Join The "Farm to Fork" Revolution

We would like to share our commitment to healthy eating  and food security with you. In 2009, we started Asante  Adonai Farm: ‘The Home of Jahmganic Farming’.  Our farming activities are guided by Spiritual Principles,  traditional Jamaican farming practices and the organic  farming system. The Spiritual Principle:  We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children  - Lakota Proverb (Native American Indian) The Jamaican Traditions that we have adopted are:  Rain Water Harvesting  Grassing for weed control Chop & Drop for mulching Intercropping for Pest Control Planting according to lunar cycles  Allowing a field to rest/lie fallow to restore soil health The Organic System Practices that we use are: Crop Rotation  Organic Pest Control methods Use of renewable energy: Solar and Wind No Burning or Use of Herbicides for land clearing  Green Manure & Composting to improve soil health We put in the long-term and legacy plants first: Avocado, Ackees, Nutmeg, Pimento, Coffee, Bissy, Cinnamon, Citrus – oranges, grapefruits, limes & lemons. Our Fruit Forest was next: Cherry, Guava, Lychee, Sweetsop, Naseberry, Soursop, Jackfruit, Ribena Berries, Otaheite Apple, Tamarind, Custard Apple, Starapple, Guinep & Jimblin.   Then we put in Banana, Plantain, Peppermint, Pomegranate, Yellow Yams, Sweet Potatoes, Red Peas, Pineapples, Pumpkin, Corn, Okra, Sorrel, Blackberries, Pak Choi, Callaloo and Carrots. Introducing you to the Community Supported Agriculture(CSA) Movement The primary means by which we will market our produce is via a Community Supported Agriculture group.  This is a socio-economic model of agriculture and food distribution. A CSA consists of a community of individuals who pledge support to a farm operation where the farmer and consumers share the risks and benefits of food production. CSAs began in the early 1960s in Germany, Switzerland, and Japan as a response to concerns about food safety and the urbanization of agricultural land. In the 1960s, groups of consumers and farmers in Europe formed cooperative partnerships to fund farming and pay the full costs of ecologically sound and socially equitable agriculture.  The idea took root in the United States sometime in 1984.  The concept has been quietly growing in Jamaica since 2007. The core design includes developing a cohesive consumer group that is willing to fund the budget of a growing cycle in order to get quality foods. There is a Shared Risk And Reward Agreement, i.e. that the consumers receive what the farmer grows even with the vagaries of seasonal growing. There is weekly delivery, to a central location, of vegetables, fruits and ground provisions. If you currently buy foodstuff at a local market, are not concerned about whether or not they were sprayed with toxic pesticides or grown with chemical fertilizers and willing to put the true cost of food to your healthcare budget, then this may not be an option for you. But if you are concerned about the quality of what you eat, read on. Advantages for You the Consumer  Food that has been grown WITHOUT synthetic fertilizers and pesticides  The food is ultra-fresh as it comes to you within 24-hours of being reaped A fixed price for food for 10 weeks  You will receive information on the health benefits of the food items  Exposure to recipes to maintain the flavor and nutrients of your food The opportunity to learn more about how food is grown and visit ‘your’ farm at least once a cycle Advantages for Farmers  Marketing activities are completed before the production planning cycle. A guaranteed market ensures that no food is wasted.  Able to focus on growing the crops that the CSA members want Pre-payment helps with the farm's cash flow Knowing the people who eat the food we grow enables feedback and improvement Details for the Asante Adonai CSA §  A 10-week Cycle starting December 1, 2010 §  Each week the basket of produce will include:     Pak Choi or Callaloo         Carrots            Red Peas or String Beans       Corn          Pumpkin         Green Bananas           Okra          Yellow Yam    Hot Peppers       Escallion    Other items will be added as they become available. §  Number of available shares this cycle – 20 §  Cost per Share (a basket of produce for 10 wks) – J$25,000.00 Payable in 2 parts.  First Payment due – 5 weeks before the first delivery                Second Payment due -  First Week of Delivery We know that this model is not for everyone.   Most people want the cheapest food NOW and the most expensive medical care later…     but if you see your food as your medicine and your medicine as your food… We invite you to partner with us “from farm to fork”.

Call Leahcim and Cecile at 756-1806 or 997-2595 or 383-5627

The Genius of Bob Marley

You may be alive... but are you awake?

"Life is one big road with lots of signs. So when you riding through the ruts, don't complicate your mind. Flee from hate, mischief and jealousy. Don't bury your thoughts, put your vision to reality. Wake Up and Live!" - Bob Marley

... and he went on to ask: 

"Open your eyes, look within. Are you satisfied with the life you're living?" - Bob Marley

This is so profound a thought expressed by Dr Marley. Its interesting that when I returned home (Ghana , Africa) in 1996 in speaking with the Ghanians they could not be convinced by me that Bob was not educated to the tertiary level and was at the level of a professor . When I read Bobs thoughts this mornig Lekim i realised that Prof Bob was indeed educated at that level just that his univesity was his great mind...Respect to Bob everytime - Bert Samuels

" If i did go a school i would be a fool" - Marley...There are some minds which do so much better outside of the the strictures of the formal education system......want a great musician ... buy a piano and tell ur child "dont touch it" the great one will hide and play it beyond your dreams ...Agutus Pablo's family is well known to me and he was not "forced" do attend music lessons..he has been recognised as a "genius" in a Time magazine article I read in the 80's -  Bert Samuels

Who is Marley?

Marley is without question one of the most transcendent figures of the past hundred years. The ripples of his unparalleled achievements radiate outward through the river of his music into an ocean of politics, ethics, fashion, philosophy and religion.  His story is a timeless myth made manifest in this iwah, right before our disbelieving eyes. There will come a day when music and its philosophy will become the religion of humanity. If there remains any magic it is music. Unlike mere pop stars, Bob was a moral and religious figure as well as a major record seller internationally. 

To whom does he compare?  In a Sunday New York Times Arts and Leisure lead story  Stanley Crouch makes a compelling case for Louis Armstrong as the century's "unequaled performer.” Why Armstrong?  Excelling not just in his instrumental inventiveness but in his vocal style as well, transforming the way music was made and listened to influencing performers of all stripes right down to this very day. You don't see thousands of Maori and Tongans and Fijians gathering annually to pay honor to Louis Armstrong. You don't witness phalanxes of youth wandering the world sporting Louis Armstrong t-shirts. As popular as the Beatles were you hardly see any Beatles shirts around anymore except for those few featuring John Lennon . Can you imagine an image of Elvis sewn onto the sleeve of an armed guerilla? When was the last time you saw a Michael Jackson flag or a Bob Dylan sarong or Madonna rolling papers?  All of these exist in Marleyite forms.  His iconography is now a new universal language the symbol of freedom throughout the world.  - Roger Steffans

Is the latest Rising Star going to Crash and Burn?

I was privileged to be part of the live audience at the Courtleigh Auditorium in Kingston, Jamaica, on the night of Sunday September 19, 2010. As I looked in the eyes of Dalton Harris after his victory announcement at the conclusion of the Rising Star 2010 finale, I saw that he was in no way prepared to be 'the most popular artiste' in Jamaica. Divers who come up to the surface too quickly are always in danger of suffering from 'the bends'. So too is the social equivalent of the rapid transition from deprivation to 'stardom'

When I saw his mother crawl out of nowhere up onto the stage and back into his life after her years of absence, I saw his confusion and pain. The return of his father further compounded the confusion.

He may be one million dollars richer but he probable has as many issues and conflicts to unravel.

Digicel should immediately put some systems in place to protect and assist him. If not, the Child Development Agency should step in. He is deep waters and surrounded by 'sharks'. This is a child in need of care and protection. This is an awesome talent to be nurtured and preserved.

The Biology, Chemistry and Psychology of Love

Diner at Calabash - 2009

LOVE'S COMPLEX CHEMISTRY

'We are coming to some understanding of the drive to love--and what an elegant design it is! This passion emanates from the motor of the mind, the caudate nucleus, and it is fueled by at least one of nature's most powerful stimulants, dopamine. When passion is returned, the brain tacks on positive emotions, such as elation and hope. And all the while, regions of the prefrontal cortex monitor the pursuit--planning tactics, calculating gains and losses, and registering one's progress toward the goal: emotional, physical, even spiritual union with the beloved. Nature has produced a powerful mechanism to focus our precious courtship energy on a special other--an evolutionary miracle designed to produce more humans.

"The brain is wider than the sky," wrote Emily Dickinson. Indeed, this 3-lb. blob can generate a need so intense that all the world has sung of it. And to make our lives even more complex, romantic passion is intricately enmeshed with two other basic mating drives, the sex drive and the urge to build a deep attachment to a romantic partner. Ah, the web of love. How these forces feed the flame of life'. (By HELEN FISHER  - Time.com)

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,993160-4,00.html#ixzz0zye3qm2f

When you break down the processes as done above, it pales in comparison to the awesome power that love evokes, both negatively and positively. I feel privileged and fortunate to have and continue to experience the joy and life driving energy providing by love.

But remember...

'You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere. You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe deserve your love and affection'. - Buddha

Good or Evil?

What side are you on?
 
We are judged not just be your deeds, but also by our words and our thoughts. Many times it is not what you did, but what you failed to do or what you did not say at a critical time. 


Sometimes it is your inactivity and silence that condemns you.

"The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it". - Albert Einstein

"All that we are is the result of what we have thought. If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him. If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows him, like a shadow that never leaves him".  - Buddha 

The Great Ragashanti Conspiracy?

Ragashanti, the media managers and the advertising community are all educated people. They all make a lot of money off the “moral recklessness” presented on radio. Could the public spat be just a diversion? Could it be that they are all secretly working together to ‘fool-up’ Jamaican people as they advance their power and control?

At the end of each show, is the audience any more informed, enlightened or inspired? Jamaica is in crisis as the fatal flaws in our political and economic model become more evident. Many people are living without hope, more so those trapped in ignorance and poverty. This is the group that is primarily targeted by the "moral recklessness". What if they were to become more conscious of what’s being done to them? How do we ensure that they don’t rise up? What if they start aspiring for more that the latest 'Clarkes', dance or opportunity to 'floss'?

It has been said that an effective component of lion taming is to get the noble beast consumed and obsessed with masturbation. Are we now seeing the social equivalent?

 “Let them sort out” (to paraphrase Marie Antoinette) 

Moral Recklessness in Media

Ragashanti My Brother: Your talents and skills are God's gift to you. What you do with them is your gift to God. Maybe this fact was what motivated Nietzsche to reveal that...

"The essence of all beautiful art, all great art, is gratitude". - Friedrich Nietzsche

But as we continue the 'trial' of Ragashanti in the Court of Public Opinion we should not forget the two more important co-conspirators in the  ‘moral recklessness’  (to quote Dr. Carolyn Cooper) that was committed on the public airways.

They are firstly the management of NewsTalk93  and secondly the advertisers. They both facilitated and profited from Raga's behaviour.  When do we start their trial?

"For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" - Matt 16:26

Let's see what happens next, where will the 'moral recklessness' surface? How will the advertisers respond? My bet is as before...'

'Give us Barabas, give us Barabas'