Harvest Revival

[Editor's note: This is a summary of a podcast you can download or listen to from this page.]

Think local eating is impossible without sacrificing staples like bread or beer? Think again.

This fall, people in the West Kootenays celebrated the first harvest of locally grown grain, made possible by a co-operative model known as community supported agriculture (CSA).

A total of 180 members in Nelson and Creston paid $100 to help local farmers with the initial start-up costs of growing wheat, spelt, kamut and oats. Once the ball was rolling, a local miller stepped up to grind the grain to flour, and a sailor volunteered to ship it across Kootenay Lake. Risks and rewards are shared in this local grain economy.

Since March 2008, Deconstructing Dinner has followed the evolution of this CSA project, Canada's first. This fall, Deconstructing Dinner, the Nelson-Creston Grain CSA and All Seasons Cafe hosted the Kootenay Harvest Revival, a two-day event held to celebrate the first successful season.

In this fourth installment of the Local Grain Revolution series, you can listen in on the celebrations, which included speakers who shared the history of food production in the Kootenays. One of the goals of the event was to explore what used to be grown and produced in the region in order to unearth the potential of future harvests.

These Revival recordings pay respect to the Sinixt people, whose ancestors were the original inhabitants of the region. Although they were not agriculturalists, they understood the bounty of the land perhaps more than anyone else who has lived here. We also hear voices from the Doukhobor community, a spiritual Christian sect that holds a rich history of living off the land.

GE-Free Zones

On November 3, 2008, Nelson officially became Canada's third genetically engineered-free zone. City council unanimously passed a resolution opposed to the "cultivation of GE plans and trees." Deconstructing Dinner was there to record the momentous decision -- the pinnacle of our GE-Free Zones series.

Guests/Voices

Eileen Delehanty-Pearks, author, The Geography of Memory (Nelson, B.C.) -- A fifth-generation Californian, Eileen Delehanty Pearkes has been a resident of Canada since 1985. She has lived in Nelson since 1994. She has published numerous essays and articles exploring the connection between nature and the human imagination. The Geography of Memory is her first book.

JJ Verigin, executive director, Union of Spritual Communities of Christ (Doukhobors) (Grand Forks, B.C.) -- The Doukhobor movement emerged in 18th century Russia as a Christian peasant reaction to the excessive opulence and ritualistic authority of the Orthodox Church. In the early 20th century, a large number of them arrived in the interior of British Columbia where a large population still reside.

Russell Precious, board of directors, West Kootenay EcoSociety (Sunshine Bay, B.C.) -- After graduating with a BA in Asian History at UBC and UC Berkeley, Russell studied organic farming with pioneering organic farmer and teacher, John Harrison. Subsequently he co-founded the Naam vegetarian restaurant in Vancouver (still running after 35 years); an organic fruit stand & wholesale fruit operation; Quadra Foods Market on Quadra Island and Capers natural foods stores in Vancouver. In 1993 he was finalist for both the regional Entrepreneur of the Year and VanCity's Ethics in Action awards. In 1999 he was one of three first recipients of the B.C. Organic Pioneers Award. He most recently joined the board of directors at the Kootenay Country Store Co-operative.

Kim Charlesworth, steering committee, GE-Free Kootenays (Nelson, B.C.) -- Kim is a founding member of GE-Free Kootenays. She sits on the board of directors for the West Kootenay EcoSociety and is currently running for Nelson city council in the 2008 municipal elections.

Gord McAdams, municipal councillor, City of Nelson (Nelson, B.C.) -- Gord has worked as an ecologist for the Ministry of Water, Air and Land Protection. In 2005, he was fired for bringing confidential government documents to the BC Supreme Court in support of a court action brought by the West Kootenay EcoSociety. On December 11, the Campaign for Open Government and the B.C. Freedom of Information and Privacy Association presented Gord with the 2007 Whistleblower Award. Gord is running for mayor in the 2008 municipal elections.

Music

Bessie Wapp, musician/performer (Nelson, B.C.) -- Since 1995, Bessie Wapp has been busy performing and recording with Eastern European music ensemble Zeellia. Bessie Wapp is a two-time Jessie nominated musician, actor, designer and stilt dancer who studied visual art and music before becoming co-director of stilt-dance theatre company Mortal Coil in 1993. Bessie Wapp has worked with The Electric Company, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Caravan Theatre, and the Vancouver Moving Theatre among others.

Related Tyee stories:

• From Field to Flour
  Podcast:'Deconstructing Dinner' checks up on a B.C. community grain project and meets the players in this local food system.
• The Local Grain Revolution
  Plus: Kootenay kids get inspired by 'The Meatrix.'
• With the Grain on the 100-Mile Diet
  Stalking barley and wheat, some of it 9,000 years old.