Hi dear all,

Mid-February greetings!:)

In the past month we reached out to and produced different media, for starters a Helsingin Sanomat mielipide. As we wrote also on in our December newsletter, the current climate discussion is frequently being framed as being a matter of individual consumer choices versus the demanding of big policy changes. But there is no attention in this framing for the building up anew of ecologically and socially just processes on a daily level, based on daily needs, which ultimately must be at the core of any change in society. It is also through these processes that we come to understand what our demands are, that we start to (want to) build democracy differently and with this build power differently. Being with in Oma Maa and other initiatives profoundly brings this to the forefront. Oma Maa chair Sami Keto wrote on this in Helsingin Sanomat.

Also a podcast was made (in Finnish): “Miten ihmiset voivat ruokaosuuskunnan jäsenyyden kautta lisätä osallisuuttaan ruoantuotannossa sekä saada merkityksellisyyden kokemusta maailmassa, jossa ruokatuotanto on ajautunut kauas niin ruoan kuluttajista kuin planetaaristen rajojen huomioonottamisestakin. Versus-podcast on äänitetty tällä kertaa Osuuskunta Oma Maan tilalla, missä ruokajärjestelmän ongelmista, ratkaisuista ja erityisesti ruokaosuuskuntatoiminnasta ovat keskustelemassa ruokaosuuskuntiin erikoistunut tutkija ja Herttoniemen ruokaosuuskunnan puheenjohtaja Galina Kallio, Oma maa -osuuskunnan viljelijä Jukka Lassila sekä Oma maa -osuuskunnan ruokajäsen ja empatian tutkimukseen erikoistunut tietokirjailija Sami Keto.”

And then January also saw the kick-off of our very own Oma maajussi series! Little clips about the building of a new food system. In case you have missed them, see here farmers Jon explaining the fence building around the edible food forest and the balance between predators and pray, Joel telling on his construction of an aquaduct system in the kasvihuone, and Ruby pondering whether she (and we) is a farmer or not, with the whole conceptualisation and phone held steady by Oma maajussi director Ulla.

On our January doing..

The steep minus temperatures (in December and) January were of course a challenge for our greens in the greenhouse. We did have some greens in our bags for 2 weeks and otherwise tried our best with regards to trying to come to a stable temperature in the greenhouse as well as to start with more planting! There were no more for the bags, but our potatoes continued, as they are still doing now in February. In the bag we also made Tuusulanpiirakat (potato pies), had seitan steaks and baguettes and also a lot of kale in fresh and dried form, which we got in trade for bread from yet another farmer who was not intending collecting it from his land.

Besides the shuffling of a lot, a lot of snow and keeping up with the woodwork to create a steady temperature in the greenhouse, we in January finalised yet more poles for the fence –  These previous newsletters will be informative for you who joined only recently.

Starting off a New Year

In snow and ice we then kicked off in January our winter season with 40+ bag orders. We campaigned well together in the end of 2018, as we piggybacked of course on peoples new years promises, the vegan challenge, but only by taking them very serious. We designed a This is not a Shop meme type add series, with which we drew attention to the fact that Oma Maa food bags want to promote a comprehensive change with regard to food production and consumption in order to address the total of ethical issues facing and resulting from our mainstream food production, locally and globally. This means not just the replacement of some items in our cupboards, but our food consumption in its totality. Wonderful personal testimonies on Oma Maa’s workings were also put out in the end of 2018, thanking one more time for all the support given to the coop in that!

And from this start onward then, we continue each month to take on more bag orders, which can be done via here ordering of the bag. In February we are at 53 full bag orders which allows us to get the bills paid but not much more than that. So all new orders are very much welcomed and needed!

We are finishing this newsletter also on the days after we had a very good farming 2019 planning meeting. The memo of that meeting was already shared in another email.

Tapahtumakalenteri

Also in 2019, we continue welcoming you to join for talkoot during any weekday at the farm or any pick-up day on Kaarlenkatu. You can sign up to work at the farm or in the cafe on pick-up days as well as offer or find a ride to and from the farm via the talkoot form (link in email version).

Read also again the complete overview of our talkoot workings.

You’re welcome to participate also in the monthly board meetings at Kaarlenkatu. Links to agendas and meeting notes can be found in the email version of this newsletter.

As to the rest of our events calendar, our events calendar is now also up on our website! A copy and paste then from there to here :

21.2. torstaina, klo 17-20, Kaarlenkatu 15  | Info ja hallituksen kokous
  • infopiste satojaon aikana klo 17-19
  • avoin hallituksen kokous satojaon jälkeen, klo 18-20
23.2. lauantaina Lassilan tila  | Tutustuminen ja talkoot
  • Esittelykierros tilan toimintaan, jonka jälkeen talkoilemme
  • Talkookyytejä järjestelemme FB-ryhmässä
  • Ota mukaan lämmintä vaatetta ja kumisaappaat sekä työhanskat
Maaliskuun tapahtumat
15.3. perjantai, klo 18-21,  Kaarlenkatu 15 | Farm Dining Dinner
  • Ajankohtaisista raaka-aineista on koostettu kolmen ruokalajin menu, jonka hinnan päätät sinä itse!
  • Dinnerin lomassa käytävän keskustelun teemana on demokratia meidän osuuskunnassa
  • Varaa paikkasi: jasenet@omamaa.fi

Till soon at one of these occasions!

Ruby, Mikael & Ulla