PLastic Free July………taking the challenge one step further.

I love the idea of plastic free July and how it has captured the imagination of so many people. Things really are starting to change, and in our small community of Margaret River more and more people are thinking seriously about the choices they make in their lives and how it affects the planet.

For me July was planned to be a month off, a month on the farm with nothing else to do except to love and look after this beautiful place, my relationship and my animals. I was totally oblivious to the “Plastic Free July” movement I’m afraid to say, and even when I first heard of it I thought it was a local thing. Anyway I’m aware now that is a fantastic global movement and everyone is getting on board (we are even hosting the local launch right here on June 30).

I find going shopping stressful to say the least, “is it local?”, “is it organic?”, “Australian made”, “GM free”, “plastic wrapped ?”, “Fair Trade?”, for someone that wants to do the right thing there’s a helluva lot of decisions to make, then “do I drive my car in?” which I’m afraid I do just a little too often these days.

So the combination of a month off and Plastic Free July led me to make a whole new challenge….”Live off the Land July”

Here’s my guidelines to myself

Eat food that we have grown here on the farm

Swap and barter with neighbors

Ride my bike and my horse only for transport

Cook only using wood (grown on the farm)

Use only hot water from the wood stove or compost shower

I think my diet is still going to be way more diverse than 90% of the worlds population, but I think I’m probably going to be searching for carbohydrates. Keeping in mind that I didn’t plan for this months in advance I have not been planting to feed myself.

What I do have……abundant greens, citrus, stored pumpkins, some root crops (beetroots, turnips, leeks), olive oil, some eggs (if the chooks would lay), honey and a little frozen beef and pork from last year. I also have things like edible canna (never very tasty but plenty of it and it’s a carb), heaps of guildford grass (which I’ve never tried but apparently the bulbs are good). If a cow drops a calf and all goes well I will have milk products to.

What I don’t have……..grain (thats the big one)! tea, coffee, chocolate

If a special, organic, fair trade, paper wrapped chocolate parcel arrived in the mail from a good friend in Ecuador I would not turn it away …..I’m not that crazy!

To follow my month go to my Localvore page