faq:

are you a certified organic farm? yes and no... technically, according to federal legislation, we don't have to be because we don't make enough money at it! we're too small and there is way too much paper work that we don't have time for... and, the standards suck, so who cares? our customers do their own certification with their own standards, in person. they come and meet the people who grow their food and develop relationships with us and the food they eat, rather than relying on a federal bureaucrat to certify half-assed standards for them. (we go far above and beyond the federal standards) we encourage everyone to come by, bring your kids, have a cup of tea, pet some animals, sample some true, authentic food and take some personal responsibility for the things you put into your body.

what books do you recommend on gardening? edible forest gardens rocks! see their website... elliot coleman's 4 season harvest is great - the classic rodale books on organic gardening and composting are good- the acres usa/ stockman grassfarmer/ joel salatin/ sally fallon thing resonates - the one by jeavons about double digging and growing more veggies in less space than you thought possible is cool, chelsea green press has *hundreds* of excellent titles - we love books on wild edibles - susun weed herbals are great - the one-straw revolution by masanobu fukuoka is great.. there are so many...recently enjoyed "lost language of plants" by stephen buhner ... the list goes on... if you need to be pointed in a particular direction, drop us a note and if we can help we will.

where do you get your seeds and trees/shrubs? we like fedco seeds/trees, johnny's, triple brooke farm, st lawrence nursery in potsdamn, ny is fantastic, horizon herbs, exoticfruit.com, seeds of change in a pinch, although burpee bought them which is a little creepy ... but mostly we like to get seed and cutting from OURSELVES and our friends and neighbors... we do a lot of seed saving here, and encourage others to do the same

what do you think of GMOs? the technology has an indisputable, proven, regularly demonstrated potential for harm, and unproven, theoretical potential for good. the scariest part and what draws conspicuous attention is not the technology itself, but who is funding all the research and who is trying desparately to promote it, literally stuffing down our throats- (70% of food on the shelves in the us has gmo ingredients) the large chemical companies who embody an agricultural model and a life model which is the very antithesis of good... evil incarnate... the monsantos of the world are after money, power, and control of not only people, but in their dated, naive, newtonian way, nature itself, so they promote things like gm corn that won't die when you spray poison all over it.. that way they can sell you the patented corn seed as well as the patented poisons... and if you don't buy it and use heirloom seed, they'll sue you for their pollen drifting into your field... and win!... bastards.... and all the while poisoning what's left of the clean water, air, insects, birds, soil bacteria and fungi, the entire ecosystem of which you and i are a part... they are poisoning you and me and our future for a quick buck and they are doing it using gm technology as one of many tools, so mamashöe avoids it like the plague that it is.

are you frustrated by global warming, species extinction and the current global momentum that guarantees increased misery on our increasingly sicker planet for generations to come with no signs improvement in sight? yes. but the hairless apes will eventually die back to more sustainable levels... gaia thinks in very long timelines, we as a species are but a spec, a flicker, albeit an ecologically annoying one

what sort of renewable energy sources do you use/promote? we heat our home, including our hot water, with 100% local, responsibly harvested wood. often times road crews just drop off wood for us for free. trees are *the* natural resource in this area, and most people consider them liabilities.. they'll pay you to cut them down, and pay extra if you take the wood away... because the force of succession is so strong here... if everyone left the state for 20 years, it'd be a jungle... the land wants to be forest... anyway, all heat comes from wood, not a drop of oil. we were interested in and use biodeisel in our vehicles, although somewhat reluctantly because while the emissions are a fraction of fossils, and it's renewable, vegetable based and all that, most of it's being made using virgin corn oil trucked in from the midwest, grown using nasty, nasty means.. you know you're in trouble when monsanto is at the head of the line championing biodiesel... i suppose it's better than pouring the blood of some 18 year old kid who just got picked off in iraq into your tank, but it's far from ideal... the folks who recylce spent french fry grease and convert it to biodeisel are great.. we actually have a grease burner in our vehicle such that we can burn raw, spent, free, recycled, restaurant grease... we were in the process of moving towards solar for our electric needs, but that requires a substantial up-front investement... it pays off, but who has thousands of dollars lying around to tool up for that project? certainly not us... if you want to give us some money, donations are welcome! in the meantime, we take advantage of the exisiting grid, voluntarily pay an extra "green" tax on our electric bill which guarantees that however much power we consume, that same amount will be produced and added to the grid using solar/wind/small hydroelectric... the program is called mass greenstart offered by mass electric company, check it out, it's very reasonable.

how do you deal with the blatent injustices and manipulations perpetrated on the world by persons in positions power without souls or with rotten souls? our political systems have failed us- the votes we cast mean nothing when the entire system is rotten to the core- the planet is run by a very small number of very wealthy families/entities... the only practical voice we have is how we spend our money, so at mamashöe world headquarters, we:

spend as little money as possible, and deal only in cash, or preferably barter

understand that there are basic physical needs that must be met in order to survive - food, water, shelter, air, heat in the winter, energy in general - and that by definition, whoever controls (or pollutes) those things controls us, so we:

refuse to buy oil or other non renewable energy - use public transportation, bikes, old french fry grease... use solar, wind, geothermal energy sources.... insulate our bodies, our house

buy as much as we can from local producers, especially minimally processed non-gmo food grown without petrolium based fertilizers, insecta/fungi/pesti/mita/whatever cides

grow/raise our own food, and barter the surplus with neighbors

don't buy clothing new! when buying anything, try to buy used - recycle in general- use as little plastic as possible- cook as much of our own food as we can

don't watch television or listen to radio. the revolution is not being televised or youtubed.

for fun/entertainment, we do anything that is free - read books/articles, volunteer our time to good causes, get together with friends and sing, dance, tell stories, speak poetry, make food, music, eat food, make meade, drink meade, talk about history/future/now, take walks, have a rub, have a bath, have sex, play a game, build something, write something, meditate, pray to the creator

mamashöe world headquarters
978.544.9836
mother@mamashoe.org