(Old poor, new poor PartII)
New poor, old poor, living frugally is nothing revolutionary. we've manged grow to over 6-billion despite wars, famines, disease, corruption, pollution and poverty . It's like urban agriculture: new name, ancient concept. It means growing food in town, Comox Bay Farm in the heart of Courtenay or herbs on your windowsill.
When the me were riding the rails in the 30s looking for work, and later whenn they went off to war, the women and children left behind didn't go into hibernation until the men came home, they pulled up their socks and did the best they could.
most of the thanks goes to the women who have always kept heart and home together. Women as farmers, gardeners, keepers of the home and hearth.
resourcefulness of housewives who copes, often by strategies they learned from poverty while goring up. They bought inexpensive cuts of meat to cook for their families and made the Sunday roast last for an entire week; some they purchased meat directly from the abattoir rather than the local grocery and used more sausage, minced meat, and even horsemeat. They sewed more clothing and household goods, thrifty with the use of electricity and gas, and postponed the purchase of appliances.
Such activities, Baillargeon concludes, demonstrate that women's unpaid domestic labor
cooking, cleaning, budgeting, shopping, childcare and nursing the sickis work and is essential to the economic maintenance of the family. Over half of her informants also worked for pay during the 1930s, taking jobs outside the home and taking in boarders, laundry, and needlework. Half the devout Catholics defied Church teachings and used contraception to limit the size of their families. Extended families used mutual aid
food, housing, loansto help one another.
in Canada, where traditional gender divisions have loosened in recent decades men have been taking on more domestic responsibilities, but the bulk of the work and organizariom continues to fbe done by women.
growing in the City
annoying neighbors
just wait until the chickens and goats move in
Tips and Hints or hips and tints
Using Generic Canned Foods
Generic relish, ketchup and yellow mustard are cheap and versitle.
Add a teaspoon of yellow mustard to sauces, dips, eggs, cheese dishes, tofu and salad dressings to brighten the taste.
Make Honey Mustard by adding a little honey and garlic powder, or try brown sugar
Mix in some dried herbs or Spice it up with cayenne and chili
Make a barbecue sauce from ketchup by adding mustard, sugar, vinegar and spices
Relish + Mayonnaise = Tarter Sauce (you can add chopped onions too)
Mild Salsa doubles as tomato sauce for baked pasta, pizza or spaghetti.
Canned diced tomatoes can be drained and (drink the juice or use in soup, sauces) use the tomatoes on pizza or even salad. Toss with oil & garlic for a quick pasta sauce.
Make a bean dip: Drain a can of unflavoured beans and mash (or use a blender). Season to taste with some salsa or a little ketchup, garlic, onion, and chili powder, lemon juice or vinegar.
Keep an inventory of frozen food and cupboard food. Check off food as it is used up, add to the shopping list when supplies are getting low.
Use a marker to write the date on the bottle you started detergent, dish liquid etc to get an idea of how long it lasts, and when you will need to stock up again.
Always measure detergent etc. follow directions on the package, then try using a little less each time until you notice it is no longer effective. Next time, bump the amount up.
Reuse plastic bags by turn ingthem inside out, washing in hot soapy water, rinse and hang to drip dry. Do the same with reusable grocery bags.
White Vinegar is the greatest all-around cleaner. Boil some with water to clear the air
instead of buying paper towels, cut up old tee shirts, cotton socks and towels to use as rags. Keep them handy in a bag hung from a hook. throw them out if they get too gross, otherwise just wash & reuse. If you are really committed to the frugal cause you can hem them to keep the rags from unraveling.
Put an old sock over your hand to dust with, or fill it with soap slivers to use in the shower
World's Easiest Pie Crust
1 1/2 cups flour (white or whole wheat pastry flour)
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 cup oil
2 Tbsp milk or water
Mix dry ingredients. Add liquids and mix with a fork. Pat into 9-inch pan with fingers. If pre-baked crust is needed, bake at 425 degrees F, 10-12 minutes.
a good cookbook to find in a thrift shop
More-with-less A World Community Cookbook by Doris Jansen Longacre, available through the public library, but worth the cost to buy it
.superb basic cookbook that will teach you not only how to cook but also how to be more aware of the world around you The recipes are tastey. I have learned to cook for my family while staying on a budget. I was also happy to see recipes for things like whipped topping ("Cool Whip") and pancake syrup The recipes are simple so that you can modify them to suit your own tastes and what's locally...
Know what we are eating department
Call to boycott Old Dutch Snack Foods.
The Canadian Labour Congress has endorsed a national consumer boycott against Old Dutch Snack Foods Ltd. The boycott is at the request of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union and is in support of 170 locked out members of UFCW Canada, Local 401 at its Calgary processing plant. . The members are waiting for Old Dutch Snack Foods Ltd to negotiate a fair and equitable collective agreement; the current agreement expired more than a year ago, and on March 29, 2009, the company locked out the 170 members of UFCW Local 401.
To help pressure the company to settle, the Canadian Labour Congress is asking its affiliated
unions to boycott Old Dutch snack foods and the following snack food brands produced at the locked-out plant:
President's Choice and No Name- Superstore / Extra Foods
Great Value - WalMart
Compliments Value - Thrifty Foods
Safeway Blue Bags - Safeway
Co-op Krunchie - Co-op
Cyclone - Overwaite
Grandparents Raising Grandchildren
The last thirty years has seen a huge increase in children being raised by other than their parents. Grandparents Child Development Centre address, for more information contact Lee at child development # or Dianna at Transition Society.
resources are available! In September, meetings will begin again, Monday morning when school is in session (child-care is also available if needed)
Legal resources guide for grandparents raising grandchildren, you can download a copy, or contact
http://www.parentsupportbc.ca/grg_legal.htmlSomalia: Women Go Where Aid Agencies Fear to Tread
http://allafrica.com/stories/200907061218.htmlWomen's groups in embattled Mogadishu are stepping into the aid vacuum to assist thousands more displaced by fighting in the capital, civil society activists said.
"We have been helping in the past but now the situation is even worse so we have had to assume an even bigger role," said Asha Sha'ur, a civil society member and activist.
Due to insecurity, aid agencies have little access to internally displaced persons (IDPs), but Sha'ur said women's groups could move more freely.
"We have had problems, but both sides to the conflict have been good at allowing us [women] to help the needy. When they see a bunch of women they don't bother us,"
Mogadishu has been a battleground for troops loyal to the government of President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed and two Islamist armed opposition groups, including the militant al-Shabab group, which controls much of the south and centre of the country.
The fighting has displaced almost 278,000 people since early May, according to a local human rights group.
Shaur said the situation in Mogadishu was worse than "at any time in the past. I know we have said so many times that the situation is bad, but I honestly cannot remember when the suffering was this bad."
Aid agencies should work more closely with women's groups, she said, "since we have better access".
A poem
Early in the morning
In the stillness the bombing has not yet begun for the day
we plan our campaign
finding food
finding fuel
grinding genetically mutilated corn
tending the helpless.
Each day the women mobilize
daughters grandmothers
working women of the world united with tears
tears of anger, grief
one giant sweeping militia of tears
marching
with or without socks
getting on with it