Tag: Vegan

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Don’t EXIT through the gift shop – the 5 steps to Freedom

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Don’t EXIT through the gift shop – the 5 steps to Freedom

01 – FREE Food

02 – FREE Fuel / Power

03 – FREE Shelter

04 – FREE Medicine

05 – FREE Education

We have had a lot of requests to clarify the 5 steps to freedom and pointers on how to achieve from our system change program in 2019-2020, despite having ended our own projects, we agreed to post this summary of the 5 key steps for change. Most of these steps were dealt with on projects in details during our program though hopefully for those that were not able to engage then, you will find the pointers needed here.

So where next Columbus ?

“…being vegan is just the moral baseline, it’s doing no harm or as little harm as we can but it’s nothing to be celebrated, it’s only the first slice of the pie. To really make a difference in this reality we need to engage in a resource based economy, not by joining this hub, or that project, but by networking our own freedom program. We have the free world charter which says it all but has no action plan for engagement . That is down to you to build, system change happens if you make it happen and only if you make it happen, no other way. Build the vegan resource based economy , build the free food highway and the people’s power network, or all that we try to do is meaningless…” (A.H.Kumafaro)

Struggling to see a way out of the rat race ? Recognising you don’t want to be there unlocks the door to leaving. It is down to you though to turn the key and make the change.

Not everyone can see the benefit of, or way to engage in system change, for the betterment of all beings, that’s ok, it just means that not everyone will be part of it. We have seen people , even volunteers,  struggle with the simplest of moral baselines and freedom concepts.

A lifetime starting with mothers pre-school values of sharing, caring and playing together is soon stamped out and ended by state education values of compete, snitch, bully and cheat, followed by voting for this war that war, this hate campaign that hate campaign, this tax cut that tax cut but never one for you, 40 years of jobs, pushing little buttons and pulling little knobs to pay the money god who takes everything and gives nothing, creates almost unassailable conditions in the mind to ensure most will just sit and rot in the cage of reality asylum that nearly all live in.

Don’t get caught, Don’t get bought,. Don’t EXIT through the gift shop. EXIT on your own terms. Whatever they are selling, nothing is as valuable as your divine human energy, your time, your life.

For those that are though seeking to be free here are the five steps to freedom and pointers on where to go and how to go about achieving them. Completion of these five steps ensures that you are able to live outside the system and will be able to pursue a meaningful creative and forward thinking existence.

The five steps to freedom are the practical solutions to being completely autonomous and cost free living from the state, combined with the ethics of the Vegan Resource Based Economy as outlined in the Free World Charter (Link below) is the moral baseline to any meaningful human existence on earth will build you a knowledge base and ethics

The moral baseline – https://freeworldcharter.org/en/more

Once you have the moral baseline, which is a pretty basic commitment to not cause harm to others, also known more popularly as ethical veganism, it is time to unlearn what the state has taught you and this comes from separating the real intrinsic value of how we live and what we do from the commercial monetised value or objectification and product.  Discard the latter and empathise with the former.

If life gives you lemons ? If the world grows you a lemon tree, in the VRBE we nurture the tree, harvest the lemons, use them to clean our homes as detergent and to activate charcoal to filter rain water and drink clean harvested free water. If you loose your job in the Monetised world and end up at the food bank and they give you lemons, use them to clean your house as detergent and to activate charcoal to filter rain water and drink clean harvested free water, congratulations you have made one step forward towards the VRBE.

Most though, even given the opportunity of unemployment, would still chose to ignore the lemons, drink the tap water, pay your water rates and chase a new job and that is what separates those that are open to change and those that are not, as Darwin quoted – It is not the strongest of the species that survive but rather the most versatile.

Lemons aside.. the 5 steps to freedom are as follows and we will tackel each one individually as few can tackle even two of them at once.

01 – FREE FOOD

You need to eat, and you need to eat ethically (see free world charter) to engage positively and successfully in the VRBE. This means that you need to grow, it takes time to prepare ground, plant and provide a strong permanent all year round diet so first steps are nutrition and ground work.

The easiest nutrition guide for all ages, that can be learned, taught and shared we found is the Liz Cook charts and book, popularly promoted and used in the Centre for Alternative Technology, both i have listed here as in addition to food and nutrition, the CAT as they call themselves, will be a good contact spot for ideas and support as you move forward in the 5 steps program.

Liz Cooks Nutrition resources: https://www.lizcookcharts.co.uk/so-what-do-you-eat-book.html

Centre for Alternative Technology: https://cat.org.uk/

Nutrition is important and is mis taught in state school, is mis represented in the NHS websites and is outdated and does not take into consideration , pollution, medication, poisoning, disease and deformity in the Animal Agriculture food chain, so unlearn all that unless you want to eat enslaved and mistreated animals with sores, cancers, cysts, infections, coronaviruses, poisoning, fetid decay and pharmaceuticals. So what about Fruit and Vegetables ? Green and clean ? well no, unfortunately not, shop bought crops are sprayed in raw sewage, Nano toxins, pesticides and water infected with fluoride, polio heavy metals and all manner of water borne misery.

If you wonder why the NHS would promote carcinogenic and sickness developing recipes and food recommendations on their website, then remember this simple statement – the “Health” Service ensures its longevity and profit lines, not by making people better, but on the contrary, by ensuring there continued sickness and wherever possible, continued consumption of pharmaceutical product.

Once you have got your head around basic nutrition you can look at taking it further with diet programs such as “Raw till 4” but it is not an essential step for VRBE just something to improve energy levels, performance and health which becomes more relevant in step .04 FREE Medicine.

Once Nutrition basics are in place though then we can prepare on the ground change to what you eat through what you grow. One of the biggest blockers we found in rolling out ground change programs was people living in flats or even on barge boats.

We were able to provide some support for flats, though the obvious issue is lack of reasonable growing space, for flat dwellers or recommendation was to engage with local growing projects to learn the ground skills such as “Grow to Eat”, “Vegan Permaculture Workshop” , “Woodland Woom” and “Crops not Shops”, though bear in mind that growing groups may not have an ethical mission statement that aligns fully with the ethical veganism of the Free World Charter, they may use pest control which destroys the biosphere, animal product such as fertilisers which of course carry the list of poisoning noted in the above and may not have the VRBE base moral commitment as laid out in the free world charter.

EXAMPLE of community growing project: https://www.fishinaboxrecords.com/crops-not-shops-reshaping-communities-lockdown-special/

All that aside, the morals are down to each one of us to commitment to and promote so know the moral baseline but learn the growing skills.

For barge and canal folk we were able to get a program in place to use the river banks for potatoes, onions, nettles chard, spinach, figs, apples, pears  which were good with irregular watering and blended well on the banks attracting little attention and for river folk to grow micro greens on the boats, small, energy boosting and good in small spaces.

The second part of the solution for those in flats is to seek to relocate , by hook or by crook to a property with ground space, whether shared or owned or provided by local authorities which has happened in some growing projects to support the community. get your self to own ground.

Once you have ground space then go here and set up your space: https://www.fishinaboxrecords.com/urban-vegan-permaculture-project-living-outside-of-the-box/

This link provides pretty much everything you need to set up all year round growing in any UK property with a garden space, from composting, initial set up, seasonal work and managing what you grow to harvesting.

02 – Free Fuel / Power

Fuel and power covers everything from hot water to diesel fuel. Obviously solar and wind generators are crucial to the power set up for homes though some of the load can be reduced by employing other techniques worth looking into here, with that in mind i have added some links and broken this down in to subsections:

Power : for the home

What type of Power and Where do you get it ? How do you get it ? What should you get and why ? Should you gut to insulate ?

We have taken extensive time looking at a number of energy solutions for you to explore in Free Fuel/Power, there are several options that are less accessible or practice though will touch on them here for diversity:

  • Bio Mass – Applicable to House, outbuildings, can be used for Agriculture though NO vehicle application  – wood pulp/ chip burnt in a off grid burner, very efficient , responsible cost effective though required buying form a corporate point of supply and locks you into a designated fuel source. sourcing your own wood fuel chipping/ pulping is an issue as the fuel is stored cured and delivered at an optimum level of moisture etc so that it burns efficiently, fueling the burner with untreated or self treated wood chip leads to residue and clogging to the burner and equipment that required increased maintenance or break down. very efficient and can get you off grid but you are still tied financially to a supply chain (Global Corporancy NOT RBE) The solution to the Bio Mass model is to back track, still using wood fuel but back track to wood burning stoves and rocket oven solutions
  • Bio Gas – Applicable to House, outbuildings, agriculture, vehicles (via charging point)- Bio gas is driven by organic matter, waste, very useful for recycling house waste though the issue here again, like Bio Mass was clean fuel, you have to use a converter , which can be found in a home unit application, though reliable units are still in their infancy. large Bio Gas converters are excellent for animal waste processing, though housing animals to provide an accessible and collectible waste source requires unethical animal agriculture learning toward exploitation, which is out of step with Urban RBE .
  • Solar – Applicable to House , outbuildings, agriculture, vehicles (via charging point) – Solar provides good return during daylight hours though is impacted by cloud cover and changing seasonal weather. There is also potential drop in output (though currently their are no statistics relating to impact) from geoengineering that reduces the amount of solar energy travelling through the atmosphere. Solar though is an excellent and stable power source. Output can be improved by investing in better yield panels and reducing load on the system.
  • Wind – Applicable to House, outbuildings, agriculture, vehicles (via charging point) – Wind turbines subject to wind speeds, provides a good return though can create issue in densely populated areas due to noise levels from larger blades and turbines. Yield can be improved with stronger turbines and blade types. An alternative to Wind Turbines  are Wind Cubes, favored by the late Michael Green. As the wind passes through the Wind Cube covering, it becomes concentrated resulting in increased velocity that leads to more power generation, it is a better design for output and quieter for urban areas, though is relatively new and in limited distribution, so a developing power source rather than immediately available everywhere .

Our Favorites: 

Rocket Ovens: https://permies.com/ describes the Rocket Oven as: “A rocket oven is better than any other kind of oven. It does not have associated with it, the consequences of electric or natural gas ovens, which cause so much destruction and pollution by the nature of their fuel source. In comparison to a conventional wood fired cook stove or cob oven, a rocket oven burns clean and uses far less wood. The key component is the super insulated J tube burn tunnel. This allows the fire to get up to 1500 degrees F, which will burn all of the smoke and creosote. The heat then travels to the oven portion of the system where it heats the food. The oven portion can be designed so that the flue gases either interact with the food or not. The heat flows around the oven chamber, heating the insulated mass that surround the food. The coldest air flows out through the exhaust and up a chimney. Being insulated allows the oven to stay hot for a long while after the fire has finished burning. This design is made for indoor use but it could be used outdoors as well. A rocket oven is cleaner, more energy efficient, better for the environment and easier to fuel.”

Rocket Ovens are not the only worthwhile source of heating / cooking to look at. The most accessible system exit solution is an off grid corporation fitted solar / wind combination system to generate electricity powered more standard build, see the below link for battery storage and sourcing of efficient units

Other hot water / heating solutions  that we personally prefer are wood fired ovens, whether argor’s or open fire place with coiled copper piping flues, the main issue with this solution  for hot water is that the copper coils become pressurised so much have a pressure release value/ tank, if you build the system with a pressure release tank exporting to an insulated water tank (like we used to have before combi boilers) then you have some hot water storage in place and don’t have to limit usage to what’s available in the pipe.

techniques for copper coiling, bear in mind this is just the copper coiling , not the pressure management, that is to follow

Hot Water – in our projects our hot water source models came from Bio Gas sources on an animal sanctuary recycling animal waste to avoid building up a slurry of waste at the site. Waste through biogas comes out as natural gas with a by product of ready to ground fertilizer. The fertilizer is non acidic and much cleaner than using manure so can go straight on to ground, the gas with a tune can go straight to water heater boiler and drive showers. It is an excellent solution of you have available animal waste and in a future paradise, every home toilet could be fitted with a mini biogas engine for processing human waste straight to house gas without any waste product going to sewage whatsoever. during out projects we partnered with Economad and UCL for technical expertise and would recommend anyone looking to build a high volume engine to look at partnerships and grants to do so, rough cost to fund a high capacity Bio Gas engine (say two properties hot water system) would require an outlay of around 8k GBP.

Our more humble but preferred basic solution to hot water see’s us return to an adaption on the Rocket Oven idea being a Rocket oven water heater. This method is a firm favorite for zero cost in making hot water whilst doubling up with cooking, heating in an efficient established design.

 

Solar – 

We have covered Solar in great detail in previous posts, the recommendation is to source your battery banks using reclaimed lithium batteries as shown below and over fit for higher than need capacity; be off grid completely.

Fitting knowledge can be acquired through renewables engineering study, or you can, pre off grid. focus on raising funding to buy in a system out of the box.

Building your own off grid solar power system is obviously a first deliverable though the purpose of shared power requires networking your solution to others. The VRBE solution to ending corporate domination of the energy market likes in shared power systems called the People’s Power Network.

Insulation ? – Absolutly recommend insulation  though we do not as yet have a fully insulated site so are still in research stage for best solution.

So far we would recommend a superFOIL full box (floor, wall, roof) insulation though bear in mind the following, you will need to allow airflow of around 50mm between superFOIL and floor/walls to manage humidity, in addition a full box will provide EMF / RF dampening which WE seek to achieve. Communications , where required, for us, would always be outside and isolated from main living areas, as we seek to isolate all forms of non ionizing radiation from living areas simply for personal comfort and a clear head,.

Alternatives for insulation, if you don’t want EMF / RF dampening in your living space, or cannot get your living space realistically box insulated due to, well living in it and being stuffed to the seams,  well you are back to the old school loft insulation .

WHICH website takes you through the old school options in the below link:

https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/insulation/article/roof-insulation-aphHq5k9rSgD

Fuel – Vehicles OK, but what about Generators ?: We have covered plastic waste reclaim fuel for vehicles, it is important to note though that it is uneconomic in terms of fuel energy consumption to create waste plastic fuels for generators. The purpose of creating fuel  from plastic waste for vehicles is to have vehicle mobility without financial outlay, though you will expend higher resource of wood fuel to create diesel / petrol so pointless to use this for generators.

take a look at distilling fuel from waste for VEHICLES here: https://www.fishinaboxrecords.com/reclaimed-plastic-waste-fuel-should-we-really-be-going-electric/

and here is the process mapped out to better understand what you are trying to achieve.

03 – FREE SHELTER

Shelter , for our projects, is what people struggle with most of all, it requires the biggest outlay whether through paying down mortgage debt, securing funding for land either on your own or collectively or converting what assets you have to sufficient value  to purchase a site that can can provide security long term.

The freedom is not in being offered shelter at this time, it is in securing shelter that is free of ongoing system commitments either financially or through supply such as water or power once the sites are financially secured.

the program looks for people that are seeking to exit system dependency and invest what remaining financial assets they have into land and equipment assets then committing that or elements of that into collective share for the benefit of all engaged parties with no fiancial exchange

The issues of nomad life, van life, squatting are that any power or food systems are constantly low out put / size and potentially due to mobility and security, at risk. Unfortunately due to a system committed voting and tax paying majority, our land has lords and there is no way around establishing a permanent scaled VRBE abode without securing land rights from land owners and becoming a land owner your self.

We have seen people accelerate the process of land acquisition by moving out to Central Europe, United States and Central America basically cashing in UK assets for cheaper accommodation overseas.

Once your land debt is paid, by whatever means, you have established free shelter, so far there have not been any successful VRBE community sites that are in line with the free world charter due to participants not respecting the moral base line. there are though many communities out there that have elements which may be open to ethically upgrading though we , personally, would not engage with unethical partnerships for shelter.

Our feed back on Shelter generally is that people do not want to share resources, the values of care share and together that we are all taught to behave by in kindergarten or as a toddler at home, have all but been forced out of  adults we have engaged over the concepts of the program when it comes to Shelter.

State education has all but eradicated the values of community and mutual assistance, which is why the VRBE has to be tied to such a clear moral baseline. There are choices for humans in life, to either get rich or try sharing.

The future of humanity’s evolution as well as the value or not, of any ongoing existence of humanity comes down to that simple choice. Greed, selfishness, single view living are Devolving Qualities whereas sharing, caring , engaging and working together are Evolving qualities.

The VRBE is an evolving program, whereas the system, as it stands in it’s pyramid power structure, is a devolving program.

The next steps with Shelter are to make the abode as energy efficient as possible, for this reaching out to Utility Free Living and consultancies such as Bioregional (Links and features below) will provide some excellent ideas to making this possible

UTILITY FREE LIVING – http://www.utilityfreeliving.co.uk/

BIOREGIONAL – 

The first aim in FREE SHELTER is to create self-sufficient buildings, whether using water and sewage waste grey water systems, or renewables only energy consumption and independent off grid from any utility.

The second aims to build communities though collective reinvestment or shared resource donations that can benefit from programs such as the Peoples power network (hence the Elmsbrook feature above showing that this second objective can be achieved commercially so there is no reason why it cannot be achieved through a collective investment from VRBE)

Some of the techniques shown here in the Manchester project, such as the linked sink to toilet system (grey water recycling) is shown here,  it also touches on airflow instead of central heating and this kind of work can be done on a much lower budget than discussed in the below link, though interesting to see this in a restoration of a Victorian property.

04 – FREE MEDICINE

The corner stone of VRBE medicine is preventative health. This starts with the basic ethics which puts people on a vegan lifestyle but then expands to home growing (free food) so basically toxin free organic food . both of these steps are covered in detail in the documentary (Netflix) – What the Health https://www.whatthehealthfilm.com/

Once the basics of better cleaner food for our bodies has been addressed, the next steps are understanding the medicine of plants and the use of herbs and tinctures to boost immune system and prevent illness.  Plants such a Herb Robert and Ginger have a huge variety of health boosting properties.

For FREE medicine we start with recommending Dr Michael Gregor’s book https://nutritionfacts.org/book/how-not-to-die/   ,  This is essential practical life knowledge that needs to be put in to practice daily/

FREE medicine also follows the premise that most psychological struggles that people face are tied to their living circumstances and interaction with the state.

Where exiting the state for freedom based living and improved health function and nutrition doesn’t resolve core medical concerns, a deeper use of plant medicine can be sought, such as

Reference books:

– Wild Remedies – How to Forage Healing Foods and Craft Your Own Herbal Medicine

– The Herbal Remedy Handbook

– Tonics and Teas (Rachel de Themple)

These books are selected as they focus on foraging mainly and core basic remedies. As the ground and growing process moves forward, essential herbs can be introduced easily so these form a good selection for basic herbology.

There are other medicinal , more powerful herbal remedies of course that people can explore in greater details for specific conditions, though these can be approached in people’s own medicinal journey’s subject to need.

For example the below link looks at remedies for anxiety for example

Also related to health, is cleanliness, natural solutions to cleaning products, disinfectants , shampoos , washing products.

05 – FREE Education

The most notable part of FREE education is all of the above, the knowledge of how to live outside of system dependency and control in every way realistically possible. Following that is the knowledge of the seasons, how to read the land, the skies and any changes therein, the actual state education program of say mathematics, language, history, science etc is extremely basic though what stands out is that all knowledge relating to nature and the environment we live in is excluded from core curriculums all over the country and it is this that is telling.

There is no interest in state education circles in building genuine support for the principles laid out in the Free World Charter which are essential for human society to live, not only harmoniously in the world but also to take responsibility for human society, to shepherd, and nurture a world for all beings to flourish in.

Within the private education sector, there is some scope for these value sets, though private education is not accessible for all. With that in mind and within the five steps to freedom, is a commitment to educate our young folk not only in retaining the values of care share and together, in embracing our moral baseline of ethical veganism and global stewardship and responsibility as laid out in the Free World Charter ,but also in the knowledge of food and fuel, power and shelter, in herb, and medicine.

The differences between Ethical Vegan Resource Based Economic education program and state education programs –

1 – Ethical Vegan values are the core morals for all, rather than including veganism as part of state educations diversity program
2 – RBE promotes the values of sharing, caring and team engagement for the benefit of building an ethical alternative society through shared resources rather
than the values of competition, tested grading and preparation for standard working life
3 – RBE education is home, family led through supporting engagement rather than eductor lead by institutions

To close , please review these links and consider whether you want to break the mould that society has cast you in, and instead of the Get Rich Me myself and I culture of all governments and state institutions , take the ideology of the VRBE onboard and get back to Care, Share and together, these are values for not only for us, but are first thought in all our relationships with others, whether human , animal or the world we share  and in our commitment to reject and push back all that do not meet the simple moral baseline that is laid out in the Free World Charter.

OUR STORY WITH THE RBE – https://www.fishinaboxrecords.com/rbe-goals-journeys-with-michael-green/
WHAT IS RBE – QUESTIONS – https://www.thevenusproject.com/faqs/
WHAT ARE THE BINDING ETHICS – https://freeworldcharter.org/en/more

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Rocky Benderskum with crops NOT shops at The Retreat Animal Rescue Vegan Sanctuary

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Rocky Benderskum with crops NOT shops at The Retreat Animal Rescue Vegan Sanctuary

A big shout out to the Crops not Shops Tribe I’d tag you all but I’m a benderskum and that’s way too complicamated for me so instead have a pome xx

Crops not shops:

I want to introduce these folks they really are the tops
A proper growing community they call it Crops Not Shops
They’ve been around in Essex helping people grow
For food is a right for all of us something you should know
In gardens, allotments and a nursery and now down on an animal farm
Though not where they breed the animals for food these are safe from harm
The place near Ashford in deepest Kent is a place that’s hard to beat
A wonderful Animal Sanctuary beginning with Retreat
I went along to give advice? That’s all I have the strength to give
I loved the way the animals are and how they get to live
The poly tunnel frame put up by a valiant bunch of workers
While I sat down and watched because trust I’m a proper shirker
If my body wasn’t so broken I know I could be handy
But this is the body that I’ve got so sitting down is dandy
So all I can do is sit and watch and try to give advice
I’d be helping if I had different one you needn’t ask me twice
So all I can do is write this stuff and watch the world go by
As the poly tunnel is constructed under the bright blue sky
The farm itself is brilliant the staff were all amazing
It’s lush to see happy animals wandering around and grazing
They have a thrift shop and a café with vegan friendly food
I never mentioned my cannibal diet as it seemed a little rude
I know that I will go back down to help whenever I can
I’ll probably grab a plate or two of that lovely vegan scran
The farm is very popular as its one of those special places
When some of the visitors find its vegan food the looks upon their faces
One thing I really liked to hear was none of the food is ever wasted
Because they have pigs to eat the scraps but never themselves to be tasted
Now back to the tribe and the growing of crops when the poly tunnel is built
Organic vegetables and maybe fruit filled up to the hilt
And a biogas digester but I’m not really sure what that is
I was told but it went right over my head

its ok I can give it a miss…
For I’m a simple benderskum and there are some things I know
One of them is Crops not Shops is a thing that is bound to grow

Who is Rocky  ? Ethical Vegan AF, Ex-tramp, Ex-teacher, Ex-tremely inappropriate Scribbler of scribbles and writer of similar
Anarchist Geriactivist who once stood for Parliament..

Rocky, a supporter of the cause,  joined the crops NOT shops crew at The Retreat Animal Sanctuary all weekend to lift spirits and entertain us all while we greased poles, banged nuts and rode around in tractors and diggers looking like we knew what we were doing…

Thankfully we did and the muck piles some touching 10 metres into the sky, 18 metre squared plot land was leveled, poly-tunnel frame erected and the irrigation trenches cut

So where have we got to ?

The frame and channels are done, water storage tank are on site and ready, the poly tunnel cover is on, though needs door frames around the front and final securing to be done, drainage needs setting back into the tunnel and plant in our crops for 26/9 event.

Biogas chamber is marked out and the prints are being finalised to build the biogas digester engine which will be feed from manure and convert into natural gas to power the chalets heating and hot water, as well as a by product of 200 Litres of liquid organic fertiliser

crops NOT shops are now raising funding for completion of the Retreat Sanctuary site. We have had amazing response from our seed search and have heirloom organic seeds for planting over winter crops at the site, now we need to get the Retreat base humming.

So what do we need funding for now ?

– We need to plant heirloom fruit trees, around 12 for the fruiting area

– We need a power inverter and lithium battery to be funded to hook up 10 ready to go solar panels that we have to start generating power for The Retreat and drive gas and water pumps.

– We need some irrigation arms to link to the tunnel tanks and overhead water storage tanks and a computer controlled timer to regulate watering cycles day and night to keep all crops in prime health

– We need to build a 12 foot fence to protect the whole site from Chickens, too ensure the crops get to maturity  without being ransacked by the chickens, you may laugh but it is not just a poultry affair, last chicken invasion cleaned out a complete crop of rainbow corn in 25 minutes…..

To complete this site to perfection, we will need to raise a further £ 1,000.00 from the Community.

We need your support.

What you will be investing in is a fully automated fully functioning organic free food system for the animals, for the people and for The Retreat.

As a centre of the Ethical Vegan movement, the crop NOT shops project directly strengthens the Retreat’s long term self sustainability goals and takes pressure of the team there in using up donations for food and power which could otherwise be used on infastructure.

if you are able to help financially in investing in the project to get this site completed please do so using the below link:

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/cropsnotshops?utm_term=dZv57Pm8J

crops NOT shops ON THE DIGGER – What did you learn today ?

Next Up was Lunch and more of Rocky Benderskum:

Rocky, as well as everything else, also has donated some of his books to crops NOT shops to resell to raise funds.

The books will be available to Purchase at the RBE Network event “MG 269” detaisl of the event in the below LINK:

https://www.fishinaboxrecords.com/26-9-2020-michael-greens-art-for-a-sustainable-world-at-the-retreat

These books are a must have insight into the anarchist scribbling of time and experience, from political activism, to rough sleeping, the big issue, journeys to the inner mind and all the stories interwoven by all.

take a look see..

Peaked your interest ?

Click on the below link and then look for the crops NOT shops logo, that will take you to the Facebook page then post a comment to order (Beware if you read to much, your ban will turn to mush…)..

LINK: https://www.benderskum.rocks/

What to know more about Rocky’s antics ? did he tell you about the time he stood for Parliment ?

LINK:

https://ccguide.org/news/shownewsarticle.php?articleid=23627

oh, we almost forgot lunch..

Jamie on the volunteer crew knocked up a fantastic vegan Jamaican stew, which was then followed by second lunch and 4 ‘o’ clock whistle stop chasers…

one last candle to light at “Angels Rest” memorial garden and then down time, campsite gaffs and giggles into the night…

It’s not just funders and backers we need,.

We need volunteers. If you are ethically motivated for real system change, this vegan permaculture, anarchist RBE Network project may well be for you, get in touch with us and learn how to retake your freedom and rebuild your community for a better world.

Time to hit the road, until next week,,

 

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VEGAN KITCHEN – Hemp Milk and Hemp Flour – HEMP REDEMPTION INSPIRATION

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VEGAN KITCHEN – Hemp Milk and Hemp Flour – HEMP REDEMPTION INSPIRATION

Inspired by the Hemp Redemption Festival last weekend, held by the mind blowing  band Mobius Loop, who, may also be some of the nicest people on mother earth today and their super amazing song “Hemp Milk” we decided to sing along and not only make Hemp Milk,. but managed to “feed two birds with one seed” and also make Hemp Flour.

Now its your turn, so tune in to Mobious Loop and follow the step by step giude to the easiest seed milk recipe ever.

So lets get our Hemp Milk making kit together, we already had huge bag of organic hemp seeds kicking around the kitchen though if you don’t have any get some ordered in from Sophia at Hempden our home grown Hemp expert and hemp health pioneer pictured below:

link to  HEMPDEN web site: https://www.hempen.co.uk/ ok, so now you have got your seeds ?

Let’s make Hemp Milk, let’s do it yeah..

Follow the photos below and you will have a lovely bottle of hemp milk and a bag of hemp flour for cookies too.

Apart from the amazing health benefits of Hemp products, another reason to move away from shop sold plant milk is to disconnect from the commercial earth raping corporate machine and to take a further step away from the unethical Companies, and or partners companies the drive products onto the market.  Companies like Alpro that make amazing plant milks are also profiteering from animal abuse and unethical other line products.

Don’t be a part of it, close the door on corporate shenanigans, engage in the hemp redemption and FREE THE SEED !!

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26/9 2020 – Michael Green’s art for a sustainable world at THE RETREAT

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26/9 2020 – Michael Green’s art for a sustainable world at THE RETREAT Animal Rescue

For ONE day only we will be showing art work from “art for a sustainable word” by Michael Green.

Here a couple of LINKS to Michael Green’s ART :

ART FOR A SUSTAINABLE WORLD

https://www.fishinaboxrecords.com/269-rbe-art-for-a-sustainable-world-michael-green/

WHAT’S ON THE BOX WITH MICHAEL GREEN

https://www.fishinaboxrecords.com/television-the-drug-of-a-nation-whats-on-the-box-with-michael-green/

26/9 this year is set to be a huge gathering of the ethical, the free folk, the activists, coming together for

– Unity
– Strength
– Change

Camping overnight in the bottom field has been given a green light for those travelling in

Agenda for the event:

– Resource based Economy
– RBE Network
– 5 steps to freedom
– Crops NOT shops
– Michael green’s art for a sustainable World
– Adoption programs
– Amazing fully vegan café and Thrift shop
– Biogas digester engine project
– soundtrack by FISHINABOX

Rocky van de Benderskum will also be on site with workshops, and has pledged some of his books to raise funds for the RBE Network’s Free Food program , “crops NOT shops”, which you will be able to buy at the event.

See the enclosed LINK for the latest update report on Rocky and crops NOT shops at The Retreat Animal Sanctuary here:

https://www.fishinaboxrecords.com/rocky-benderskum-with-crops-not-shops-at-the-retreat-animal-rescue-vegan-sanctuary/

Want to be part of system change ? Be there – lets build this RBE Network,

for food,

for power,

for creativity,

for education,

for fuel,

for shelter,

for fun,

for enrichment,

for ethics,

for one love

Since Michael Passed in Costa Rica last year, as executors, we have been inundated from people all over the world both in RBE, environmentalist and Vegan circles with requests to arrange for his project “art for a sustainable world” to be displayed.

Michael’s last artwork, unfinished, recovered from Costa Rica:

For this year, Saturday 26/9 2020, we have kindly been offered space at The Retreat Animal Sanctuary to put some of Michael’s artworks on show for the day.

We will also be holding talks on the five steps to freedom and the RBE (resource based economy) , sharing information and looking for engagement with groups, volunteers , from the community for the evolving RBE Network

crops NOT shops will be opening their second base at The Retreat and their will be talks from Chay Godfree who is driving the project.

One year ago on 26/9 The RBE and VEGAN community lost dedicated activist Michael Green. A permanent memorial was set up for Michael at the Retreat Animal rescue and Sanctuary in Kent. A rescue Michael spent time holding talks and classroom events, fundraising and engaging with the animals.

On the 28th of September 2019 just two days after Michael’s passing, many activists gathered at the Retreat, to write words, memories, share stories and spend time with each other in memory of Michael’s life, though the gathering was so close to 26/9 that there was no time, at that time, to organise any larger event, and, Michael artwork has still not been recovered at that time.

Before Michael  left on his last trip to Costa Rica, we sat and discussed his on going activism and artwork and how best to incorporate what works he still had in his possession into the RBE Network activism campaign.

As an artist myself, Michael took me through an unfinished art piece based on Morpheus in the Matrix,  a piece that was stolen at an event over ten years before and that he felt so important had repainted from scratch, he asked me to complete it for him and marked out where and what colours he wanted used as he no longer had steady enough hands due to the illness, to complete the intricate parts remaining on the painting, and left it with me to complete as he made his way to Costa Rica for a last chance to get ahead of the cancer.

The painting will be displayed unfinished form the last time before work begins on finishing the piece in line with his instructions.

Other artwork going on display for 26/9 “art for a sustainable world” will be Michael’s TV sets and computer screens that were recovered with only days notice of being cleared  and disposed, the paperwork and legalities of recovery and “ownership” as the system puts it, took us right up to the deadline. The sets have had some cleaning and restoration since recovery.

Recovery day photos:

 

Also on display at “art for a sustainable world” will be Michael’s office chair from the “Tears for the Earth show”

The Soundtrack:

The MG 269 event soundtrack is now in print with all eco packaging / inks etc. The album contains the soundtrack for the art exhibition as well as additional tracks for Earth Liberation previously only available in Japan.

The album will be available at the event on 26/9 or inbox FISHINABOX RECORDS on facebook or @Fishinapot on Twitter to reserve a copy.

FYI – This is a strictly limited print run, there will be NO REPRINTS people so its a case of get it now if you want a copy.

LINK for PRE-ORDER:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/865406399/pre-order-shipment-from-01102020-mg-269?utm_source=merchandise&utm_medium=api&utm_campaign=api

The location:

https://www.retreatanimalrescue.org.uk/

The Retreat Animal Rescue is a 60 acre site and safe home for 1500 animals rescued from abuse , neglect and animal agriculture. The site is based in the rolling country side in Kent, the closest station is Ashford International and there is a bus to Cripple Hill that takes about 30 minutes (information link below)

https://www.rome2rio.com/map/Ashford-International-Station/Cripple-Hill-High-Halden-Ashford-TN26-UK

The Retreat is a fully vegan sanctuary with an amazing vegan cafe, the menu is exceptionally good and suitable for all ages , there is an on site thrift shop and adoption programs are available for those interested in further supporting the sanctuary’s work.

The significance of 26/9:

Michael passed away on a symbolic date for animal liberation: Calf 269 is a bull who was rescued as a calf by anonymous activists, days before his planned slaughter. The significance of the event led to the creation of “269 life”(fr:269 Life France), an animal liberation movement founded in October 2012. The 269 life movement celebrates the life of CALF 269 and raises awareness to the unethical unnecessary suffering endured by enslaved calves for wealth hoarding corporate profiteers.

269 is probably the most common animal rights tattoo or brand globally today.

Find out more:

https://www.facebook.com/269Liberation/

https://www.pri.org/stories/2015-08-19/meet-vegan-activists-israel-known-269

Join us and engage with the RBE Network and explore the movement for real change, not a politics thing, not a money thing, not a flag waving thing , or race, cult, country thing, this is simply the movement for the free world charter, and how people are taking steps to achieve it outside of all pyramid power structures.

There are very few people on this Earth like Michael Green, become part of the movement that shared his vision of a better world and let’s build a better world, without sanction of Government, Corporations, System indoctrinated social policing. Thank you Michael Green for your belief, your drive your energy spent in opening the door to joe public to embrace change. We have got this and are taking it forward up and down the country.

To close the post, I am adding Michael Green’s CV. if ever you are caught shy of the RBE Network and forced to write a CV, it probably should look something like this, if it doesn’t you are likely to be forced by the state into mindless work slavery, where your divine human energy, which you can use to shape your whole reality spirit and community for meaningful life, is traded in a one way transaction, for something as meaningless and worthless as money.

Don’t do it to yourself and don’t let other’s do it to you. Engage in the RBE Network and build an exit from slavery. Don;t know where to start ? then join us at MG 269.

 

 

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VEGAN KITCHEN – Dandelion HONEY & TOFFEE – LOCK DOWN SPECIAL

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VEGAN KITCHEN – Dandelion HONEY & TOFFEE – LOCK DOWN SPECIAL

Foraging and home growing networks have exploded all over the UK since the Coronavirus Lock down. top of the list in the headline must try go to’s is Dandelion Honey (miel de pissenlit) and its spin off’s, Dandelion root, dandelion tea, dandelion jam (camaillotte) dandelion toffee and even cough syrup.

Dandelion Honey is another great Vegan alternative to Honey, and properly done has a negligible environmental impact. Other great things about Dandelion’s are that hopefully they will impact business away from Bee exploitation and slavery.

If you don’t know about the issue around “Save the bees” / beeswax and bee Honey check out this link here: https://www.fishinaboxrecords.com/no-money-no-honey-the-supersize-me-bee-project-in-every-store-near-you/

We took a deep dive into the good and bad, the pro’s and cons of Vegan Dandelion Honey:

The main area of concern that was being aired was to NOT harvest the dandelions as they were food for bees to make honey for themselves and therefore still part of the problem. we took a look..

Our steps to manage this concern:

For the dandelions that we harvested, we identified council roadside verges and edge ways that were thick with dandelion though scheduled for cutting so the dandelions were being taken anyway, we then harvested in these areas the day before cutting.

If you can’t check this with your local council, or, are not living in a suburban area that has council management the next step is to apply a 1/3 harvesting rule. Only take 1/3 of the dandelion heads in any specific area to ensure there are sufficient supply for insects or all shapes and sizes.

In any area where there are dandelions, some will be ready for seeding, ensure you blow all seed heads in the immediate area where you are harvesting to boost flower numbers.

When you have taken the heads, lay them out to allow any insects to crawl out if any. In our batch of 200+ heads we had two black ants who we returned to the dandelion patch where we harvested the flowers from.

Dandelions are pointed out in most circles of thinking, though not all, as the first food for bees in February so delay your dandelion honey making until end of March April when fruit tress are in bloom and other flowers are available for the bees.

further argument on Bees / Dandelions here: https://www.gardenmyths.com/dandelions-important-bees/?fbclid=IwAR3Gf-gkUYtD25WmQwEafJqwEYiLAJRKP_-3MRYt4J0Qiqa5TsP1gvlyEsI

Some studies actually push to harvest as many heads as possible from March on as they point out behavioral patterns around Bees change with dandelions, if there are dandelions the bees ignore flower and fruit blossom and focus on dandelions. in this argument the recommendation is to seed wild flowers early in the area and harvest up and remove as many dandelion as possible, basically the point is ensure you leave blossom food and flower behind you.

Either way a responsible harvesting rule leaves nature to work out the rest. A pot of Dandelion Honey takes 100 head of flowers, two hundred head is a bowlful and two jars lasts months so your harvest rate is very low overall.

The other main area of concern was around the amount of sugar involved in making flower honey:

It is indeed true, recipes are looking at up to 5 and in some even 7 bags of sugar to make a couple of jars of flower honey which though is ethical in the sense that no animals are factory farmed for it, it is a bit of a health nightmare and on a par with golden syrup .

White granulated sugar is what keeps the dandelion honey looking like “Bee” Honey. Messing with the sugar changes the colour of the Honey, and to an extent the taste. We just couldn’t do it to our bodies on a full sugar hit.

To get a healthier more “bee honey” like flower honey we looked at sugar alternatives and settled on Organic Coconut Sugar, its a Lidl staple in the baking section so easy to find and has, like Bee Honey, a lower glycemic index coupled with lower amounts of fructose making coconut sugar a better alternative to granulated white table sugar.

Regular table sugar and synthetic high-fructose corn syrup don’t contain any vital nutrients and therefore supply “empty” calories. whereas coconut sugar retains, in part, the nutrients found in the coconut palm most notable of these are being iron, zinc, calcium and potassium, along with some short-chain fatty acids like polyphenols and antioxidants and  a fiber called inulin, which slows glucose absorption and explains why coconut sugar has a lower glycemic index than regular table sugar.

Coconut Sugar – What is and where does it come from ? it is made using a natural 2-step process: A cut is made on the flower of the coconut palm and the liquid sap is collected into containers. Then the sap is placed under heat until most of the water has evaporated leaving a brown and granulated product. Its color is similar to that of raw sugar, but the particle size is typically smaller or more variable. Coconut sugar is the dehydrated sap of the coconut palm.

Using Coconut sugar looses that golden Bee Honey colour and gives a very dark treacle colour to the flower honey. In the end its all down to personal taste, if you are someone who eats branded sweets such as Nestle , Cadbury’s, sugar syrups or shop bought desserts etc then amazingly the amount of white sugar used in the recipe is nothing more than these branded products. If you, like us don’t buy into branded junk food then use a fruit sugar or even fruit pectin’s etc and take some of the “load” off the final product though regardless of all that remember that whether it is unethical Bee Honey or the ethical other alternatives, such as Syrup, Coconut sugar, whatever  !!! it is ALL still Sugar people no matter what option you take.!!!

Want to know more about types of sugar ?

Click on the link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM

anyway all that being done and dusted,. lets get on with making this dandelion flower honey stuff:

STAGE ONE:

This is the base recipe we used and then adapted,. this will give you the golden “Bee” style Dandelion Honey

https://plantepusherne.dk/the-best-vegan-dandelion-honey-tastes-like-honey/?fbclid=IwAR2xFWW5xTEBjSKoGI9_SBt6z0VBOGgK9aBwZC-uwdEnnwNiif5dsEB3KKc

The recipe is for 100 head / 1 jar.  As we used 200+ dandelions that we picked from road sidings  (before the local council came the next day to mow down!) and some from our own area using the 1/3 harvesting rule.

We doubled the quantities in the recipe with a couple of of replacements, firstly, thanks to lock down, we were unable to source fresh lemons (WTF ! right)  and so went with the bottled squeezed lemon juice, and second, 7 cups of white processed sugar seemed excessive for us so we went with the coconut nectar sugar instead.

Other than that we followed the recipe and tips pretty much as is..

STAGE TWO:

Add the sugar and start the extremely long low heat simmer, this was the deciding factor in getting the texture of the flower honey right. too much heat it burns, too little it has too much water..etc

The colour changes at this point depending on what sugar you use.

NOTEWORTHY:

The ‘simmer for several hours’ is a bit unclear but after adding the sugar in the second part of the recipe we simmered for approx 3 hours then left to cool over night.

In the morning the mixture was still not thick enough so we popped it back on the hob for another hour which resulted in a good honey texture but after we cooled a bit on a spoon it set solid so we added some boiling water and stirred it in until we got the consistency we were after.

The coconut sugar took the colour of the flower water from a beautiful honey yellow colour to a dark treacle colour so you should expect a much more yellow honey if you are using only white sugar.

All in all we are happy with it and oh my is it amazeballs on toast!! 😋

Once the Dandelion Honey was all transferred into jars we had some left overs which went back on the heat to make the toffee for a coupe of toffee apples.

making the toffee apples was extremely trick and messy, you need a few things… a chop stick, an apple, the toffee and some clingfilm. First we tried to do it by pouring out the toffee, off the boil into cling film bags around the apples…

failed.. lol

…next was to heat up the toffee until a bubbling black liquid, flip off the heat and tip the pan , as the toffee solidified we rolled the apple on the chop stick in the mixture, and, as its cooled it stuck evenly to the body of the apple then stand in cling film and wrap.

This worked out perfectly

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RBE goals – JOURNEY’S WITH MICHAEL GREEN – What can YOU do and how to do it

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RBE goals – UTILITY FREE LIVING – What can YOU do and how to do it

RBE thinking, Resource Based Economy thinking that is; is based around the management of need, based solely on smart and ethical management of available situational resources. The principles are a practical application of the free world charter, a how to live by charter.

https://freeworldcharter.org/en

Where did I learn about the Free World Charter ? it was whilst we were recovering the late Michel Green’s art work for storage, a last minute appointment with housing and a window of only a few hours to collect keys before they were the housing officer was actually leaving her job and cleaners were scheduled to go in and empty the flat !!

A dash to Eastbourne and a grueling day of saving these pieces. In among the rest was one of Michael’s very old TV screens had a butterfly painted on it and the worlds “Let’s make everything free”. this screen dated way way back, though we hadn’t covered the free world charter as were focused on other areas of RBE implementation, like minds think alike and having signed up to the charter I see again a movement of liberation thinking, free of politics, free of religion , free of money. All ethical vegans should be signed up to the Free World Charter.

These are All pieces of the RBE puzzle that through combining our collective work, come together through these web posts.

Principles of the free world charter

  1. The highest concern of humanity is the combined common good of all living species and biosphere.
  2. Life is precious in all its forms, and free to flourish in the combined common good.
  3. Earth’s natural resources are the birthright of all its inhabitants, and free to share in the combined common good.
  4. Every human being is an equal part of a worldwide community of humans, and a free citizen of Earth.
  5. Our community is founded on the spirit of cooperation and an understanding of nature, provided through basic education.
  6. Our community provides for all its members the necessities of a healthy, fulfilling and sustainable life, freely and without obligation.
  7. Our community respects the limits of nature and its resources, ensuring minimal consumption and waste.
  8. Our community derives its solutions and advances progress primarily through the application of logic and best available knowledge.
  9. Our community acknowledges its duty of care and compassion for members who are unable to contribute.
  10. Our community acknowledges its responsibility to maintain a diverse and sustainable biosphere for all future life to enjoy.

Within application and actual on the ground living and design, the great movers and shakers in the applied RBE world, long established, large central Hubs with endless subscribers and networks, have failed to build site networks within the general public, or support grass roots initiatives for change, resulting in a global stunting the spread of the RBE networks in general.

Part of this is based on a silo mentality, part is based on still being tied to seeking funding and support for the concept of an RBE, with an end goal of full city scale development or Government initiative. As a city planning goal this is all fine but this lacks the elements of accessibility and liberation from the status quo that can be better found in older anti-political idealism of Anarchist syndicalism and abolitionism.

The Venus Project, a key HUB, and founder of the concept of the Resource Based Model provides an excellent FAQ on what RBE program is and represents, as well as the free world charter. Those interested should check the below links to find out more:

www.thevenusproject.com/faqs/

https://freeworldcharter.org/en/faqs

Identifying the failure (in engaging general population in network growth) by main RBE hub’s in addition to a recommended review of the method of rollout for RBE ideology goes to Michelle Anne Palmer. She laid out this approach to Myself and Michael Green whilst reviewing workable models for engagement, expressing our right to take back control of resources, at the same time as engaging with Hub Technology, which has led to a model for community roll out to be tabled for vertical farming for Urban populations. A model that can integrate within a Community Anarchist Syndicalist approach to building organic engagement of a grass roots RBE model for all.

This model is sound, and would actually overall see consumption shrink in all business sectors, though requires a social commitment an evolution in thinking in the general population which is hard to achieve outside of an RBE.

Firstly we must be renewable and resource based . Then we must evolve and “DEGROW”.

Combining the following mindsets and application will lead to evolution, a case of, as the “Ghostbusters” would put it of “crossing the streams”

Here are the core mindsets of change:

Crops not shops

Food not bombs

Vegan permaculture

Utility free living

Anarcho syndicalism

Resource based network

No god’s no masters no borders

Make everything free

Equality

Intelligent learning

How not to die

Hemp-Redemption

Ethical Veganism

This will be addressed in later posts under “Degrowth steps for expanding real growth”.

For a system change to be successful, the most important factor is actual change, RBE lends to a non monetist existence where resourcing is spared the wasteful bottling controls of supply and demand financing, and satisfies peoples needs without financial dependence on centralised currencies or barter and trade.

As people we need to develop awareness, and social intelligence, something that the state education, work regulated society seems to dumb down, we need to speak out on the basic obvious awareness issues blocking intelligent awareness

It simply is intelligent sharing and negates the need for an organised Globalised Corporancy, or regulation, or government to manage to filter of goods to public and public to goods.

Urban RBE is a fusion of RBE Silo tech in an urban community based practical implementation, along with an ethical liberation mind set where you, as an individual, can drastically bring change to your family and your communities life, their health, their moral compass and their ongoing nature in balance with the environment they live in..

On an individual scale what are we talking about is meeting your immediate food and power needs ethically and intelligently.

Once these core living costs are resolved and networked, as an RBE community, your major expenditures outside of land rent and entertainment are resolved and the staging table to separation from central Government, Work , schooling, and all aspects of divisional class war and politic is possible.

The first step for an Urban RBE is being able to manage your food supply and dietary needs from you local area , home space or waste land around your home space, we have covered this is the below link:

https://www.fishinaboxrecords.com/urban-vegan-permaculture-project-living-outside-of-the-box/

The second step for an Urban RBE is being able to disconnect from the Grid and provide your own power source, firstly to meet your own demand 100%, and, secondly to develop your power network for overs to engage a Network as an urban RBE HUB

STOP !! “buying” electricity .

and

START “making” electricity.

then

START “sharing” electricity .

Power : What type of Power and Where do you get it ? How do you get it ? What should you get and why ?

We have taken extensive time looking at a number of energy solutions and have isolated two practical , accessible and easy to implement power sources , that in combination provide a good day / night power supply subject to some geographical limitations, thee are a number of others that are less accessible or practice though will touch on them here for diversity:

  • Bio Mass – Applicable to House, outbuildings, can be used for Agriculture though NO vehicle application  – wood pulp/ chip burnt in a off grid burner, very efficient , responsible cost effective though required buying form a corporate point of supply and locks you into a designated fuel source. sourcing your own wood fuel chipping/ pulping is an issue as the fuel is stored cured and delivered at an optimum level of moisture etc so that it burns efficiently, fueling the burner with untreated or self treated wood chip leads to residue and clogging to the burner and equipment that required increased maintenance or break down. very efficient and can get you off grid but you are still tied financially to a supply chain (Global Corporancy NOT RBE)

 

  • Bio Gas – Applicable to House, outbuildings, agriculture, vehicles (via charging point)- Bio gas is driven by organic matter, waste, very useful for recycling house waste though the issue here again, like Bio Mass was clean fuel, you have to use a converter , which can be found in a home unit application, though reliable units are still in their infancy. large Bio Gas converters are excellent for animal waste processing, though housing animals to provide an accessible and collectible waste source requires unethical animal agriculture learning toward exploitation, which is out of step with Urban RBE .

 

  • Solar – Applicable to House , outbuildings, agriculture, vehicles (via charging point) – Solar provides good return during daylight hours though is impacted by cloud cover and changing seasonal weather. There is also potential drop in output (though currently their are no statistics relating to impact) from geoengineering that reduces the amount of solar energy travelling through the atmosphere. Solar though is an excellent and stable power source. Output can be improved by investing in better yield panels and reducing load on the system.

 

  • Wind – Applicable to House, outbuildings, agriculture, vehicles (via charging point) – Wind turbines subject to wind speeds, provides a good return though can create issue in densely populated areas due to noise levels from larger blades and turbines. Yield can be improved with stronger turbines and blade types. An alternative to Wind Turbines  are Wind Cubes, favored by the late Michael Green. As the wind passes through the Wind Cube covering, it becomes concentrated resulting in increased velocity that leads to more power generation, it is a better design for output and quieter for urban areas, though is relatively new and in limited distribution, so a developing power source rather than immediately available everywhere .

For the Purpose of an accessible urban RBE network that can be built up in a community from the grass roots, a wind and solar combination is the recommended start point for off grid networks. The following links and information will help you understand the basics of these two power systems, identify your specific need, model, type and combination and look at improvement options to make a shift to Solar / Wind a successful.

A satisfying transition from the global corporate power network that not only unfairly prices power supply, which is a resource that should be free to the people, but also cause extensive environmental damage in sourcing that power.

Corporations, legalised by Government, voted for by uninformed people, steal our resources, time, and the fruits of our labour and charge their profit margin on top. its time to cut out the middle man.

lets get you up to speed on the knowledge on Solar and Wind solutions for home conversion:

SOLAR BASICS (TODAY)

FACTORS IMPACTING SOLAR CAPACITY ON THE GROUND

Do your Homework

Possible Concerns of Geo Engineering?

  1. Challenges the global shift to renewable systems such as solar power, pushing power back to fossil fuels or above atmoshere sola rppower systems owned by the Global Corporancy.
  2. It damages the immune systems of all air breathing life, opening growth for big pharma vitamins immune boosts and basic cold and hayfever medications.
  3. It contaminates water supply justifying additions of heavy toxic bleaching purifying chemicals to water such as fluoridation and sodium chlorination (which poisons you long term and again supports the above point).
  4. It effects the natural seasonal cycles confusing plant life and hibernating animals It interferes with nautical directional senses in sea mammals.
  5. It normalises the effects of pollution from animal agriculture (methane) allowing meat and dairy to continue scaling production without environmental pressure.
  6. Reduces your ability to harvest good charge from renewable solar energy.
  7. Cause an all dependency on global power structures to maintain climate stability (ensuring the longevity of state and corporate dependency)

Though the media is split on whether the program is already live, the impact of this program needs to be considered in any long term RBE planning.

RBE adjustment to negate effect of solar radiation:

– Vertical farming / hydroponics back ups supply for kitchen food utilities (6k for set up for family of 6 and 110k for community set up facility for around 90 people) – See IKEA Hydroponics Kitchen for home systems here: https://www.healthyfoodhouse.com/ikeas-hydroponic-system-allows-you-to-grow-vegetables-all-year-round-without-a-garden/

– Power hybrids , solar though increasing cell collect-ability is still around 25% capacity and any improvements will be negated by solar radiation spraying, you need to hybrid your system to provide second power source – please look at the wind cube (American wind cube not Chinese) over and above the wind turbine, if looking at turbines, check your local wind speeds .look at a post 2019 Chinese 500w turbine (not American choose the Chinese on turbines)

– Lithium batteries – reducing cost – source second hand lithium from hospital equipment re-sellers, they have to routinely change the batteries regardless of charge and testing these spent units so far indicates that you still get around 90 percent capacity at 150-250 quid a until instead of 3k…build bigger banks to supply high UV lighting drain for farming (what!).

– UV lighting,. yes you are going to have to set up UV lighting facility for long (90ft max per unit) soil based grow tunnels,. recommend dig down for any new set up to extend seasonal growing ,. ensure your power needs are covered by off grid stand alone supply for the tunnel. Do not piggy off the grid for UV ,. build capacity into your off grid to heat

SOLAR – THE FUTURE ? (Tesla roof)

https://www.tesla.com/en_GB/solarroofjobs?redirect=no

WIND

WIND CUBE VARIANT TECHNOLOGY

When you are up to speed with the combination of these two power systems, look at your load requirements for your home space by checking your energy bill from your current supplier, then review  how you can reduce your energy load and reduce your costs for power:

Best point of call for clever energy management is: www.utilityfreeliving.co.uk

Some other helpful pointers in addition to the Utility Free Living Link to look at cost reductions. We recommend you keep your full capacity before reductions so there is an over supply which can be made available through storage batteries to a network for sharing.

Thee are many extending developments from managing your power, shared networks, water supply, community water turbines applied, use of water, human , agri,  though initially you can’t really start expanding into these areas before the basic foundations of food and power are in place.

DISCLAIMER: Links to information on sites other than those operated by FISHINABOX RECORDS are for your convenience only and are not an endorsement or recommendation of those sites. FISHINABOX RECORDS does not control or provide any content or information at these sites, makes no representation or warranty of any kind with respect to these sites or their content, and does not maintain, operate, or take responsibility for information provided. FISHINABOX RECORDS does not endorse and is not responsible for the accuracy or reliability of such content or information and any use thereof is solely at the user’s risk.

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Music Matters: The 25th Annual FRIEND Festival – New Age Revivial ? They never stopped !

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Music Matters: The 25th Annual FRIEND Festival – New Age Revivial ? They never stopped

Since the Battle of the Beanfield; the unrelenting harassment of the peace convoy under Heseltine’s sneering gaze; the end of Beetle Mania (that’s VW not John Lennon btw); Glastonbury pushing up prices to £16.50, (working class rip off) and putting in barriers along with the waning of the spirit of Stonehenge, as the Police, having infiltrated the anarchists to death and since turned their attention to Animal Rights; festivals have totally dropped off my happy list.

Once Joyous celebrations, free folk gatherings, it was all over. One after the other they had been poisoned by rampant profiteering and state infiltration of what seemed like forever.

New festivals have popped up over the decades, oh yes never ending dates on bill boards, with ever rising ticket prices, backed by junk food demons peddling animal abuse in a bun, endless beer tents and irrelevant stage acts where the performers have nothing to say of any value whatsoever, are role models for exploitation objectification and violence, and obviously the endless cascading “profits before people”

It is not just about “Music Matters”, I’d completely ignored the scene, though raised an eyebrow of interest when Morrissey’s refused to finally go back and decline playing Glastonbury in 2015, over ethics.

Morrissey had already had a run in with Glastonbury in 2011 where he was reported to have released the below press statement:

“In 2011, I played Glastonbury and attempted to sing the song Meat Is Murder. Behind me, a screen that usually shows the many evils of factory farming remained blank. I was told that Michael Eavis (owner of the festival site) had stopped the screening of the film because it wasn’t indicative of how his dairy farm operated. He didn’t quite understand that the poor souls in the actual film did not want to be there in the first place. Michael Eavis also went on to justify banning the film by saying it would <upset> younger people.Like most animal haters, Michael appears to be one of those people who love dead animals, yet hate live ones. How is this sane, or logical, or possible?”

Glastonbury 2015, brought in pointless and talentless rapper Kayne West to headline the festival to fill the gap and justify the ticket sale price. Kayne West also has in an interest in fashion,  specifically,  Astrakhan (the fur of an unborn lamb). Yes, a foetus. The sheep is slaughtered, and the unborn lamb is ripped from her womb, its coat still curly and unformed.

Liz Jones (Mail on Sunday) reviewing Kayne West 2012 Paris fashion collection, was reported as stating ‘No imagination, no morals’: a damning verdict on Kanye West’s ‘ghastly’ fur-filled Paris show. (Did you also know that lambswool is most commonly taken from the backs of just slaughtered lambs? What did you think they did: used a little pink comb?) 

The “Cult” of Glastonbury really sums up the problem with our Festival Scene, overpriced ,outrageous and unapologetically unethical and I am sure a great driver for a growing population of ethical aware people who simply do not want to be associated personally with pre-packed, don’t give a damn, show me the money, shrink wrapped Corporate Satanism.

The Dalai Lama (Heavily criticized for disrespecting the morals of the Buddhist order yet claiming some sort of headship over it, and participating in supporting violence by eating meat), was also in attendance at the 2015 Glastonbury festival. Unlike most Buddhist monks, who don’t eat meat because they believe it’s wrong to murder  and commodify the bodies of any sentient being, the Dalai Lama is not vegan , not even vegetarian, yet  despite this still try’s to maintain a media image of being a “sage” of sorts but really is nothing more than “sage and onion” stuffing for other suffering. That some frazzled maniac  at the Festival attempted to start a chant when His Holiness walked out on stage. “One Dalai Lama! There’s only one Dalai Lama! One Dalai Laaaaama!” No-one joined in, Say’s it all…..

Commercial Festivals..

It may be fine for “flexitarians” to turn a blind eye to the backdrop of the festival site at Glastonbury, to crowd the field, and raise choruses of “oh Jeremy Corbyn” when JC used the Festival as a PR event for the Labour Party. JC “for the many” turned a blind eye to Michael Eavis questionable morals affecting the lives and freedoms of the “many” hidden out of sight as he played for political support from the “crowd” with yet another great speech of his.

For others who have a better moral compass, we seek a Festival with out the dark shadow of greed.

Why so much on Glastonbury in the post ? Well, the founder of F.R.I.E.N.D Festival Mark Eaton used to work Glastonbury Festival, distancing himself from it in the 80’s when those fences started going up and the ticket prices started going up too.. Glastonbury was once everything that was right with festivals, now it is everything that is wrong.

Glastonbury is out, as well as “priced out”, the site of an Animal Prison camp can never be a “happy home” no matter how loud the bands play or how fast the beer flows.

F.R.I.E.N.D. is in, the bands are still loud , the beer flows and the animals, all actually rescued form farm slavery,  are free form abuse and commodification to live out their lives in peace, no one gets hurt , turn up the Bass Mark for the 25th annual F.R.I.E.N.D. Festival.

Let’s do this yeah !

One last thought for the Animal Prison Camps of Glastonbury, was some video footage sent over to FISHINABOX by one of the mind blowing bands that played F.R.I.E.N.D festival, a must see band called MOBIUS LOOP .

The band stopped by a dairy farm, just a regular farm, on the way back from the festival to film the below footage and add this comment to their story feed:

“This is how dairy is made in the UK. Babies separated from mothers so that a mother’s milk can be sold for profit. Even on organic dairy farms babies are separated 24-48 hours after birth. Complex mammals like cows have strong instincts to protect and nurse their young. All mother cows and their young end up in the slaughter house after forced pregnancies and births that always result in separation. #dairyisscary There is no need to fund this treatment of sentient beings when we can support our local British Hemp farmers and make nutritious hemp milk. A mother’s milk is made for her baby. We sing AHIMSA to all beings and their babies.”

Music Matters so let’s Get to F.R.I.E.N.D.. who’s on the playlist for 2019 ? With the exception of The Balsall Heathens, who were a late addition, to the playlist, the below is the full Festival playlist , check it out and see who’s who..

We rolled up through the main gate, greeted old faces not seen for years, and worked our way up across the fields. A sense of nostalgia reminiscent off the old peace Convoy free festivals of the 80’s, painted vehicles, a mish-mash of tents flags, and people wandering between.

The story of F.R.I.E.N.D. farm goes back to the mid 80’s,. originally the festival as a memorial day for Gari Allen, a great friend of Mark Eaton’s. One of Gari’s friends, Aileen (who attended the 25th Annual Festival), made a memorial stone to remember Gari’s life and achievement for the animals, and this was laid at F.R.I.E.N.D. Farm animal Sanctuary.

As Marks commitments took over in running F.R.I.E.N.D. he decided to enlarge the event to grow into a music festival, to bring joy peace and the party to the farm. Originally the dates coincided with The equinox but Mark moved the festival into July to avoid clashes with Stonehenge and also to get into better weather.

Mark didn’t make F.R.I.E.N.D Festival exclusively a Vegan festival, non-vegans are not restricted from attending in any way and bands would come from all cultures and backgrounds not always from the Vegan community.

So many of the musicians would comment about the rescue work going on at F.R.I.E.N.D whilst they were there, and Mark noticed they would ask to come back year after year due to amazing atmosphere at the festival .

There was also a natural progression in their thinking and lifestyle towards animal agriculture as they became more ethically engaged with the world around them.

Mark is clear though with all participants and attendees, to avoid any confusion about what people can bring with them regardless of their personal ethics, “This is vegan festival, please fully respect these principles by not bringing any meat, eggs or dairy onsite.”

As Mark says “you actually don’t really need any activism or workshops at a music festival, we have the rescue animals  here on site, people can connect directly with the animals, make there own conclusions and make the right choices.”

 

Mark had invited people to paint signs for recycling, showers, paint up the toilet blocks, and a general all out color fest of activity and creative expression, artwork sporadically started to grow around the site.

As we parked almost on top of it at first, we got the a job to help directing people to the showers, a portable water shower and palette station at the back of the field. Showers were easy to use quick and clean. Toilet blocks where all biodegradable, using sawdust, wood chip and paper no plastic boxes or chemical poisoning that is so familiar at commercial festivals. The whole festival the toilet blocks were clean accessible and well maintained.

Graffitti Bill Boards popped up around the site and mind bending amazing artwork began to form fast on them.

 

Another massive plus at F.R.I.E.N.D festival was the food and rotating Menu’s. There is only Vegan food at the festival as anything else would be a sickening insult right to the animals that live there, rescued from factory farming and safe from commodification and violence in their forever home..

so the food…..

Damn….. AMAZEBALLS !!

“Vish” and Chips / Vegan Burgers, spicy / plain “V”Cheese you name it all the options  / Asian Tofu Noodles / Curries / black beans  / bean dishes all rotating so you had the sense of a festival menu.

There was also a range of desserts with a tea and cake tent which seemed to be open day and night which worked massively for everybody !!!! The Tea tent also run a Merchandise stall for T- Shirts, Hoodies, hell i’m sitting in one of the t-shirts now writing up this article, and all manner of absolutely stunning jewelry.

There was also some fund raising clothes rails with a range of amazing vintage clothing and a donations box, everyone appeared to put in decent donations for clothes they took a shine too, the money of course goes straight to the animals so the good feeling in supporting positive steps for the animals clearly had kicked into the crowd en mass.

“Moth3r” perform in the Marquee tent.. beats… rhymes… sublime….

      

MARQUEE:

A look at some of the bands playing the Marquee Tent  – The Marching Skaletons / Niall from Ten Bags / Public Speech

The Marquee tent housed the “Razorback Inn” where the beer taps ran day and night.

In the early hours of Saturday morning, renditions of “Pick a bail of Cotton” performed earlier that evening by one of the bands called the Faux Pas, who ran a set of hypnotically catchy numbers earlier that evening, started to form and raise in volume again in the late night crowd, ….”Jump down turnaround, pick a bale of cotton, gotta jump down, turnaround, pick a bale a day etc….”

relaxing at the bar with the slowly quietening crowd , guitars came out again and the tunes started again and lingered way into the early hours and over into the dawn mists and the magic of dew forming in the early light. The rising sun finally bought the revelries to a close and we drifted off to a few hours slumber before the stage opened again for the next days set.

 

The Marching Skaletons , “ska” as in Two tone rock steady rhythms, These guys popped up all over the festival on the 2nd day, pressing beats and hypnotic rhythms as ska versions of Spiderman, Krartwerk’s The Model and and endless string of classics rolling out.

Niall heads up the folk punk group the Ten Bags, One of the fantastic things about F.R.I.E.N.D is the impromptu nature of how some of the acts fit together, Niall jumped into a gap in the running list to give us some spoken world poetry, gritty life insights such as “banned from the tesco” and “the mosley observation” a welcome set of renditions

Public Speech had the night spot, though every band has there own style the mix of rock and running rap lyrics between melodic flavours reminded me of the heavy rock band “Senser” who used to dominate main stage in the late 80’s and early 90’s  , loud high energy, delivered.

MAIN STAGE:

The Ten Bags – Folk punk troubadours from the middle of England banged out a fantastic set of own tracks interspersed with some great covers, CRASS, Exploited and the Pogues a real Anarcho-Celtic-Punk fest as they rampaged through folk tradition!

more from The Ten Bags here:

https://thetenbags.bandcamp.com/album/bags-o-craic

MOBIUS LOOP,. These guys are on another level that we all need to evolve to, i’m actually just going to post their mission mantra to describe their stage set –

“We are married by our love of philosophical songwriting; channeling each lyric, melody, rhythm & harmony & weaving them into the tapestry of our union which is sanctified by the co-creation of our journey.”

If you achieve anything this year in the line of Creative pursuit, you MUST get to see this band live.

More from Mobius Loop here: https://www.mobiusloop.co.uk/

CHALICE

From monk punk to panto punk; from retro funk to garage junk; from pirate-sing-along to jazz metal; from a cult classic to a classic cultists here’s Chalice. a Christian band out to save your souls through rock n roll. Choppy chops and thrashing beats of Raymond Chinzano, smooth, meandering bass lines of Thomas “T Bone” Wheeler and the mathy licks in among syncopated, cutting guitar stabs from Benedict Quetzal. Then there’s Cede Von Taylor leading the line from the front with raspy, accusatory and confrontational vocals. They also do exorcisms !!

More about Chalice here: https://www.facebook.com/chaliceband/

The Dirty Fairies

More from the Dirty Fairies here: https://www.facebook.com/thedirtyfairies.co.uk/

Rites of HADDA – Anarcho, pagan, gothic, psychedelic Witchpunk band from London. Born from a weekly jam session in a London squat and have released 3 eps; Samhain Ritual #1 (Live At The Gunners), From The Blow and the recent 7 track Witchpunk. Headed up by the enigmatic and hypnotically entrancing “Wilderness Wasp Howl” who presents on stage in a spinning swaying colourfest vibrating “forest” of organza, there really is nothing quite like this.

More from Rites of HADDA here: https://ritesofhadda.bandcamp.com/

Johnny Kowalski and the Sexy Wierdos  – “The Go To festival band for the moment” (BBC introducing Hereford and Worcester) After several years wowing audiences across the UK and EU music scene, playing rapturous festival sets at Boomtown, Nozstock, Y Not, and Tramlines, and then recording their second album with highly respected producer Gavin Monaghan (The Destroyers, The Editors, Robert Plant), the Sexy Weirdos are now gaining international acclaim for their third album “European English ” (available on Bandcamp, Spotify and I Tunes).

more From the Sexy Wierdos here: https://sexyweirdos.bandcamp.com/

The list of bands was endless, we couldn’t cover them all, but that is where our invitation stands to YOU. Get down to F.R.I.E.N.D and get a taste of a whole new level of “Festival”.

Check out links to the other bands performing here:

https://friendfarmanimalsanctuary.org/events/musicfestival2019

A little bit about the Rescue and the Animals.

Friend Farm Animal Sanctuary is located on a beautiful 10 acre site in rural Kent. The rescue was established in 1994 and have given sanctuary to upward of 2000 animals in the following 25 years.

F.R.I.E.N.D currently have approximately 200 non human animal residents including pigs, goats, sheep, cows, hens, ducks, geese, turkeys and more.

At F.R.I.E.N.D. the animals are the number 1 priority. The Rescue is a large 10 acre site and the music is contained centrally away from the animals who are free-roaming as much as possible.

They are able to keep a very comfortable distance throughout the weekend and remain in very peaceful areas of the sanctuary with little impact on their day to day business. The volunteers see FRIEND as the animals’ home first and foremost, and a space for the musical festival second and we manage the event with their well-being prioritised at all times.

F.R.I.E.N.D. Farm relies solely on donations from members of the public. Want to help out ? Here’s the link to support F.R.I.E.N.D:  https://friendfarmanimalsanctuary.org/donate

Financial donations are spent on food, bedding, essential equipment and veterinary bills. We are a no kill sanctuary, we re-home a small amount of companion animals but most of the animals that live here stay with us until the day they die.

Unlike the bin and trash city big commercial festivals , recycling was key at F.R.I.E.N.D, recycle stations were everywhere, tea cups were returned to the wash stations, by the end of the festival there was only one , yes ONE black sack of non recyclable waste from the entire festival, such a massive contrast from the post Glastonbury scenes you see of what looks like a landfill site of debris left on the festival fields…

Not only is F.R.I.E.N.D. a relaxed safe family friendly event, the whole festival management and the crowd takes on a level of responsibility about the environment that I haven’t even seen in the greenest of gatherings around town.

These are people who care about how they party, and that is why this festival gets my best festival UK vote for 2019.  These are the kind of festivals we want for the future, Eco friendly , ethical , great music, great atmosphere , family age and well managed through out.

Get to F.R.I.E.N.D for 2020 , to hell with the big sell out corporation , steel fenced, plastic chemical toilet, landfill site big money festivals that masquerade as a good time in “Brexit Britain’s” consumer selfie society.

Make exploitation history  and have a great time doing it.

Photographers: Rachel ARA / Sharon Lee Tucker / Andie Kumafaro / Dan Pope

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Urban Vegan Permaculture Project – Credit Crunch Living outside the BOX

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Urban Vegan Permaculture Project – Credit Crunch Living outside the BOX

Are you running to stand still and paying a heavy interest Inherited “Mortgage for life” Debt ? Working 9 to 5 …and the rest? Don’t Drink ? Don’t Smoke ?… sick of politics and can’t be bothered to Vote (and why should you ?). Can’t keep up with the Jones’es and sick of the sight of them ?

There is half a nation like you out there, financially crippled by the lies and small print of the monetary system. Sold the Reality Asylum “Dream” but more like a cell where no one can hear you scream.

If Austerity has not yet reduced you to “I Daniel Blake” then there is a way to start turning the tide. Regardless of whether you even know about the concept of a Resource based Economy or a Vegan Lifestyle this post may open your mind to selling your square wheeled life for a new set of rubber treads and some more.

Free Thinkers have been engaging the Public in, discussing, theorizing debating the benefits of Ethical Monetary free living for decades. We have seen Communes and housing projects, ECO villages, even whole city programs like the Venus Project. What is missing will all of them is mass engagement. Access for  large groups of people to engage with change systems.

Whilst advocating a resource based Economy, the frustration we are left with on the daily is in still paying , living, being locked into the rat race and the money trap which burns down our pitiful financial resources and our time and head-space.

With that in mind we looked closer to how at a three step strategy to getting breathing space from the System. Our focus for this project fell in three  main steps:

1 – Food (shift to Home Grown) to cut costs of £600 – £900 (all food and drink – family of 4 average) all in a month

2 – Power (shift to Home Produced) to cut costs of £200 (Water Gas / Electricity / Fuel  – family of 4 average) all in a month

3 – Self Sustainability (shift to Self Funding) , barter and trade with the increasing network of other people achieving the same, zero financial cost living, (that’s everything else we pay on from taxes to toilet paper)

Like 24 million other home dwellers in the UK, We are Stuck in the bog standard Urban / Suburban House, a 3 or 4 bed, the usual, some crubby semi or an end of terrace scenario with a slap-on under delivering box extension and a 100 – 120 foot garden of wilderness and bare lawn pressed in between two rows of decaying council fences, a collection of old pots, marigolds and tomatoes a potato here and there and a general lack lustre pair of unkempt fruit trees.

Gearing this up into an all year round pesticide free and ethical home grown supermarket seemed like a mammoth task.

Visualising and implimenting the change (Step 1 FOOD)

Rather than lead you up the garden path, a few good connections can see you straight to an organised satisfying home farming solution. On a lazy afternoon up at Dial House I raised the issues, Penny Rimbaud forever thoughtful on who needs who and why seemed to know the right person to get in touch with and be able to see why long before you do yourself,  dropped in to the conversation “Do you know of a chap called Graham Burnett” (Spiral Seeds)…

Graham was the enabler to our “Step 1” and for those who don’t have the all solving connections in their daily trudge and want to get out of the mud and clean up their “trench foot”, this post is your short cut guide to getting home farming up and running fast.

If you need any background into why this only works as  a Vegan Permaculture Project, then before you cut your power off so to speak, tune in to Netflix and watch COWSPIRACY…

specifically the below 1.22 Minute section which points out your biggest enemy as an urban home grower, lack of space…

Step 2 is tied into knowing what you need power wise, not just a case of a solar power upgrade and sell back to the grid, or finding bio gas home generators that generate the right consistency of gas to power your car or home appliances or whether and how to set up a grey water system….

Step 3 is the final stage where you apply the wishful thinking “If I can’t grow it or get it through shared home farming network or barter it, then I do without it” to the rule.

Then step out of your job, resell the overs on the power supply to cover insurances and taxes and in true Felicity Kendall Style, embrace the good life.

THE KNOWLEDGE:

There’s an endless list of self sustainability stories , dreams, ideas, vegan this and that, anti capitalist this that, so we are just going to spoon feed you with what you need for an “urban” change and walk you through our project.

You will need to understand your space, be able to grow, harvest and eat from it all year round and make sure you can protect what you grow naturally to make this work.

The best hand books we found and used were Graham Burnetts “Guide to Vegan Permaculture “combined with the “beginners guide” along with “ecology of the self” and “top of the crops”. They cover the basics and inspires all sorts of environment improving ideas that ensure success and yield.

We are shamelessly plugging those titles as “The Knowledge”

Free sample page download 

https://spiralseed.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Vegan-Book-of-Permaculture-lowres-extract.pdf

Here is the sales plug:

https://spiralseed.co.uk/product/the-vegan-book-of-permaculture-and-permaculture-a-beginners-guide-offer/

Get the book ,

Get reading NOW.

You are due to plant for summer in the next 2 – 6 weeks !

INFASTRUCTURE:

This again you can find and build low cost low stress from the guide. We wanted NO cost and NO stress so we took building composters and planters a little further.

Stone paving crates. They are dumped everywhere. All you need is a large vehicle to haul them. Line them with 1 ton sand or gravel haulage bags, again, these are found literally lying about everywhere and you have a dual purpose composter and planter ready to put together.

Cut the bag to fit the frame but leave the flaps, as initially you will need to wrap the whole planter  with the additional Canvas and secure whilst using as a composter. This protects and keeps the heat in. Composting will take a minimum of 12 months.

SEEDLINGS:

We use Steel racks, and a little potting compost. (Yes the ones you see in your local large grocers or corner shop.)

They are on wheels  so you can move them around, have adjustable levels so you can create or remove space depending of the height of your seedlings as they grow (or don’t  – forgot to water ? over-watered ? too hot too cold wrong soils, too rich, not rich enough, rich or poor sand or stone mixed soils ?… oh dear…………its death death death death – how to avoid “death” – read the guide to Vegan Permaculture)

Dead heading…

Eaten something you want to grow ? Never ever want to pay for it again but want to eat it forever ? then dead head it.

Our experience –  it was great for salads, celery, herbs, spring onions (cut to bottom of stem let it grow back up, do not dig up, use when season regular onions run out… ) poor success with root vegetables but don’t let that stop YOU ! We just had too much on to keep on top of the deadhead root veg.

Conservatory or garden ?

Ginger, Chilli’s and Peppers thrive inside or in a sun trap or conservatory. Our experience is that all these did much better inside rather than outside buy hey try you luck split your seeds and compare.

Planting directly into planters, this means less work transferring seedlings or plug plants into planters later on though if you are planting early you will need to use plastic / poly tunnels to keep in heat and protect against any last frosts. We plant straight in and the results are very good all year round.

COMPOSTS / SOILS:

Except for potting compost, we prepare our own soil through composting. Ours mostly came from our rescue work with Chickens, recycling our “crops not shops” lifestyle and a few adds such as seaweed to make rich ever giving compost.

Cook on an open fire –

There are some controls to observe in Urban Areas when cooking on an open fire A guide from the department of the environment food and rural affairs is included below.

https://www.north-herts.gov.uk/sites/northherts-cms/files/171204open_fires_wood_burning_stoves_FINAL.pdf

When done correctly, and, by the guide, with the correct fuel, wood burning is environmentally friendly, cost-effective and produces very little smoke pollution . Done incorrectly with wet wood , treated wood it is not.

Burn Clean Fuel, Eat well, Compost well.

We use seasoned (dried) wood which we have collected or dried from tree cutting. Make a space to store and dry your wood. Wet wood gets smokey which is unpleasant as well when cooking.

Use the wood ashes. They do not contain nitrogen and will not burn plants, they can be useful in the garden, especially in the compost pile. Wood ash compost can be a valuable source of lime, potassium, and other trace elements.

Composting seaweed speeds up the compost process – 

When you are next at an AV event in Southend, be sure to pick up a bucket of Seaweed from the beachfront after. Don’t wash it as when using seaweed as compost, any saltwater or clinging sand simply add to the beneficial and essential elements within the soil amendment.

Apples, don’t let them rot just compost them –

like practically all other organic waste, are ideal for composting. Even hard apples will rot and get soft very soon

Chicken Manure –

Perfect, it is very high in nitrogen and also contains a huge amount of potassium and phosphorus. The high nitrogen and nutrients are the reason that chicken manure compost is the best kind of manure to use.

Save animals  AND secure a supply:

Rescuing Chickens is your best step to excellent constant supply of high grade organic compost and fertilizer.

Chickens have a seriously hard time in a Human dominated world – Based on the rate of destruction,  http://thevegancalculator.com/animal-slaughter/ Chickens are pretty much the most hated land based animal on the planet.

They have become so objectified in mainstream society as to be seem as little more than a coveted snack food, whose value is assessed wholly on the limitation of their life, how they can be modified, abuse enslaved and com-modified planet.

The constant endless breeding, hatching, fattening processes they are pushed through has led to them being unable to ovulate normally (period is accelerated 26 times to lay an egg a day instead of once a month) to over feed and to have an artificially shortened life and excruciating painful death (cancer, tumours).

These accelerations have all been driven by human financial demand to eat them. Basically “YOU” the consumer ensures that these animals suffer and die for snack food.

So there is nothing kinder that to get in touch with your local British Hen Welfare Trust and re home some hens. Take a look: https://www.bhwt.org.uk/

There are restrictions in most councils in urban areas on keeping Roosters, though Hens do not have to registered up to flocks of 50. A usual amount for an urban sustainability project of this size, to meet your composting needs, would sit around a comfortable 6 to  8/10. Some councils have chicken coop limits on sizing though a small flock of under 10 will sit comfortably in local guidelines.

For those of you that like the idea but are new to Chickens be aware of The Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations 2007 which sets out minimum standards under which farm animals (including chickens kept for domestic purposes) and try to make a couple of trips down to a Vegan Animal Sanctuary such as The Retreat in Kent, or Hillside Animal Sanctuary in Norwich, Hopefield Animal Sanctuary (went fully Vegan in Jan 2019) in Essex.

More Sanctuaries can be found in the below list, though do check with them before visiting that they are 100% Vegan as to visit a sanctuary that is peddling animal products out of their rescues are just perpetrating the cycle of abuse.

https://www.animalaid.org.uk/list-of-sanctuaries/

Eggs – Got Chickens now – Eggs everywhere !!

The first question you will be asked if you keep chickens is do you eat the eggs ? What you have to take in to consideration is that the chicken is breed to have an accelerated menstrual cycle. They have a cycle (an egg) every day in stead of once every 26 – 28 days naturally.  Look at any human female and how difficult their lives are during their monthly cycle and ask your self how would their health and quality of life be if they menstruated every day ?

Feeding the Eggs, that’s ALL the eggs back to the Chickens is important for them because a large amount of the calories they are eating are put into producing the daily egg, and not into their own bodies, which, if not fed back to them debilitates them quickly hence why a free range hen only lives a life of 2 – 3 years whereas a wild hen would live for around 8 to 10 years.

Taking Eggs from a chicken with the misbegotten “ethic” that they lay them anyway and discard them shortens their life by 75% . imagine again an average Human female and limiting her life form 80 years to 20 and making her suffer every day of her adult life with a menstrual cycle.

With that in mind, It is common practice for farm animal sanctuaries to feed eggs back to their rescued chickens, as it has shown to help them live longer,combating tumours, cancer and exhaustion and lead to fuller healthier lives.

FREE RANGE EGGS ? Just say NO

https://www.peta.org/living/food/free-range-eggs/

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jan/30/free-range-eggs-con-ethical

http://www.foodispower.org/hens-raised-for-eggs/

In addition the consumption of eggs works against the health benefits of home growing as the single biggest cause of high cholesterol are eggs.

What about Protein ? – Eggs are high in Protein:

In our own project our Hens are living on average 6-7 years and are battery farm and hatchery rescues. Don’t take the eggs, feed it back to the Chickens, supplement a non GM layer pellet feed with Apples, Seeds, Brocolli, green vegetables Rice, Porridge, wholemeal. In short, Make sure to try and feed your chickens wholesome foods,.

As a general rule if you can eat it so can they. EXCEPT  fatty foods or foods with lots of salt in, (Junk food). Processed food is in direct contradiction to the principle and practice of this project and also consumer chronic poison. (See Sugar the bitter truth and Fast Food Nation)

So back to our building blocks , our foundation of the project: SOIL – Our Compost rots down naturally, no odour, no additives, in 12 months.

For Year ONE we had pre-prepared 4 tonnes of ready rotted compost , supplemented with 4 tonnes of organic shop bough compost.

For year TWO we had a full 12 tonnes or high quality compost from recycling. we turned over the Year ONE compost with Year TWO and doubled the output.

Graham Burnett’s Book “Vegan Permaculture” is an excellent source on soil, “make compost not war”.

Mummy , There’s a Monster under my Bed !!

No Hunny that’s just my Mushrooms sprouting !!

To create an indoor bed for your mushrooms, fill a wooden box that’s at least 6 inches deep with your hopefully by now) good old trusty Chicken manure from your rescues.

Leave a few inches of space below the rim of the box. Spread the readied spored material from your mushroom kit on the top of the soil and mist it thoroughly so its moist, place in darkened corners everywhere.

So we finally got there on Button Mushrooms, we grew them forgot them , they died, we grew them didnt harvest them and they tirned in to massive flying saucers, still ate them. we grew them cut them and ate them perfect..

For outside growing you can grow in closed composters (fold the flaps of your planters over or use early composting to give yield before ready for regular vegetables, you can use part composted manure after about 6 weeks (if forked) or 3 months (if not). It needs to reach the stage where it has zero odour of manure or ammonia at all when exposed to the air (you can’t smell it with the flaps closed so open up and do a smell test). Chicken Manure, and their hay / straw spent bedding that has partially decomposed is perfect

Fork it over every few days, which will speed up the decomposition process. When the heat goes, it should be in the right state. Make sure there is no ammonia smell – as ammonia is very toxic to mushrooms. It also needs to be cooled to 25C, before you can use it – button mushrooms will die at 35C and composters are hot in the centre. Spreading the compost and mushroom spawn into a layer no more than about 9″ high,  on the surface of the composter block will help to cool it once the thermophilic decomposition is complete and inspire good growth.

Quantities of spawn –  60g to about every 2kg of manure/straw. We worked on scales on 1000 kg (1 tonne) selecting 100kg being the top layer and used a 250g pack. Sprinkle some on the surface and then dig it in to homogenise it.

What about a woodpile like you see in the forest ? Mushrooms grow very badly in wood bark and straw only, as it is a secondary decomposer, and needs to have the cellulose cut into smaller pieces by bacteria before it can grow. Stick to indoor or composters for success.

You can grow it in the log-pile if you like, but button mushroom doesn’t like to grow on logs, so the logs would be nothing but decorative. As the aim is to grow to eat, our recommendation is stick to interior boxes in dark corners cupboard and under beds or use a closed composter.

Apples…

Doughnut Peaches….

Tomatoes all varieties…

Plums…

Figs and Olives… (New plants, will need south facing sun spots)

Cherries, Pears…

We also put in Honey Berry, Goose Berry and Blue Berry. Strawberries, Hob Nuts…. all good essential fruits

Sweetcorn..

Squashes, Pumpkins, Courgettes, Zuccinnis. From 5 full tonne planters. We got 3 full annual yields of around 40 -55 a yield. 150 a year. after each harvest we cut back and composted dead leaf. The seeds were mixed so we were nto exactly sure what was going to come up as a apart form colour of seed (brown to blueish to red) you can’t really tell them apart. The planters were placed in full sum tray at rear and part shade in front, Leaf growth was larger in semi shade but yield only half of the rear planters.. just a pointer, root veg for semi shade and squashes, corns, tomatoes in full sun.

Potatoes…

Peas and Beans..

Cabbages..

Cabbages, We sacrificed these to slugs and snails mostly planting between spinach and chard as fodder for the garden battlefield. We picked up 5400 cabbage seeds for 1.99, of which around 600, 700 grew . our yield was very low but it kept the snails and slugs off the aubergines, chard, spinach and salads which were the more important crops.

Why not use Slug Pellets or pesticides ?

Aubergines… 8 plants, outdoor 1/2 tonne planter, yield 38 aubergines –  long (late crop) and short (early crop)

Mustard Lettuce

Spinach (Epinards) Planters 3 tonne all year round snow or dry

 

Chard all year (cut and come again, allow self seeding, never dies snow or dry) 2m sq Ground sewn

 

Chard and Spinach together delivered yield 4 carrier bags a week spring summer autumn and 1 bag a week in winter

Rhubarb…

Beetroot (seeded and early growth over packed in 1 tonne planter  cut and come again for the leaves then separated out twice and grown sewn to allow larger growth of the beetroots to continue)

Harvesting Beetroot leaves all year, beetroots constant supply from October to February. We seeded 500.

Broccoli – Autumn all through winter.. again harvest the leaves, over and over until the florets come through

 

Through the frost and any snow just shake off the poly-tunnels every day, check moisture level ensure no exposed gaps. Frost under the poly tunnel will kill your crop.

Nutrition –

Vegans get up to speed on nutrition very very fast. If you are new to having to think through and plan what you need to maximise health and performance, and, also translate that to what you put in the ground here is your essential must have bible:

Get a copy here: https://www.lizcookcharts.co.uk/so-what-do-you-eat-book.html

Recycling your Materials – 

Any left over wood from planters or tree cuttings, build furniture , stools, seating..

Harvest… Whilst the main crops come in season there are constant weekly , daily collections to be done of ripened crops, even when you get to the tail ends (corn for example) you can cut away any damaged veg and feed it back to the Chickens.

    

Preserve it, Cook it , Eat it ..

Process your fresh grown supply as fast as possible, stew it, bake, it, curry it, stir fry it, dehydrate it, freeze it get your meals processed and stored as back up for Winter short supply and for any shortage fail in any type crop.

Over he Project life of 24 months, we reduced food monthly spend reduced by £600 to £150 – 200 by supplementing with an urban home grown program of vegan permaculture.

Our new spend covered all food and drink for (in our case) a live in family of 6 average and visiting additional 3 two weekends a month.

Being able to live “The Good Life” in an urban environment,the stranglehold that Austerity has on so many of us through crippling finances was pushed right back.

There is a large time and responsibility commitment needed through out the project to ensure that crops are protected, tended and watered without fail. Be proactive, don;t let the basic gardening slip and your yields will stay high.

The focus gained in understanding our immediate environment and how to maximise it for best return is highly satisfying, not only that, to be able to ensure that the majority of your food supply is free from pesticides, storage, contamination , stabilisers or other additives or processes, means that our food supply is the best we can offer our body’s and souls, the change in quality to home grown is something, from our experience, we firmly believe we can all thrive on.

With food tested and proven, our attention shifts to Power sources. We are all living in a box,. you don’t have to be told any more.. Break out.

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Links to information on sites other than those operated by FISHINABOX RECORDS are for your convenience only and are not an endorsement or recommendation of those sites. FISHINABOX RECORDS does not control or provide any content or information at these sites, makes no representation or warranty of any kind with respect to these sites or their content, and does not maintain, operate, or take responsibility for information provided. Any Liability or copyright lies in the user content provider from where the content has been sourced. 

FISHINABOX RECORDS does not endorse and is not responsible for the uploading, maintenance, reproduction, accuracy or reliability of such content or information and any use thereof is solely at the user’s risk.

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VEGAN KITCHEN – No Mutton Stew – Thick Rich Winter essential Broths – CREDIT CRUNCH Cooking

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VEGAN KITCHEN – No Mutton Stew – Thick Rich Winter essential Broths – CREDIT CRUNCH Cooking

Credit Crunch cooking is all about healthy ethical meals at Penny Collection prices – Why pay more ? Why pay for death ? In the world of “for the many not the few”,  being financially and socially oppressed as people, doesn’t lend well to then oppressing animals to death just to eat, there is a cheaper better way that the corporate meat sausage just ain’t going to tell you about because they make money out of you buying shit, eating shit then feeling like shit because of it.

There’s a endless supply of corporate financed celebrity vegan this and that out there, its a media favorite, where the basics of the vegan revolution are completely sidelined over planet based health kicks and designer plant leather.

None of that Media Hype is about NOT being part of the wheels of oppression (from fodder for the battlefield, to the factory floor to the slaughterhouse to the NHS waiting list).

The way in which society treats the 99% is all about subservience, rules and the rule book, school army government church, is all designed to make you happy for your lot and your lot is not and never will a lot.

When the punk sell out blew out the candle of revolution in the early eighties the last Album they could have cashed in on would not have been “Anarchy in the UK” but instead “Apathy in the UK”.

That the nation is so apathetic and so lost in the “Cult of the Selfie” to have handed over their Future, their time, how they spend their lives, what they eat, who they see, what they believe make or do and even fight for or against to a unholy trinity of Media Government and Industry without even questioning what they are intending to do and why is frankly mind blowing.

Most UK industry bosses have earned more since the start of the new year (4 days) than the average worker will earn in the entire year ?And still you work, vote go to school, toe the line, support the system rather than become socially engaged for change.

  • You can have your say in your future but only if you give your say away in a vote to a complete stranger who only his / her interest at heart
  • You can eat whatever you like but only if it comes from a list of food brands that we have plastered into your thoughts trough advertising from birth
  • You can have children but only if you give them away form age 4 to 18 so that they can be desenitised undermined and channeled into believing and behaving how the state wants them to be
  • You can pursue activities and develop yourself as adults but only if you work and are separated 5 out of 7 days from any meaningful bonds, love or family

Vegan Anarchism is about change. Without (r)evolution you are all just fodder for the battlefield and the factory floor supporting the slaughterhouse and expanding the NHS waiting list – Wake Up get engaged and find out about real change know as Vegan Permaculture, Sustainability and the Resource based Economy.

Ever wondered about another way of thinking ? Get back to basics, if every step , wherever possible, a human takes does not result in the oppression of some other being won’t things start improving for everyone ? Start with what you eat , what you wear and take it from to collaborating with others doing the same. From there everything else starts to fall into place.

So that is where we start today, what we have on offer is the Vegan no Mutton Stew, “no mutton” because its rich thick and “meaty”. In order to steer clear of the wheel of oppression start with no making any other being die so that you can eat.

Pretty simple eh ? Let’s Cook and for the rest of it “Get Stuffed”

Vegan “no mutton” stew with bread balls (like dumplings)

The Bread Balls:

This is a simple flour, sat , sugar, water mix with a rising agent, bicarb, baking powder or yeast. mix it all to a knead-able dough and separate in to balls  place in a muffin or Yorkshire pudding tray and bake for 25 mins

The Stew:

10 potatoes
250floz of caramalised onions (precook these)
I tin chick peas and aquafaba
125g large chunk dehydrated soya (indian shop)
10 chopped carrots
10 broad bean or other large bean runners
20g palm oil free vegan butter
I carrier bag size of chard or cabbage leaf finely cut
Slice of palm oil free vegan cheese
I whole leek
Two whole broccoli steams
3 tablespoon of corinander, tumeric
1 tablespoon of garlic powder, garam masala
250floz palm oil free gravy

Boil turn boil about an hour , add bread balls , serve.

That’s all there is to it. It takes a while to cook down, use that time to think on the politics of why we eat free from oppression and cruelty and you will be on the way to Social engagement and real change.

DISCLAIMER: Links to information and information collected from external sites on external sites other than those operated by FISHINABOX RECORDS are provided for your convenience only and are not an endorsement or recommendation of those sites, findings or opinions. FISHINABOX RECORDS does not control or provide any content or information at these sites, makes no representation or warranty of any kind with respect to these sites or their content, and does not maintain, operate, or take responsibility for information provided. FISHINABOX RECORDS does not endorse and is not responsible for the accuracy or reliability of such content or information and any use thereof is solely at the user’s risk.

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EPIPHANY CAKE – We 3 Kings of ORIENT are – Ethical enlightenment in the very best of VEGAN bakes

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EPIPHANY CAKE – We 3 Kings of ORIENT are – Ethical enlightenment in the very best of VEGAN bakes

This weekend sees the Annual Epiphany Festival, celebrated mostly in Catholic home and nations from France, Iberia through Italy and the Med to the North African Coast, This is a bake off to get stuck into..

When it comes to amazing “Divine” religious bake offs, France really did perfect the Epiphany Cake (Galette des Rois. The Galette is like the ultimate super size me stuffed butter cookie, which, personally I find much more satisfying moorish than the fluffy “Christmas tree light” cakes of the south, Spain and Mediterranean (Roscon de Reyes).

The only down side is that the traditional Galette has been a graveyard for the fattiest animal by products, and, as such, out of reach for the Ethical.

UNTIL NOW

Baking has moved on, we have dropped the unethical animal cruelty, and finally we can dispense with the last of satanic ingredients being “Palm Oil”.

Yes we Veganised it.

So Epiphany,.. in some parts, the arrival of the Three Mages; in some parts the baptism of Christ and his first recognition as a God.

Thats all very well and nice and church like but don’t let pagan types be put off from getting some cake too, for like so many of the Christian festival, they generally are rooted and repackaged from pagan faiths. In the case of the Epiphany, we draw from the Befana…

For those that want to delve into Epiphany’s Celtic or Druidic roots ( also see Yule, Yule log, Bonfire, Krampus, Crampus, Odin and the goats) Check out these links below. If you are not bothered about that then just carry on dear Christians, or cake lovers, or both, for there be much of interest in this little festival.

The Befana goes back to more ancient times than the Epiphany feast from which it takes its name (Epifana) and combines elements from Pagan, and other pre-Christian elements.

A  witch and guide for the Magi, she flies on her broomstick the eve of Epiphany delivering sweets to the good children and coal to the naughty ones with which to warm themselves and better their temperament, bonfires of pine and pine cones are lit to drawn back the sun and shorten the cold night and after her visit, Befana lays seeds for the people and fertilises the soil ready for Spring. Over time she has become somewhat morphed into the common symbolism of the celebrations surrounding the Christian Deity, and also backstory in the Pagan Druidic traditions of the burning of the old year, and birthing of the new.

Exciting stuff though Befana is only celebrated unabridged in small regions these days and was on the way out by the 4th century as the Christian Epiphany took over.

Epiphany, as it is today originated from the merging of the old stories into the new of the visit of the Magi to the baby Jesus in Bethlehem to honour the newly born with gifts and this date is, however, recognized as national festivities, in many countries as Three Kings Day. if you want to delve into Epiphany’s pagan past, check these links below:

https://worldofgemstones.rocksandco.com/2019/01/04/epiphany-ancient-folkloric-connections/

https://www.througheternity.com/en/blog/history/7-pagan-festivals-still-celebrate.html#Epiphany%20or%20Three%20Kings%20Day

Over with the ancient history and on with the baking in the new:

There is no excuse for Animal Abuse, Christianity, in it’s orthodox form, lends strongly to Vegan Ethics, the following links explore the relationship between the two:

https://freefromharm.org/veganism/christian-basis-veganism/

https://www.peta.org/living/food/vegan-bible-quotes/

http://www.adaptt.org/animal-rights/the-bible-jesus-and-veganism.html

http://advocacy.britannica.com/blog/advocacy/2011/06/the-christian-basis-for-animal-welfare-and-vegetarianism/

There are quite a few mysteries and secrets around the Epiphany Cake and Celebration that have just been steam rolled over and stolen by zealous inquisition prone Catholics, and in doing so have lost all that was / is Divine about the cake.

When John Henry Hopkins Jr. penned the hymn “We three kings” in 1857, he picked up on more truth that he could have imagined, the key is in the lyric”we three kings of Orient are.

The Orient up until the late 1800’s was classed as the land as far west as Morocco and to the east, India, and to a lesser extent China. With a dumbing down of language and studies toward the end of the 19th Century, and the Geographical Americanization of the known world, the old Orient was displaced to the Levant as the primary subject of Orientalist research.

This decay continued to further hem the borders of the Orient to East Asia, Southeast Asia, and eastern Central Asia by the mid-20th century,  history books of our Modern Western scholars generally considered “the Orient” as just the the Middle East or the Far East.

The shifting of borders leads to a whole re-visualization of our 3 kings as no longer oriental and instead Arabic.

Roll back History and follow the trail of these oriental 3 kings and a whole new journey opens on he road to religious historical truth, one covered beautifully in the BBC Documentary “Jesus was a Buddhist Monk”.

 

Combine the findings of this documentary with Knight Lomas The Second Messiah along with The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ and you need up wanting to book tickets fro a trail to the final burial-place of Jesus Christ in Srinagar, Kashmir. (known to the locals as Rozabal, meaning the ‘Honoured Tomb’)

  • Where historical literal fact pinpoints that the Ascension story didn’t exist for over 200 yeas after events on Calvary hill
  • Where a 1st Century agitator executed on Roman record for sedition has been re-branded in Rome by the Emperor Constantine (AD 306–337 as the undisputed resurrected Son of God.
  • Where three sages traveled from the Orient looking for the Ascending enlightened being, a Dalai Lama and of wealthy earthly standing, and who’s life teaching have more in relation with eastern tradition and belief than Judea

Questions while baking the Divine start to create questions upon questions. We hope that the content of this post and he Questions thereon will create in your thought a genuine “Epiphany” in the true meaning of the word:  “an intuitive grasp of reality,” “an illuminating discovery, realization, disclosure, or insight,” or simply “a revealing scene or moment.” in short an epiphany is “a moment of sudden or great revelation that usually changes you in some way.”

Anyway Away with 200 years of controversial truths, its time to get the baking done:

What do you need to create and “Epiphany” ?

Firstly you need one  feve / pebble / ceramic figure :

Whats all this about ?

https://www.stopoverconnections.com/blog/the-tradition-of-the-galette-des-rois-in-france/

Its a 2 step recipe – FIRST the insides….

125g of Vegan Palm oil free Butter – yep you can get it in Sainsbury’s https://www.livekindly.co/naturli-launches-vegan-palm-oil-free-spreadable-butter-sainsburys/ 

100g of Caster Sugar – its finer than the regular stuff, easier and cleaner to work with

1 tin of Aquafaba (you get that in a tin of chickpeas in water  – drain the water and put it in a blender until it looks like egg white (obviously its a replacement for eggs….)

125g of ground almonds

250g of flour

1 feve

2 tbsp of Almond Extract

Step 1 Step by Step:

Mix together the Vegan Butter and Sugar then  add the Aquafaba mix again then finally add the Flour and Almonds Mix and the extract and mix well. Place the mixture on a sheet of clingfilm wrapping the mixture in to disc / circle shape. Put it on a plate  and freeze for 30 minutes.

Its a 2 step recipe – SECOND the outsides….

250g of strong plain flour

1 tsp of salt

250g of that lovely vegan palm oil free butter again

150ml of COLD water, not warm not tepid (COLD as your ex’s heart…)

Sift flour and salt in to bowl. Chop the butter into chunks and add to the bowl and rub in loosely still being able to see bits of the butter though in the mixture.

Make a well in the mixture in the mixing bowl and add in 2/3 of the cold water. Mix until you have a firm rough dough adding water if needed. Cover with a dry cling film and put it in the fridge for 20 minutes.

Insides in the freezer and outsides in the fridge – got it ?

20 minutes later – Turn out the outsides onto a floured board and knead and roll gently into the form of a rectangle. It doesn’t have to be perfect but try to do some justice to divine geometry at least.

Roll in one direction only until 3 times the width of 20cm x 30cm. Keep the sides straight and even , don’t overwork leaving a marbled effect (the butter streaks through the layers NOT worked all the way through)

Fold the top third down to the centre then the bottom third up over that. Give the dough a quarter turn to left or right then roll to 3 times the length, fold as before  put back in cling film for another 20 minutes then its ready to roll out and cut as below

Just follow the pictures:

That’s two identical layers of outsides. Take out the insides from the freezer, push your feve into the frozen mixture and place between the outsides and press together the edges with your fingers then with a sharpe knife score a pattern on the top from the centre out in slow circular curve (like the start of a spiral) to the edge of the top edge with a design with a fork.

Decorate with Almond flakes and then it is ready for baking.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees for 20 -25 minutes minimum then check every 5 until done (some fan assisted ovens bake close to 25 minutes and non fan more like 45 minutes) remove from oven , leave to stand to cool for 45 minutes dress with the Kings Crown and serve.

Overall verdict..

Though the tradition of becoming the Queen/King (based on who finds the feve and therefore takes the crown and commands) leans to Royalist or elitist social pyramid models (correctly lack of values rather than values as they are based on devaluation of the majority) of class division and servitude, this also opens the subject is open to discussion with family and leads to understanding the evolution of the “idea” of equality which fits snugly with how we live today. This is further supported by reproducing this classic “untouchable”recipe as a vegan cruelty free cake. The subject of equality is tied intrinsically to Species-ism, and can be captured in the language of modern political spin by the Corbynist slogan “for the many not the few”(The Many actually refers to ALL beings not just the human voting public).

Enjoy the history, Bring in meaning to the “game” and enjoy the cake.

Its cruelty free and it’s damn good. This Vegan Palm oil free Version  of this cake really delivers, there is no difference in process or output, apart from the ethics. no extra effort to source ingredients either.

Its “religion”,

its “politics”,

its “history”,

its “truth and lies”,

its also great fun – tuck in. ENJOY.

DISCLAIMER: Links to information and information collected from external sites on external sites other than those operated by FISHINABOX RECORDS are provided for your convenience only and are not an endorsement or recommendation of those sites, findings or opinions. FISHINABOX RECORDS does not control or provide any content or information at these sites, makes no representation or warranty of any kind with respect to these sites or their content, and does not maintain, operate, or take responsibility for information provided. FISHINABOX RECORDS does not endorse and is not responsible for the accuracy or reliability of such content or information and any use thereof is solely at the user’s risk.