veghippy hero - January

Susan Moore !

This month, our veghippy hero represents the future of sustainable business through her contributions at the Taos Food Co-op.
Check out our interview below!

Sunshine: Hi Susan! Can you tell us a little bit about yourself, maybe how you became interested in "organic foods"?

Susan: The idea of everyone having really healthy food has stirred my imagination. Around the mid-80s I got very interested in holistic health. I've learned more and more since 35 years ago and over time, I've come to the understanding that health is integrally linked to what you eat. Even though our medical culture tends to downplay this fact because they believe they can just fix something if it goes wrong, but I'd like to look at our body and our culture in a more holistic way. What do you need to be balanced, physically, emotionally, spiritually? The issues surrounding the physical dimension, food, is the very foundation of our being. Food and the way it affects our body is the primary matter that will determine your health.

So I became more and more aware over the years.

We have some books here at the Co-op, at our little library/borrowing shelf - but one of the most influential books that I had read was "The Healthiest Meals on Earth," and the other one is "Most Effective Natural Cures on Earth," both by the same author, Jonny Bowden. A very interesting point that he makes is that food not only provide nutrients for the body but specific foods can actually treat specific disease. Now, the FDA probably doesn't allow us to say that - but I'm gonna say it! Did you know that carrots can neutralize excess estrogen related hormonal imbalances? (Recent studies have found "excess estrogen" linked to stress: read more [here]) For young women who have menstrual cramps or problems that later cause women to get breast cancer, and even for men who are at risk for prostate cancer, if they eat 2 raw carrots a day, it will dissipate the excess estrogen in their body. That's just one minor example: Celery can lower blood pressure, and turmeric can cleanse your liver! The point is, healthy, clean, organic food are not only sustaining your body, but can actually heal your body.

Sunshine: Was there anything else that helped you achieve this perspective?

Susan: Call me an information junkie. I've always tried to look at the alternative and the holistic methods. There is tons of information out there if you try to search for it! I don't know, I've always been a person who just "questioned authority" - like that old hippie saying. It's always been hard for me to accept any fact without asking, "Is that really true? Who said so? Why did they say it and what's in it for them?" That's just the way my mind works. I need to be able to understand something before I get involved with anything.

Also, one of the things that captured my imagination years ago is the Maslow "Heirarchy of Needs." I talked about this during my presentation at the Taos Pecha Kucha event just last week. Maslow was a psychologist in the 1940s. A lot of people jumped on his ideas and used it to understand motivation. Although, he didn't intend for people to use it that way. Maslow was just showing that unless people have the basic physical needs, they are not going to move up the chart.

The basic needs are: food, air, water, shelter. Then you move up to safety, community, love, and self-actualization. I've always thought that the government, or any big corporation for that matter, would want to look at what these basic needs are to ensure that people have those basic needs fulfilled. Unfortunately, I think like many others, that's not really the concern for them.

Sunshine: So Susan, you are the manager of the Taos Food Co-op. How did the Co-op start and what experiences have brought you to where you are now?

Susan: Well my original idea of a "co-op," started 40 years ago. I was among a group of 6 young mothers and we had a food co-op just amongst each other. We all pitched in $20 each and every week 2 of us would drive down to the farmers market in Houston to buy boxes of vegetables and then divide it up! Very simple process.

When I moved to Taos, I thought something like that would be a good idea. Just so happened there was a group of people who were already trying to start this food co-op. I got on the board and we did group ordering together. There's not a lot of places to get fresh local produce except during the summertime, so we started with grains, rice and beans in bulk 25 or 50 pound sacks. We distributed it to everyone in the group with a small markup and that helped us get going in the beginning. About 6 months later we opened this retail store.

But back then I was on the board and I wasn't the manager yet. The board was a sort of managing committee and we had some volunteer cashiers. It was pretty small. At some point, people were making mistakes and the co-op was losing money. Some of the board member wanted to just close the store down. But I said "No, let me try managing it for a few months and see if I could turn it around and grow it." That was almost 2 years ago now. So...it's working!

Sunshine: Wow!

Susan: We are growing little by little. We started with a very small amount and our net percent is only 10%. But with that, we were able to gross about $60,000 last year. I mean, most grocery stores do that in a day, but we're giving people good prices on healthy food and we insist that this store be non-gmo only brands. So far so good.

Sunshine: Where does the food come from?

Susan: We have several different distributors. The primary one is Golden Organics, who we've been with from the beginning. It is a wholesaler near Denver CO. The owner is very interesting. He is a pro at traveling all over the world, and he finds the best buys on organically raised food. Most of it is certified organic. They are close to us since Denver to Taos is about 5 hours. Golden Organics is where we get most of the dried goods and bulk oils.

La Montanita is another. They are a successful co-op with a billion dollar a year business that has its headquarters in Albuquerque. We get quite a bit of our food from them. We also order from Frontier Co-op, they are another co-op that handles over 300 brands of toiletries and culinary and medicinal herbs. And then there's United Natural Foods Inc (UNFI) that we order from sometimes too.

We carry some local producers like Matt's Quinoa Cookies, Taos Roasters Coffee, and Taos Mountain Energy Bar. I also just found out about a nearby tea company and I want to start ordering from. Very soon, there will be a local company making bottled Chai, so when they are ready we're gonna be stocking their drinks here.

Sunshine: So I heard that in the Spring you have a farmers market on the back porch?

Susan: Yes, Spring, Summer, and Fall. The official Taos Farmers Market is much larger but they charge the farmers about $20 a week. Thinking about it, if you go there with a bunch of carrots and lettuce and you only make $60, that initial charge takes out a huge chunk of your earnings! Sure, some of the vendors have a big operation and they do a lot at the market but smaller farmers can't really afford that. We don't charge the farmers anything at our market. We let the farmers use our back porch for free. They get to keep everything. If they decide to leave some of their produce with us afterward, we do take a small percentage but I think this approach creates a lot of benefits.

For one thing, all the money that the customers spend goes straight to the farm. Number 2, the farmers have an outlet that they don't necessarily have to be committed to. If they can, they can come out and sell their things. Number 3, it encourages the farmers to grow more. If Taos ever had a food crisis or experienced some difficult times - which is quite possible here in our small town, the co-op would have the lines of communication with those farmers to keep the food coming if possible. And lastly, it's just fun, let's not forget that!

Sunshine: Susan, how is the Taos Food Co-op different from a typical organic food market in town? Perhaps you can explain more about the cooperative business model you are working with here?

Susan: By definition, a co-op is a type of corporation owned by its members. It varies depending on the organization but once a cooperative becomes profitable, then members can get a dividend based on either their initial investment or their purchases throughout the year. A conventional corporation however, is owned by stockholders and only those investors profit from the company. The emphasis there is profit and the bottom line, whereas co-ops have an interest in their stakeholders, their members, their vendors, their customers. Many co-ops have socially responsible missions in addition to making the profit that can grow the organization. And that's what we are doing here with the Taos Food Co-op.

Sunshine: Sounds good to me! You mentioned you've dipped into farming yourself and that you have chickens in your backyard! Can you tell us more about that?

Susan: Yes I've got a little chicken house. I have 5 and used to have more but the dogs and coyotes got to them, sadly. The ones that are still with me are laying eggs, even in the winter. I feed them organic feed that I buy from right here, at the Taos Food Co-op.

I did try farming. I've some experience with drip irrigation where the water goes directly to the roots of the plants. I used to rent a plot of land in town. But to be honest, it is a lot of work! Weeding and maintenance requires a lot of attention and since I've become manager at the Co-op, I haven't been able to pursue it as much as I'd like to. I still love the absolute magic of growing seeds. To put a little seed into the ground, water it, and watch what happens just proves that it's not that hard to grow your own food. You do have to pay attention to it but the amount of work required for what you get in return is amazing to me. With some of the more contemporary farming methods, it's amazing what you can get with just 100 square feet of land - a 10 x 10 plot.

Sunshine: What could we look forward to at the Taos Food Co-op?

Susan: We are in the process of trying to get a loan and it's gonna cost about $2300. Once we have more refrigeration, we can have more semi-perishable items. We don't stock any fresh produce now besides microgreens that 2 of our volunteers bring in on Saturdays, but hopefully it'll bring in more people when we do.

Sunshine: Is there any advice you can share for people who are considering opening a co-op in their community?

Susan: I started with a really old-fashioned idea of a food co-op. And we're more like that, we are an old-fashioned food co-op that is volunteer run. Many co-ops today are full fledged professional co-ops with paid staff and experienced grocers. How did they get to do that? Well, they get investors and memberships before they open. That way they aren't starting on a shoe-string budget like we did! For example, nearby Los Alamos co-op acquired about 2 million dollars before they even opened. You don't have to acquire as much as they did but it doesn't hurt to have a couple hundred thousand dollars to invest in the initial opening.

There are many different ways of doing it. There are a number of cooperative development foundations that will provide training, a grant for a feasibility study, and give you a guideline on how to get started. We didn't do any of this, although we probably should have. There are a lot of resources and help out there for people who want to start a cooperative. I really see this as a business model of the future because people are tired of the current economic approach where profit comes before everything else. The way we're gonna shift our world culture is through more socially responsible businesses, where it is member and employee owned. I see more and more young people demanding profit sharing and stock options as part of their benefit package in a company. When we start to get companies that are 30-50% owned by the employees, we're gonna see the real change in direction. So I'm really looking forward to people waking up and seeing that we can do it a little more humanely.

Sunshine: Absolutely. Thank you for being such an inspiration to us in the current generation.

Susan: Yes, of course. Start getting together with like-minded people, and get a good board going. Everybody will tell you to have a good lawyer, a good accountant but we didn't have any of that and we still don't. What we have is a core group and we keep each other inspired. Go out there and solicit memberships, solicit investors, and you'll see how much help is out there to get you to your vision.

"The Taos Food Coop is a buying club and retail organic food store, offering members and customers the best possible prices on wholesome healthy foods."

Located at:

314 Paseo Del Pueblo Norte, Suite G

Taos New Mexico, 87571

Connect to the Facebook Page [here]!

-PEACE~*!

veghippy hero / December

Hillery Duran!

This month's veghippy hero is the manager of Red Willow Farm in Taos Pueblo, NM. Hillery has become a bridge for old and new, young and old, by continuing a legacy of food, farming, and education in her community. She has an inspiring story to share with us about her experiences growing up learning traditional agricultural ways. Check out our interview below!

Sunshine: So Hillery, can you tell us a little bit about the history of Red Willow Farm?

Hillery: The farm was officially added to the Red Willow Education Center (2003) in 2007. When this land was for sale, there were 2 people who had the same dream to establish a place where the community can come together and give a place for the youth to gain skills for the future. When these 2 people came together, they bought it! When the farm was built they started a co-op, the Taos Pueblo Red Willow Co-op, and they started networking with different farms and applying for grants to buy these two greenhouses which are right behind me now. Actually, one of the founders is my mom. I'm happy to continue her legacy and I think she's happy to know that I still work here too.

Sunshine: When did you start working here?

Hillery: I started here in 2006 when the building for the farm was in its beginning stages. They had different classes for high school students that taught traditional agricultural techniques used in the Pueblo. That's how I first got involved, through school.

Sunshine: And what is your position at the farm now?

Hillery: Before, I was just working here, pulling weeds, planting, farming basically! But now my title is farm manager, which involves all the number crunching and everything that comes with running a business. I'm learning a lot, like learning when to say yes and when to say no, how to negotiate with people and such. Sometimes it's a lot of pressure. Luckily I have a lot of help so it makes me feel better. Bill Brockbrader has been helping me a lot, being my right hand man, my handyman. Cause to be honest I don't personally know how to fix broken windows or how to fix...anything else that goes wrong! The site had a few issues when we started growing this winter. The pumps shut off and the plants froze. Then we had to replant everything all over again (sigh). It get's crazy sometimes!

Sunshine: Oh no! But I noticed the Farmer's Market still kept on! You're doing a great job Hillery.

Hillery: Yes, well I'm proud to say that the Red Willow Farm has a year-round market. We are one of the few farms in the Taos area that grow crops even during the winter time.

Sunshine: What's it like to run the Farmer's Market?

Hillery:  It's really neat to grow in the winter time. Inside the greenhouse its about 75degrees and then you go outside and there's a couple feet of snow on the ground! The farmer's market started in 2010. Back then we had a lot more farmers than we do today. Unfortunately, one of our struggles now is finding farmers in our community who still grow food and still believe in growing their own food. We've had such a loss of that since I started. Before, we had about 9 different vendors. They were all older members of the community and they did farming in the traditional way like using the sequias, the ditch water that we get on the Pueblo. There are a few that have passed away already. Now only about 5 of the original farmers are still here and still part of the co-op. Out of that, only 2 of them still sell their produce with us.

Sunshine: Hillery, can you give us some perspective on what makes Red Willow Farm so unique?

Hillery:  With everything we do here, we pull our traditional agricultural ways that we've known forever and mix it in with modern day technology like the heating system, the irrigation system, and the solar panels. In 2011 we got the garn and we have solar panels that powers our buildings.. It's great to be running in a sustainable way. 

The diversity of people that this farm brings is also very special. We have many people who come out and volunteer. A lot of people from town come to our market, although we're trying to get more people out here and connect with them. Many of the youth that start out with us end up coming back years later. I think it's awesome that the kids enjoyed working here so much that they come back.

Sunshine: Can you share more about how the greenhouses are heated?

Hillery: Yes. In the east greenhouse, there are 2 barrels with fans inside which sucks up the hot air during the day, and at night it releases the heat into the ground. There are also another set of pipes that run under the greenhouse which is moderated by the garn. Now, what the garn does is it circulates 3300 gallons of heated water to create radiant floor heating. In the west greenhouse, it's a little different due to the scale of the greenhouse. It is a lot bigger in there so there are larger pipes to encompass the entire space. The garn also provides the hot water to the Farmhouse as well, which is all wood-fired heat. We build a fire 2-3 times a day and the tank temperature is kept to 120-160Degrees during the winter. We get our wood from members of the community, or sometimes the ward chief's office brings wood over for us if they have to cut down any trees. It's great because when the fire gets to the high temperature, it becomes smokeless. It's called "gassification." The smoke was a concern for us because we were worried about creating harm to the environment. But it's eliminated due to that process. We also make sure to use wood that hasn't been stained like Elm or Pinon or Red Douglas Fir.

Sunshine: Hurray! Thank you! Now, education seems to be very intertwined with the farm. What kind of programming do you offer for the youth?

Hillery: Working with kids and teaching them is probably the most fun part of my job. Each year, I hire 6 Greenhouse Interns to work with me. It's a paid internship. During the school year, they come in from 3:30p - 5:30p in the afternoon. But this coming year, we got some more funding so I can hire 12 kids now! They are usually kids from the Pueblo. In the summer, they're here a lot longer from 8:00a - 12p. I take them around to neighboring farms in the community to show them who is growing what, and to give them a sense of mentorship among the elders. This way, they can know who else they can go talk to if they have any questions about farming. It also offers them an opportunity to do different kinds of farm work. We keep them pretty busy. They help us harvest for the market, and while they're weeding we teach them about the plants that are growing. A few of them help us with marketing too. Last week they came to the radio station to do some advertising. We've also done programs with Headstart, and we have an entrepreneurial program in its pilot stages right now for the older kids (age 18-30). As you can tell, we definitely keep the youth involvement strong here.

Sunshine: How did you get into farming Hillery?

Hillery: My grandparents were farmers. My family would always be involved in planting or fetching water from the sequias. I grew up with it in my life so going into college, I applied for a work-study internship through Stem which focused on agricultural work and studying the plants in the area. I didn't really know what I wanted to do at that time but then I ended up interning here at Red Willow for a year and a half. After that I just kept coming back, checking in, even though I wasn't working there anymore. When I graduated, I got a call from Ryan, the other founder of Red Willow Farm, and he asked me if I wanted to work here full time. I live like right across the street so I literally ran over to meet him and the journey started from there. Me and the manager - who actually turned out to be my cousin Angelo - redid everything. It was exhausting because doing all this stuff just between the two of us was very difficult. We implemented the internships and extra farm help after that, especially during peak season!

Sunshine: What do you enjoy most about farming?

Hillery: I enjoy the freedom I have working outside or in the greenhouses. I love being with everyone here, helping each other, teaching the kids. I love learning what we can still do with our land, and working with everyone to build a healthier and happier community!

Sunshine: Anything we can look forward to for the future of Red Willow Farm?

Hillery: Oh my gosh, I am so excited for the Spring. I've already been planting. As far as produce goes, we'll have spinach, kale, swiss chard, and hopefully my tomatoes will make it through the winter! There's gonna be a lot of new activities like beekeeping, and installing our flower garden. I'm really interested in connecting with a wellness center for people with diabetes or cancer because I believe a healthier diet can help people. I'm gonna do some research for that over the winter and see what we can get started this coming year.

Sunshine: Can you give us some inspirational words before we part? :)

Hillery: It's only up to you, yourself as a person, to take a good step towards the future and a better stronger community.

Red Willow Farm

885 Star Road

Taos Pueblo, NM

87521

If anyone is interested in volunteering at the farm - even if it's just for 30minutes - the Red Willow Farm is always welcoming new people to learn and be a part of this blossoming community!

The Red Willow Farmer's Market is open every Wednesday from 10a - 5p, rain, sleet, or snow! Please go to www.redwillowfarm.com or LIKE the Facebook page [here] for more information!

veghippy hero / September

Ruth Harrigan !

This month's veghippy hero is the beautiful and extraordinary Ruth, creator of MEE Beauty line, mother of four, community leader and advocate for sustainable living in Queens NY, beekeeper, organic gardener and so much more. Her life is a huge inspiration to those searching for a more wholesome lifestyle, especially in the city! Check out the interview below!

Sunshine: First question - What is apiculture? Why do people farm bees?

Ruth: I think right now in the city, we started farming bees because of CCD, because we are losing a lot of bees each year due to Colony Collapse Disorder. We feel the need to bring bees back. We are doing it in our own way in the city, in a very small way, to make it aware to the public the importance of bees and why we need to keep them alive. We really need to keep them pollinating the food that we eat.

Sunshine: What are the benefits of beekeeping?

Ruth: One of the biggest benefits of bees is that they pollinate. That is their biggest role in our environment. About 70% of the food we eat is pollinated by bees. Without that, we wouldn't have the enjoyment of apples, strawberries, peaches, pears...I mean all the common fruits and vegetables that we eat would not exist. So it is so imperative that we keep bees alive. And at the end, they give us something back in return for all the good work we do [through gardening]. They give us honey! Which is a sweet thing.

Sunshine: Yes I agree!! Now, how did you start beekeeping? Where did you learn?

Ruth: I started about 5 years ago. I stumbled upon it because my daughter wanted a dog and I told her that we weren't ready for a dog, so we got chickens instead. In doing some research on how to raise chickens, I stumbled upon a petition to make beekeeping legal in New York City. I was very interested in it. I had never even thought of bees until then, so I looked into it and signed up for a course. I was completely fascinated by the whole beekeeping hobby. Soon after I finished the course, I bought 2 hives. And luckily, right at that time in March of 2010 beekeeping became legal in New York City.

Sunshine: Wow! What do you love most about beekeeping?

Ruth: I feel in my own way, that I am contributing to our environment. I am doing something good for our planet. It is so polluted right now. And everyone has to do their own thing to try to bring it back. It is very rewarding to know you are doing a small part. I also draw a lot of personal lessons from [beekeeping]. Looking inside of the hives, I see how the Queen Bee interacts with the rest of the hive body. It is very interesting how the worker bees are so loyal to their Queen and to their fellow housemates. They really protect each other and they share all the different tasks within the hive to make the whole thing work - very efficiently. Those are such basic lessons that we can all draw from to apply to our own personal lives.

Sunshine: Ruth, would you call yourself an environmentalist?

Ruth: I would love to be called that! I feel I could do a lot more but I'm striving for it. I mean in my own backyard, we don't use any pesticides or fertilizers, we keep chickens to manage the insects, we have a rabbit to give us manure to garden, and as much as we can, we grow our own vegetables. I want to pass that on to the kids as well. I think that it's all about awareness. If they are aware of where our food comes from and what we are doing to the soil,  I think it will open up their minds about what to put in the soil. You will be less inclined to put pesticides, knowing that it will end up in your food. I think that's what's lacking in general. A lot of people don't know about it and a lot of people are so quick to spray those bugs in the backyard with insecticide, not knowing that that's just going to leach into your plants. But going on...we have rain barrels out back so we catch 55gallons of rainwater. It helps me water all the potted plants in the backyard. Dollarwise, [the rainwater] doesn't save me that much, but in my mind, anything that I can do to keep my property natural as possible, make me happy and it feels very rewarding at the same time.

Sunshine: This seems to be the perspective you take to your product MEE Beauty, is that right?

Ruth: Yes. Again, even with the products that we put on our body, I look for ingredients that are as natural as possible. However, as with food, if you are going to use 100% natural products, the problem is that it's going to decay very fast. Realistically, you don't want to buy a cream that is very expensive and that's going to decay within two weeks. That would be the shelf life of anything that is natural. So you do have to put a minimum amount of preservative to make it last longer without harming your body. I always tell people, it's just like sugar. Sugar is a good thing. It's sweet, everyone loves it. But if you overdo it, even sugar can kill you. You can get diabetes. With these preservatives, yes if you take in a lot, it will hurt you. However, using the minimal amount for the purpose of preserving the product has very little effect on the body. In fact, the bacteria that is going to grow in a natural product may be far more harmful without it. So you kind of have to weigh the pros and cons of the ingredients. But we try to go as natural as possible.

Sunshine: When did you start your Beauty line?

Ruth: It started about 2years ago, right after I got laid off with my job in finance on Wall Street. I had decided that that was like my opportunity to do something on my own. Instead of going back into finance, I decided I was going to try to launch my own business by combining honey, that is, my hobby of beekeeping, with a product line that I love. So I started working with a lab, and we came up with all the different formulas for lip balms and body lotion. My key ingredient is honey because honey is a natural moisturizer, and it links to beekeeping. I've done a lot of tests on the product, it felt really good on my skin. Uhh, I didn't test it on any animals, I tested it on myself so there's no animal cruelty here! [Sunshine's laughter] I tested everything on my own skin and of course on my family as well. So if there wasn't any reaction on them and everything was all good then I approved the formula! [more laughter from Sunshine!]

Sunshine: That's great. What can we look forward to either with MeeBeauty or your Honey Line?

Ruth: Well, this Fall, I'm going to be launching 2 new products and they're both going to be for babies. It's going to be called "BabyMee." I'm gonna start with a body wash for babies. It's a body wash / shampoo combination and a very gentle body lotion for babies. Both are fragrance free and of course, only pure honey is added to those products.

Sunshine: Wow, are the honey in your products right out of your own hives?

Ruth: I would like to! However I don't have enough from my hives so I do seek honey from other beekeepers that I know. I only put pure honey in my products so they will come from beekeepers that I trust and keep bees like I do without using chemicals nor additives in their honey.

Sunshine: You also mentioned you're gonna be teaching some classes throughout New York City soon?

Ruth: I'm hoping that once the contracts are signed, I will run a series of 2-hour "Intro to Beekeeping" courses. The first one will take place in Flushing, so I just have to wait until the use of the property get's signed off to run the class. Then hopefully there will be enough interest to keep the classes going into the Fall season.

Sunshine: Do you have any recommendations for people who are new to bees and beekeeping or for anyone who wants to start beekeeping on their own?

Ruth: I think that it's really helpful to read up on it. Taking a course is definitely recommended because there are so many different scenarios in the beekeeping yard. It's best to get a general overview of what to expect in the yard by taking a class before you embark on buying hives and trying to figure it out yourself. It is quite dangerous if you don't do it right. I took my first class through the New York City Beekeeper's Association. It was run through a course of 2 weekends, all day, and that was enough. You just want an overview of what to expect from the beginning of the season to the end. The rest is hands on. I would even recommend being an apprentice! It would give you a real good insight on beekeeping so by the time you start your own, you are confident going in there. Every season it changes, expect a lot of drama inside the hives!

It was such a blessing to interview Ruth for this month's veghippy hero. She is already a local name among the Queens community, as her story was featured in the prestigious New York Times, a short film project in the Tribeca Film Festival, as well as on SinoVision TV. You can purchase MEEBeauty Products at her Amazon store HERE. Thanks Ruth!!

-Peace*~!

veghippy hero / August

Rob Somma !

This month, Rob is the veghippy hero of the month because of his big love for gardening, his incredible backyard farm, his 9 cats, and his yoga practice that brings it all together. Check out the interview below!

Sunshine: Hello World! We are in Stony Point, a small town resting atop the Hudson River in Rockland County, NY...Rob, this is such a beautiful place to live. When did you move here and why?

Rob: Felicia and I were living in New City before I lost my job. We moved to Stony Point in 1996.

Sunshine: How big is your land?

Rob: The property is just under an acre, .98acres.

Sunshine: Rob, you told me you built this house! Can you tell us about that?

Rob: The old house on the property was too small for us. At the time we moved in, we had a Great Dane and a New Foundland and then adopted another dog! Between losing my job and selling our last house, a lot of things happened that just afforded us the opportunity to do it.

The house was built in 2001. In the beginning it took a while for us to agree on a design, but when we finally decided on something together, we got the plans, looked at the property, and said, "This is where we want to live!" We based it on a house that we had seen out in the Hamptons which was fun, open, and airy. Basically, having a dream, having a vision, and following our hearts eventually led us to the blessings we have here today.

Sunshine: What made you decide to start a garden and grow your own food?

Rob: I always liked plants, They are alive, they change, they grow...it feels good to be around them, it's one of those things you can't explain. I don't like just having grass around. I want interesting flowers, and all the things that come with the flowers: the birds, the bees, the praying mantises, the ladybugs, all of that! Getting away from the plain old grass keeps my interest and keeps my busy mind active.

Sunshine: When did you start gardening? How did you learn?

Rob: When I was 5 or 6, it was always the springtime thing to help my parents garden. That's where I got my start. Later on, I joined a community garden. There, I got 10x20 plot of land and I was surrounded by all these people with similar interests. I got to see what other people were growing, and everyone would be around to help each other. It was a really nice community down in Brooklyn.

Another thing that got me into this was watching Gardening Shows. I was inspired by many of the guys I saw on TV. Paul James in particular was just so engaging - and he was kooky! He liked fly fishing, he grew bonsai, and practiced Tai-Chi. You know he had so many dimensions to him. P Allen Smith was another, who built his own house and inspired me to say, "Hey, if he can do this, I can do this!" I looked into becoming a Master Gardener after moving to Stony Point and discovered that the Cornell Cooperative Extension was less than a mile from my house!

Sunshine: Rob, I know you are also a Dahn Yoga Master. How has your practice influenced your gardening?

Rob: Dahn Yoga has given me a greater awareness and ability for self-expression. It has given me trust in myself, and brought me to take interest in what's truly inside me - so that I can bring it out! Without my practice, I would not have thought of gardening as more than something merely pleasing to me. I would not have thought of gardening as a way to create and be creative, and to be in harmony with all that is around me. This is why I don't use chemical pesticides in my flowers or vegetables. Instead, in springtime I'll go around collecting egg sacs from Praying Mantises and place them around the garden so that they'll eat the other bugs. My practice has made me more aware of what I do. My actions affect everything around me, it affects every single insect, the earthworms, the soil...everything. Soil is the Earth, the planet itself. And although chemicals will make my flowers grow great, which may be good for me and my ego, it's not good for the soil, and therefore it's not good for the planet. So I've become more caring about what happens beyond me, realizing that there is more than me, and in effect, that I am more than me.

Sunshine: That's a wonderful way to think of gardening Rob. Thank you. Now, before we finish up, I am so curious what Felicia thinks about your creations and your insatiable hobby! Felicia, what do you think of Rob's gardening?

Felicia: I love the garden. I love his passion for the flowers. Rob really has a strong connection to the Earth and he seems so peaceful doing this. Even though I grew up in the city like Rob, I never got the true passion for dirt like he has - although I am not allowed to call it dirt...it's soil! [laughter] So I don't personally get into it but I love what's produced from it. I love that I can go into the garden and make myself a fresh salad. I've had organic food from other places, but there's nothing like picking the food right out of your backyard. It's as fresh as you can get it!

Also, I have to say that because it is Rob who has put his energy, love, and passion into the garden, I can really taste the care he's put into everything he's grown.

Sunshine: What is your favorite thing that has grown from your garden?

Felicia: Oh my gosh. Well, each year he does something different, so it's hard to say because there has been so many good things. Let's see...I love the kale. And one year he grew yellow watermelon, which was so delicious and sweet...but actually, I would have to say my favorite is the tomatoes. We're half-Italian, so naturally there's nothing like fresh pasta sauce. Yeah, the tomatoes are my favorite.

Sunshine: Thanks for the inside scoop Felicia! Okay, last question! Rob, What is in store for the future of your garden?

Rob: I'd love to redo the whole area on the side of the house where the dog runs are so that we can come out to a greenhouse that leads into the vegetable garden. I'd love to do cold frames so I can extend the growing season and get away from using my grow lights right now. I'm using too much energy, burning fossil fuels doing that. So my garden is green but it's not "green" I hope to take time this winter studying and perfecting the use of cold frames so I don't have to keep those lights on.

Once again, we have a veghippy hero who stands as a great example for those who choose to follow their "green dream." Rob's passion for all living things is evident in the life he's supported and created all around him! There is beauty blooming on that land in Stony Point NY. What an inspiration. Thank you Rob!!

If you have any questions for Rob or would like to recommend someone for "veghippy hero of the month" segment, please email: veghippnews@gmail.com

-Peace~!