RISING TRIBES

Rising Tribes

i have joined a writing group.  two other sisters sit next to me twice a month, share their heart, give feedback to mine. and by the magic of women gathering, i am weaving words easier these days! During our gatherings i workshop this blog.  I set goals to commit myself to creating a space for my voice, my truth.  bring together  the utterance of my voice and how you might experience it.   So far (on our two gatherings) i have gotten a fill on how to maintain focus.  in addition, i truly love sharing space with mothers.  learning how  different mamas maneuver self with motherhood, society’s expectations with deep self truth.     i gotta say though, what really has been a catalyst to my focus was a simple yet poignant question from one of the sisters.   it came as a response to my vision for this blog, she asked  “What is a tribe?”

as she uttered the words i thought  “YES! i finaly get to tell someone!!!!” and “Oh crap, now i really have to own up to my vision.”  i took a deep breath, i had a quick flash of the past  seven years, and another one of the next seven…then, answered.  so for tonight, in honor of the one person that may be reading this right now, here is my 10 point rendition of “what is a tribe?” in the voice of mamaluna and in the vision of risingtribes.

1.  a group of beings committed to each other’s empowerment  and evolution.

2. mothers who know to be sisters, sisters who know to be friends, friends that know to be mothers. fathers that know to be a holding hand. brothers that cry, children that teach.  community that cares, warms, feeds, breathes, sings, dances, laughs into continuum.

3. an ancient, wise, oral spoken story, danced and prayed to a beat of drums, flutes, tambourines, earth, in a circle of mothers, elders, children, fathers, youth, uplifted by truth.

4. a group of people that care for the earth, communicate with all its beings with respect and reverence, and commit themselves to care for all.

5. a family whose values lie in nature’s wisdom, whose children are the elders and the elders the children.

6. the dogon, the dagara, the tzeltal, the inuit, the tzotzil, the klahoose, the coastal salish, the navajo, the pima, the hopi, the nahuatl, the olmec, the zapotec, the inca, the zulu, the maori, and the thousands of tribes that are still thriving in our world, who are continuously under attack by systematic oppression, and corporate greed, but who pray with full hearts towards the well being of all, even those who hurt them.

7. a group of people that are self sufficient, working  collectively toward the health and well being of all, who are mindful and considerate of every one’s needs.

8. a happy people, happy to each do their part towards the betterment of all.  That sees the health and expression of each individual’s heart and creativity as the health of all.

9.  a community that ensures a joyous, supported and nurturing home birth, that supports a child through her every day learning, that holds the hand of a brother that is struggling, that reviews its collective if there is someone suffering, that continues to care for elders as it cares for its children, that honors each individuals efforts.  a community of self love.

10. a community free of systematic oppression, free of greed, free of fear, free of doubt,  free of destructive hierarchies, free of competition, free of judgement.

i honor all of the tribes that have survived the constant waves of humanity’s fear, grateful for their continuous teachings and living energy. i believe with my heart that in all of us there is a being of light, a being that can heal themselves, heal this world, and come forward to rebuild the broken ties of our human web.  One family at a time, as rising tribes.

In light of this post, check out The Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers, who have began to mend the web,   leading the way towards the rebuilding of peace.

Making your own grain milks

Recently, it dawn on me that this is what  the old ladies in the Mercados (outdoor markets) were doing  back home  (San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico) on their Aguas Frescas stands selling Horchata.  Sadly though, by the time I was a  teenager a delicious and nutritious home made milk turned into a commercial store bought syrup with tons of corn syrup and who knows what else to mimic the delicious flavor of this Mexican Rice drink (and  create a new epidemic of cavities, mine included).

Grains have been used for thousands of years as a drink in many forms, tea, atole, milk, fermented drinks. This has lead me to finally understand that, “when broke, buy a sack of grain!” Not only will you have drinks, but with this sack you have flour, numerous cereals,  grain dishes, toasted grain dishes.  My ancestors and probably yours too, would show you (go back to when you family was farming) that you either grew your grain or made sure you had something to trade for it.

Back to the liquids, since the recession hit the island we live in, and our work, I have been busy at work in the kitchen.  I went from focusing on my regular penny saving strategies to how are we saving ten dollars here and there?   Crazy but true, this is not a rececion folk, its another great depression (don’t be fooled).  And so, the times call for drastic measures in the home front.  So I digged back to my roots and I  recalled that my Tzeltal family is able to survive with corn alone and wild edible plants (as does my grandfather) and my Polish ancestors could make delicious crackers with flour and water or with a little potato and yeast some awesome baggles; finally when I came to my Mexican roots what stands out is  Horchata and Atole. There is nothing that can beat a cool refeshing glass of  Horchata in the middle of a hot day or a warming mug of Atole in the cold mornings of San Cristobal.  The triggered memories lead me to hone my grain milk making skills.

So this is what I’ve been doing:

1.  I chose to buy a sack of rolled oats   (I tried to get organic,  most often bulk organics are so, so, so much cheaper, so its worth the search and the effort, local food coops are great in that regard).  If a sack is to much, buy a few pounds at a time.

2.   I researched the different things I could do with that grain.

3.  I blend the grains dry in a regular strong blender to use as coarse flour or mixed cereal (Recipe below).  I use left over breakfast oatmeal to make oat milk (Recipe below) or I soak oats over night, or for 20  minutes in hot water.  I have use oat milk  for smoothies, baking needs, as milk and thickener of soups, hot chocolate, ice-pops.  With a grinder I make flour and use the flour for baking needs.  Toss oats in honey and spread thin layers in a cookie sheet and bake for granola.  I’ve also made granola bars.

4. I give thanks to the farmer and the world for this Grain!

5.  I watch my family love the DIY (Do It Yourself)  process and smile at the delicous versatility of oats.

Recipes:

Breakfast Cereal

In a powerful Kitchen blender blend to you preferred consistency as fine, coarse or in between as you like.  I often find that the bigger chunks of rice and millet add a nice body to the cereal:

1/4 Cup of Rolled Oats

1/4  Cup of brown rice

1/4 Cup of Roasted Millet (Roasting or soaking Milled helps to alkaline the grain, which is otherwise pretty acidic, roasting works best for this recipe as well   for tea)

1/4 Cup of your choice (barley, khasa, quinoa, amaranth)

Add  4 cups of cold water to a sauce pan and then pour your blended cereals to the pot, stir to disolve all clumps and then (VERY IMPORTANT) turn on the flame on med-low, stir for another 3 minutes while the water warms, and then be available to stir often to avoid burned settiment.

The cereal will be ready in about 20 to 25 min.  You can have it as a sweet porrige with honey, berries, raisings,  wheat germ, flax seed meel, for that extra energy boost or as a savory breakfast, i like to add salt, finely chopped ginger (add while cooking), scallions and cilantro.

When you have a few more minutes to spare, make larger batches and store in a  sealed container.  There is your ten dollar savings

Oat Milk

From Left over oatmeal:

I mainly just gage if i have about a cup of oatmeal, I just fill up my blender with cold water.  Some times less if I want a creamier consistency.

For Flavor I like to add vanilla extract, cinamon powder, honey or sugar.

From soaked oats:

Soak over night 1/2 cup of oats on a glass gar o pot with 3 cups of water, bring the same amount of water to a boil, pour onto oats and let soak 20 minutes.  If you are using quick oats it would be much faster.

Resources:

Most valuable book to our family:   Healing with Whole Foods by Paul Pitchford, check your local library, they should have it save $30 dollars or if you can support the author.

I will return and talk about Atole as it diserves its very own entry.

Its True

This is how bad things are right now.  And I am just absolutely astonished at how many people are suffering around the world.  I mean, there is some really crazy stuff going on right now, and the economy is just one little part of that.  All of it  makes me think, the best thing we could be doing right now is keeping united as a family, as community, and being of service where ever we can.  I am planting some corn this year, and lots of squash and potatoes.

A Town in Crisis