"This is not just about coffee, this is not just about musrooms, this is an entire movement about growing your own and worrying about where your food comes from"
"No matter your expertise or experience in growing your own food in the past, no matter the size of your house or backyard everyone can grow their own local sustaibnle food easily and we think that sense of empowerment is important"
"I know every single person in this audience today, right now, there's constant questions going through their head, all were really saying is pay attention to those questions, ecspecially the ones that seem impossible"
Back to the Roots
"From Bankers to Mushroom Farmers
Back to the Roots was founded by Alejandro Velez & Nikhil Arora during their last semester at UC Berkeley in 2009. Two months away from graduation, and heading into the corporate world of investment banking & consulting, they came across the idea during a class lecture of being able to potentially grow gourmet mushrooms entirely on recycled coffee grounds. Inspired ny the idea of turning waste into wages & fresh, local food, they experimented in Alex's fraternity kitchen, ultimately growing one test bucket of tasty oyster mushrooms on recycled coffee grounds. With that one bucket, some initial interest from Whole Foods & Chez Panisse and a $5,000 grant from the UC Berkeley Chancellor for social innovation, they decided to forget the corporate route, and instead, become full-time urban mushroom farmers!
Inspired by the idea of producing local, fresh food from what was an urban waste stream, Back to the Roots has since grown to create the Grow-Your-Own Mushroom Garden which lets anyone, across the country, grow their own gourmet mushrooms at home as well!"
Speaking of "Why not?", I was so inspired I decided to write Alejandro a love letter:
from: justine espiritu [email protected]
to: [email protected]
Dear Alejandro,
Please quit the Bachlorette, come to Hawaii, and spend the weekend at the Farmer's Markets with me. Why are you looking for true love on a reality tv show? Why not look for a girl on a farm, in overalls, making organic seedlings barefoot on the north shore of Oahu?
I'm just kidding (unless your into it).
My favorite boss knows I'm trying to learn more about sustainable ag and food systems for Hawaii and that I'm crazy about Spanish speaking men that care about their local food system and are motivated to follow their heart, even if it takes them in the opposite direction of money, and she passed on the TED talk to me. Yours and Nikhil's story is way inspiring, for so many reasons. Seeing the directions life takes you when you open your heart and leave the path you THOUGHT you were supposed to be following, it rejuvenates my excitement about life and it's possibilities. And to see successful businesses building themselves up with theories and principles based in kids, community, sustainability... it gets me fired up and want to make out.
One of my 5 jobs is slingin' organic portabella and crimini mushrooms at 2 farmers markets (and some other organic produce of a friend). We are the only mushroom farm on Oahu (Hamakua is on the Big Island). We also sell at Whole Foods, I guess that makes you guys my competition? (How romantic is that?!) My boss has converted shipping containers into climate-controlled mushroom houses, it's pretty wild. You guys should come check us out. With the current state of the world, Hawaii has got itself in quite a pickle. It's an island that is capable of growing sooooooo much of it's own food yet we import about 90%!!!!!
A bill just got slaughtered at the end of our leg session that would've demanded making food production a priority, doubling our amount by 2020, but the developers and those in office wouldn't have it. But, it only makes those of us that believe it's possible that much more amped and motivated.
So. Alejandro. Forget the bachlorette. What, do you want to be on TV? Come to Hawaii for the next legislature session, come to GMO-labeling rallies, testify for bicycle lanes, biodiesel, and sustainable food policies with me and i'll get you on TV. The cameras love our "GMO is Soylent Green" sign. You want drama? Tag along to the Neighborhood Boards I crash. You want to see communities coming together to support their local farmers? Come with me to the Haleiwa Farmer's Market on Sundays, this gem that serves as an outlet for many farmers and the sole source of fresh local produce for some was almost shut down by The Man but us vendors and customers and farmers rallied together and said "No way man!"
I invite you both to come hang in Hawaii and check out what's going on.
I'm super inspired by you both. Here's me gushing about you guys on my blog.
peace,
Justine