Filed under: 11505682
On Wednesday November 19, I attended the ESLP Sustainability lecture series. The speaker of the day was a man named Jules Dervaes. He is an environmentalist who is ahead of the times (I should say behind the times) when it comes to sustainability and urban gardens. His philosophy is simple – “go back”. This is exactly what he has done on his fifth of an acre urban homestead in Pasadena California. On the property Jules Dervaes and his children lead a sustainably and healthy lifestyle that is inspiration. They grow six thousand pounds of fruits and vegetables a year in their 100% organic garden. The Dervaes have taken it a step farther than the average home growers; they also equipped their home with DIY solar panels and cook their meals in solar and earth ovens. The property includes a miniature farm, from which they get their eggs and goat’s milk. The family uses petal power to stone grind wheat into flower and hand powered appliances for things like blending, etc. Even the vehicles are powered by bio-diesel. The Dervaes are environmentalism’s dream. There is a youtube video about the Dervaes’, sustainability, and urban gardening called “Homergrown Revolution” and the link is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCPEBM5ol0Q. Everyone, especially city dwellers should see this video. Jules Dervaes also has a website called “Path to Freedom” that is packed full of useful information and cool pictures. The link for the website is: www.pathtofreedom.com. During the lecture, Jules also spoke about the dramatic loss of genetic diversity that has spread throughout agriculture worldwide. As you probably know, low genetic diversity in a population, whether it be lemurs in Madagascar or crops of corn in the Midwest, can have devastating affects in the event disease. Jules Dervaes believes that industrial agriculture is the sole source of the problem. It has eliminated the variations of crops that add genetic diversity to the world. Carrots are a common example. Did you know that carrots come in five different colors including white, yellow, red, and purple? – How many different kinds can you find at an average grocery store? Dervaes’ life philosophy of “go back” applies to this problem as well. Traditional farming methods preserve variations of a plant in seed form. This simple act ensures genetic diversity, which in turn protects the crop and the people that rely on it. Jules Dervaes is a very enlightened man who gave an incredible lecture on urban growing and sustainability. It is people like this that can have a major affect on the world in terms of going green.
Kelsey Jimerson
2 Comments so far
Leave a comment
[...] we were pleasantly surprised to see this review of Farmer D’s lecture online which the student wrote: On Wednesday November 19, I attended the ESLP Sustainability lecture series. The speaker of the [...]
Pingback by HOMEGROWN SOLUTIONS | Little Homestead in the City November 27, 2008 @ 4:44 pmvery good stuff.
Comment by Gabriel Peters November 29, 2008 @ 7:59 am