MLT Heading

Over the holidays I had it out with a friend whom was intent upon extolling the marvels of personal computers and modems. He said that from the PC monitor in his home he could connect with individuals from as far away as England. He blathered on about access to information and speed and the sharing of new ideas. Finally, I snapped: “Yeah, but when was the last time you talked with your next-door neighbor?” He fell silent. After a while he muttered something about his having little in common with his neighbors.

I admit that I don’t see enough of my neighbors. It doesn’t help that our books, music, and politics may differ. Nonetheless, we always seem available to help one another. I believe that neighbors everywhere want to feel useful to one another. Some things come to mind when I think of what has recently transpired between the people in my neighborhood:

——The neighbor will gladly lend a cup of sugar or a tablespoon of baking soda or a two-inch carriage bolt.

——The neighbor will look after your home and animals while you are away.

——The -neighbor will sometimes bring a grocery bag filled with new potatoes or fresh—picked rhubarb when she drops by just to say hello.

—The neighbor will trade herbs, perennials, and gardening tips.

-—The neighbor will let you know when one of the cows gets through the fencing.

——The neighbor will lend a rototiller in spring and plow your drive in winter.

-—The neighbor will always lend a hand when you have to move something really heavy.

——The neighbor will watch your child while you run an errand or go to the dentist.

—-The neighbor will ask if you want to crush some grapes and make wine.

Technology is sweet. Modems can connect persons (Personas?) from thousands of miles away—providing a sense of intimacy and even community without us ever having to unlock our front doors. And soon we will all have access to the “information super highway,” or what ever it’s called. I keep wondering if the folks touting all this stuff are making any connections with the people next door?

--Mike Phillips





Era

An Age is not like
one of our modern children
    named
before it is born.
    No.
Not christened before the episode
of pain which serves as
    a down payment
a Foreword to the
Rule Book of Life.
    No.
An Age is more like a child
of those primitive cultures
    where
a name is spiritual
    awarded
as part of the passage
into maturity.
    Yes.
There pain becomes
    blended
woven into the fabric
    recognized
as a curse and a blessing bond.
    Yes.
We yearn for
the simplicity of
    a label
But we need
the diversity of
    a liquid
An Age too complex to allow
    a name
would be a good thing.
    Yes.

--Swan Sherman-Huntoon




WHAT SHOULD WE DO WHEN WE SELL THE FARM?

Maynard Kaufman


Members of Michigan Land Trustees and its Board of Directors are asking this question as the sale process moves toward its closing. I am writing this to share my thoughts and to express my urgent feeling about one possibility.

When the likelihood of a sale first emerged I felt we should look for another farm and develop a “clustered housing” project for people interested in self-provisioning and, in the process, preserve open space for its residents. The problem with this idea is that few people seem to be interested in what we have called “homesteading.” Also, few of us on the Board have the time, energy or interest to coordinate such a project. This also inhibits the prospect of buying another run-down farm and improving it as was done on the Land Trust Farm. In fact most of the improvement there was done by several classes of homesteading students, and we no longer have such students or a dedicated instructor to facilitate a homesteading course.

I  am now proposing that we should gradually phase out Michigan Land Trustees as a corporation and transfer the major portion or all of its assets to another tax-exempt organizaton doing similar work. The transfer could be made over two or three years so that we would be able to evaluate reports from the receiving organization on the use of the funds. As it happens I am deeply involved in the work of an organization with purposes similar to Michigan Land Trustees, and I want to make a case for it here.

When Sally was dying in 1990 she requested that Organic Growers of Michigan be designated as a recipient of memorial gifts. Her children and I decided to use the fund that accumulated to set up a tax-exempt organization to help 0GM with its educational outreach and, if possible, secure funding to hire an executive director. In 1991 I began organizing a Board of Directors and early in 1992 the new organization was incorporated as Michigan Organic Growers Advancement Project, Inc., (MOGAP). It was recognized by the IRS as a tax-exempt charitable organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the IRS Code. I am still serving as chairperson of the statewide Board of Directors.

This summer and fall the Board of MOGAP met in some marathon strategic planning sessions. These meetings 12 to 18 hours long, were expertly coordinated by Lynne Blahnik who, with her husband, Ed Marks, had advised us on legal matters when we organized. (Lynne and Ed had earlier served as Project Coordinator and Executive Director, respectively, of the North American Farm Alliance.)

One outcome of these strategic planning sessions was the adoption of a Mission statement: “to promote the development of a viable food system that relies on organic methods of food production and that revitalizes and sustains rural communities.”

In the second part of this statement MOGAP was moving beyond the concerns of 0GM and closer to our concerns in MLT for a society which is sustainable in economic as well as ecological ways. MOGAP’s concern for local food systems includes household food production. Current issues of the MOGAP newsletter have carried articles on permaculture. In order to reflect this broader vision, MOGAP also changed its name to Michigan Organic Food and Farm Alliance (MOFFA). Finally, MOFFA engaged Lynne Blahnik as its executive director. She is currently coordinating the Board of MOFFA in a variety of fund—raising projects.

Aware that a food system which is controlled by a few trans-national corporations and dependent on vast amounts of fossil fuel energy is neither dependable or sustainable, MOFFA encourages more farmers to use organic methods and more eaters to seek out organically—grown food in their local areas. MOFFA supports direct grower—eater interaction, farm related enterprises, community supported agriculture and food self—reliance on a local and regional basis.

In addition to the regular publication of Michigan Organic News MOFFA is active in several specific ways.
---MOFFA sponsors state-wide programs on methods of organic farming, on the importance of chemically—free food and on the advantages of local food systems in both rural and urban areas. For example, MOFFA selects and makes arrangements for the speakers on the organic farming program during Agriculture and Natural Resources Week at MSU each March.
---MOFFA maintains a library of resource materials on organic food and farming systems.
---MOFFA coordinates a speaker’s bureau on these topics.
---MOFFA is building networks and alliances between organic farmers and food activists throughout Michigan.
---MOFFA is working to educate environmentalists on food issues.
---MOFFA also functions as a kind of think tank and is currently developing a “-white paper” on food and agricultural policy issues for Candidate Howard Wolpe who is running for governer of Michigan.

MOFFA has a hard—working and enthusiastic board of directors. Each member has pledged at least 20 hours of volunteer work per month. While many of the activities reviewed above depend on volunteers, they also require money. Our membership is growing but we know it would grow much more rapidly if we could contact more prospective members. We need funding for a series of series of at least four direct mail membership campaigns: first, past and present members of 0GM (now already in progress), second, members of garden clubs, third, consumers of organic food through food coops and other outlets, and fourth, members of environmental groups. Obviously a large membership base can provide not only regular monetary support but the political clout needed to help shape public policy on food and agricultural issues.

We also need funding to upgrade our newsletter which is now done on a typewriter. The editor has been volunteering her time but she deserves a special stipend for her efforts in seeking out news. More importantly, she needs a computer and laser printer to improve the appearance and layout of the newsletter. Finally, we need additional funding to support our executive director. Although we have already received a couple of small grants, they were earmarked for promotion of organic food and for conference organizing. Board members and other volunteers do a lot of work, but paid professional staff is essential for an organization which hopes to be heard as a respected voice in the promotion of local food systems.

I am hoping for a chance to answer questions and to discuss this proposal in greater detail at our January meeting. Perhaps other representatives of MOFFA will also attend the meeting. In the meantime, please call me if you have any questions.