Piles of junk? or Garden of Possibilities?

In a post a while ago, we wrote about the fact that many wonderful items are discarded by the roadside.   Many items are still functioning, and still more may be upcycled, or recycled, to continue their usefulness in a different guise!   This is certainly what happened to a fridge that we “rescued” from the last verge collection.  We were first given the idea of using old fridges as raised garden beds at a Sustainable Living initiative that we attended at a wonderful place called Earthwise.  In addition to learning about such things as composting (our compost is now doing great!), worm farms and propagation (ie: growing plants from cuttings, etc…), we also talked about establishing raised garden beds.  So knowing that we could use an old fridge for this purpose, we kept our eyes peeled for a suitable candidate.

Sure enough, one was found!  Our car is just a little one, so it was a bit of a challenge getting it home…..  Fortunately, it was only a few blocks away from the house, so we didn’t cause any major accidents on the freeway!

Future Garden Bed

Once home, Mark had the task of removing the motor from the back, as well as poking some holes into what would become the “bottom” of our garden bed, to ensure that enough water drainage would occur.   One of the “rules” of leaving fridges for the verge pick up, is that the doors have to be removed (a safety issue, to ensure children playing in them don’t inadvertently lock themselves in!).    So this bit of the process was already done for us.

With the nitty gritty out of the way, it was time to start planting!   We found a suitable site in our small back yard; one just beneath our kumquat tree, so there would be enough shade to grow some herbs.  The harsh Australian summers can be really tough on plants!  So we wanted to make sure we gave our a fighting chance!

The planting began.   We decided to start with seedlings (small plants), rather than try and grow from seeds, as we are just beginner gardeners.  As we get better, and more knowledgeable, I’m sure we’ll try seed things, too!

Success!

Some of the items we planted in our fridge / garden bed included basil, rocket, red lettuce and coriander!   We were thrilled with the results.   It has been great to pick regularly from our little garden!   Fresh salads taste so much better when the greens are coming from our own hard efforts!  (well, mostly the efforts of Mother Nature!)    The basil was quite prolific, so we have it on everything at the moment, in addition to lots and lots of yummy pesto!

We were pretty pleased with ourselves, so we just wanted to share with you the extra life that one humble refrigerator has been given!   We’re already starting to give some thought to what we will plant in our fridge for winter!

Planning Day at AVI for the RV State Coordinators

Recently, Mar attended a one day planning workshop for Returned Volunteers through Australian Volunteers International. The day was really wonderful – a great gathering of all of the State Coordinators in Australia – meeting together to discuss AVI, the experiences and expectations of Returned Volunteers, and brainstorming inspiring ideas for social events! It was interesting to see who the other state coordinators were. Interestingly, we were all women! So a bit more

no AVI day would be complete without some activities involving lots of participation and butcher's paper!

gender diversity in the ranks would be good! But there was a good range of ages, and interests, as well as placements that were across the globe. I found it particularly interesting to see that some of the coordinators had their placement more than a decade ago! Yet their commitment to AVI remains as strong as ever! This was very heartening to see.
It was also great to hear about the latest happenings within the AVI world from the CEO herself – Dimity Fifer!
As the Western Australian State Coordinator, I was inspired to host a summer evening gathering (next week!) at one of Perth’s local outdoor cinemas, which will be screening a Samoan movie entitled O Le Tulafale “The Orator”. Here’s hoping that many of Perth’s Returned Volunteers are able to join Mar(k) at this wonderful event!   Even if you are not a Perth based returned volunteer, if this movie sounds like it is of interest to you, please feel free to come along!

Here’s an excerpt:

A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 6,300 times in 2011. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 5 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

For many of us, it can be a very positive time; gathering with friends and family and catching up on the year’s news!  But of course, we should also remember that this “festive” season isn’t festive for everyone;  this a time when homeless people can feel even more isolated, as the media continually pumps up “family” time and celebrations with loved ones.   Organisations that deal with depression are often very busy in the lead up to the holiday season.   However, the idea that suicide is more common during the holidays is actually a myth, which I was quite relieved to find, as I researched this article.

But for most people, it seems that even if depression doesn’t set in, certainly this time of year can be quite a bit more stressful than the rest of the year….. but only if we let it!  

So what can we do?  Well, a few ideas from the Shox are here;  many are possibly already things you do, but if you have others to add to the list, we’d love to hear from you!  In no particular order, here is our attempt at keeping the creep from Christmas!

1. Look at reducing your Christmas waste by sending out e-cards, rather than traditional paper cards.  Think about using recycled wrapping instead of buying new shiny paper.  If you have some old wool lying around the place, use that to tie an old-fashioned bow around your pressie, rather than the shiny, petro-chemical laden bows that are everywhere at this time of year!
2. Help less fortunate people, animals or aliens.  There’s an NGO for everyone, and everything these days!   So many great organisations out there need our help, and our donation can really make a difference.  We particularly like Oxfam, IFAW, Tunes for Change and Karma Currency.    Check these ones out, or we’d love to hear from you about your favourite organisation!   Making a donation to a worthy charity is a wonderful alternative gift to give the “person who has everything”. 
3. Rather than rush around in December, buying presents and going full steam ahead, take a deep breath, and relax!   Organise a leisurely lunch with friends, or a coffee catch up with someone you haven’t seen in a while.  Spending quality time with someone (rather than just spending $) is always a great investment!
4. Laugh a little!   Giggle, have a chuckle, guffaw or give a belly laugh!  It’s all good for you.   And we can help you get started by clicking here!   Happy Holidays everyone! 

Anyhow – enough excuses.   What I wanted to talk briefly about was the BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE.   I’m not talking about models, movie stars, or handsome sporting heroes, here, either.   I’m talking about the every day people who touch our lives in a special way.  We all know them, don’t we?   The special friends who make you laugh just when you think you’re about to cry, the postie who gives you a wave in the morning as he passes by your mailbox, the cashier at your local market who has a chat as she weighs your fruit and veggies.   There are so many!   

Last weekend we were down in the Yallingup area, which is about three hours south of Perth.   We were there to attend the wedding of a friend.  It was a great time!   And we were very touched to be amongst the lucky ones to get an invite to this fantastic event!   So many beautiful people in one space!   It was outdoors, and was quite windy during the reception…..  so at one stage Mark and I ducked back into our little cabin to make a cup of coffee to keep warm.  We grabbed our steaming mugs, and headed back to the dance floor to keep bopping around.   We didn’t think anyone would notice the “oldies” nicking off for a few moments, but we were caught out!   The next morning at breakfast the bride commented that one of her enduring memories of the night was seeing the Shox dancing around the heater, cupping their mugs of coffee!!! aaaarrrrrgh!   Anyhow, here is a pic of us at the event – on the beach!  

We hope you’ll take a moment to think about who the beautiful people are in your life – and give them a little bit of appreciation…. just because!

The concept is a simple one; a fortnightly magazine is published.  Authorised vendors buy the magazine for $2.50 from The Big Issue and sell it on the streets for $5, keeping the difference, thus providing opportunities for homeless, marginalised and disadvantaged people to make  positive changes in their lives.  Since its launch in 1996, The Big Issue vendors in Australia have sold over 6 million magazines, with more than $13.2 million going into the pockets of Australia’s homeless and disadvantaged.

Back to the story;  yesterday I was heading back to the bus station after my rostered duties, and I saw the same man that I have seen many times.  We always smile at each other; his is one of those warm, infectiously beautiful smiles that always comes from a beautiful person.  So anyhow, as I was not in a huge rush, I decided to head over to say g’day, and buy a Big Issue from him.   His fact lit up (as it usually does), and he said that it would be great if I could buy an issue, as he had only sold 9 so far that day (this was mid afternoon).   So I happily obliged.  After our transaction was complete, we chatted for a few minutes.  

“What’s your name?”

“Mar.   What’s yours?”

“John.  I often see you here, don’t I?”

“Indeed you do, John.  And I must say I love to see your smile each and every time!”

“Well, it is good that people can see the happiness inside of me, rather than the sadness.”

“Yes, it is better that way, isn’t it John…”

“yup….” he said, a wee bit wistfully.

Well John, you have touched my heart.  I daresay that life hasn’t always been easy for you…. but your beautiful smile is an inspiration to me.  And I have the hugest amount of respect for you for getting out there and having a go with the Big Issue.  I will certainly be one of your regular customers from here on.  I love the Big Issue’s motto of “Helping People Help Themselves”.   Beautiful.   Just like John’s smile.

It is now getting pretty close to the one year anniversary when we made the difficult decision to leave Ghana;  bringing to a close our first (but certainly not our last!) international volunteering assignment.  My health has improved markedly in the past year, and the doctors are still optimistic that I will make a full recovery by the year’s end.  I certainly hope so!   This past week has taken its toll on me somewhat;  but the work I am now doing, working with Indigenous Australian communities in the northwest part of Australia, in the stunning Kimberley region, is rewarding indeed.

David and Mar - Independent Directors

At our October Board meeting, I will be made an official “Independent Director” of two Aboriginal Trusts;  the Gelganyem and Kilkayi Trusts (the latter is pronounced “Gill Guy”).  This is a position that will be at least two years in duration, so our international volunteering has been put on hold for the time being.  Over this current two week period, I am up here to sit in on some “Planning Meetings” that occur every six months with the Project Manager  (Chris) and the Traditional Owners of the 7 Dawang

the Kilkayi project guys - Henry (front) and Chris (Project Manager)

groups (Dawangs are like clan groups).  My off-sider is David, who is the other Independent Director.  We spent the first week together, participating in these meetings, but he has now flown back home (near Adelaide), so I will be flying solo for the second week (along with Chris). 

One of the things I am struck by is the similarities with some of the work Mark and I were doing in Ghana. 

Meeting under a tree

Here, too, we have meetings under the trees!  And here, too, the concept of Western TIME (ie: we start at 10 am), is a flexible one….   But most importantly, I believe the work here is good, and I really hope that my professional expertise, as well as my personal experiences as an Indigenous person, will join together in allowing me the opportunity to make a difference. 

I’ll be writing more in the coming weeks/ months about my work up here in the Kimberley, but for now, thought I would just lay the ground work a little, so you can start to see who I am working with, and the kinds of places I am working!  

Participants at one of the Kilkayi planning meetings

How grateful we are for regular electricity and running water.  Both of these are “on demand” for us in Oz.   In Ghana, we considered ourselves very fortunate to have both; albeit somewhat intermittently.  In our one year there, losing electricity (called “lights out”) occurred on an almost daily basis;  sometimes for a few minutes, sometimes an hour or two, and sometimes for a day or two!  The longest run without electricity was 5 days, right at the start of our placement!  It was definitely an initiation by “fire”…. 

Water we lost about a handful of times; again, sometimes for a few hours, other times for a few days.  The issue is that you never knew how long it would be “finished” for.   So rationing the water you had became very important.

As a result of the above things, one of the things we now have is a new found respect for water.  So….  we are not ashamed to admit that we now abide by the “if it’s yellow let it mellow, if it’s brown, flush it down” principle at home!   This results in a lot less flushes, saving a lot more water.  Every drop counts.

clean water - one thing we certainly don't take for granted anymore!

Also on the water theme, we have a container that we put under our shower to collect the water while it is “warming up”.   We then use that water on our garden outside, rather than let it go wasted down the drain!   This is also a luxury, as we did not have hot running water in Ghana.  

Another thing we regularly give thanks for is the way we do Laundry here.  All we have to do is load our front loading washing machine, press a button and voila!  clothes that are being washed for you!   In Ghana, we did all laundry by hand, which took a few hours every week – and was a tough upper body workout!  

Another area of thanks is for the ease of being able to eat well.  We used to fantasise in Ghana about eating at restaurants, but the reality is, we do not eat out all that often.  It is just so easy to get beautiful, fresh, healthy food at the grocery store, that we are more than happy to prepare it ourselves.  It is quick, easy and most cost effective!   We still love to go out, but we see it as a treat, rather than a regular occurrence!

One of our true delights - a great coffee!!! aahhhh..... bliss!

Good coffee!   We really did miss our regular pilgrimage to our favourite barista while we were away!   Although we had some plunger coffee that we rationed while we were in Ghana, it is still such a treat to go to one of our favourite coffee shops here and get our Cappuccino (Mark) and a Soy Flat White (Mar).   aaaaahhhhhhhh…. the little things.

Access to good medical facilities:  when Mar was sick, we ultimately ended up losing faith in the health service that was available to us.  We are so grateful that we can get quality medical care here in Australia, and have faith that the diagnosis that are made, are the appropriate ones….

Friends and Family:  we missed you guys!   It is great to be back and be able to catch up with the people who are near and dear to us!   And for that matter, we feel we still share a little part of us with our friends and family who are not so near to us in Perth – through sharing our thoughts and feelings on this blog!   So love going out to y’all…..

Our VSO Family while we were in Ghana!

• Stay away from the big chains:  For us this means boycotting Coles and Woolworth’s.  We prefer to spend our money on local grocery stores, so we shop at Farmer Jack’s (close to us) and IGA.  Go the independent grocery stores!
• Think before you buy: there are many ways we can make good choices that are good for our pocketbooks, good for the environment and good for the people who produce our food!   Try to BUY LOCAL.  This helps in many ways.  One is that it supports our LOCAL GROWERS, which is great.  It also helps to KEEP THE FOOD MILES DOWN, thus reducing the carbon footprint of the food we buy.  (For people not familiar with what this is about, it is essentially looking at the full cost of carbon of the food we eat.  It takes into account things like fuel costs to produce the food – ie: tractors, fuel costs to get the food to market, and even fuel for planes if the foods we buy are imported!).   These all add up, and even though the price tag we see at the shops may not be higher for imported goods, there is certainly a higher cost in terms of carbon footprint!  So keep yours small whenever you can!
• Make ethical choices:  for us, this means ensuring that the companies we buy from pay fair wages to the people who grow / produce the products (FAIR TRADE), and do not use animal testing on their products. 
• Consider Organic:  not only does it taste better, it is also a way better choice for the environment!  The extra cost may be a small price to pay to know that you are eating something truly healthy, and not laden with chemicals!
• BYO Bag:  Bringing your own bags is something that has finally caught on in Australia, although the use of plastic in places like Ghana is still huge.  We not only bring bags to pack our groceries in, but also bring netted bags or re-used clear plastic bags for fruit and veg, as well as loose (bulk) items like rice, beans and nuts.
• Reduce Packaging:  We like to support shops that minimise packaging where possible.  This is easily done by supporting shops that buy in bulk;  allowing us to use paper bags, or bringing our own bags to fill.  This isn’t just for dry goods like beans, nuts, rice and flour though!   We love to buy other items in reuseable containers like laundry liquid, dishwashing liquid and hand soap!  It all makes a difference to reduce the amount of plastics being unnecessarily used.
• Get a Guide:  sometimes making the move to better choices can be a bit overwhelming.  Considering items like organic, GMO free, free range, cruelty free, chemical issues, recycling, buying local, considering carbon miles – it can all be a bit much!  One of the ways (at least in Australia) that we can suggest is to get a guide to help you with these choices.   Go to http://www.ethical.org.au/  for the Guide to Ethical Supermarket Shopping.  It may take a few moments longer at your next few grocery buying stops, but you’ll quickly learn which brands are right for you, and then the reliance on the guide will be less.  But I always have it in my handbag, for quick reference, when I am buying products that are new to me, or that I haven’t bought in a while (and I’ve forgotten which ones are best for me!)   You can download it, order a hard copy, or even have a phone app!  

all packed up and ready to hit the ferry!

Jumping off the ferry at Ramsay Bay was exciting; my best mate Janet and I were off on yet another hiking adventure; the Thorsborne Trail on Hinchinbrook Island in Far North Queensland.  Although only 32 km in length, the walk is truly spectacular and has some tricky bits.  Many (if not most) people take 3 nights, 4 days to walk it; as this is our annual “catch up”, we opted for 6 nights and 6 days of walking (which mostly translated into six days of talking, laughing and eating!).  One of the delights of overnight hiking is the feeling of self-sufficiency;  you are completely self-contained, and can take pride in knowing that you have carried your food, shelter and clothing along with you for the duration of your trek.  Our various body parts were crying in agony after day one, which is usual for a hike; the kinks in the body usually get ironed out after the first night or two, and then it feels great to put on the pack every morning.

Part of the excitement on this particular hike for us was the crocodile experience!  Being “Croc Aware” was something we had to be, as several of the designated camp sites had croc warning signs placed at the entrance to the campsite!   I must confess we spent a few sleepless nights, when every sound of leaves rustling (probably a bush rat nearby) had us imagining being in the jaws of a hungry prehistoric beast within seconds!

Water in abundance, and the view wasn't too bad, neither!

Water was in abundance of this trail, which was quite a difference for me, coming from Western Australia, where it is common to have to carry water over long distances.  Here we had fresh water available at each campsite, and enjoyed the views of a few waterfalls (Zoe and Mulligan Falls) along the way.

Mother Nature’s presence was palpable, as we could still see the aftermath of Cyclone Yasi.  The rangers did a fantastic job of opening up the track again in early July, after being closed for months.  But on the first few days of our walk along the beaches, evidence of the power of the storm was clear; large pieces of driftwood strewn across the beach, competing for space with plastics, and other large pieces of detritus.  Still – it was a fantastic walk and one that any serious hiker should add to their “must do” list.