Blog Update!
For those of you not following me on Facebook, as of the Summer of 2019 I've moved to Central WA, to a tiny mountain town of less than 1,000 people.

I will be covering my exploits here in the Cascades, as I try to further reduce my impact on the environment. With the same attitude, just at a higher altitude!

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Salish Sea CSA

I finally signed us up for a farm produce delivery this Sunday. But, this isn't any ordinary CSA. This delivery from farm to table is about as carbon neutral as you can get. Even though the farms are miles away from Seattle, I will be picking up a box of vegetables and fruits that use only a little bit of diesel to get it here.

How does that work? Well, the pickup is done by sailboat. The Salish Sea Trading Cooperative sails from Ballard in Seattle up to Sequim on the north end of the Olympic Peninsula and picks up goodies from such lauded farms as Nash's Organics and we fully expect to be getting some mid-summer delights.

According to their website, Salish Sea Trading Cooperative relies on wind and tide to transport locally produced goods up and down Puget Sound by sailboat. Their goals are to conserve precious energy resources and re-introduce the idea of sail as everyday transport while building resiliency into our local foodshed. The boxes are delivered from dock to pickup via electric truck.

According to Kathy Pelish of SSTC from this article on the operation, "Oil is a declining resource. We're reawakening to the dangers of relying on it so heavily, whether it's used for transportation or to make fertilizers for our farms. Renewables can help, but ultimately our lives are going to be a lot more local. What we buy, what we manufacture, how we move goods, where our food comes from... we'll transition to greater dependence on our local communities and nearby resources."

If you live in the Seattle area and are interested in getting more involved or just want to hang out with the folks that pull this whole thing together, they are having a social get-together tonight, at 7 PM (August 3rd) at the 24th Street NW Public Dock in Ballard, next to Stimson Marina. Anyone interested in revitalizing sail transport around Puget Sound is welcome! Look for the 34 foot Catalina flying the "Pirates for Sustainability" banner.

Photo courtesy of Ballard News Tribune

7 comments:

Sandy said...

Awesome! What an excellent idea!

Farmer's Daughter said...

That's cool! I'd love to see a horse drawn wagon delivery :)

Maria said...

That is really a great idea.

Carolyn said...

I love this!

Robj98168 said...

Very Cool. But I ain't driving to Ballard for a CSA pick up- too far (it would defeat some of the purpose!)

Greenpa said...

Outstanding! I've been pushing sail for several years, as an answer to a bunch of our disasters.

http://littlebloginthebigwoods.blogspot.com/2008/01/ship-happens.html

Have you heard blue-fin tuna are in danger of extinction? Along with a lot of other fish. And the fishermen are going broke too, largely because of the price of diesel?

What if all ocean fish were required by law (enforced) to be captured only by family operated sail powered vessels?

Ok, bit of a dream there- but not actually impossible. :-)

Meanwhile- double cheers for that CSA!

Laura said...

I'm sad I didn't make it to the event. I'd love to have gotten to chat and see the sailboat! How does the price compare to other CSAs?