Palaeolithic Survival & Obod

Greetings Mooties, Next Moot - Palaeolithic survival! But first of all I think we'll all agree that last month's moot was a real eye opener. Harry delivered an excellent moot detailing the amount of waste that we as consumers create, along with the impact of large supermarket chains contributing to the mix. His beliefs and values are such that he no longer wants to participate in a capitalist system where waste is more profitable that recycling, where people go hungry on the streets whilst M&S throw blue dye on there waste and where people are losing their lives every minute though starvation and malnutrition whilst we do… well, whatever it is we do. Part of what he does is Freeganism, Urban Foraging, Bin Diving - whatever you want to call it. At the end of this post there are some statistics, some freegan links and a couple of wicked movies.

And so to next month, starting sharp at 3pm as usual, I would like to welcome Jon to the moot from Tracks Env Edu. He will coming along to tell us a little about his expertise on the subject of Palaeolithic Survival. He recently did the fab and funky Calne Moot so I know he'll have with him a whole range of fascinating items, all crafted from nature in a natural fashion, that he believes our ancestors would have used to carve out a comfortable existence with. You can visit his facebook thingy here.

After Jon I'm honoured to Welcome High Priestess Morgan to the Moot who will be at hand to answer any questions we may have about Druidism and what it means to her. Please use this opportunity to find answers to any questions you may have about the Druids and what they get up to.

The Samhain Labyrinth still needs people to contribute in the running of this most excellent of events - contact Kaos Crow on Facebook - he's left a message on the Avebury Moot Facebook group if you need a link to him.


Which brings us on to the events of Saturday - it's going to be a blinder. We have the Labyrinth, which starts in the lunar circle at 7.30pm (till 8.30), The Walk of the Dead (starting at 9ish I guess) and the Avebury Open Mic (about 8 to late) to name but a few of the fabulous treats available to us over the Samhain Weekend. I'm also informed there will be camping over the weekend on the Saturday and Sunday night.

And if you think camping over the weekend is madness then you're aint seen nothing yet! From Monday the 26th a mad crazy bunch will be participating in the Aboriginal Briton project. Bonkers!

So, have a look at this amazing little film - you've gotta love her voice :)



And also freeganism explored - a couple of people start with an empty flat and feed and furnish themselves on waste... amazing!



And I haven't seen this yet but the first couple of minutes seems to be on the right tone...
(EDIT - the other two vids are much better than this one - these people have a different ethos).

These quotes are from www.freegan.org.uk

- UK households discard 4.1 million tonnes of avoidable food waste, worth £10.2 billion, every year.

- Much of the food that we throw away is unopened. 1,600 million apples, 1,030 million tomatoes, 2,570 million bread slices, 484 million unopened yoghurt tubs are discarded anually by households in the UK.

- Not only are healthy foods thrown away, but 259 million full packs of chocolates and sweets, 30 million untouched Gateaux are discarded anually by UK households.

- Well might we say 'Let them eat cake', while bread accounts for 505,000 tonnes of avoidable household food waste in the UK, cakes and puddings also puts in a reasonable showing, at 86,000 tonnes per year.

- From 2005-2008 world food prices rose by 75%. Wheat prices have doubled, while maize, soya and oilseeds are at record highs.

- India is the world's second biggest wheat producer but bought 5.5m tonnes in 2006, and 1.8m tonnes in 2007, driving up world prices. It has banned the export of all forms of rice other than luxury basmati.

- In 2007-2008, farmers in Kenya's Rift Valley planted a third less of the land than in 2006-2007, because fertiliser has more than doubled in price.

- Price rises of basic staples in 2007-2008: Corn 31%, Rice 74%, Soya 87%, Wheat 130%.

- 1,000-2,000 litres of water are required to produce 1kg of wheat, but 10,000-13,000 litres of water are required to produce 1kg of beef.

- The global demand for biological resources now exceeds the planet's capacity to renew them by 20%.

- The UK disposes of more than 27m tonnes of waste to landfill each year - 7m more than any other European country.

- An area the size of Warwick - 109 sq miles - is now landfill and landfill space could run out in 2016.

- Household rubbish is only a 1/10th of all the waste created in the UK. Most waste is produced by businesses shops, offices, street-markets, construction or demolition firms, farmers, industry, manufacturers or other businesses.

- Councils are required to ensure local household waste is recycled, however there are no similar requirements for business waste.

Freegan Dumpster Anarchy

Greetings Mooties. It looks like this month we have another treat in the name of a fella called Harry. He's going to be up from the South coast to share his knowledge and ideas on a range of subjects - but for me he encapsulates many of the qualities found in a movement called Freeganism.

One blog I came across quoted Freeganism as being:

…a total boycott of an economic system where the profit motive has eclipsed ethical considerations and where massively complex systems of productions ensure that all the products we buy will have detrimental impacts most of which we may never even consider. Thus, instead of avoiding the purchase of products from one bad company only to support another, we avoid buying anything to the greatest degree we are able.

So Freegans don't cooperate in the system. In other words, even things like recycling still require you to participate in the system that ultimately pollutes. Freegans on the other hand are more likely to pre-cycle. Some of these chaps are activists in Guerrilla Gardening, Free Cycle, Free Stores, Wild Foraging, Squatting and Urban Forraging to name but a few. With an emphasis on the latter, Harry will share his experiences and ideas with us.

There will also be a section at the end of the moot for those people willing to be involved in the preparation and organisation of the Samhain Fire Labyrinth to get together,

See you all Sunday :)
2:45pm