Archive for the ‘Sustainable Living/Communities’ Category
28/10/2009
Randy and Amanda Richards have purchased a small parcel of land near Hauraz Peru, which if their plans come to fruition, could mean a basecamp for Mountain Spirit Institute. The couple would eventually like to build a small retreat center/basecamp on the spot which overlooks the Cordillera Blanca range in northern Peru, including the highest peak in Peru, Mt. Huascaran.
Possible MSI Basecamp, Peru
Richards first saw the site 12 years ago when we was taken up there by his godchild’s family. Richards was guiding Huasacaran at the time. He always had it in the back of his mind that the site would be ideal for either a small cabin or retreat where participants could come and take Mountain Spirit programs.
Huascaran from MSI's Basecamp(?)
The site had only been accessible by foot – a 1.5 hour hike from the valley floor below, but two years ago a dirt road was put in to access the area, and Richards thought it was better to act now than wait any longer.
Although Richards purchased the land, depending upon funding from Mountain Spirit, the organization could become involved if the board thinks it would like to expand operations in Peru by offering a basecamp. Regardless, The Richards will enact conservation and stewardship practices, maintaining the protecting the area from further development by possibly purchasing additional acreage or seeking others willing to put the land into protection. The location is particularly special and deserves protection from hotel interests that have been interested in the area. The area us currently used for farming, and the couple will encourage their “Peruvian family”, the Sanchez family to add the parcel to their nearby fields.
Tai Chi on Land near Hauraz, Peru
Says Richards, originally of Sunapee, NH, “I never thought I’d be purchasing land in Peru, but the time and situation seemed right.” He added, “It has a special spirit of the place,” which would be a appropriate for an organization called “Mountain Spirit”.
Tags:Amanda Hamilton, Amanda Richards, Conservation, Huaraz Peru, land protection, Mountain Spirit, NH, Power of Place, Purchase land in Peru, Purchasing Land abroad, Purchasing land in Peru, Randy Richards, Sacred Summits, Sunapee, Tai Chi in Peru
Posted in Conservation, Environment, Mountain People, MSI News, Peru, Power of Place, South America, Spiritual, Sustainable Living/Communities | Leave a Comment »
14/10/2009
Sustainable food and a healthy future for all our children
By Amanda Richards
Fresh, The Movie
A friend of mine had just mentioned she’d seen a movie called Food Inc. , a film that documents where our food in the U.S. comes from. It shows how our food supply is seriously compromised. After seeing the film however, she was wondered what she could do for her family and community – what action steps could she take? She finds that she is still shopping in supermarkets and has felt a bit ‘powerless’ to change her buying habits. Answers to her questions can be found in a new film by Ana Sofia Joanes called ‘Fresh – New thinking about the way we are eating.’ It is an optimistic movie offering a ‘gateway to action.’ Exactly what my friend is looking for. ‘FRESH is a grassroots efforts for a grassroots movement’. Instead of being distributed in cinemas, it is being offered to communities as a way for people to get together and screen the movie for themselves. In this way, it can be used as a tool for action.
I have just signed on to help Linda Howes,CN,HHP,CBE, owner of Nourishing Wellness, organize a showing in the Kearsarge Region of New Hampshire. It’s important. Have a look at the website and get involved. The ‘FRESH movement is a constantly growing community striving to alter the way our food system works.’
“We all just watched FRESH…and we were mesmerized and empowered. Every American needs to see this. You will capture hearts with this. I can’t wait to sit in an audience watching this. It is absolutely masterful. “
Joel Salatin
“We all know about the problems with the American food system, but what about the solutions? FRESH is a bracing, even exhilarating look at the whole range of efforts underway to renovate the way we grow food and feed ourselves.”
Michael Pollan
Tags:Amanda Richards, Food Supply, Fresh, Linda Howes, Mountain Spirit, Nourishing Wellness, Sustainable Living/Communities
Posted in Animals, Conservation, Environment, Fair Trade, Film/DVD, Health, Holistic Living, MSI News, Sustainable Living/Communities | Leave a Comment »
30/09/2009
Mountain Spirit has Fair Trade and MSI items for sale on its webpage where all proceeds directly go to artisans, local vendors and to benifit MSI’s non-profit programs. Plans are to make more products available and to have more online checkout payment options. Paypal is available for online payments and new products have already been introduced. In addition the page has been improved with more quick links to find items more easily. Check out MSI’s Fair Trade Page here. Expect to see more in the way of traditional textiles very shortly.
Tags:Andean Arts, Fair Trade, Peru, Peruvian Art, Traditional Textiles from Peru
Posted in Fair Trade, MSI News, Music, Peru, Supporting MSI, Sustainable Living/Communities | Leave a Comment »
28/09/2009
Restaurant Salud y Vida Continues to Grow After Over 13 Years in Business – The Owner’s Dream of Cultural Food Institute Becomes a Reality.
By Randall Richards
Hauraz, Peru
D. & G. Sanchez, Restaurant Salud Y Vida
David and Gracelia Sanchez started with a small vegetarian restaurant and a dream in Hauraz, Peru. Hauraz is the climbing capital of Peru, and basecamp for climbers headed to Mt. Huascaran (the highest peak in Peru) or the Cordillera Huaywash (Scene of Joe Simpon’s Touching the Void). Head cook Gracelia, learned about vegetarian cooking while attending an institute in Lima, Peru, and graduated with a diploma in whole cooking arts from the school. Since then, she and her husband have never looked back. Salud y Vida means “Health and Life”. T
Their small restaurant, originally located on a side street in Hauraz, has been through a number of transformations and four or five location changes, only to come full circle back to its original location on Avenue Leonisa Lescano 632. Their new/old location is bigger than it was 12 years ago. They’ve added a second floor, a full professional kitchen and more seating. The second floor also doubles as a meeting and lecture space for David and Gracelia to deliver programs.
Their Cultural Food Institute is a lifelong dream which continues to morph. They cover topics from healthy eating and digestion to larger issues such as factory farming and its byproducts. They teach to the locals as well as visitors from Lima and other countries. David’s other job is a school teacher, and he loves to teach. His warm subtle teaching style is laced with subtle humor and a quick wit. MSI’s blog will go into more details on Sanchez’s Institute in another entry. Stay tuned.
Joseph, Lisbeth, Kennedy, Kiara & David Sanchez
I first met the two with their *small family of six, (including my future God child, Joseph who’s now 11 years old), when they nursed me back to health after a serious bout of traveler’s bug. I ended up spending almost a month at their restaurant. We became good friends. I and a traveling buddy were asked to be Godparents of their son, Joseph, which we gladly accepted. *The family now proudly numbers eight wonderful children, who all blend well together, the older girls helping with cooking and chores and some basic childcare.
Back then we talked about their opening an Institute to educate the public about good eating habits. Now it’s a reality. Besides getting an education at Salud y Vida, Gracelia’s vegetarian fare can’t be beat. Don’t be fooled by the humble decor when you visit their restaurant – Gracelia is a master cook. Her vegetarian tortilla de vedura (vegetable pancake) has been my favorite for over twelve years. Also try her homemade granola with yoghurt and fruit. I’m admittedly a little biased – they’re great friends, but if you’re headed to Huaraz, make sure you stop in and have some great food…..and say hi to my God child for me.
For more information on Restaurant Salud y Vida, or the Cultural Food Institute contact the author and the contact link at the right of this column.
Their address is: Jiron leonisa y lescano #632 just SE of “Plaza PIP”
In the aerial image below, their location is indicated by the circle. Note Plaza de Armas on the lower right, and the main street indicated by the yellow line running N/S
Tags:Cordillera Blanca, Cordillera Huaywash, David Sanchez, Dexter Randall Richards, Gracelia Sanchez, Highest Peak in Peru, Huaraz, Huascaran, Institute Cultura Alementaria, International Menus, Joe Simpson, Joseph Sanchez, Mountain Spirit, Mountaineering, Peru, Peruvian Food, Restaurant Salud y Vida, Touching the Void, Vegetarian Cooking, Vegetarian Restarants Peru
Posted in Experiential Education, Health, Holistic Living, Inspirational People, Peru, South America, Sustainable Living/Communities, Traveling | 2 Comments »
25/09/2009
Blind Spot: DVD by Media Education Foundation
DVD on Peak Oil
We’ve been impressed with information and resources available from The Media Education Foundation, and this new DVD seems just as important and well done as their other offerings.
In this haunting portrait of America’s oil-fueled excesses, director Adolfo Doring explores the inextricable link between the energy we use, the way we run our economy, and the multiplying threats that now confront the environmental health and stability of our planet.
Taking as its starting point the inevitable energy depletion scenario known as “Peak Oil,” the film surveys a fascinating range of the latest intellectual, political, and scientific thought to make the case that by whatever measure of greed, wishful thinking, neglect, or ignorance, we now find ourselves at a disturbing crossroads: we can continue to burn fossil fuels and witness the collapse of our ecology, or we can choose not to and witness the collapse of our economy. Refusing to whitewash this reality, Blind Spot issues a call to action, urging us to face up to the perilous situation we now find ourselves in so that we might begin to envision a realistic, if inconvenient, way out.
Certain to inspire debate in classrooms across a range of disciplines, especially in economics, environmental studies, the natural sciences, and political science. More info and view the trailer.
Tags:Blind Spot, Coming Changes, Earth Changes, Global Climate Change, Media Education Foundation, Oil Crisis, Peak Oil, Sustainability
Posted in Conservation, Environment, Film/DVD, Sustainable Living/Communities | Leave a Comment »
21/09/2009
Organization does good work in Uganda
Christina & Matthew Tamer
I ran into the sister and brother team, Christina and Matthew Tamer at Boston’s SOWA Market yesterday. Their booth was next to Mountain Spirit Institute’s. I overheard them saying they were volunteering for a non-profit started by Karen Sparacio, and their org is dedicated to improving the lives of families in the Acholi area of Uganda who have been displaced by war. They focus on providing funds to help the women start small businesses ant to pay school fees for the children there.
The woman in Acholi make beautiful bead jewelry, using magazine paper to create colorful and unique pieces. One project of Project Have Hope is to promote beadwear parties and share the hand-crafted jewelry with friends while benefiting the Acholi area. For more information click on the link to check out their website.
Tags:Acholi Quarter, Boston, Christina Tamer, dontations, empowering woman, Fundraising, loans, Matthew Tamer, micro credit, Mountain Spirit, Project Have Hope, South End Market, SOWA Market, Uganda
Posted in Service, Sustainable Living/Communities | Leave a Comment »
18/09/2009
Richards Writes Article for Sustainable Travel International Assoc.
MSI Founder R. Richards was invited to write an article for Sustainable Travel International, an association to which MSI belongs. Richards returned to Amantani Island, Lake Titicaca, Peru shortly after having led a program to the island in July of this year.
When Richards mentioned some troubling trends he’d observed on the island, to Sustainable Travel International’s Val Vanderpool, she asked him to write an article on what he’d seen during a second trip back to the island in August. Richards went back to not only observe trends and interview islands about the state of tourism in their villages and homes, but to find families willing to host MSI particpants for future programs. Read the article.
Tags:Amantani, Kantuta Lodge, Mountain Spirit, Richard Cari, Sustainable Travel Insternational, Val Vanderpool
Posted in MSI News, Peru, Sustainable Living/Communities, Sustainable Travel, Traveling | Leave a Comment »
11/09/2009
Small Island on Lake Titicaca Peru faces Tourism Issues.
Jose Mamani & Family circa 1997
Amantani is a small remote island on Lake Titicaca, Peru. It can be reached by a four-hour passenger boat ride from Puno. It’s an island facing growth and tourism issues.
During my first trip to Amantani in 1997, I fell in love with the place. There were no cars nor roads, virtually no electricity, and only a few dogs, cats, and few horses, and three thousand people which made for a serene place. What struck me then, was the way the islanders worked together to make the community function. Most of that is still true, but unplanned tourism is threatening how the islanders work and live together as a community.
Tourism has had an impact, both good and bad. My last visit to Amantani was two weeks ago, which was part, fact finding mission to discover what’s going on, and part reconnaissance for Mountain Spirit Institute’s intercultural experiential education semester programs. Although I had just been there three weeks prior, with a small group of Mountain Spirit students, I returned because I needed to update my perspective about the island. (more…)
Tags:Amantani Island, Kantuta Lodge, Sustainable Travel Insternational
Posted in Conservation, Environment, MSI News, Peru, Sustainable Living/Communities, Sustainable Travel, Traveling, Uncategorized | 6 Comments »
24/08/2009
Getting the lowdown from Anna Sequieros on washing
By Randall Richards
S. Smith was recently a participant on our Peru Cultural Immersion program. He did an excellent job of stretching his comfort zones, and on many occasions really sought out learnings. For someone who had never been to South America, he was a great traveler, and even got to work washing some of his clothes. T. Young also got in on the act, as did I, and we had an official clothes washing session. I’m fairly used to washing my own clothes in a basin, and hanging them to dry, but wasn’t sure about my compadres. Our host, Anna gave us some pointers regardless of our experience and comfort levels.
Abran with his kite
Abran, who was a bit shy at the time this photo was taken at right, also has a simple approach. He made a kite out of local reeds and some plastic. Granted, if he had the chance, he might prefer a store-bought kite that has Spiderman or some colors, but because of necessity, I think Abran is more ingenious than his counterparts in the USA.
(He later warmed up in front of the camera a few days later). See a previous (our first) video post, where Abran gave us wave.
Tags:home-made kites, Simplicity, washing clothes
Posted in Conservation, Environment, Experiential Education, Holistic Living, Peru, South America, Sustainable Living/Communities, Traveling | Leave a Comment »
24/08/2009
Buy this product!
By Randall Richards
We have been using the Pristine Water Bottle with filter in Peru for about two months now, and we’re ready to endorse this product with no reservations. We have cut our plastic bottle footprint by 95%. We still buy the occasional bottle water con gas, as a treat, but even then we’re about ready to stop that practice.
Another benefit of using this product is, I’ve never had a healthier stay in Peru. I have heard of bottled water sometimes having tampered caps, and this is the first time I’ve not had some sort of stomach upset. I am pulling water right out of the tap here in Cusco, and it’s working well.
Although I like the Katadyn external water filter that I’ve had for years, which works well for high altitude and fail-safe longer trips, I have to say their water bottle filter is too heavy and takes up too much room (within the bottle for any water) for my liking.
This thing works. SteriPen Classic
Another product we’re using, which although is new for us, but is working well, is the SteriPen UV water purifier. It too has been easy to use and working without a hitch, also to purify drinking water from the tap. We recommend the Classic model as it takes standard Lithium or NiMH batteries.
Buy these products, cut out the plastic bottles, whether in South America or anywhere in the world.
Tags:clean water, Environment, garbage, Mountain Spirit, Peru, Plastic water bottle, Pristine Water bottle and filter, reduce, reduce plastic bottles, staying healthy in south America, SteriPen Classic, Sustainability, UV for water Purifying, Water Filters, water purification
Posted in Conservation, Environment, Health, Peru, Sustainable Living/Communities, Traveling | 1 Comment »
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