people, or the ones residing in Athens. Some days ago I was informed by a friend about the existence of this city activists group called Atenistas - you can find them here. What they do is through direct action to make the city of Athens more bearable, by, for example, cleaning up deserted areas or planting flowers and herbs. In my opinion they group should become more political – and by that I do not mean to support a specific party but to raise their voice regarding political situations and developments around us – and not let this beautiful initiative turn into a communicative bubble. But I support the fact that they take direct action instead of whining while expecting someone else to do the job! And this is what I believe we should all do: be the change that we want to see in the world! When nobody else is doing it, especially the people that were elected to do it, why don’t we just do it ourselves; simple as that!
Visit www.atenistas.gr and participate in the next urban guerilla impromptu. Or why not even organize one yourself? Is there something in your neighborhood that you would like changed? That everybody is whining about? Just arrange to meet up one day and take action! Just like the inhabitants of Exarcheia did, when they decided to break the concrete of an unused parking lot, and now they are proud of their neighborhood’s park (take a look at it here, it’s pretty impressive!).
As of today I started working with Fairfood International, a non-profit organization, as an intern at the Research Department. I like Fairfood, because in addition to the fact that it works for a good cause, it is transparent and reliable. Maybe you would like to take a tour in Fairfood’s website! I think that very good work has been done on it and it provides a lot of useful information that we should really be aware of when we make our consumption decisions.
During production, processing, sourcing and/or trading of food brand products, brand owners have the capacity to cause harmful impacts on the human rights and lives of individuals. Fairfood works by identifying a number of social, environmental and economic issues related to hunger and poverty, which can be found in the organization’s Sustainability Agenda. Then it encourages corporate decision makers in the food and beverage sector to address these issues, or at least the ones relevant to their respective sector, in the company’s production chain. The production chain information was for me the most fascinating part on the website! It’s things that we might have vaguely heard of, organized and presented in a way that makes it easy to read and absorb and targeting the issues directly. I will re-post here an example of a sector, let’s say the sector of Cocoa (as I am a big chocolate fan!):
Feel free to navigate through the Fairfood website at www.fairfood.org and see what you can discover and learn! Maybe it will affect your every day life and help you make more sustainable decisions!
The cocoa tree (Theobroma cacao) is originally from Central America, where its seeds were highly valued by the Aztecs and the Mayas. Introduced to Europe by the Spaniards, the drink called chocolatl made of cocoa beans gained wide popularity by 1600. Nowadays, cocoa is mostly used for the production of chocolate, although it is also used in cosmetics and as fertilizer or animal feed.
Production chain
The production of cocoa takes place mainly on small scale farms in developing countries. Around 90% of the cocoa production of the world comes from farms with only two to five hectares. After the beans have been dried, they are (mainly after exporting) made into cocoa liquor: the base of all cocoa products.
Problems
The low income earned from selling cocoa makes hired labour too expensive, which frequently leads parents to use child labour to increase family income. Common difficulties that small farmers face are crop loss, instable cocoa trading price, high levels of corruption and little access to credit. The high import tariffs from the EU do not stimulate. Deforestation is also a persistent issue in the sector. Erosion and loss of soil fertility is also common. The excessive use of chemical pesticides is widespread to point of being hazardous to the health of workers that experience headaches, tiredness, vomiting, and nausea or skin problems after spraying. Some changes slowly arise to try and make the industry more sustainable. Media has played a role in uncovering the truth behind chocolate.
Priority issues
In the cocoa sector, Fairfood International has identified the following priority issues:
*Brand Owners are required to cover a minimum number of five out of six of the priority issues.
Solutions
The guide below shows certification schemes whose standards indicate a match with some or all of Fairfood’s priority issues for this sector. To learn more about any of the schemes, click on their logo.
about 3/4 cup of bio and ethically traded coconut oil
about 3/4 cup of sweet almond oil
2 vanilla sticks (totally optional)
2 tablespoons of rose water
2 tablespoons of strong calendula tea (marigold)
essential oils
First of all I have to make clear that the proportions are not very strict and depend on the climate or the season! I will explain later on, just keep in mind that you should not add the whole amount of the oils immediately.
1) Prepare the tea by soaking calendula in boiled water and set aside covered so that it will not lose temperature. You can also add the rosewater (or any other kind of tea or floral water as long as it contains no chemicals). Water will make the consistency more “creamy” and fresh, while not adding water will result into a thicker and more oily mixture. Personally I don’t want to add water when I am making foot cream.
2) Heat up the oil (starting with about 1 cup in total should be OK) along with the beeswax in a bain marie. You can also use other kinds of oils, such as avocado or olive. Personally I swear by the name of coconut oil, it’s so soft and doesn’t feel oily on my skin, but other unrefined vegetable oils are also good.
3) For extra sweet vanilla scent now is the time to add the vanilla sticks. Cut them through their length, remove seeds and let soak in the oil and wax mixture. Do not overheat because it will end up smelling burnt!
4) In order to test the consistency of the mixture put a drop onto a plate and wait to see how hard it gets once cooled. If too hard add more oil in the mixture, if too oily add a bit more wax. Here it solely depends on your taste; just keep in mind that in the summer months the cream will tend to melt because of the higher temperatures so we can use less oil, while in the winter it will tend to harden, therefor we can use less wax.
5) Once you remove from fire, remove the vanilla sticks (they can be used again to aromatize your massage and body oil: cover with your preferred vegetable oil – i used sunflower – and keep in a sealed jar in a cool and dry place. After a month it will smell awesome and it can go for at least a year without going bad). Slowly add the tea/water to the oil/wax mix while whisking, making sure that they are about the same temperature. Whisking will help the water not to separate from the oils and it will soon start setting; mine took about 2 minutes.
6) When the cream is almost cooled down but still whisk-able, add the essential oils of your preference and stir/whisk well. I keep my cream in jars of about 100 mls and add around 4-6 drops of the essential oils. Do not overdo it with the essential oils because they are pretty strong! I think you can add 3 drops per 100 ml and then smell the cream or apply on your skin to measure how much more you would like to add.
For my latest recipe I used 2 drops of pepermint essential oil, 3 drops of vanilla extract and 3 drops of cinnamon flavoring. It smells like pudding! But if you do not like sweet smells, you can use different essential oils, such as lavender (one of the best for the skin), lemon (gives a very fresh feeling) and the list goes on and on. Just make sure you are not allergic to any of the ingredients before you use the cream.
If you want to incorporate in your cream the therapeutic properties of special herbs you can follow the same method described for the vanilla: Stuff a jar with your preferred herbs (calendula and chamomile are very good candidates), fill it up with oil and store in a cool and dry place. After a month you can use the oil for your cream recipe and it will add to it the properties and the scent of the plant.
OCTOBER 4 – WORLD ANIMAL DAY
PARTY FOR THE STRAYS OF OUR CITY!!
“All animals are born with equal rights to life and existence”
“Abandoning an animal is an inhumane and degrading practice”
“Man must respect the life of every animal”
“No animal should be subjected to abuse or inhumane treatment”
For us, the people of “Stray”, the volunteers and the hundreds of anonymous animal loving citizens of Greece, every day of the year is dedicated to the animals with whom we share our lives. We do not need any World Day to remind us that we must run to save a dog who is dying of hunger abandoned … or take quickly to the vet a kitten or puppy that was hit by a car … or to open our home to accommodate newborn pups that were thrown away before even opening their eyes …
Nevertheless we are glad to have this day, because it gives us the opportunity to gather, to tell our news, to celebrate for the dogs and the cats that have found a family in the past year and to welcome our new friends who have the desire to help us in our work.
We expect you ALL at Club Venti, (www.venti.gr), Gazi, Sunday, October 3 from 19:00 till… morning !!!!!
Admission 20e (includes one drink and finger food)
DJ Makis Soulis and «rock patousakia»!!!!
The proceeds of the event will be donated for the purpose of www.stray.gr and stray surgery.
(Re-posted from www.stray.gr. Visit the website for more information or to help the strays!)
“Another world is here,” real and confident. A world created, tasting, sharing and celebrating. This year, the 17th Pan-Hellenic Festival of Ecological Agriculture and Handicraft is coming to Athens. Its aim is that individual and collective initiatives in organic farming meet, the conservation of local varieties and to ban import of GMO’s with solidarity, alternative ways of consumption and exchange networks of services and products. The intention of the participants is to promote a way of life based on values of self-sufficiency, solidarity, sharing, respect for nature and the community.
The festival participants:
* Farmers that have been choosing viable and sustainable agriculture without poisons (organic and natural farming, biodynamic farming). Farmers who choose, pursue and promote a production model based on the quality and locality of the products and not on monetary gain.
* Handicraft artists who choose natural materials and soft methods of treatment.
* Collectives active in urban agriculture, in energy saving and production of renewable energy, that reuse and recycle items, use alternative transportation means and promote the development and distribution of free software.
The exhibition and sale of products is not meant to find new clients. It is the wish of the participants to share their sweat, their knowledge and skills and to develop direct and honest relationship with the consumers of their products. It is the desire to break the competitive dipole producer-consumer which facilitates mediation, exploitation and fragmentation and to seek new ways of organization. The aim of this festival is not only to promote ecological agriculture, but the presentation and promotion of self-organized ecological life. The development of honest relationships and the creation of structures of solidary economy. The longevity of the institution together with the results of choices and practices of participants in this festival, confirms the feasibility and sustainability of another lifestyle. In other words, these things can be and have been done, they work! It is not utopia nor fiction nor some romantic theory. Each year the festival takes place in a different city organized by various collectives and producers, forming the assembly of the participants. This year it is jointly organized by the association for alternative and solidary trade “O Sporos” (www.sporos.org) and the Network Oikokoinotita (www.oikodiktyo.espiv.blogs.net).
Information on access and participants: http://oikogiorti.gr/ info@oikogiorti.gr
