Page 15 - Spring2015

Letters

WAPF FOR DANCERS suspect is gout, very painful. I did talk to which meets all of our dairy require-
As a dancer, I always struggled her about it. She told me that her doctor ments, the dairy also provides curds to
to maintain my energy levels and my advised her not to eat meat or fat, only feed poultry and whey for pigs, poultry
physical and mental health. My health vegetables and fruits, impossible for her follow cows around the pasture or they
hit an all-time low the summer before in the land of beef production. I asked are in forest gardens, pigs are free-range
my senior year, while I was living in about the diet of her grandparents. It was or in perennial polyculture systems,
Phoenix dancing with Ballet Arizona. soups, vegetables, fish, a little meat and we catch fish in our river, we eat our
I was attempting raw veganism, and I fruits. They used to keep a cow so they own lamb, beef, pork, poultry and
grew very thin and had no energy for had raw dairy for sure. I suggested eat- wild goat, all grazed following holistic
ballet, let alone energy to put towards ing what they ate in those days but that management practices, and perennial
living a vibrant, joyful life. I searched is too radical a concept; they are fixated polycultures. We grow nutrient dense
for answers, and finally I discovered the on the all-American supermarket diet. vegetables and fruit and nuts and are
Weston A. Price Foundation. Huge bottles of Coca Cola and jars of experts in this field. We are all currently
I spent last year recovering by ap- mayonnaise appear at every meal time. gardeners although we recognize that
plying the Foundation’s teachings and On the other hand, they are farmers and everybody isn't a gardener, we garden
my life has dramatically turned around. prepare a lot of food from their own our own gardens as well as a main crop
I have never experienced such vitality animals. community garden. We make and eat
and happiness in my entire life! I am so I believe it would not be such a huge lots of ferments and we teach all of this
grateful for WAPF. I have become so jump to the Weston Price-type diet but I to others through the Koanga Institute.
passionate about physical and mental didn't have enough time with them or the The Koanga Institute (koanga.org.
health as well as farmer rights, and I’m language to explain. I would like very nz) is at the heart of the Kotare Village,
so eager to become involved in sharing much to send them Spanish translations where we are currently running an urban
knowledge about these things. of Nourishing Traditions. garden research project to see how much
Eden Garcia Thaler Lesley Alkin of a family's nutrition can be provided
Leesburg, Virginia Southampton, England from a 200 square meter garden. We
have a How To Grow Nutrient Dense
JUNK FOOD IN ARGENTINA Our main brochure and our Healthy 4 Food research project in its early stages
I am English travelling in Argen- Life booklet are available in Spanish. as well. Plus we are growing and saving
tina. Argentinian people are warm and the New Zealand national heritage veg-
friendly and I am made to feel welcome KOTARE VILLAGE etable seed collection and an important
whereever I go. It saddens me to notice We are a group of people in beauti- heritage fruit tree collection. There is
how many of the indigenous people are ful New Zealand who are developing an much potential for eco-village settlers
seriously overweight. They seem to be eco-village, Kotare Village (kotarevil- in these fields and we envisage a co-
reacting badly to modern foodstuffs, lage.co.nz), where we are committed to operative as soon as we have enough
in particular refined carbohydrate and regenerating our health and the health of families invested. The way we have
sodas. the ecosystem we live in. This means we structured our business plan means we
I have just been lucky enough to are creating our own food culture out of will have money to invest in businesses
spend time in the home of a mixed the Weston Price principles and it also that come out of our passion and the land
Argentinian and Paraguayan family, means the land use design for the entire for the good of the whole.
the kindest, most generous people, but village is based around our food require- Kotare Village is actively looking
suffering from all types of illnesses. ments put together with what works on for like-minded people who want to
The mother has type 2 diabetes, which this land in this climate. support a shared dream of embracing a
she is not looking after as the demands It all looks something like this: A regenerative future through independent
of the family come first; she has what I small dairy farm producing raw milk village living, local economies and co-
Wise Traditions SPRING 2015 Wise Traditions 13

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