Friends of the Trees Farming

* Friends of the Trees is looking for one or more dedicated and capable person(s) to work for the rest of this season's farming and wildcrafting. This could be for people seeking long-term community or for people seeking a one-year apprenticeship in permaculture farming wildcrafting. Useful skills include: farming experience, marketing, networking, herbal medicine, wildcrafting, and a friendly, cooperative attitude. Financial arrangements negotiable.

* Short term volunteers are also welcome. A few days or a week. Farming work is continuous while wildcrafting ebbs and flows. Friends of the Trees Botanicals currently offers 150 different medicinal herbs, cultivated and wildcrafted.

* Let us know if you are interested in coming by and lending a hand and seeing what we are up to. Call or email first to check into our schedule and get directions. There will be periods when none of us will be at the farm.

* I have rented office space in Tonasket and am setting up a Friends of the Trees Agriculture Library. My extensive library will be open one day a week as a reference library. It will open sometime in June.

* No one has showed up (yet) to be part of the Okanogan Biodiversity Farming Cooperative so the opportunity is still open. I am cooperating with the owners of both pieces of land I am planting on and with other local farmers, so a cooperative is happening in a sense.

Grow food, eat locally, buy food from your friends, hug trees, and take time to smell the flowers

Organic Farm Internships

Want to learn more about organic food growing?
Looking for community?

A number of Tonasket area organic farmers seek interns and workers to help on their farms.

The Okanogan valley is home to diverse cultures including native American (1.3 million acre Colville Reservation), orchardists, townspeople, ranchers, Hispanics and a lively back-to-the-land community. There are a couple dozen, small organic farmers in the valley.

My Hood River, Oregon herb farm is still seeking an intern as is Cloud View Ecofarm in the Columbia Basin.

Okanogan Crop Marketing

YUMMY FOOD FOR SALE !

OKANOGAN VALLEY ORGANIC FARMERS
NEED MARKETS

Eastern Washington grows hot weather crops to perfection.

A number of Tonasket area organic farmers are seeking markets for our crops. One of our Tonasket organic farm friends is famous for his delicious melons and heirloom tomatoes and produces tons of both. Between all of us, we can supply many tons of food this year. Would you like a shipment? What ideas do you have?

We would love to sell to food-buying cooperatives. Neighborhoods or friendship circles can pool their purchasing and make a sizable bulk order with us. We are hoping that some of our visiting workers can take deliveries back to their home-town or make a drop-off en route. Or the buying clubs can send members to pick up orders.

List of crops we can supply
in relative orders of abundance:
Tomatoes
Watermelons
Cantalopes
Crenshaw melons
Orange melons
Many other kinds of melons
Peppers
Eggplant
Basil
Apricots
Cherries
Winter squash
Potatoes
Summer squash
Plus smaller amounts of other vegetables and culinary herbs.

If there is a demand, we will send a weekly update of crops ready for harvest to participating food buying co-ops and customers.

Bellingham Permaculture Design Course, June 11 - 23

Instructors: Marisha Auerbach, Kelda Miller, Michael Pilarski, Brian Hindman, David Sansome, Matt Van Boven, Bruce Horowitz, David Zhang, and special guests!

Low-cost course. $750. If you can't afford the full price call David to discuss work trade options. 206-227-7051.

Evergreen State Permaculture Convergence, September 11-14

Sahale Retreat Center
near Belfair, Washington

A get-together for permaculture people
around Washington State & beyond.

For anyone interested in permaculture.

Sharing solutions, inspirations and insights!

Convergence Goals:
* Meet face to face with many other permaculture people to exchange knowledge, ideas and visions.
* Strengthen information flow and cooperation between permaculturists in the state of Washington and beyond.
* Have a great time!

In the 1980s and 1990s there were a series of Northwest permaculture gatherings held in Washington State at the Bullock brother's homestead on Orcas Island, Pragtree Farm in Snohomish county and Wild Thyme Farm near Oakville. We haven't had a state-wide convergence for some time and lots more people are interested in permaculture. So let's get together on the banks of the Tahuya River and celebrate!

Sahale Reteat Center is located in southwest Kitsap County near the lower end of the Hood Canal. Sahale has hosted two permaculture design courses and is implementing permaculture at their site. Sahale offers a variety of accomodations and lots of camping space. They have a large kitchen, and meeting facilities to accomodate 150 people. Sahale is the rural center for the Goodenough Community, a long-time community based in Seattle.

Let's feed ourselves a permaculture bounty. Bring food you have grown, raised, caught or wildcrafted.

How can you help? There are many major and minor roles to play. We currently have 5 people on the steering committee, but need more as well as local organizers and volunteers at the event itself.

Sahale Permaculture Design Course

Late February or early March, 2009
Sahale Retreat Center
near Belfair, Washington

Instructed by Michael Pilarski and Laura Sweany

For further information contact:
Laura Sweany at 206-369-7590

Fairy book at the printers

Forty Years with the Fairies. Volume I of The Collected Fairy Manuscripts of Daphne Charters is at the printers.

This new book was just compiled by Michael Pilarski. One of the most detailed works about the lives of the fairies ever written. Daphne's writings span the time period from 1950 to 1990. Much of this book has never before been published. Fascinating! Entertaining! Uplifting! We expect delivery of the first printing in June. $20 plus $4 shipping/handling. To order a copy send a check for $24 to Friends of the Trees, PO Box 253, Twisp, WA 98856. Or pick up a copy at the 8th Fairy & Human Relations Congress on June 27-29 in north-central Washington.

Native Plant Restoration with Native Medicinal Herbs

1:30-3:30pm Sunday Aug 3 at the Montana Herb Gathering in Bozeman

Topics covered: Need for native plant and habitat restoration. Restoration methods. How to incorporate medicinals, native medicinals. Ethnobotany and ethnoecology (how native tribal people affected the plant vegetation patterns and abundance in the landscape). Several dozen native medicinal plants will be discussed.

In This Issue: