Talofa, Sister Rasela swaying into the studios this morning after a weekend of delightfully delicious daydreaming, deep in the natural beauty of the Shire.

Since Friday, i have awoken in the rainforests of Mullumbimby in a mudbrick castle, picked breakfast and dinner from the surrounding scenery, wandered to the tops of heighty hills, danced in the depths of Wilson’s Creek, rose with the sun from the back of a car, played on the hillsides of a Mooball orchard and am now here to present to you an hour in the Community Gardens of Eden … oh, i mean Mullumbimby.

This week we’re going for a leisurely stroll around the Mullumbimby Community Gardens with the organiser of this weekends LIVING FOOD and LIVING SOIL FESTIVAL Sainttina De Moleay.

 

Sainttina,the festival coordinator has been involved in creating festivals since she was 17 years old, her area of expertise is templating community workshop programs that flower into large festival events.

She was instrumental in starting up Katoomba Winter Magic Festival, South Sydney’s arts workshop festival program, The Byron Millennium Celebration and she was subsequently invited by the Sydney Olympic Games to work at the heart of the media/ dignitary/ athlete matrix known as the Medal Ceremonies, as a ceremony manager. More recently she has worked extensively with children, creating play opportunities and studying the role of play in our formative lives.

The Living Food Living Soil Festival is a visionary yet entirely practical event. To put living soil firmly in the public consciousness is to bring people literally down to earth. This area is rich with talent and authoritative voices, and the line up for the day was directed by public opinion, and the simple request ‘Who do you want to hear from”. The answer: Dave Forrest, Ellen White, Silas Long, Barrie Phee, all bringing insight, practicality and compelling public speakingto the event.

In addition as access to brilliant knowledge, the festival has been structured to be accessible to children. To create focus and interactivity that will engage, inspire and awaken through a variety of activities. Hands on, inclusive, educational and it is also serious fun with an entertainment line up including Murray Kyle, Rebecca Ireland, Gabby Bliss, The Curly Cousins, Suzy Leigh, and a tie in with Dirt Girl’s creator Cate McQuillen who has been generous with her donation of prizes.

In addition to all this will be opportunities to learn about bee keeping; how to use a scythe; reusing your burn pile clippings to make a garden bed; planting a fruit forest, or pond bed; and maximising your soil’s effectiveness in so many ways.

The Garden, which is sited at the South end of Stuart Street in Mullumbimby may be hosting the festival, but it is also an opportunity to seed ongoing projects, and water and nurture them with community participation, so it will be the opportunity to get involved with a project that will bring you richness and life.

See you there Saturday October 27^th10am-4pm

Sainttina

When we spoke about getting together to chat about this years festival, we both thought … what better place to meet than in the gardens themselves, which is the site for the food and soil festival. I have to admit, I haven’t been to the gardens for about two years and I’ve never actually walked all the way around until now. I think it has to be one of my new favourite places in the whole of the Shire and that’s a big call seeing as there is so much natural beauty in this area … but edible natural beauty ??? mmmm that’s what we like here on belly !!

So for the next hour or so I’m going to take you on a gently guided audio tour (if you’ll be so kind as to let me) right into the heart of the gardens themselves. We’ll start not far from the front gate and work our way around clockwise, remembering that we are on island time. You need to slow down sometimes in life and take in all of what the gardens have to offer us which, as well as an abundance of food, life and vibrant edible colours, also harnesses a deeply peaceful and gentle energy that at times we both get lost in. I don’t even wear my sunglasses because i don’t want to dull any of the colours in this masterpiece i am walking through.

I invite you to stop what you are doing for the next hour and join Sainttina and myself on our Mullumbimby Communty Garden tour.  Whatever you do don’t forget your sunhat cause the sun is shining and the weather is sweet … make you wanna move … your dancing feet.

The fingerlicking guitar picking music in the background is from Tommee and it’s taken from his “In Love With Every Melody” album which contains three incredibly beautiful pieces –

To Live … To Love … To Be Loved …

… each about 20 minutes long. I have chosen “To be Loved” for the first two parts of the wander up the garden path and “To Love” for the last two parts … so ….. are you ready to join us for a relaxing informative stroll around the Mullum Community Gardens ?? Bring your belly, close your eyes, open your imagination and lets get lost in ……..

Mullumbimby’s Community Garden of Eden Tour … Part One – http://soundcloud.com/chopsuey-roaming-radio/track-title

I strongly suggest you hit that link above if you haven’t yet. When i played this interview live on air, i sat in the studio with my eyes closed and was transported to another world. A live world of natural beauty that acknowledges the living soil around us as a community in itself. The plants and foods that grow to nourish us and enter our bodies as energy, are joined as a part of that earthly community, as we too may be if we chose to eat the foods that are grown around us. It enables the true sense of the words that bring us into the exact present moment .. here and now.

THE CLOSER – THE BETTER !!

The guitar playing in the background really moved me. It was as though Tommee was walking around beside us and some of you lovely listeners called up to ask about him. Tommee is an Indonesian, wild long haired, guitar. I say he is the guitar because it’s such a part of him i cannot differentiate. Each piece playing in the background is Tommee delicately picking and plucking, as though choosing the most beautifully ripe and luscious vegetables, fruits and flowers from the gardens with his chords and notes. I really loved making this piece, more than any of the other pieces i have ever put together. Food For All … what a beautiful sign. The openess and offerings of the gardens soon embrace you in a lovable, edible hug.

Are you ready to go further in with myself, Sainttina and Tommee … make sure you’re not getting burnt, it’s a bright bright sunshiney day !!

Garden Tour … Part Two – http://soundcloud.com/chopsuey-roaming-radio/up-the-garden-path-part-two

Joe Crow is the envy of all other Scarecrow’s ’cause word got out that he lives in THE BEST community garden in the world. He protects and watches over the gardens for the whole community, long after they have all visited and picked their food, tended their gardens, stayed, played and delayed what they were meant to be doing so that they might catch a sunset here or an early evening meal there . A Scarecrow never deserts his post, he is loyal and dedicated and alot better dressed than any other Scarecrow i’ve ever seen ! Oh, and he also asked me to remind you to LEAVE YOUR PETS AT HOME this Saturday.

As we near the twelve oclock area of the clockwise walkie talkie, we come to the end of the ‘free for all’ gardens and hover near the entrance to the ‘private allotments’. I see a huge robust line of kale smiling under the suns warmth and my mouth gives a little water at the thought of how good they would be steaming on a plate in front of me.

We head off down towards the seed saving section (try saying that with a lisp) but we stop and smell the lavender along the way. There are so many moments in this garden where i just stop and smile at the perfectness of my surroundings. I found it very moving. The first time you experience something of such great natural beauty, it usually is.

Lets now meander further along the garden path and head right through the heart of it all on our …

… Garden Tour … Part Three – http://soundcloud.com/chopsuey-roaming-radio/up-the-garden-path-part-three

The community gardens are always looking for volunteers not just for the festival but constantly for the gardens themselves. Personally i find volunteer work some of the most rewarding in the world. You are simply there because you want to be. The rewards you reep in this particular capacity are a day in nature, in peaceful tranquility, heavenly and the best bit about it is that you get to pick a bit of heaven to take home with you for your efforts … or might i say effortlessness. Tis a great honour to work for others and provide nutrient dense, living, fresh and local as local gets, FOOD.

There’s a great amount of childrens energy here in the gardens. It’s as though there should be a home built right here as the sight of childrens clothing and shoes lay scattered amongst their play structures and slides. All we’re missing is an old rope washing line with cloth nappies floating in the fresh breeze to dry as they used to.

My eyes meet so many colours both in nature and from the arts based groups that provide the gardens with signage and direction for those that are new to its pathways. Happy, bright, positive signs is another thing you could volunteer to make if you are not much of a gardener. Or you could take a wheel barrow and gather dung from near by paddocks to be used as fertiliser. Volunteering brings such diverse opportunities and allows you to follow what your heart loves the most.

I think it’s time to wrap up the tour although i certainly don’t feel like leaving. As Sainttina heads back to appointments and organisational needs, i stay and sit as still as possible in the shaded hut that serves as a meeting place or work space and wonder just how i am going to put this experience to air and into words. I truly hope that you have managed to experience a touch of what magic i did in the gardens today. Here’s the last part of our …

Garden Tour … Part Four – http://soundcloud.com/chopsuey-roaming-radio/up-thegarden-path-part-four

The Living Food and Living Soil Festival is being held in the gardens SATURDAY 27th October from 10.30 til about 4pm. If you would like to volunteer or have an idea you think might work at the festival or for all other enquiries you can contact Sainttina directly on – 0402 170 846.

As well as Tommee’s “In Love With Every Melody” Album i also played 2 tracks from the Kooii album – “Call Out”. I chose tracks four and five because they had the most reggae influence and considering i am about to step onto the Island of Stradbroke for a long weekend of Island Vibrations and music from them along with many other roots artists … i thought it quite appropriate.

Happy happiness, lots of love and i’ll be back next season with our everexpanding waistline of gorgeous bellysisters !!

Sister Rasela xo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope you learn something new each day xo