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Climate Change got you down? Worried about the fact that *everything* seems to be getting worse? Wondering how we got to this point in the first place, and what can we do to build a more resilient future? We take a look at historical pastoral & agricultural societies to see what worked and what didn’t, as well as what resources we have today to make better decisions to build equitable systems. We don’t just discuss ecology and history but also take a leftist perspective on prepping, foraging, homesteading, weapons, community-building, and basically anything that needs discussing during late-stage capitalism.
Episodes
5 days ago
5 days ago
This episode is special, as we have paired it with a lengthy 2-part scything 101 collaborative substack piece.
We're joined by Benjamin Brownlow of Fox Holler Almanac & Farmstead to discuss the application of the scythe and basics around making this traditional tool more accessible for first-time users. What are the benefits of using a scythe, how can it change the trajectory of a landscape, and when is it not appropriate? Further, what exactly is a scythe, and how can your decisions around the scythe you use impact your success? We explore all of these questions and more in this episode.
Additionally, Fox Holler Farmstead is seeking apprentices for 2024 in cooperative land management, agroforestry, natural building, sustainable agriculture and gardening. Contact Ben at brownlow.benjamin@gmail.com for more information!
Check out the substack pieces and subscribe to Ben's substack as well!
https://poorprolesalmanac.substack.com/p/revitalizing-the-scythe
https://benjaminbramble.substack.com/
To support this podcast, join our patreon for early episode access at www.patreon.com/poorprolesalmanac For more information and updates, visit www.poorproles.com and subscribe to our e-mail list. For the supplemental reader that goes along with the podcast, visit: https://poorprolesalmanac.substack.com
Sunday Sep 17, 2023
Sunday Sep 17, 2023
In this episode, we're joined by musician and organizer Ben Potrykus to talk about building community and how music and politics interplay. Ben's a veteran in the greater Boston music scene, and spent years touring the country with a number of different bands, including the Receiving end of Sirens, Christians & Lions, Get Loose!, Sharp Teeth, Baixa, Girlfriends, Bent Shapes, Fake ID, and more.
Imposed Magazine describes Ben's place in the music scene succinctly, stating that "Over the years, he’s torpedoed two major label deals, temporarily fractured his relationship with his brother, and sabotaged a rock doc, all results of his idealism, impulsiveness, and neurosis about selling out. His devotion has made him one of the most revered songwriters in Boston, though it was never his intention to become anything, really." (read the article here, if you are curious) We chat about where he stands on these issues today, and further, how these relationships in and around music have informed the way in which he engages with his other work around tenant organizing.
If you're not familiar with tenant organizing, we discuss the benefits of this type of organizing over unionizing workplaces, and the increased presence it will likely have in a world which increasingly isolates due to work from home and more.
We also discuss various resources for tenant organizing, which are included below:
https://bostontenantsunion.org/
And of course follow @Christiansandlions on Instagram & check out their music at www.christiansandlions.com
To support this podcast, join our patreon for early episode access at www.patreon.com/poorprolesalmanac For more information and updates, visit www.poorproles.com and subscribe to our e-mail list. For the supplemental reader that goes along with the podcast, visit: https://poorprolesalmanac.substack.com
Sunday Sep 10, 2023
Sunday Sep 10, 2023
We're joined by Whitney Johnson, a forager who has focused on highlighting the complex and beautiful cultural history of foraging in Appalachia. Johnson has become known to the internet as the @appalachian_forager on Tiktok & Instagram, which she built by hunting mushrooms – and her passion for Appalachian culture and dedication to authenticity keeps people coming back. Her work highlights the ways in which food, ecology, and community intersect, and point to a way in which foodways can help us navigate our way towards healthier communities and healthier ecosystems.
To support this podcast, join our patreon for early episode access at www.patreon.com/poorprolesalmanac For more information and updates, visit www.poorproles.com and subscribe to our e-mail list. For the supplemental reader that goes along with the podcast, visit: https://poorprolesalmanac.substack.com
Sunday Sep 03, 2023
Sunday Sep 03, 2023
We're joined by the one and only Chris Newman of Sylvanaqua Farms to talk about cooperative farming, figuring out who to work with, why he hates chestnuts, and what the pumpkin spice girls got right. We dive deep into conversations about scalability and what it means to be a part of the loosely affiliated eco-left, and how we figure out to build food systems while operating under capitalism.
Check out Chris's work at Sylvanaqua Farms and Skywoman on Instagram and sylvanaqua.com. From Sylvanaqua Farms' website: Good food is a human right, period't. We need to get it to everyone; not just the denizens of our wealthiest enclaves fortunate enough to "vote with their food dollars."
Everyone deserves good choices, and they should be available at the corner stores, our grocery stores, our restaurants, our schools, our hospitals, our institutions, and beyond.
To do this, we must deprecate the romanticized Jeffersonian yeomanry that's dominated food discourse for centuries, and create deeply collaborative, de-individualized, sophisticated, human-centered, circular food supply chains inspired by this landscape's first and best stewards.
Sylvanaqua Farms is one farm among several other food businesses coordinating to make this happen in the Chesapeake Bay region."
To support this podcast, join our patreon for early episode access at www.patreon.com/poorprolesalmanac For more information and updates, visit www.poorproles.com and subscribe to our e-mail list. For the supplemental reader that goes along with the podcast, visit: https://poorprolesalmanac.substack.com
Sunday Aug 27, 2023
Sunday Aug 27, 2023
We're joined by Tim Clemens at Ironwood Foraging to discuss fitness, health, and the left's relationship with sports. What does fitness really mean, how do we engage with fitness when so many of us have complicated relationships with food and sports?
Tim founded Ironwood Foraging in 2017 to offer hands-on plant and mushroom foraging workshops. He is the past president of the Minnesota Mycological Society, a Minnesota Master Naturalist, and a certified wild mushroom expert. Tim holds a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology/Archaeology from the University of Minnesota and a certificate in Environmental Education from Cornell University. You can also find Tim on Instagram @mnforager.
https://poorprolesalmanac.substack.com
Sunday Aug 20, 2023
Sunday Aug 20, 2023
https://poorprolesalmanac.substack.com
Sunday Aug 13, 2023
Sunday Aug 13, 2023
In this episode, we're joined by Zach Elfers to talk about tree crop breeding history, creating marketable products from tree crops, and bridging the present with the past. What is our role in building future food systems that we may never see, and how can we do this while engaging with our beliefs around equitable business models? These questions frame up how the Keystone Tree Crop Cooperative operate and build up their business model to showcase what our food system can look like when centered around native tree crops, and offer us a novel way to think about food and industry.
Check out Zach's work with the Keystone Tree Crop Cooperative:
https://keystonetreecrops.com/
Find Zach on Instagram at:
@susqu_alum
https://poorprolesalmanac.substack.com
Sunday Aug 06, 2023
Sunday Aug 06, 2023
In this episode, we're joined by Matt from Symbiop to discuss what it looks like to develop cooperatives in the landscaping world. How do we showcase alternatives to the norm that draw folks in, and how can we also leverage that ownership to center native plants in our landscaping design choices?
SymbiOp started off as a one-person landscaping business, operated by one of their co-founders, Nutmeg. On Oct 1st, 2021, they opened an ecological garden shop, using their plant expertise to make ecological gardening even more accessible to the greater community. Find them in Portland if you're in town, or otherwise check out their work on social media or at their website: www.symbiop.com
Sunday Jul 30, 2023
Sunday Jul 30, 2023
In this episode, we're joined by Eliza Greenman to discuss two of the most underutilized American crops, acorns and persimmons. While folks are familiar with oak trees, what evidence do we have to better understand how these ubiquitous trees could be used for food production? Persimmons, on the other hand, have remained mostly a fruit known in the southeastern parts of the United States and overseas. What makes these two so special, and what kind of work is going into them today for a better, more resilient future food system?
Check out Eliza's work at https://elizapples.com/ , @elizapples on Instagram, and her work with the Savanna Institute!
Sunday Jul 23, 2023
Sunday Jul 23, 2023