After two years of being screened at many film festivals and community viewings throughout the world, we have published (in its entirety) our award winning short film Homegrown Revolution for free viewing on YouTube.

It has been a crazy ride and exciting to have an award winning film and we sincerely thank those of you who supported this film in many ways.  A big THANK YOU goes out from our hearts to those  who supported us, purchased this video, screened it, shared it or simply let the film's message lead you to a new way of looking at your yard. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! We really appreciate it.

Our unlikely little film was a surprise success story.  For those of you who don't know the history, I'll recap briefly.  For those of you already know it, go ahead and skip to the end of this post to watch Homegrown Revolution.

Homegrown Revolution was made in a whirlwind three days after a last-minute invite for Dad to speak at Peter Sellars' UCLA class in 2007.  Jules Dervaes was to be the lead-in and local authority on sustainable food to Michael Pollan's presentation.

By now, we had given so many presentations, the explaining of our project and "Urban Homesteading" was becoming a tad redundant - there are only so many clever ways we could explain what we have been doing the last 16+ years.  Plus, the fact that this was a night class had many of us expecting a room of yawning and under-caffeinated students blinking sleepily at their laptop screens and surfing Facebook, content to get class credit simply for being a body in the seat.  Short of handing Red Bull out to everyone, we seriously thought NO ONE would wake up for this Urban Homesteading and sustainable food presentation.

Looking back at the time, I realize how far the movement has come to the point it is today.   It wasn't long ago at all, but in 2007  the movement was just blooming and I was finding out that most students didn't care or know about Urban Homesteading -- or even anything environmental or sustainable.   There's always the usual small but core group of students who were into changing the world and activism but we knew we had to reach to the others in the class that might not even have a first thought about the food they ate or about gardening.

At the family meeting / lunch following the invite, Dad turned to me (since I have unofficially become the tech geek / "electronic gadget whisperer" of the family ) and inquired about a video slideshow we had put together for a virtual tour of the Urban Homestead called "One Step at a Time."  This video brochure had been published on our website at the time  since it was first uploaded in 2004 (soon to be uploaded to YouTube for kicks).

As I am not a video editor and had no training at all, my foray into  messing about with video clips had been a sink or swim experience.   After mucking about in Adobe Premier, I had managed to put together some footage that resulted in One Step at a Time and that short film seemed pretty cool when it was made; but I was now slightly embarrassed about it and wanted to give Dad something newer and peppier for the students.

Anais and I got to work in those three days before the presentation.   We had multiple tapes of footage of the garden, animals and various projects throughout the yard but very little of ourselves.  So, I spliced those with some of the news media interviews for a  narrative effect.

I really wanted to do little interviews on our  own footage; but given the short amount of time and our aversion to being filmed by one another, it just wasn't happening. (NOTE: Seriously, I did try.  I approached Justin with a camera as he did his biodiesel brewing and asked him in  my best TV reporter voice to explain what was doing.   I received an  "are you kidding me?" stare for my troubles.  Turns out, it's hard for  us to be enthusiastic about giving each other interviews.  Try explaining to someone who already knows what you are doing, what you are doing.  It isn't easy. )

For fun and to appeal to the college kids who were my own age, Anais and I added in some well known musical favorites to create a edgy  mash-up type music video.

Turns out, as R.E.M's moody guitar in "Drive" snapped up the students' attention at  the first minute to the final frame of the fist-in-the-sky rallying  image and the drumming strains of "Revolution Cry", we had gained this class' full focus and subsequent and  enthusiastic ovation and shouts.   Yes, even the too-cool-for-school jocks of UCLA's NCAA basketball team were into it.

Later that week, we decided to publish Homegrown Revolution on YouTube (cut to 10 minutes since YouTube wouldn't allow videos of  longer lengths at that time) and it kind of went viral for a time and gained over 500,000 views.

We started to use Homegrown Revolution for an intro to Jules Dervaes' workshops and presentations and considered it a type of "video brochure" or "infomercial" to Urban  Homesteading.  Fast forward to late 2008 and we received a phone call from the awesome  folks at the Wild & Scenic Film Festival asking if we wanted to  submit our film for consideration.

I seriously had no idea what they were talking about!   Film?  What film? We don't have a film, I thought.

They soon convinced us that they were really asking for Homegrown Revolution which one of their members had seen on YouTube.  This touched off a flurry of more video editing.  Since the original version contained a lot that was not our footage, we began to re-shoot a lot of scenes and I soon had Homegrown Revolution up to over 25 minutes long.  But because Wild & Scenic had accepted Homegrown  Revolution into their program as it appeared on YouTube, we knew we  had to keep it to 10 minutes.

In the end, the final product came out  at 15 minutes after we all refused to cut out anything more.  There was also concern from some of Film Festival folks about remaking  Homegrown Revolution so much that it would no longer feel like the  original version so we felt a little restricted in our creativity.     I did try to obtain the rights to some of the footage / interviews that appeared in the original version but with so little time to  remake the film, it turned out easier to just re-speak most of it  instead of dealing with all the paperwork.    Again, all this had to  be done in a short amount of time - definitely not enough time to be at one's full creativity.

Unfortunately, although most of our words as they appear in the 2009  version of Homegrown Revolution had been spoken to interviewers  previously, it was hard getting family members to say the same lines  with enthusiasm and with the same passion as they had when speaking to  someone "new" and curious to what we were doing.  Looking at the film today,  I can see all the mistakes and where it could all have been better.

But this was a collaborative project done by all of us -- with each family member taking part in the filming, editing and structure of the film.  Neither of us had any previous film editing / filming experience but we hope the passion and enthusiasm show through any technical flaws and other problems.

It's also important to note that the film was made entirely in-house on computers powered by solar/green sources.  All transportation was done in a biodiesel-fueled car and all camera/mic batteries were rechargeable and charged with solar energy.  Waste was kept to a minimum – paper composted or recycled and all publicizing materials printed  on post consumer paper.

We are humbled by the impressive impact Homegrown Revolution had in  the film festivals both nationally and internationally. It  was never created for a film festival circuit but has a true homegrown, homemade story behind its creation. Today,  whenever I am frustrated by learning something new or seeing where I fail in trying to get something perfect, I just need to look at where our little film that could has taken us.

I am compiling a  tally of the festivals and known public screenings to be published at HomegrownRevolution.com but here are the AWARDS and HONORS Homegrown Revolution has gained so far:

WINNER

Best Environment & Ecology Film North America,
Swansea International Film Festival, UNITED KINGDOM

Prize of the Mayor of the Capitol City of Slovakia
Ekotop Film Festival of Sustainable Development, SLOVAKIA

Best Short Documentary
Southern Appalachian International Film Festival, TENNESSEE

El Capitan Film Award
Yosemite International Film Festival, CALIFORNIA

Best Sustainability Film
Green Screen Environmental Film Festival, CALIFORNIA

Robert T. Nanninga Award for Excellence,
Cottonwood Creek Film Festival, CALIFORNIA

-----------------------------

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Westpac Award Best Short Film Runner Up
Reel Earth Environmental Film Festival, NEW ZEALAND

NOMINATED - Best Film, Climate Change & Sustainable Technology
CMS Vatavaran Environmental & Wildlife Film Fest, INDIA

FINALIST
European Spiritual Film Fest, FRANCE

Footage aired on Oprah's 2009 Earth Day show

You can still purchase the DVD here for community screenings or to just own a copy. We're still sending the film out to festivals who request it, so if you know of any film festivals or other opportunities, continue to send them our way. Thanks!

Pssst...!

Sharp eyed or observant readers might notice we now have a new YouTube address:  http://www.youtube.com/urbanhomestead

We'll still have the http://www.youtube.com/dervaes one but we might FINALLY be getting into sharing how-to videos.  We are launching this new channel for video clips showing snippets of life from the Urban Homestead as well as some how-to videos.

So be sure to subscribe to this new channel to get all the latest videos - thanks!

Caretakers of creation

Celebrating Creation & Holy Week with all sorts of outreach!

Although we couldn't attend all the events we were invited to (sorry, folks, perhaps next year!)  due to conflict of schedules with Holy Week, we still did have a jam packed week!!!

In Pasadena, there was a  "Harvest Homesteaders" canning class, now going on three years in a row.    Jordanne and  I agreed that these girls were the best yet.   All the jam made that morning will be donated to a local food bank.  Great job girls!

Next, Jordanne and Farmer D headed off to another school where they were guests at a school assembly (where our two bantie chickens made appearances).

After watching our film Homegrown Revolution,  all the kids were chanting "Blackberry, Blackberry, Blackberry!"   Farmer D spoke to the kids about the importance of "food miles."  The students  were all eyes and ears!

Then we were  off on a small road trip where our family was the  special honorary guest, once again, of the wonderful community of Palm Springs.   We had to leave Justin behind.  Well, actually, he REALLY wanted to stay home because, just as we were about to leave, I spotted a pretty decent swarm going into one of Justin’s traps (more about the free-bees later!)

After the screening of our award winning film and Q & A session, a local organic dinner was served - pretty neat to see a dish of nopales (cactus).    A BIG thank you to Leslie, Ward,Geraldine & Yolanda for their extraordinary hard work and warm hospitality in Palm Springs and to local teacher Lauren and administrator Jill for some great interaction with kids.

The weather was pretty wild in Palm Springs - it WAS REALLY windy!   "White caps" were spotted in the pool of the spa where we stayed.

The drive was LOVELY.  Usually on road trips, I dose off; but Southern California is gorgeous this time of year, the hills green and gold with wild mustard.  And, last, but not least, on the way home we stopped  in Corona to see our favorite farm and farmer to pick up some wonderful farm bounty.

I sure wished I could have enjoyed the trip and outings more.  But earlier  that day, I reached up and something "popped" (shudder) and I had back/shoulder pain the whole time.  Man,  it hurt so badly I could hardly lift my arm to give out HUGS (they ended more like awkward chest bumps!)

Once home, I put a hot water bottle on my back and after a good night's sleep, my shoulder is MUCH better.  Ahhhh.   Sure glad it’s better. I was worried there for a bit,  knowing I had a arms length of “heavy duty” chores waiting when I got back.

Hope everyone had a blessed and meaningful Holy Week.

Cutting up local organic strawberries purchased from farmer's market

Mashing!

Filling up the jars

Putting on the tops

Morning assembly

Educating about food miles

What's in the box?

A BIG squash!

Estella shows off

Desert Hot Springs

Introducing the film to eco particpants

This guy had a pretty cool wind mill - I want one!

Ahhh, paradise.

All eyes and ears

Making connections

Inspiring the youth

If we are afraid to be different from the world, how can we make a difference in the world? ~Rev. John I. Jenkins

Our family had a busy weekend.    As Justin reported,  there  is there a flurry of spring plantings –a  couple hundred soil blocks made and two hundred strawberry crowns in the ground.

But we also had a local outreach work on Saturday which was held at a private home for a gathering of ladies young and old .   The theme was about "bringing the revolution home" and  how we must re-skill  in order to be less dependent on  outside resources or "the yellow pages."  Before starting the talk, we all sent up prayers for the people in Japan, noting how thankful and  blessed we all were even to have  a chance to be there that morning. After having witnessed  the destruction in Japan, we realize that  no amount of planning and preparation will save us from nature's wrath.

Narrowing down the “exodus from the home/bringing our lives back to the home” to seven points,  this brand new "lecture" with the  open discussion that followed focused on the  baby steps we all can take to slow down and take control over our modern "24/7' lives.

1. Work
2. School
3. Leisure (entertainment, sports, dating)
4. Meals
5. Communication
6. Goods & Services
7. Religion/Spirituality

I certainly gleaned a few ideas from the lively discussion that followed.

What great fun we had yesterday. Everyone is a stir and your younger sister had the girls all excited! Thank you! - MH

I think this was my favorite outreach group as I loved chatting with the younger girls who were so excited over the topics that were covered.   Many thanks goes  to MH for the invite & to the host family for the warm and generous hospitality - thank you!

Wind farm right outside the city limits

Sunday was a great day for Palm Springs! Thank you, Dervaes family, for being there for the kids, teachers, and Palm Springs Unified School District -- so much enthusiasm shared by all!! A truly great day. A special thanks from me to Justin, who pitched in above and beyond duty to help me move all those tables, chairs, and gizmos out of the hot sun. You kept going until it was done. I couldn't have done it without you, honest. WE HAD FUN!! YOU GUYS MADE A DIFFERENCE!!  - Leslie

Today was Awesome - thanks to the Dervaes for sharing so much of themselves with everyone had a great day  - RJ

The kids at the high school have started a wonderful raised bed garden.  Way to grow, guys n gals!  We look forward to hearing about your progress. You make sure to keep us posted, ya hear.

Over 100 people turned out from all over the south land.  Thanks for coming out and making this just a wonderful and high energy event! Many of us talked that day till we were hoarse.  It was really such a pleasure to meet our readers - some of you who have been following us for years and years and years!  Oh, I'd love to hear how you are enjoying the preserves!

On the way home, we stopped by Sergio's farm.  Check out his winter sowing and pick some of that wonderful weed - nettle.  Which we'll brew up.

Here are some snap shots from last Sunday's event in Palm Springs.   Wish we had taken more photos but it's hard to take pics and be involved in answering questions at the same time.

Growing a better and healthier future

Ayrton, one of the students, gave Farmer D a rousing introduction

Urban Homesteading presentation, breaking down the elements

Kids whip up healthy smoothies on our bike blender

Jordanne answers questions

Justin fields gardening questions

We chat with some really nice folks

Part of the Palm Spring's high school garden club

Picking nettles at the farm

Thank you to all those whose effort and enthusiasm made this a successful event.

And it was a great night indeed!  With amazing food, fellowship and good ol' fashion music (guitar, banjo and flute) with renditions of Angeline the Baker,  Cluck Old Hen, Orphan Girl Wildwood Flower, Down by the River to Pray I'll Fly Away and a few other old Appalachian Tunes.

Hadn't had so much fun in quite sometime.

How'd you spend your holiday, care to share?

Socializing

Incoming! LOL Don't quite know why we both ducked at the same time.

Ooolala. A HUGE Apple Pie

Give me some of that old time music!

We sing & play some old tunes for the guests

Some even join in the foot stomping music fun

Gift of Music

Speaking of homegrown music, our dear friends and fellow homesteaders in Tennessee sent us a stack of their CD 'Father Along'

Here on the urban homestead we really enjoy playing their CD.  In fact, we play it over and over and over and over again - singing along too!  Their songs just brighten our day and are such a wonderful blessing to listen to.

We are selling their CD's this holiday season, so get them while supplies last! - BUY NOW

Beautiful family harmony from the Appalachian hills; ballads, old country and originals written and sung in their timeless way.

The West Girls consist of a close knit family of a mother and three daughters. The West Girls latest CD, Farther Along, is rich in family harmonies, old hymns, and beautiful originals that will encourage and bless your spirit and soul. Featuring their hit song, “ Green Beans in the Garden” which children especially enjoy.

Seven of the ten songs were written by the West family. These songs that reflect their home life, growing up where the “creek is bubblin’ too” and show their love and thankfulness for all life.

The West’s make their living at home in the beautiful valley which is a horse and buggy community literally flowing with milk and honey in the hills of Tennessee.

Requests are pouring in - folks want us here, there.   Unfortunately we can't be everywhere.

Sadly the much anticipated Tennessee trip has been postponed.  Unfortunately the Appalachian film festival couldn't arrange for our accommodations nor assist in helping us put on an urban homesteading presentation afterwards so we could pay for our air fare and travel expenses.    We are pretty (extremely) bummed but are hoping that some of the kind TN folks who contacted us can arrange for something in the future.   We'd really love to come and swap howdies with ya'll.

Besides that HUGE disappointment, we did have some good news! The International Festival of Sustainable Development Films - ekotopfilm 2010 has chosen  film, Homegrown Revolution, to get the Prize of the Mayor of the Capitol City of Slovakia - Bratislava.

The work and inspiration of the Urban Homestead is constantly spreading!

While our little film sows inspiration, we've been busy building community - online and in person.  Some online highlights you that should take notice of:

1. At Barnyards and Backyards there's going to be a bunch of GIVEAWAYS.  How do I know this, well, there are FIVE HUGE boxes that arrived here the other day and are just waiting to find good homes.    So head on over, there's already another one going on right now, check it out, perhaps you'll win this nifty Avian Waterer

2. Freedom Gardens is highlighting it's Gardener of the Month and much much more! Check out the articles written by our new contributing writers.   So mosey on over to our social networks that are growing a sustainable community.

There's still more events planned (check the calendar) and some of what we've been apart of already....

Food Panelist, Downtown LA

Downtown LA Film Festival

Girl Scout Fair at Cal Tech

Kids crowd around our booth/table

and line up to take a spin on the bike blender

Answering questions

The kids loved the tromboncino squash (www.FreedomSeeds.org)

The future of food at UCLA

"Skyping" into Rutgers University

Food & Justice Dinner at Occidental College

Invite the Urban Homesteaders

If you would like to involve or invite the "first family of urban homesteading"  - we can, if possible make appearances in person or by Skype contact us

Thanks to generous support of our readers we are hoping to continue to do that for another year.  If you've gleaned information and inspiration haven't already supported our non profit outreach you can by either purchasing the Little Homestead in the City Calendar, donate or make a purchase from our Supply or Seed store.

FUTURE FEAR SBS DATELINE (watch video)

Others are approaching the future differently, believing the biggest threats we’re facing are problems that we’ve caused ourselves. Richard Heinberg is one of the world's foremost peak oil experts, who warns that we’re addicted to fossil fuels and must adapt before they run out. David takes us to a Los Angeles suburb to meet the Dervaes family of so-called ‘urban homesteaders’. They've already adapted and are living self-sufficiently and almost entirely off-grid.But are they all being over cautious, or will the rest of us be under prepared?

Heinberg thinks that if we're going to survive, we need to change the way we live.

RICHARD HEINBERG: We've got to work together on this because individual survivalism just isn't going to cut it. You know, if I've got my vegetable garden and my neighbour is starving, then the only way I'm going to be able to continue eating is to stay up all night with my shotgun to make sure no-one goes over the fence. What kind of life is that? We're creating out of this paradise, Earth, we're creating a hell for our descendents. I think it's our duty, not just to somehow try to survive this but to change what we're doing and to create a survivable planet for everyone, for our communities and for our descendants.

I met a family that's doing just that.

JULES DERVAES: Some more tomatoes here, we're about 90% self-sufficient in the summertime because this is all our bounty.

Jules Dervaes lives in Los Angeles, right next to a major highway, but he's turned his backyard garden into a farm.

JULES DERVAES: These are heirloom squash from Italy, and they hang from the trellis here. Just watch your head.

He's got two daughters and a son.

REPORTER: How do you like this yourself?

JUSTIN DERVAES: I love what I do, so I can't complain. I've got a green thumb.

They grow 350 different fruits, vegetables, herbs and berries. They all survive on what's grown here.

JULES DERVAES: This is our barnyard. It's in the city, so we've got a nice little animal enclosure here. We've got five ducks, eight chickens and two goats.

And while I'm there looking at these goats and chickens, I can hear the traffic next door, whoof whoof up and down the highway, but you could be in the middle of the countryside.

JULES DERVAES: We're looking at a planet that has run amok. So you have to be sensitive about which direction you're going. If it's going the wrong direction, it's either you're going to turn around early or you turn around at the edge of the cliff.

Come up here to our store on the front porch - Nice to meet you.

They obviously had a fear for the future too of what's going to happen. But they're going around it in a different way.

JULES DERVAES: This is a completely different dream, we're talking about self-sufficiency, we're talking about neighbourliness, we're talking about a community of helping one another.

ANAIS DERVAES: It has the herbs from the garden. And we've already made some ice-cream. Yeah we have a hand-cranked...

JORDANNE DERVAES: It's cool, yes, it works for us. But it's a little scary because out there, it's no. It's, you know - you could actually forget about the bad things out there.

There seems to be this common strand running through America right now - A fear of the future, and a sense of doom. But I saw people responding in very different ways - from preparing to hide from change, to preparing to make change happen.

JULES DERVAES: So we figure we're preparing ourselves to live simply. I mean this here is riches, but people don't understand. If you look around, you'll see riches here but it's in the form of tomatoes and peppers and animals. So we're going backwards, and I say a step backwards is progress.

Afterthoughts

Though Mr Brill was here for well over four hours, tis a shame that the piece didn't capture the entire workings of the urban homestead - we'd need a whole show or two, there! A seasoned and well traveled journalist, was really taken with the place and after the filming as the sun set we sat down to a homegrown meal (which he enjoyed) there in the garden while Blackberry and Fairlight looked on.

We received an email from one of the SBS staff which said:

"We had so much wonderful footage and it was such a such a shame that we couldn't have included much much more of the Dervaes' in our piece (especially for me as a Researcher who sets up stories and then hands over the reigns to a producer and editor)."

Perhaps if enough folks write in?

The debate continues, what happens when the times turn bad? Escape or take a stand? There are the extreme preppers and practical preppers - what's the future going to be? Is sure is a scary thought, especially for us in the city who have, as urban homesteaders, taken practical steps towards positive change. Of course, it's not just an American problem like it sounded in the piece, we are all are on the same train - though some countries may be slightly behind we are all traveling the same track. One day we are going to have to deal with the future because it's happening now.

So what are you doing to prepare for an uncertain time? Which side are you on?

With all that's going on, figure it's high time I sit and collect all the newsbytes and articles that ya'll may have missed this week.

On Fridays, I am going to try to make it a weekly h, haaaaaa..... habit (whew, that's a hard word to write!) to post some highlights.

Git along, little dawgies!

Start off the "Round Up" with the news of our new social network - Barnyards and Backyards.

* This week' you'll find a GIVEAWAY  for a FREE bag of Natural Poultry Supplement and articles (like the Frugal Chicken or this one about Arsenic in Chicken Feed) by some wonderful contributing writers.  We had a bunch contributing writer applications so there are more writers on tap to join the network, so stay tuned - perhaps you are one of them!

* Next up will be the revamp of Freedom Gardens.  The site will get upgrades and include contributing writers (yeah) similar to that of B & B so we'll be looking for some passionate garden/farming folk to write about growing their own food.

* And that's not all!  Jordanne is working on a site called "Freedom Kitchen" where we can easily share and feature recipes.  Sorta like an online cookbook.   Sis and I also have conjured up another social network, but we'll keep that one under wraps for now.  Besides, we have enough on our plate for awhile. LOL

* Our online networks wouldn't/can't survive without community, so make sure you sign up at Barnyards and Backyards and Freedom Gardens.  Tell your friends, post around and help the sites get going and growing!

* With the recent summer growth spurt one needs to make sure that these sites are "cared for and watered."  So please remember there are many ways you can support our non profit outreach work. In fact, we just added two with these two affiliate programs at  iHerb.com (get $5.00 off your first order - enter code JUL275 ) and Mountain Rose Herbs

It's been  awhile, but we'd like to hear from you -how we are doing.  I know there are still issues with the site(s), etc., but what we've done so far - how's it working for ya?

Hope ya'll have enjoyed the entries this week, have a good weekend!

PS: we are getting close to naming our new four baby ducks.   In fact, I can hear Dixie playing now!

Though we haven't posted much in the way of the ongoing impact our little film has had, we are happy to report that our homemade film is still growing strong.

Our short film, Homegrown Revolution (you can buy the DVD here) will be screening at home and abroad.

International Christian Film Festival – UK (Aug 3 – 7)
The Heart of England International Film Festival (Aug 10 – 15)
International Film Festival Ireland (Sept 4 -11)
37th International Fest of Sustainable Development - EKOTop Film, Bratislava, Slovakia (Oct 10 – 15)
International Film Festival USA – Ohio (Oct 12 – 16)
Southern Appalachian International Film Festival (Oct 27 - Nov 14)
International Film Festival South Africa (Nov 1 – 5)

As urban homestead ambassadors, we are hoping to perhaps follow our film. Can't be at all the venues, but it's quite POSSIBLE there's chance we could attend the Appalachian Film Festival in Erwin, Tennessee.

Arrangements/plans are in the works.

Sowing the Revolution

Over the years, we have received lots of invites, and we'd love to go and meet other people and share knowledge, but we have to cover expenses. We accept trips that people have helped with travel expenses, etc... even an extra room for us to crash in or a place to camp.

If we can link several people together and have some paid presentations, the expenses and room and board (meals) can be spread out between multiple groups so no one person has to foot all the bill.

On the JulesDervaes.com website (here's an OVERVIEW), there is a form for people to fill out who want us to travel to their area. If we can group a lot of people together who are willing to do the "leg-work" and all the arrangements, it makes it easier for us to leave the farm for a short time. It's not that we prefer the places we have visited over other places; it those trips were arranged by the hosting groups, and we didn't go into debt to travel there.

In New Zealand, the people who invited us expected only about 50-80 people to attend the presentation...nearly 220 people came and the organizers made more money than they expected.

"The New Brighton Project was lucky enough to have the opportunity to host Jules Dervaes and his family when they recently visited New Zealand. While here, Jules Dervaes presented the workshop Urban Self-Sufficiency- Eating and Living the Sustainable Way in one of our community centres.

His film, Homegrown Revolution, and presentation was very well received. Highly professional, the format was also simple enough that even a novice could 'take something home'.

The power of community was really seen on the day. Such was the popularity of the Dervaes family and the success of modern social networking!

We thoroughly enjoyed having the Dervaes family be a part of our community for a day and would recommend anyone who had the chance to do the same."

-- Rebecca

That reminds me, got to write and share pics from our New Zealand trip!

Last, but not least, there are TWO upcoming TV pieces. One is supposed to air on the Australian SBS TV program DATELINE and the other on MY GENERATION (PBS) produce by KCET's own Val Zavala. We'll keep you posted on both air dates.

Well, there you have it! That's the most recent news from the homefront.

Don't forget to leave us a comment if you are in any of these areas ya hear!

Our two grandfathers served in the war and one relative is listed on the Vietnam Wall. So in between all the food and fellowship, we take a moment  to remember them, their efforts and sacrifice.

Keeping things close to home, on Monday we hosted our annual picnic in the park that included great food, fellowship and goats!

Jordanne whipped up some tasty chocolate brownies (using duck eggs that make the brownies extra moist and gooey!)

After taking stock of what was in the garden, I made some slaw and salad featuring what was in season here at the homestead.    A friend had given us some meyer lemons so whipped up a batch of lemonade and I put in a few sprigs of lemon verbena to give it a more herbal, fruity flavor - mmmm.

Veggie slaw: homegrown red cabbage, turnips, carrots and fennel

Homegrown kale, strawberry and nasturtium salad

Food spread

Dig in!

Catching up on news

Hugging Blackberry

Walking off all that food

Under the Colorado Bridge

Hanging out under the 134 freeway

Enjoying the outdoors and beautiful weather

What did you do this holiday weekend?