Teaspoon of Soil

Ep9 | Probiotic vegan ice-kream by LUV in you

Farmer’s markets are great places to check out local produce and enjoy some food while soaking up some sun rays, and that is how I found out about LUV in you and their vegan probiotic ice - cream . In this episode, we meet Elisa and Kacie, who inspired by a workshop, decided to make ice-cream that not only vegan and dairy lovers can enjoy but it is beneficial for our guts also. Influenced by seasonal fruits and with a passion for all things good for us, their ice-cream flavours are rich in nutrients and have a therapeutic approach. It is very uplifting to see an increase of vegan food alternatives and especially when the product is locally handmade with such devotion and intention of benefiting both the environment and people’s health. It was really nice meeting Elisa and Kacie both and I wish you all the best. Mentioned on this episode Kefir - Kefir dates back many centuries to the shepherds of the Caucasus mountains. They discovered that fresh milk carried in leather pouches would occasionally ferment into an effervescent beverage. The word kefir has been known in Russia since at least 1867. Kefir originated from parts of Eastern Europe and Southwest Asia. The name is derived from the Turkish word keyif, which means "feeling good" after eating .Kefir was traditionally made using cow's milk or goat's milk. It is made by adding kefir grains to milk. These are not cereal grains, but grain-like colonies of yeast and lactic acid bacteria that resemble a cauliflower in appearance. Over approximately 24 hours, the microorganisms in the kefir grains multiply and ferment the sugars in the milk, turning it into kefir. Then the grains are removed from the liquid and can be used again. by Wikipedia Water Kefir - Water kefir is a probiotic beverage made with water kefir grains. Water kefir grains can be used to culture sugar water, juice, or coconut water. A powdered Kefir Starter Culture may also be used to culture coconut water or fruit juice. by Cultures for health Remedy bliss - http://remedybliss.com Aldinga eco arts village - http://aldingaartsecovillage.com/ Organic Cafe Willunga - https://www.facebook.com/thegreenroom.highst?utm_source=tripadvisor&utm_medium=referral Moana farmers market - https://www.facebook.com/moanamarket/ Willunga farmers market - https://www.willungafarmersmarket.com.au/ Aldinga food market - https://www.facebook.com/fridaysafter5aldinga/ Vegan palooza - https://veganpalooza.info/ Tasting Australia - https://tastingaustralia.com.au/ WOMADadelaide - https://www.womadelaide.com.au/ Recommended book The essential life - https://essentiallife.com

Ep8 | Botanical dyes, eco-printing and nature crafts

Back in September, I wwoofed at a community farm in the Yarra Valley, in Victoria, Australia. As part of my learning journey into food growing I planned to spend at least 3 months to know how things were run. I was excited to finally spend my days outdoors getting my hands dirty alongside like minded people. This community farm has put together a diverse group of people with very different personalities that yet share the same values. And one of those people was Vicky. Vicky is a craftswoman and textile artist whose work focuses on eco-printing and nature crafts using materials foraged from the farm, surrounding nature areas and food scraps. And you are probably thinking, well I don’t see how this relates to using food as a tool for making positive change. But what I learnt from Vicky and her husband Murray is the importance of being resourceful, and that if we slow down and put a bit of thought into it, everything can have the chance to have a new purpose, whether it is left over food or an old t-shirt, small changes in the way we consume food and products will help reducing waste.

Ep7 | The Margaret River Soup Kitchen

Tired of gloomy grey UK, Teaspoon of Soil is travelling around Australia to meet some of the change makers of the southern hemisphere. Our first stop is The Margaret River Soup Kitchen, in South West Western Australia.Margaret River town is based in a wealthy wine region well known for its vineyard restaurants, artisan food and spectacular surf spots. So, naively it seemed a bit of a surprise to hear that such town had a Soup Kitchen that run twice a week. Luckily for us we got to meet Dave, who has been running the community kitchen for over 20 years. He shared with us the reason he decided to start this service and how good of a response it has had from the local community.

Ep6 | London Freedom Seed Bank

Until 50 years ago, saving your own seed was an integral part of gardening for most vegetable gardeners. Knowledge of how to save seeds has drastically been lost by amateur gardeners and today many of us blindly buys them in packets from a seed supplier year after year. The positive news is that there are organisations working hard to change that. One of them is the London Freedom Seed Bank. We had the opportunity to attend the Seed Bank Network get-together which took place in St.Luke’s Community Centre, London back in May. The evening featured talks by network members who spoke about their seed saving journeys and reasons to join the Network. Amongst those speakers was Helen Schulze, co-director of London Freedom Seed Bank, writer and editor, who shared her Master’s research on UK seed savers and you will be able to hear at the end of the episode. After the event, we spoke with Charlotte, who runs the Seed Bank. She told us what inspired the creation of the Seed Bank, the political dimension of seed saving and how gardeners can benefiting from the organisation’s training programme. She also helped us understand the current UK Seed legislation, what hybrid or F1 seeds are and how they have completely changed modern agriculture.

Ep5 | We all Live Under One Sun, community work in Tottenham

London is extremely diverse and one of the most culturally vibrant cities in the world, yet many people feel lonely or socially excluded and there isn’t such a thing as community spirit anymore. In this episode we talk to Leyla, the founder of the charity Living Under One Sun or LUOS, which focuses in community work around the Tottenham area. An organisation that emerged from a breakfast invitation to a group of Kosovo mums and turned a vandalised site into a community allotment. We hear about the many cultures that make up Tottenham, the social challenges some face when moving into London and the lack of access to land to grow. We also learn the impact that the 2011 riots had on the neighbourhood, and the transformation that is currently going through. And last but not least we talk about LUOS latest project - the transformation of a disused Bowling Green into a cafe and multi-use space to provide activities demanded by the community and run by locals, including the Plot to Plate project. This recording took place in January and I am very happy to say that Tottenham’s Cafe Connect opened its doors just a few days ago, May 31st.