MEND Season 2 - Episode 28

And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.”    ― Rainer Maria Rilke

Welcome back.  

So, we're trying out a new format inside Season 2.

A Stich... A Thread... Sewing Lessons for Beginners... (yeah, we're still working on that naming piece of it. )

Inspired in part by some other work we've seen out there inside the podcasting landscape.  

The idea of the micro-episode.  An in-between breakdown/office hours/practicum/Make it Yours & Make It LIVE type conversation, where we dip one move beyond just the abstract and the intellectual and we move our way one step closer to ACTION.  Towards Solvency, Solution & tiny, do-able movements toward the type of re-connection & well, ummmm, Mending we want to be a part of.

In this episode, we sat down to tease out some of the big takeaways from the previous episode and to look at tools, resources and ideas we can all employ inside our daily lives.  

We look at what Education might mean in the context of the Everyday and moving toward Solution rather than staying mired in the realm of the problem.  Plus, share some great resources for further reading & exploration.  

What's your take?  

What does small, enactable change look like inside your world right now?  

Drop us a line and let us know.  

mendpodcast@gmail.com

Episode 25

Questions, Answers & Leaning Into What's to Come...

In this micro-episode, we take a minute to respond to a particularly well-penned email from a listener.  We do our best to address some of the concerns he brought to our door, and to articulate some of our own.  

We hope our discourse sheds some light on the subject.

We also wanted to check in with you - our beloved listenership - to let you know we're still in here with ya! And to dip briefly into some of the themes, ideas & stories we're looking to un-earth in Season 2.  What we're turning toward & what we're moving away from... (hint: there's bound to be a little less weed chat in the months to come - for better or worse. ) 

Stick around till the end where Anne shares her wondrous original work, Covfefe.  This is seriously one not to be missed.

And, as always, we welcome your stories, insights, questions & diatribes.  

You can join the conversation over in our private FB group .

Or, for an interim dose of poetry & some nonsequitir musings about Life...

check us out at our other posts:

AnneFricke.com or BackPocketJuju.com

Cheers. Until the next time.  

MEND Season 1 - Episode 24

The Last Word (for now...)  SEASON 1 Finale

with Part 2 with Jentri Anders, Ph.D.

We live in a doomsday era.  So much of our existence is in question and we wake each morning to a new tragedy in the world.  Around us people are allowing hate to be their motivation and justification for atrocities many thought we had outgrown. What is there that should give us hope?

In our own corner of the world the changes are happening so rapidly most are unsure of what the future will bring.  Skeptics worry about encroaching outsiders from larger, less committed and cohesive communities.  Once again the battle is being waged on our environment, and once again the land needs people to step forward and defend Her.  Our livelihoods are at stake…but perhaps this is a good thing.   Perhaps now is the time to grab the reins so passionately and confidently held by the cultural refugees of the 70’s; those lovers of freedom, equality and sustainability, the revivers of voluntary simplicity and builders of our community.  Now is the time to take control of our future before the outsiders and big companies have their way.  I say this knowing that most of us were outsiders at some point, and that should bring us humility, but if we move forward with the same intentions and values of the back-to-the-landers then I believe we will be moving forward justly and in accordance with the general rules of good stewardship.

This episode is the second part to an interview we did back in the spring, with Jentri Anders…a back-to-the-lander who went on to finish her degree in Anthropology, and then wrote an enthnography about the very community and people she was a part of.  We played the first half of her interview in Episode 2, as part of the foundation of our stories.  In this episode we get to hear more of her story on the founding of Southern Humboldt culture as many know it today…but mostly we talk ethics, responsibility, offing the pig in you, and finding where our strength comes from.    

May these words of advice echo from our modern origins and guide us as we move forward with integrity and a deeper awareness of what is at stake.

To find out more about Jentri Anders and her work, visit:

https://shumjentri.wordpress.com

MEND Season 1 - Episode 22

Some times you need to take a knee.  

Some days you need to go deep into your yin.

The pause.

To sit with the questions though the answers seem none-too-soon-in-coming.

This week is such a week.  

Anne & I took this moment to ready ourselves for our big TALK with the intrepid Steve DeAngelo - the subject of next week's forthcoming episode.

We'll be talking to Steve about his book - The Cannabis Manifesto - why he chose to pursue Entrepreneurship as his own path to Activism & what he's learned inside his 40+ years as a rabble-rouser, community organizer, leader & voice against Prohibition.  Plus his work inside Harborside Health Center, in Oakland, CA, as well.

As an added bonus to our loyal listeners, though this talk is scheduled to take place tomorrow, let us know if there's some burning questions you'd like to have answered.

We've got our own list of go-to's and entreaties we'd love to hear more about, but this is a great opportunity to get some personal Q&A's fielded by one of the leading experts in the Cannabis field.

Pop us a line over @ mendpodcast@gmail.com

Mention Steve DeAngelo in the subject line.

And be sure to get them into us by 10 AM (PST), Wednesday, October 4th.

For now, may this give you an opportunity to catch up on some other listening, some back episodes you've yet to finish, or to start an awesome project all your own.

Thanks, as ever, for being a part of this community with us.

For being a voice.

And for keeping the Conversation rolling.

Cheers.

Links:::

SteveDeAngelo.com 

The Cannabis Manifesto Book

Harborside Health Center 

MEND Season 1 - Episode 21

A Family Affair...

We are closing down the shop here soon on this first season of MEND and so it is with great pleasure that we bring you one of the final installments of this romp through the history, fields & families & glimpse into the future of this, our beloved culture & county.

In this episode, we sat down with Joshua & Sadie - She - a second-generation cannabis grower - who started down the same path as her urban-dwelling parents back in the day - even using their ballasts and scale when she first got started on her path in Humboldt’s indoor scene over 17 years ago.  And he - an East-coast transplant brought to this life by his love of cannabis, the land on which he lives and cultivates &, well, the love of a good woman, as well.

You’ll hear the story of their own relationship to the plant unfolding.  

From moving to the smaller, more secretive world of indoor into the free-range world of sun-grown, small-scale outdoor.

The beautiful life they’ve been able to carve out for themselves and their three children working with this plant and the abundance it’s provided them.

On what it means to finally step out of the shadows after all these years and claim cannabis cultivation as a legitimate path & profession.

On raising their children in a no-bullshit zone & how cannabis has actually sewn the seeds to start the conversation around Morality, Civic Involvement & Civil Disobedience - good & early.  

And how they’re equipping themselves for the fight they know they have ahead to survive.  To compete.  To stay afloat, relevant & maintain the beautiful way of life they’ve cultivated through the years.

And the magic 5th element inside all of this - they see as crucial to every small farmer’s survival in this swiftly-shifting landscape we are in.

At the end of the day, it comes back to this.

The families.

The freedom.

The community.

The rich way of life that is unique this region - and to the caretakers of this plant.

We are reminded, one again, that this privilege - is THAT.

A gift.

And if we are to see it continue…

We must all be willing to do what we can to maintain what we’ve been given.

At the end of the day, may these stories remind us… of what exactly we are fighting for.

Help us to keep the faith.

And to do the painstaking work of paving the way forward… for us all.  

MEND Season 1 - Episode 19

Re-Building the American Dream...

Welcome back.  

This week we are excited to share with you the story and wisdom of Casey O’Neill - a second generation farmer residing in Northern Mendocino.

Casey lives on a multi-generational, family farm where he they cultivate roughly an acre of land.  Much of that - terraced fruit and vegetable gardens for their CSA, interspersed with the cannabis he, his wife & his parents grow within their 5000-sq ft permitted medicinal cultivation area they tend as well.  

He talks to us about what he sees as the two dominant perspectives within the current culture of cannabis - namely - Resource Extraction & the Homestead model - and which one he’s doing the hard work of fighting for right now.  

He tells us about his own journey….. From a degree in sociology… to the work of farming… and now onto policy…  and how that’s shaped him over time.  

We talk about the pivotal moment inside his own life that shifted him from a self-identified mono-cropper, laboring inside the outlaw farmer/prohibition model to his present-day work as an advocate and staunch activist on behalf of the small-scale/bio-diversified farm he sees as key to restoring the health, viability & sovereignty not only of this small, north coast region - but also to the larger world of farming, agriculture & humanity as well.

How he does not expect to see the rewards of his efforts any time soon - but what keeps him moving forward with them nonetheless.

He shares his hard-earned advice on what it takes to set up a truly functional farmers’ cooperative and collective - and what practical steps need be taken to make it work.  

And what he sees as our pivotal moment - - and our last hope - and what shall determine whether we are consumed by the industrial-corporate-agricultural model that has failed us in so many ways - or if we - the counter-cannabis culture shall rise above - and shift the Conversation - to the betterment of all.

This is capstone conversation for us here at MEND - and if we were to break down the entire ethos and drive of what we want you to walk away with inside this season - We would hand you this.  

Enjoy.  

To read some more of Casey’s words & wisdom (including the full article we read from @ the end) visit: http://www.theganjier.com/author/casey-oneill/

Or find out more about the California Center for Cooperative Development here : http://www.cccd.coop

MEND Season 1 - Episode 18

The Green, Green Grass of Home...

In this episode we speak with Bryan, a man from my home state of Indiana who, in his almost 30 year relationship with marijuana, spent 5 years working on various types of ganja farms in Humboldt County.  When Oregon legalized marijuana and offered licenses over the internet, he paid his fee and moved up to work on a small recreational grow.

He tells us the how and why he chose marijuana as a career path and assures us he is ‘in it for the plant’.  When we asked him if and/or what he misses about the black market, his quick response was precise and passionate.

We discuss the possibilities, both good and bad, in store for CA with legalization and the strict regulations in place for the marijuana industry.  

When asked what he believes the cannabis culture can offer to the world at large, Bryan tells us what Humboldt taught him that he didn’t learn anywhere else.  I’ll give you a hint, he refers to many of the farmers he knew in Humboldt as ‘Soil Builders’.

We hope you enjoy this conversation as we are winding down this season on the origin stories and looking towards where Humboldt’s marijuana culture is headed.

MEND Season 1 -Episode 17

The Modern-Day Medicine Chest

Welcome to episode 17 here inside this first season of MEND - where we spend some time both with the originators and pioneers of Humboldt County’s Cannabis Scene but also spend some time getting to know some of the innovators, entrepreneurs, activists, farmers, and more who are helping to shape the Future of this Industry and our Region.

We truly enjoyed sitting down with Gillian - a resident of Humboldt County since 1995, who initially moved here from SEattle to be a part of the Intentional Community at Black Bear Ranch and to escape some of the urban trappings of modern life

She eventually went on to get her degree in Biology & Botany at HSU, and for the past 3 years has been one half of the heart and head behind the biz Humboldt Apothecary  - a medicinal cannabis brand that specializes in CBD-heavy tinctures and formulas, blended with other complementary and synergistic herbs to treat a variety of ailments.  

She tells us about her own path to entrepreneurship - from growing a business with a meer $1500 worth of startup capital to its’ present day iteration - operating across all of California and distribution of over 200 dispensaries statewide

On starting small and using what you have and growing from there.  

On the importance of community not only to help jettison her own business into its current state but also on the quintessential role she sees of continuing to craft cooperatives, community and cooperation across the board if the small, legacy farmer is to stay afloat in the current tidal wave of industry we see today

We talk about the high costs of coming into compliance - both on a very real financial level but on the bigger cultural plane as well

She takes us a bit down the road of her own journey from plant lover, herbalist, and botany-geek to full-fledged businesswoman, the co-creator of a thriving brand - and the steps and shifts it took to move into those roles.

And we find herein another call to Keep it Local - even as the stakes, the market and the money seem to scale ever more global - She stresses the importance of sourcing locally, organically - and staying community minded - as Humboldt County works to extend its output, its’ influence and it’s brand - ever outward.  

There are some of us who will not be able to make the leap.

Who, as small-scale, mom-and-pop farmers and low-level black-market sellers, - were able to care for and feed their families - contribute to their communities - but may not have the wherewithal, the start-up capital, nor the desire - to enter into this brave new world of branding, testing, licensing and so much more…

But herein we glimpse a blueprint and singular scenario - of one such woman making that leap.

And wherever you choose to turn - either toward this new wave - or off into some new enterprise & adventure altogether - may you be inspired and heartened by what you hear.

The leap - if it calls to you - is worth the taking.  

To find out more about Gillian, her work, and the formulations she makes as part of Humboldt Apothecary, visit:

http://www.humboldt-apothecary.com

MEND Season 1 - Episode 16

Doing it By the Book ....

This week we veered a bit from the telling of a story, to get a closer look at the nuts and bolts of what it means to ‘come into compliance’.  We spoke with Rose -  a woman who works on the business and planning end of things.  She clarified some confusing details, offered suggestions on how and why to move forward into compliance and expressed hope for the mom and pop growers with the eventual inclusion of ‘adult use’ into the legalization of cannabis.

Because of our established, specialized infrastructure and world wide fame as a marijuana hub, she informs us that the state is looking to Humboldt as an example of how to move forward.  To this end, it seems more important than ever to move forward with consciousness, integrity and the core values of our community in mind in hopes that the expanding industry of medical marijuana be in compliance with a healthy ecosystem and sustainable economy.

We offer this particular interview up as a resource to our beloved community.

May the information presented here be of use and value to you as we navigate this shifting, tumultuous time.

Here's to what's next.

MEND Season 1 - Episode 12

Straddling the Divide...

This week, we had the great pleasure of sitting down with Buzz, a cattle rancher and veterinarian who moved up to Southern Humboldt in 1985 to caretake the ranch his wife's family owned.  The pioneer stock who can trace their roots back to this are for multiple generations.  

He speaks about the shifts he's witnessed in this area.  Raising children - all of whom are now grown and prospering elsewhere in the world - inside the heart of the emerald triangle.  

When it became clear in 2007, that the timber production that he and his wife had been counting on as their retirement nest egg was not going to be what they had hoped for, Buzz recounts the pivotal moment he decided to put, to his mind, a big grow on their family land.  Next to the vegetable garden.  Ten plants in all.  

He talks about the anxiety and stress related to working to come into compliance with the new regulations and upping his production even further to a record 54 plants.  

He tells us about his lifelong love affair with cannabis and how a combination of CBD oil and a regular practice of Zen meditation, has helped him deal with some debilitating back pain.  

And, like many of our beloved interviewees, he steers us back towards a committed relationship to the land and to one another, and to moving forward responsibly and reverently, as we embark collectively upon this new chapter of our history.  

MEND Season 1 - Episode 11

Outlaw Farming - A New Twist on Things

This past week we had the great pleasure of sitting down with Carl Stanley.

Carl is the former pastor of a cannabis-friendly All Faith church in Eureka, CA, an educator in sustainability and self-sufficiency, founder of Manabu Farms, and an advocate for “outlaw farming”, which is perhaps not what you may think it is.

We spoke with him via phone from Flint, Michigan where he resides in an effort to help the local community with the water crisis before heading back to his beloved Humboldt County.

He speaks about the many services the church provided for the community here, the why’s and how’s of becoming Producers rather than Consumers, outlaw farming, his work in Flint, and offers his thoughts on how cannabis can help Humboldt County become a self-sustaining community.

Some of what we loved about speaking with Carl was his passion for the work that he does, but also what his origin story of Humboldt implies.  He came here as a ‘traveler’, what many might describe in not too polite terms as a transient.  The stereotype of the Humboldt transient juxtaposed with the amazing work that Carl has done here in this community and elsewhere is an interesting and important part of this story; and one could argue yet another stitch to further mend the way we relate to ourselves and to each other.

To find out more about Carl, or the work that he does, or how you can become more energy-independent and reduce your monthly bills, check out his work on Facebook.  

Become a part of the Bill Free Group @ https://www.facebook.com/groups/155362171643501/

Or find out more about the work and mission of Manabu Farms @ https://www.facebook.com/manabufarms2/

There’s also a website with links to his 300+ instructional YouTube videos on living the Outlaw Farmer lifestyle @ http://manabufarms.blogspot.com/

So much inspiration and food for thought here.  

We hope you enjoy.  

MEND Season 1 -Episode 9

The Work of the Healer...

Welcome Back to MEND - Episode 9!

We’re continuing to seek out stories from the Elders, the Wise Ones, and the Healers of our tribe.  

In this interview, we’re delighted to sit down with Jane Bothwell, owner of the Dandelion Herbal Center - a local school for Herbal Studies in Kneeland, where she has been training, educating and empowering people from all walks of life to learn the ways of Plant Medicine and Holistic Healing for over 30 years now.  

Jane brings the great perspective of the Healer into this Conversation and provides some wonderful points of reference on how we can cultivate a more sustainable, relational & reverent working relationship with the Cannabis plant.  

We talk about the power of Naming things and how this alters our perceptions.

About the increasing legitimacy of Marijuana as a recognized medicine within the Herbalism world & some of the wonderful uses she’s found for it’s curative powers within her own life and practice.

There’s some important information in regards to THC vs. CBD formulations and strains within here. As well as some great references for those who wish to know more about the Healing Properties and possibilities inherent to Marijuana. Plus, the inherent differences between what it means to ingest a plant recreationally vs as part of a larger ceremony.

Most significantly, Jane speaks to us of the importance of continuing to work organically, sustainably, and with great Reverence as we move forward cultivating this plant.  And how one person, working honorably, humbly, & well - can seed an impact for great, societal & cultural shifts.  

To find out more about the resources Jane mentions in our time together, check out the following links:::

The Dandelion Herbal Center  - www.dandelionherb.com

The Medicinal Cannabis Conference - medicinalcannabisconference.com

United Plant Savers - unitedplantsavers.org

Humboldt Apothecary - humboldt-apothecary.com

MEND Season 1 - Episode 7

The Peace of Wild Things...

Welcome back.

In this hour, we talk to Salmon Girl - a longtime SoHum resident & outspoken member of the community.

She talks about the vast changes she’s witnessed in & around her beloved home over the past 40 years - about the shift from Wilderness to encroaching Industry and pollution - including sound, visual, and environmental - taking its toll all around.  

We speak about the loss of connection to the land itself.

Both physical but also spiritual as well.

About the problems surrounding Regulation - which, in many ways, is geared to support and promote Industry, above any real concern for the natural habitat.  

She tells us her own ideas about the marijuana plant - in her words, a “white-man luxury crop” - and the “cult” she sees having sprung up around it’s cultivation, use and promotion.  

As always, our hope here is to incite useful, instructive and in-depth conversation.

These words may leave you with more unanswered questions.

But may they also spur you to find the solutions, as well.

Oftentimes, it’s from the places of deep questioning, and heartache - that we unearth our own Salvation.

We hope you enjoy.  

MEND Season 1 - Episode 6

The Plant as Medicine...

In this episode we speak with a mother, medicine-maker and small-scale farmer who understands cannabis to be not only a medicine for physical ailments, but also a spiritual medicine and teacher. 

She speaks of ceremonies, cannabis as ambassadors between the plant world and human world, and growing her plants with prayer and intention. 

She shares with us her hopes for Humboldt’s future and offers gratitude for having a place to share these stores with the bigger world because, as she says,

“Yes, we might be outlaws, but we’re really good people…” 

This interview takes us deep into the soul connection that is possible with marijuana and hopefully inspires others to question what is lost when money and quantity become the main driving force of cultivation.

MEND Season 1 - Episode 5

With My Own Two Hands....

Welcome to our fifth conversation where we speak to Jane - a veteran, single-woman farmer, living and working in the hills of Southern Humboldt.

In our time together, we discuss how an educated & ambitious woman who could've "done anything" with her talents and drive - chose to spend her life here.  Caretaking the land and this plant with which she feels a tremendous bond and affinity.

We dip into the questions of what it means to craft a well-lived life.  We look at the hazards, but also blessings of living independently and remotely in the woods.

We tackle the gender roles and stereotypes that still reside within this industry.  Plus drop into some honest, unadulterated talk about money, hard work, privilege & what it's really like for a woman to forge her own way - & eke out a life on her own terms.  

We hope you enjoy.  

MEND Season One - Episode 1

The big WHY...

In this first episode of MEND, we turn the mic on one another. 

Anne & Amy chat the Big Vision behind the podcast.

The name.  

The power of storytelling.

Making ART.

The lost art of the campfire scribe.

And why we've chosen to launch ourselves from the pages of our own backyard..

Plus some snippets of prose and poetry (& Pot Farms, oh my!) to round it all out.