Upcountry Sustainability presents ‘An Introduction to Raising Goats and Chickens’ for their August educational event.  Mark and Leah Damon, of beekeeping fame, invite US to their farm as they describe housing/fencing, feeding and management of goats and chickens (both layers and broilers).

This free event will take place August 27, 9-11, in Kula.  Attendance is limited to 20, so you must reserve a space.  Directions will be given to those who sign up.  Click on AUGUST EDUCATIONAL EVENT above to sign up.  For more information, call 573-9260.

NOVEMBER 6- INTRODUCTION TO BEEKEEPING

CLICK ON THE LINK ABOVE THAT SAYS “FALL EVENTS” TO VIEW DETAILS AND SIGN UP

In case you wanted some photos from the Kula Farms Tour, Iʻve posted mine online.

Alyse

Click here to link to my photos!

If you’re not sure about whether something is “local” (e.g., is tofu “local” if it uses imported soy beans? beer with imported hops?), no worry.  Post questions in the discussion space.  We’ll learn together about the challenges of eating local, the importance of local food sources, and what changes are needed to make our food supply more sustainable and secure.

Learn more and sign up at:

http://kanuhawaii.com/campaigns/details/?id=5

www.worldwatch.org

WHAT IS CARROTMOB?

Carrotmob is a method of activism that leverages consumer power to make the most socially-responsible business practices also the most profitable choices. Businesses compete with one another to see who can do the most good, and then a big mob of consumers buys products in order to reward whichever business made the strongest commitment to improve the world. It’s the opposite of a boycott.

It’s easier to understand if you look at an example. In the first ever Carrotmob event, a liquor store agreed to invest in upgrades that made their store more energy-efficient. In exchange, hundreds of Carrotmobbers showed up at once to support the winning liquor store. 

Link to Carrotmob Website

Watch Carrotmob Videos:

How Organized Consumer Purchasing Can Change Business from carrotmob on Vimeo.

Editorial

Houses can be water sources

There’s a way to ease the drain on Maui’s water supplies with the only cost to government being the time needed to revise current rules and regulations. Homeowner recycling of household graywater is illegal due to concerns about contaminating groundwater.

Arizona allows homeowners to use water from a clothes washer, bathtub, shower and bathroom sink to irrigate landscaping by drip or flood irrigation. Kitchen sinks and, of course, toilets must be connected to sewer or septic systems. Spray irrigation is not permitted and the graywater flow must be less than 400 gallons a day.

Homeowners using graywater irrigation need to use detergents that are low in chlorides, sodium, borax, sulfates and alkaline content – chemicals that are harmful to plants. There are an increasing number of so-called “green detergents” readily available.

It’s estimated that up to 1 million Californians are breaking state law by hooking drains to irrigation systems. The state’s Department of Housing and Community Development is trying to come up with new rules covering graywater irrigation.

There’s a long tradition on Maui of piping toilet and kitchen wastewater into septic systems and running water from bathtubs, bathroom sinks and washing machines out into a pasture or lawn. A washing machine uses about 15 gallons of water for every load of wash. Irrigation was a byproduct limited to the end of the pipe. The idea was to avoid overloading septic systems.

Household use of recycled water for landscaping looks to be safe, if handled properly. Arizona has found a way. Just last week, the Maui County Department of Water Supply was urging consumers to cut back water use, although conscientious homeowners have long since figured out ways to make sure every drop of water is used efficiently.

It’s more than apparent that it will soon be essential to get maximum mileage out of water and find safe ways to use graywater from wastewater treatment plants and from Maui’s individual households.

* Editorials reflect the opinion of the publisher.

In order for you to post in the open forum, you need to create a wordpress account. As soon as you have an account, send  the email address you used as a login name to upcountrysustainability@gmail.com and you will be added as an author. As an author you will be able to create posts and we can generate discussion here on the forum page.

TO POST:

1. go to www.wordpress.com and sign in with your username and password.

2. in the upper left there is a section called “your blogs,” CLICK on upcountrysustainability

3. in the menu on the left CLICK on POSTS and choose ADD NEW to create a new post.

4. write your post and CLICK PUBLISH (at right)….