A Conversation with Absinthia, Part 6

photo by Gnangarra
This is part of a continuing series of email letters exchanged with my Swedish friend, Absinthia. To see the whole series, start with Do the Right Thing.

Hello,

Well, as I told you, we got pretty shocked by Chernobyl. It made a lot of us get to thinking, deeply thinking, about where the food came from and how it got there. The slow food movement is very strong here in Europe and in Sweden. We have authorized slow cities here and authorized slow food farmers and gardeners.

I buy very few of our food items in regular stores--I have this motto: if I can make it myself, then why should I not?!

If I can´t make it, I do my best to find a neighbour, or almost neighbour who can. If that is not possible, I go to a store. But only if there is no other choice. This is the reason why it took so long for me to get a spinning wheel. I had to find a real carpenter to make it for me, since I refuse to give my hard-earned money to a regular store.

I might sound a bit fanatic, but that is my way to make the best I can of the world. By really, truly choosing where I put my money.

-Absinthia



Dear Absinthia,

You go, girl! I do that too, but probably not as well as you. We have simplified our diet, and I bake our bread and cook from scratch as much as possible. It has been a long time since packaged food has been our mainstay.

I’ve been reading up on permaculture, and those folks have it all figured out, with energy and nature and sustaining ourselves on the Earth. But we just have to be sure the Earth doesn’t become toxic from those people who are using and abusing the Earth for their own gain, because then it will be impossible to survive.

It’s the “fanatics” like us, who can take care of the Earth. Those who are just doing what the established money-making society tells them they want to do, don’t understand what’s at stake and how to turn it around. Buying “green” bathroom cleaners made by a bleach company and driving cars that run on half gas and half biofuel won’t solve any problems.

Sometimes I wish I could live in an isolated self-sustaining community, but my family wouldn’t go for that at all.

-amanda

This conversation is continued here:
A Conversation with Absinthia, Part 7.