In the recent past, we have not had enough core people to be able to do the community recycling framework and to also have the time to grow more of our own food. At this time we grow around 10% of our food, and get the rest from the island farms or the mainland. 

Recently we prepared two garden spaces, tilling the earth and ammending with ample amounts of compost, but these still need work before spring planting. We planted 22 fruit trees last year, and combined with the existing fruit and nut trees, that makes the total around 35.  We would like to expand the gardens and plant more trees, but to do this we need someone who can dedicate themselves to our project so we have enough hands to go around for all of the work this places requires to maintain.. 

The framework the community has to support the group is based on recycling, mainly of wooden pallets. This started around 8 years ago when BeiYin noticed that all over the island there were pallets free for the taking. At the time he took a few for firewood and then businesses approached him, begging him to take their pallets as well. This is because the businesses have to pay money to throw away the pallets. So then there was an abundance of pallets.

The second thing we are doing is making compost, by collecting material from various sources. Sometimes we even get truckloads of material.  For example, last year we received a semi-truck full of watermelons and another time one of tomatoes and eggplants. It was hard work, composting all those watermelons, as they are heavy, but we made fun out of it, chopping them and eating to our fill. (See the pictures below...)

(click on the photo to see a larger version)

The diet that we follow at FalconBlanco is very much dependent upon who is here. In essence we don't adhere as a group to any specific diet, but leave this up to individual preference. Everyday we share a meal together in the late afternoon. There is typically a mixture of raw food (sprouts and/or salad) and cooked vegetarian soups and dishes. The other meals people get by themselves throughout the day, although often we are in the kitchen near the same time, sharing food together. As a general rule, we cook the community meal for the lowest common denominator, depending upon who is here. For example, we never put meat into a common dish and perhaps somebody doesn't like raw onions, then we put them in a separate dish versus mixing them in the salad. I think 'food issues' are one of the biggest hurdles for people, because their personal 'eating habit' is immediately confronted in community and it asks the person to change. Meaning one has to adapt & eat different foods, one has to cook differently, one has to use different cookware than before, etc. We generally follow the principle of proper food combining which we feel is important people know about, no matter what is their preferred diet, and so we also ask that people follow it for community dishes. We are surprised that most people are not informed about proper food combining which is verified and well documented.

As an aside, regarding 'supermarket' or purchased items, we notice that many people when confronted with a canned good or other item with a past expiration date, will hesitate to eat it. This shows how effective the compaign of manufacturers has been to convince people that the food is bad when the date is expired. Many people don't seem to know that the main reason these 'dates' are put on items is not to protect the consumer, but rather so that manufacturers can sell more and maximize profits. By getting date expirations put on packages, then manufacturers are guaranteed larger than normal sales, not based on actual consumption. This has the effect to increase the cost (per item) of each good for all, because the store marks it off as over-head and all 'waste' is included in the price. People don't realize that their own demand to have perfect blemish free fruits and vegetables and also when they 'believe' the date expiration by throwing things away when the date passes, has contributed to the increased cost of food they buy. This is a small example of how people have become so dependent on what we have been told, that we forget that we have noses and taste buds that are a better judge if something is good for you or not.  In our experience we have discovered that the majority of items are of fine quality way past the expiration date and the best peaches have a brown spot on them and are very soft.

Food & Work Photos - October 14, 2004

(click on the photo to see a larger version)

	The FalconBlanco Van...
	Scavenged items found in the 'basura' (trash) that can be recycled: An electric water pump,  a radio, a pair of scissors, a roll of tiolet paper and a 3/4 full bag of morter mix for ceramic tiles. Both the electric water pump and the stereo functioned! The scissors someone had thrown away only because the plastic on the handle was broken, they worked perfectly.
	A selection of food.
	Slightly blemished fruit, some for people & some for the chickens.
	All the animals hope for a treat. Here a hen and chicks are enjoying grapes.
	This is an example of bread and cheese we eat. There is wheat bread, white bread bagettes (the loaves from Spain), goat cheese, homemade cheese from Santa Gertrudis, sliced hard cheeses, brie and an american style cheese in the box. Spanish hard cheeses. A very small package of chocolate muffins...
	Meat for the animals... Jamie 'the cat' is inspecting what there is. There are chicken breasts, tuna, beef bones, beef and chicken patties and frozen fish patties.
	These are seeds from a bakery left over from making bread. On the plate are also old pastries. These items the chickens will enjoy!
	Tuna and beef bones for the cats and dogs.  We are currently transitioning the animals to a raw food diet, giving them more raw food each day.
	Raw chicken breasts for the animals. (Yes, the animals eat quite well here...)
	Many people might throw this whole box of cherry tomatoes away, just because a few in the box have spoiled. Or the same happens with an apple that is bruised on one side. At FalconBlanco, you can expect to trim the apple and eat the good part, versus throwing it all away.
	Here, Laura is selecting the tomatoes, discarding the bad ones for the compost. A cat is watching to make sure she doesn't throw out any good ones...
	The last step is to wash the tomatoes. Now they are ready for the salad ...
	This is a 'seasonal' picture of the food we had on this day in FalconBlanco. We eat often from what is in season and from what is in abundance.  In the photo are: watermelons, eggplants, sweet potatoes, kaki fruit, grapes, sweet peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, chives, sage, arugula, fennel, lettuce, mushrooms, green beans, apples, broccoli, peaches & bananas.
	A close up of our 'cornucopia'. There is so much that I had to do this in two photos...
	The other half of our cornucopia...
	Material for the compost, which here includes: moldy cheese, wilted broccoli and zucchinis, outer lettuce leaves and our kitchen compost bucket. The bread will be dried and given to neighbor horses or sheep.

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