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:
The Jamaican Traditions that we have adopted are:
The Organic System Practices that we use are:
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 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
Advantages for Farmers
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 |
Monday, October 4, 2010
Join The "Farm to Fork" Revolution
Sunday, September 26, 2010
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
Monday, September 20, 2010
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.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
The Biology, Chemistry and Psychology of Love
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| 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)
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
Saturday, September 11, 2010
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.
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
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
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)
Sunday, September 5, 2010
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'
Friday, September 3, 2010
The Future of Rastafari
From Peace and Love to ‘Fyah Bun’:
Did Rastafari Lose its Way? - Part 3
Rasta And Economic Development
The production and distribution of goods and services are two of the most important activities in every society. In every society the resources used to produce goods and services are scarce. This means that most people, in fact, every government has to make choices regarding what they do with natural resources, capital, labour and technology.
Many religious groups aspire to facilitate their own economic development, especially if their beliefs state or imply that the wider society is hostile to their existence. In Jamaica, the Seven-Day Adventists have developed their own schools (up to the university level), hospital and food processing and distribution operation. The Orthodox Jews in New York own a significant portion of the jewelry, computer, camera, and audio business, not to mention media, health care and entertainment conglomerates.
What Has Rasta Achieved?
In the 50 years since the publication of the UWI Report, 49 years since a delegation on repatriation sent to Africa and 44 years since the visit of His Imperial Majesty to Jamaica, serious questions arise as to the capability of the Rastafarian Movement/Religion. Individual achievements have occurred but what about the collective? Rasta established red, green and gold as a cultural item in Jamaica but were not the ones to market it, nor benefit from it. The Japanese buy our coffee, package it in a red, green and gold can and name it ""Reggae Coffee" and successfully market it around the world. In Dominica Jamaica
Conceptual Incarceration
It is my hypothesis that all these observations can be explained by the millenarian belief of the Rasta religion, the belief in a future paradise on earth. This belief often develops in response to threats and serves to preserve cultural and individual identity. The result is usually an obsession with the past or fantasies about the future, and a significant reduction in the motivation that fosters economic development and other long term activities because you could be leaving for PARADISE at any time.
What Is The Evidence?
Any examination of the lyrical content of Rastafarian musicians reveals the same message:
· Rasta was pleading "I've got to go back home" - Bob Andy – (1967)
· Rasta is going “Back to Africa” – Alton Ellis – (1969)
· Rasta was waiting for "7 miles of Black Star Liner" - Fred Locks (1975)
· Rasta has defined paradise, "Dreamland" - Bunny Wailer (1976)
· Rasta was telling "Africa (to) unite, your children want to come home" – Bob Marley - (1979)
· Rasta was ready "If tomorrow I was leaving for Zion I wouldn't wait a minute more" Black Uhuru. – (1979)
· Rasta was asking, "Give me a one way ticket"- Luciano - 1994)
How many “Rasta” artists are still making songs with similar lyrical content?
The Lesson From New York
For Jamaicans in metropoles, it is the island of Jamaica that they envision when Bob Andy’s big tune is played. ("I've got to go back home"). The result was that for decades they resisted citizenship, political participation or any symbols of permanence. For nine years in New York, I refused to buy a winter coat in any place but the second hand Army and Navy stores. For nine years, I resisted buying winter shoes. These items could not be used when I go home to Jamaica
The present second and third generation of Jamaican immigrants having accepted the reality that most will never come home (as passengers), have begun the process of economic integration and political involvement. They have been converting their presence to economic and political power. But even though they have become US citizens, their identity is still Jamaican. Guess who they cheer for when Jamaica meet the US in track and field or in soccer?
Until Rastafarians make the same transition and accept their endowment to claim all rights and privileges as Jamaican nationals, with African as their identity, Rasta economic development will not occur. Some will visit Africa , as many have been doing since 1961. Few may even migrate to Africa. But there is no reasonable possibility that wholesale repatriation will occur BEFORE economic and political development. I challenge the Rasta leadership to address this issue. Until then the growth of Rasta philosophy will remain in the dormant state it has been in for the post-Marley era.
There is good evidence that this shift in philosophy can work. It is the Jews at HOME in New York and Hollywood who provide critical support for the Jews at HOME in Israel. So too can Africans at HOME in Jamaica develop economic and political models to assist African brothers and sisters anywhere, especially in Africa. Today, the most visible sign of Rasta economic development is the Bobo Shanti manufacture and sale of brooms. This mode of production is obsolete. Some are moving into farming and food production. Unless significant economic development occurs in Jamaica, Rasta will continue to be identified as just another group of religious fanatics. Persons obsessed with a fantasy world called Africa, but who are unable to feed, clothe, shelter, educate and heal themselves, and take their place of leadership in the world.
The Essence Of Rasta
What was described twenty years ago as the social theory that would evolve out of the Rastafarian religion has quietly become a significant social theory in the Jamaican society. Interestingly, Rastafarians have not been directly credited with this transformation. This success may however serve to make the Rastafarian religion obsolete at worst or a quaint novelty at best, now that the society has been able to successfully extract the essentially useful core of the Rastafarian movement.
The important question now is can the Rastafarian movement survive this "success"? Rastafari has permanently transformed Jamaica
The internal conflicts and contradictions of the movement which surfaced in the Centenary Celebrations illustrate the problems of the last twenty years. Relations have sometimes been so poor that one night when two Rastafarian groups met at a radio station to do a programme on the movement, one group decided to leave if the other was allowed to speak. Some groups are more willing to speak to white foreigners than to each other. Leading up to and during the centenary "Houses" forgot about areas of common interest and focused more on idiosyncratic differences and personal feuds between the leaders. Each leader struggled to contain the movement under his vision, while projecting religious rituals over intellectual arguments. The result is that the movement devolved closer to empty symbol status while the society continued to extract the useful substance of the social theory.
In June of 2010, the Jamaican society went through a major upheaval initiated by the government’s inept handling of the extradition request for Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke. There has been a broad based demand from Civil Society for a New Social Order. The Rastafarian contribution to this process has been significantly absent.
This process of extracting the essence of Rastafari will continue until and unless the Movement produces leadership with five essential capabilities:
1. Spiritual insights to unite the various houses,
2. Intellectual acumen to engage the Afro-centric thinkers,
3. Managerial capabilities to build transnational sustainable businesses
4. Cultural engineers to build the necessary rituals for living
5. Brand management.
Rules For Living - Missing
One major sign of the stagnation in the evolution of the Rasta culture is the absence of Rites of Passage. A cultural universal common to the majority of stable societies are rituals that signify important life transition points. These rituals serves to demonstrate what values and beliefs are important in a specific culture. . The minimal three areas that such rituals cover are generally classified as marriage or the union of a couple, the birth and naming of a child and death, the end of the physical life. Based on the lack of specific rituals around these markers of human existence, it would appear that these three areas have not yet become part of the culture of Rastafari. Does this mean that Rasta sees no value in these transition points? Or is it a sign of cultural laziness?
In Rasta culture, marriage is either by common-law unions, the laws of the state (Babylon) or a series of casual, undefined relationships. Some Brethrens express the above confusion as a form of polygamy, but without the informed consent of the sisters who find themselves in something other than what they had initially agreed to. Over the years, I have heard the pain of numerous Rasta sisters in turmoil when the relationship with a Rasta man becomes toxic, for whatever reason.
· She does not want to expose him and their relationship to the scrutiny of “Babylon”, but she has no alternative.
· There is no Council of Elders to adjudicate such issues.
· She either suffers in silence, appeal to his friends/bredren or eventually bring the state into their relationship.
I have offered reconciliation or arbitration services when asked. I have been exploring the possibility of becoming certified as a Marriage Officer. I have been informed that the laws of Jamaica stipulate that you must first be a pastor of a recognized religious body in order to be so designated. I am still investigating alternative options that would allow me to facilitate Rastafarians and other individuals who would wish to participate in a culturally appropriate marriage ritual without the trappings and assumptions of Christianity.
It has been my observation that largely the birth and naming of children is unceremoniously neglected. Having created a ritual for the naming of all my children, I have gladly assisted anyone who requests my help in conducting a ritual for the naming of their child.
The rituals for the inevitability of death have still not yet been developed. I feel personally embarrassed each time I hear a Rastafarian end of life transition being facilitated at the church of their parents or the one that they had abandoned when they answered the calling of Rastafari. I have designed my own end of life ceremony, including my music list.
In 2004 Basil Walters shared some important observations on this issue reminding us that:
“So strict has the Nyahbinghi been on their unwritten policy of not attending funerals, that they stayed away from the funeral rites for prominent Rastafarians such as Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Dennis Brown, Jacob Miller - all internationally acclaimed entertainers - and Sam Brown, aging pioneer and elder of the Rastafari community who died in 1998.
From all over Jamaica, members of the Rastafari brethren poured into the Dovecot Memorial Chapel near Spanish Town, St Catherine, filling the sanctuary to capacity and overflowing onto the expansive grounds, for the memorial service for departed Rastafari matriarch (mother), Sister Rema Veronica Sappleton on January 21.” (Jamaica Observer - January 26, 2004)
From all over Jamaica, members of the Rastafari brethren poured into the Dovecot Memorial Chapel near Spanish Town, St Catherine, filling the sanctuary to capacity and overflowing onto the expansive grounds, for the memorial service for departed Rastafari matriarch (mother), Sister Rema Veronica Sappleton on January 21.” (Jamaica Observer - January 26, 2004)
This represented a significant break in the Rasta tradition of 'let the dead bury their dead'. The signs are evident, clarity and consensus is required on this matter.
Rasta Today
Today the evidence suggests that Jamaican society and much of the world has subsumed the social theory of Rasta. This process is being articulated and motivated by Afri-centric persons who, though inspired by Rasta, do not necessarily share the Rasta religion. They use their knowledge of history, politics, economics, branding, marketing, media and education, seasoned with the spirit of Rastafari. Twenty years ago I proposed that if a Rasta Intelligentsia did not emerge and take hold of the transformation process, "then Rastafari would move from being the most powerful ideological force in Jamaica to take its place beside, if not behind the other systems of escape, ignorance or solace that influence the ... lives of our people". I still hold this view today Rasta in Jamaica today is much less of a cultural force than it was 30 years ago.
Could this be the reason why the consistent greeting and refrain of the Rastaman in the first 30 years of ‘peace and love’ has transitioned to ‘Blessed’, and now given way to the confrontational ‘fyah bun’ of the last 10 years? It is quite possible that Rastafari has fulfilled its promise and is now a spent force, one that can only be further utilized by Afro-centric individuals who are able and willing to go beyond the dictates and limitations of religion, any religion. It is possible that the UWI conference: “Negotiating the African Presence: Rastafari Livity and Scholarship” could be a critical catalyst in this process. If this is not possible then it may be concluded the Rasta has lost its way.
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