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April 19, 2008
Some Bold Steps to Make Your Carbon Footprint Smaller
Help us help others. Spread the word about PathtoFreedom.com urban sustainability mission and the urban homesteading lifestyle (unforunately, NY Times failed to mention the website). Share this video with your all friends, family and anyone interested in making the world a better place to live. Together we can make a difference. The future is now, the choice is ours. Small steps do indeed, have big impact.
Watch 5 min Video LIFE (MOSTLY OFF THE GRID) by David Clair NY TIMES
URBAN FARMING: Jules Dervaes and three of his adult children live on one-fifth of an acre in Pasadena, Calif., a block away from a multilane highway. On this tiny sliver of land, they manage to be mostly self-sufficient. “This is our form of protest,” says Dervaes, who is 60, “and this is our form of survival.”
The family harvests 6,000 pounds and more than 350 separate varieties of fruits, vegetables and edible flowers annually. They brew the biodiesel fuel that powers the family car. Solar panels on their roof reduce energy bills to as little as $12 a month. Goats, chickens, ducks and two rescued cats are in residence. Red wiggler worms turn the kitchen and garden waste into compost, which is then recycled back into the garden.
Dervaes’s father worked for Standard Oil, but his son took a markedly different path. Dervaes moved into his current Pasadena home in 1985 — temporarily, he thought. As the years passed and his hopes of relocating to the country were delayed, he “decided that he wanted to see how much we could grow here,” says his 33-year-old daughter, Anais.
The family generates cash for their limited expenses by selling produce to local restaurants. Though Dervaes and his children are accustomed to the neighbors’ strange looks at their crowded lot, the local chefs don’t seem to share the skepticism. “They’ll call me in the morning and pick the amount that I need for that night,” says Jim McCardy, who owns Marstons, a restaurant in Pasadena. “The flavor is just incredible.”
- CHARLES WILSON (NY Times)
(17 votes)
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Topics: PTF Spotlights, Posts by Anais | Tags: Biodiesel, Chickens, Compost, Ducks, Energy, Goats, low impact, NY Times, off grid, Solar, urban farming, Urban Homestead, urban sustainability
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April 19th, 2008 at 7:11 am
Hi all you guys. I loved the video and your back yard looks really full and I am envious. I am just starting my hot weather plant seeds indoors now here in Nova Scotia but am now planting cool weather veggies.
I was wondering if you could tell me the size of your raised beds? Everything looks so neat and tidy. I am going to be raising my potatoes vertically in 2 foot by 2 foot by 30 inches high boxes. We too are limited for space and I’m always looking for better ways to garden.
We are having a very nice warm spring here and I’m itching to get started with my gardens. Hope you guys are all doing well and keep up the good work. I just love your site and keep rereading it and looking at your pictures of your gardens for inspiration. Well anyway, Take care.
April 19th, 2008 at 7:56 am
Congratulations, Dervaeses! SEEING that it can be done is the first step for many people wondering where to go from here, as our changing society demands that we make choices to take back control of our…choices
April 19th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
Congratulations on the NY Times spot! I’ve been following your inspirational web site for a couple of years now. Truly amazing! If everyone did just a fraction of what you are doing there would be a real change.
April 19th, 2008 at 3:59 pm
Awesome! So good to see you get the press and exposure that you deserve. Thanks again for being
an inspiration and model for us urban homesteaders!
p.s. The ducks are growing like weeds!
April 19th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
Great and inspiring video! The garden is so beautiful.
April 20th, 2008 at 7:53 am
Hi Folks,
The video is superb!!!!!Who needs an alarm clock? this is the best wake up call for years and years!Tremendous message for all to see,how many will realise that change begins now with your outstanding daily example!
blessings
gerry m
April 20th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
Really nice to see this video. I remember rumors about you years ago. The next generation is really not so much about consumption, you might be pleased to know. Do you milk the goats?
April 20th, 2008 at 3:17 pm
I loved the video. It really put it into context for me. I have added a link to the video on my blog, and also a link to your journal. Keep up the great work!!
April 20th, 2008 at 10:49 pm
Hey guys! That’s one of my top five favorite videos so far!
A while back someone wrote in about convincing their city council to legalize goats. I can’t seem to find the post, so I was hoping you could offer more advice or send me a link to the post.
We are on a full acre in a very small town and my son is allergic to dairy, so we’d like to have goats. Currently any “farm animal” is illegal in town. Can you offer any advice on how to go about changing that?
Thanks so much for any advice you can offer, and for being such fantastic pioneers!
April 21st, 2008 at 7:30 am
Thanks so much for this site and the outreach you do. We just got a little backyard in Brooklyn a few months ago, and now that spring is here I’m trying my hand at gardening–also baking my own bread and thinking of what else I can do–all due to your positive influence. Thanks again.
April 21st, 2008 at 7:49 am
Great video article. One of the few times I have read the NYT. thanks for the ideas.
April 21st, 2008 at 7:56 am
Nice to see a well done video from NY Times…I’m happy they showed you all in your daily work mode, and the interviews with each were short, but got the essential messages and images out there. Thanks again for your inspiring way of Life.
April 21st, 2008 at 7:57 am
Thanks everyone for the comments and for passing around the video piece !
A warm welcome to new readers, thanks for sharing your urban sustainability and garden projects. Great to hear from like minded folks who are on the same path.
Small steps do indeed have big impact - together we can make the world a better place.
April 21st, 2008 at 8:14 am
To Jordanne: I care that you lost half your crop to the frost! I understand… My husband and I were looking out over our little homestead and I suddenly saw that we were a little homestead stuck between several “golf course” lawns with “no clue” households. The rules are changing so fast, we feel a little pressured to get as much done as we can, so we can be “grandfathered in”.
Keep up the good work! It is not for naught.
In Christ,
Ginny
April 23rd, 2008 at 2:20 pm
Congratulations guys, !!
You are really amazing, you just got inspired to start growing my own vegan food !!
Kind Regards from Costa Rica
April 27th, 2008 at 9:26 am
Great video! Thanks for the inspiration. I’m in the process of digging up more of my small backyard garden and learning as I go.