Archive for April, 2010

Their use of an ancient form of slow watering, called ollas, is probably the biggest practice that we home gardeners can easily adopt. Looking like a bulbous clay vase, an olla filled with water once or twice a week, then capped with a stone will slowly leach its water cache into the surrounding soil, only as needed. An olla is a nearly perfect watering system that gets water directly to the roots, and is available in different sizes and shapes on their website’s “Peddler’s Wagon” (www.PeddlersWagon.com).

Airing today, Wednesday, April 21, 2010, on the 5:00 p.m. News on Channel 4.

Date: April 15, 2010
Time: 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Location: Santa Monica Public Library – Martin Luther King Jr. Auditorium
Address: 601 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90401
Cost: Free
Event Details:
In the midst of a dense urban setting in downtown Pasadena, radical change is taking root. For over 20 years, the Dervaes family has been transforming their [...]

“This lifestyle is difficult,” admits Jules. “My attitude is survivalist backed up with stubbornness. I’m not saying that this lifestyle is for everybody. (But) some of it is for everybody.”

Chefs Brian Hill and Manouschka Guerrier were challenged to design a menu on the spot one Sunday around the Dervaes’ family produce and ingredients in their pantry. It was no easy task. [...] “The two chefs were under extreme pressure,” says Dervaes. “They were shocked by how much they had to do by hand.”

Chefs Brian Hill and Manouschka Guerrier were challenged to design a menu on the spot one Sunday around the Dervaes’ family produce and ingredients in their pantry. It was no easy task.

TreeHugger’s Best of Green 2010 Readers’ Choice Award – Design & Architecture | Best Landscaping, Garden, or Urban Farm Project: The Dervaes Family of Path to Freedom Urban Homestead

The Dervaes’ urban homestead, Path to Freedom, symbolizes a victory in cutting out food miles from their carbon footprint. What makes this feat all the more remarkable is the family’s ability to use water-conserving techniques to grow their produce.