cycling Archives - Our Permaculture Life

Did you know our clothes are poisoning us? More Reasons to Choose Simple Natural Fashion for Earth Care and People Care

Morag Gamble — Wed, 31 Aug 2016 16:54:00 +0000

Australians throw away over 80% of their textiles each year – we are second highest wasters in the world! I find figure is disturbing – do you too? Most of these fabrics are synthetic and as you know, in landfill these take ages to break down.

image source: www.onegreenplanet.org

Did you know, even more disturbingly, that when we wash our synthetic clothes they are contaminating the oceans too – poisoning all types of sea creatures and coming back as toxic food? Microfibres from degrading synthetics, a type of micro-plastic, are a major global problem. Thousands of fibres come off every time we wash – polar fleeces are one of the worst. The chemicals from these microfibres have been found in the flesh of fish (not just the gut). One quarter of all fish contain micro-plastics and micro-fibres.

According to Dr Mark Brown of UNSW, 85% of plastics in the environment are micro-plastics and these are persistent, cumulative and toxic. Dr Brown has studied fish on 6 continents and found that micro-fibres from synthetic clothing are the main micro-plastics in fish. So what does this mean? For one, micro-fibres contain flame retardants which are endocrine disruptors affecting our hormonal systems and altering our immune responses. Read more in the ABC Catalyst story : http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/4424996.htm .

There are billions of people wearing and washing plastic clothing every day. This micro-fibre problem is immense – more diabolical than micro-beads.

Let’s stop and ask “What impact do the clothes I am wearing and the sheets I am sleeping on have on my my health, my family’s health, on the health of Earth’s ecological systems, as well as the well-being of the people that made them?”

The long and short of this:

Synthetic fibres shed and accumulate as toxicity in nature.
Natural fibres biodegrade and are recycled by nature. (Most of my old clothes end up as mulch, worm food and compost)

Those of you who have read my blog posts before know I focus on food and growing, but today I am moved to write from a different angle. Thanks to the many recent conversations I’ve had with people on this disastrous link between fast fashion, ecological systems disruption and toxicity in our food.

Please join me in thinking about this big issue and next time you are heading out to make a textile purchase. And please me spread the word by sharing this post with your friends and networks.

Think, buy, use, renew and make natural!

Might be time to get those alpacas ….

image source: www.goodonyou.org.au

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How to stay calm and relaxed when even the simple life gets a bit too busy.

Morag Gamble — Mon, 30 May 2016 16:05:00 +0000

It’s easy to take on too much. I know I do sometimes (well OK, often), but I have found lots of very simple ways to stay calm, grounded and relaxed amidst some weeks that could otherwise feel overwhelming and chaotic.

I recognise that I have a tendency to saying ‘yes’ to just about everything that sounds interesting, positive and worthwhile. This past month for me has been so wonderfully busy, that I think I have actually found new levels of capacity.

I love being down at the University of Sunshine Coast Community Garden. I’ll be there again in the morning.

I am amazed sometimes at how much I can fit in and like many people, I wish I had a few extra hours each day. It’s often a bit of a juggle to find those extra hours and maintain a good balance – to keep this balance over the past few weeks I have only written a few posts and been out on my bike less. I am raring to get back into both.

These past few weeks I have led a workshops most days of the week – permaculture, sustainable living, community gardening…

I do need to remember to be gentle with myself and I thank my family for being onto this – they read my energy levels before I do, and the kids especially encourage me to delight in the present moment.

With a little one around, I am always reminded to slow down, get outside and play.

I am a mum with 3 children under 10, two of them homeschooled. I run an education and design business from home and a not-for-profit foundation. I love to cook things from scratch and tend our edible landscape. Our house is often open to the public so I need to keep it looking relatively neat.

In busy times, doing all this can sometimes be a stretch – we don’t have cleaners, gardeners or childcare – but somehow it all works and I love it. The kids are thriving. I feel nourished by my work. Evan and I love feeling productive and active in our communities of practice. We all spark off each other’s enthusiasm for what we do.

I value simple living. That doesn’t always equate with a ‘quiet life’, but for me it’s a ‘good life’.

This is how I stay calm, relaxed and focussed when the simple life sometimes gets a bit too busy….

Be Organised

I actively plan my time.
I have become a supreme list maker – so things to remember are not swirling around in my head.
I always carry a notebook and jot down ideas and new things to do – lots of mindmaps.
We plan our family’s week together to make sure everyone’s needs are being met and keep a shared calendar.
I aim to get everything ready the night before (lunches, clothes, workshop resources) so our morning can be relaxed and happy.
I have found my quiet niche – the time when everyone else is asleep – no TV, radio, music – just me and my myself. At this time, I can clearly and effectively think, plan, write, focus, create…
When things do get busy, I let go of some non-essential expectations I have of myself (e.g: writing every day).

I love riding my bike!

Stay Healthy

I eat well and usually take homemade food out and about.
I carry a glass jar of water infused with rosella, lemon myrtle, tulsi, turmeric and ginger (vitamin C, relaxing, refreshing, immune-strenghtening) and sip throughout the day.
I take a nap cuddling with the kids (I do this at their bedtime) – that extra hour or two makes all the difference especially to be able to do my ‘quiet-time’ shift at night.
When I need to ‘veg-out’ I avoid the telly or shops – instead play, talk, make, read, walk, think, write….
Ride my bike, or play tennis, walk and bounce on the trampoline with the kids.

Baking with the kids – we always love to experiment with healthy sugar free ideas.

Connect

I potter in my edible garden – planting, tending, harvesting – noticing the little things along the way.
I cuddle the chooks and talk to the birds.
I spend time outside in fresh air and amongst the wildlife (I make my office on the front verandah – birds visit, kangaroos pass by, waterbirds visit lake below and I cast my eyes regularly to the hills and national park across the valley).
We sit and eat meals together and check in with everyone, tell stories, joke around.
We play music and dance together after dinner. (We have a great big box of instruments.)
I lie down outside with the kids and watch the clouds or stars, chatting about their questions and big ideas.
I love to play with the kids – whatever story they make up. I’m often a horse for little Monty!
I ring my parents (interstate) and have a long chat.

Paint, create, get messy and have some fun!

Cuddling chooks always brings a smile.

A slow stroll through the garden, smelling the flowers and noticing the small things always helps me to refocus and slow down.

Stay Positive

I spend time in community gardens with wonderfully positive and engaged volunteers
I acknowledge the positive things that are happening and think about how I am contributing, and can add more value to that.
I regularly reflect on what is important, try to keep things in perspective, and keep the bigger picture in mind.
I am conscious to not complain about being busy. I make it so. There is a good level of busy-ness.
Smile – and the world does smile back.

Be Mindful

Mindfully do housework. When I wash the dishes, I am just dishwashing (or daydreaming out the window) not thinking about the next thing.
When I go to bed – I empty my mind, slow my breathing, relax my body before drifting off to sleep. Sometimes I set my self a challenge – to come up with new ideas in my dreams – but usually I aim to just ‘be’.
I remind myself to breathe – especially when there’s a need to finish some work and the kids also need my focussed attention.

Flowering rocket and in the background, mustard spinach – it’s great to just sit and watch what happens around these flowers – so much life!

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Tiny towns cultivating great community – healthy places for a simple connected life

Morag Gamble — Sun, 20 Mar 2016 14:04:00 +0000

Building a great community vibe in tiny rural towns takes so many forms – such as getting to know what services, skills and dreams each other has, and organising simple fun family-friendly events that bring people together in the community spaces.

I live in Crystal Waters, which is an ecovillage community of around 250 people. But Crystal Waters is not an island – it is so enriched by the small cooperative town of Maleny, and the nearby hamlet of Conondale.

This Sunday morning, this tiny town of Conondale hosted a refreshingly non-competitive community TRY-athalon for both kids and parents. Lots of families came to join in, play in the park and share a BBQ. ( l love that for the vegetarians like me, they’d even thought of offering bunya nut patties!)

Conondale, surrounded by forests at the top of the beautiful Mary Valley, makes the most use of its outdoor 20 m swimming pool (with a thriving squad team), and little park. The only other things in Conondale are 2 old tennis courts (with an incredible coach), a little primary school with about 85 kids, and a friendly general store. It’s a great little community. Mostly know each others names and look out for each other’s kids, and create fun things to do together.

Maia and Hugh getting ready for the TRY-athalon to start.

Hugh, the barefoot runner coming in to the finish – delighted to have completed the course.

Doing a triathalon has been on my personal bucket list since I hit my mid 40s, but getting out to train with 3 young kids is not easy. I love riding my bike, but I was at high school the last time I seriously ran and unless I have flippers in the pool, I just don’t seem to go anywhere.

So today, I feel great sense of personal accomplishment completing the course. I got to achieve my goal in a wonderfully low-key and encouraging way – they kindly let me use flippers (yippee) and the run was only 1.5kms (even on 3 hours sleep and no training, that’s doable!!).

The mums and dads getting ready to start the TRY-athalon – I’m on the left.

Its just so much fun doing it with friends who were all there just to give it a go. I was also so delighted by the lack of compression gear, fancy lycra, brand name clothing and equipment that is so intimidating.

I had my trusty old steely that was my 21st birthday gift and still, for me, the most gorgeous bike to ride. Others had dusted off the cobwebs from their mountain bikes stored under the house – having not been used for years.

Hugh even got a couple of new customers for his Bike Shed initiative after the event – we came home with this bike in the trailer to fix today. He got straight onto it, checked it out with his Dad, cleaned it, learnt about a new brake system and worked out what parts needed replacing. Hugh fixes bikes for locals, he collects donated bikes and restores them, and he is creating a small fleet to hire to visitors to Crystal Waters.

Thanks so much, especially to the leaders and volunteer of the local community-run sports club for organising today’s event.

Conondale is a tiny town with limited facilities, but the community brings theses spaces alive by organising things together that people love to do, or dream to do.

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Youth leadership and enterprise – cultivating positive leaders for the future with social and environmental responsibility.

Morag Gamble — Thu, 17 Mar 2016 14:27:00 +0000

My 9 year old daughter ran her second pop-up cafe today – the Owls Den Cafe. It was a sell-out event with guests from around the world. I am so proud of her and she’s absolutely delighted. Thanks to those who came to support her.

I’m so proud too with my 8 year son’s initiative. Hugh, who loves bicycles, set up his bike display to promote his eco-social enterprise – Hugh’s Bike Shed.

Both of them initiated these enterprises after I attended a workshop with Joel Salatin and he said that both his kids had on-farm enterprises by the time they were 9 years old. I asked them if they had anything they wanted to do. Within 30 minutes, they had each designed their concept ideas and have been implementing and refining the ideas ever since.

In the carport of our ecovillage home at Crystal Waters, Maia set up her Owls Den Cafe again today. This is her second monthly pop-up cafe – a homeschool project that offers a treasure trove of experiential and contextual learning – budgeting, graphic design, healthy foods, sustainability planning, project management, letter-writing, community service to name just a few.

Maia’s community came support her initiative and to taste the yummy food – so did friends from around the region, and several international visitors. This time she chose her wearable art shirt.

For a little cafe in a tucked-away place, Maia attracted an amazingly international crowd. There were people from Japan, Turkey, the U.S.A., England, Thailand, The Philippines… and friends travelled down the mountain from Maleny to support her initiative too.

Our Japanese WWOOFer (Willing Worker on Organic Farms) has been a great help to Maia setting up, and enjoyed some of the chocolate cake while Monty delighted in a babycino. Over lunch, Rin offered Maia and Hugh a Japanese lesson. Each day she is teaching them new phrases and words. WWOOFers are so fabulous.

Hugh was again at hand. He did some mowing of the grassy area, helped to set up, made a toy tub for the little kids, and was a loyal customer (I think he bought one of everything!). But he was there for his own enterprise too…

Hugh’s Bike Shed

Bike-mad Hugh had some bikes out to remind people of his community service project – Hugh’s Bike Shed. He fixes bikes – squeaky brakes, clunky gears, flat tyres… affordably and quickly. He also accepts donations of bikes that he can repair and either give away or hire to visitors. Today he received another bike donation and a request to hire two bikes for a week. He’s so happy too! Hugh and I will write more about his bike project soon.

Maia and Hugh were absolutely delighted when one of the cafe customers brought them some sunglasses as a gift.

The Social and Environmental focus of Maia’s cafe

Maia’s cafe had both social and environmental purposes. Amongst the many were:

to create a midweek meeting space for the locals
to cultivate community connections and conversations between all ages
to create a safe and interesting play space for the village children
to raise awareness about and give people a taste of deliciously healthy foods.
to create a waste-free cafe and demonstrate this
to raise awareness about endangered animals
to fundraise to support the protection of a different endangered species each time the cafe opens.

Maia just also loves cooking and serving people (and being her own boss by the looks of it). I was her humble employee for the day – paid in coffee, cake, hugs and a delightful note of thanks. What more could I ask?

She received such positive feedback from everyone who came to her cafe, for the food and the vibe. It certainly was a lovely space to spend the afternoon catching up with friends and neighbours and watching the children play.

Some of the first customers to Maia’s Owl’s Den Cafe today.

Some of the environmental initiatives of The Owl’s Den Cafe:

table cloths – fair trade cotton and a selection of fabrics from second-hand stores
bamboo picnic plates – these we have had for 16 years (I am super impressed at their longevity)
drinks offered only in mugs and cups – no disposable cups
cupcakes made in reusable forms
solar powered coffee machine
rain water used for drinks
plastic-waste free cafe
(mostly) organic ingredients
foodscraps given to chooks (not many leftovers though!)
coffee grinds fed to worms
take-aways offered in brown paper bags (and some took them away in their hat!)
supports conservation of endangered species

Maia is using a proportion of the money she made today to sponsor a Snowy Owl – an endangered species threatened by habitat loss and poaching. Tonight when the sun went down, she was excited to hear an owl outside her bedroom. She’s always had a natural affinity with owls. This is the information poster she created and sent out with the invitations, and had on display today.

Maia’s Owl’s Den Cafe menu:

Most of the ingredients were organic, sourced at our local food cooperative. Instead of sugar we used stevia drops, and a little honey or a dash of coconut sugar. The icing on all but one cake was also sugar free.

Drinks:

citrus iced water – organic orange and lime juice (from our garden)
organic fair trade espresso coffee (she’s a fabulous barista already!)
lemon myrtle tea – (from our garden)
organic fair trade tea

Food:

orange poppy seed cake
chocolate cake – gluten free
carrot muffins
bliss balls – gluten free, dairy free
chia shortbreads

I’ll ask Maia to write up the recipes and post them soon – they were amazing!

Sugar free frosting:

For some time now we have been trying to find good toppings for our sugar free cakes. We were fed up of destroying them with sugary icing. So we’ve done some experimenting and come up with some super-delicious toppings (and a few disasters I should say). Our favourite topping was the fresh pure cream, raw cacao and stevia frosting for the chocolate cake. The cream cheese and stevia frosting on the carrot cake was amazing too.

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How I shed my pregnancy kilos without trying.

Morag Gamble — Thu, 26 Nov 2015 16:30:00 +0000

In a recent post, I shared about how I create quality ‘me-time’ and calm spaces in the day to connect and relax. Even living a simple permaculture life, these ‘breathing moments’ are so incredibly important to keep me balanced and focussed in amongst the daily chaos of raising 3 young children, running a business and a foundation, and volunteering actively in my community.

Possibly one of the most important renewal times during my week is riding my bike. I just absolutely love it. I have a retro steely bicycle that was a gift from my parents when I turned 21. It was custom made for me by a small artisanal bike shop in Melbourne and it fits me like a glove.

My beloved Hillman – 25 years old but so quiet, smooth and light.

I feel so happy when I am riding. It clears the cobwebs in my mind, blows away negative thoughts, detangles my body knots and connects me with the world around me. I notice subtle changes around me as a move through the landscape – the seasons, different sounds in nature. I talk to the cows, the birds and the kangaroos I pass.

Sometimes I chant afffirmations to the rhythm of the pedalling. Sometimes I make up a song and sing it out to the valley. Sometimes I sort out a challenge I have grappled with all day, or find the idea that has been alluding me – the solution just pops into my brain. Some of my best lesson plans for workshops have been designed out on my rides.

At the moment I only ride 30 minutes 3 or 4 times a week but this seems enough. I try to weave this into our family routine, like dropping my son at school, or going to the kids’ tennis class. I ride the 10km country lane to school while Evan drives the kids. We swap and he rides home. This is a luxury of working at home together. When Evan was working full time, I found it so hard to weave in exercise time and I felt sluggish.

As an added bonus, when I started riding regularly again, I dropped 10 kgs over a couple of months without changing my diet. My body just needed to move more – and more rapidly than child pace!

When I ride my bicycle regularly I feel fit and strong and happy

…. and able to easily lift this little man, and run around with my kids.

At 46 years old, this is important!!

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