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"When you reap the harvest of you land, you shall not reap all the way to the edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest. You shall not pick your vineyard bare, or gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger." - Leviticus 19:9-10
Thus sayeth the website Fallen Fruit, and I'm assuming the Lord as well. Now before anyone gets all hot and bothered, no I'm not bringing religion onto this blog (I steer away from all things religious and political as much as I can) but when the website of the month uses an ancient writing like that, that to me makes a lot of sense, well then I need to pay it homage.
Basically, the site is a series of maps, presently revolving around Los Angeles, that let's people know where public fruit trees are and when the fruit is ripe for the picking. It's really cool! A quick look at one of the maps will show you where to find plums, olives, grapefruit and dates, just to name a few.
The concept, as explained in the manifesto is that there is wasted food everywhere so why shouldn't public fruit trees be planted, and why shouldn't the people be allowed to map and use those fruit trees to their own benefit. Planting trees will help revive barren landscapes, feed the hungry, and create communities as people work together to use and cultivate these "fruits".
It's a really cool idea and the hope is that this spreads throughout the world and becomes a resource and a benchmark for how we can live together and help others while benefiting ourselves at the same time.
Fallen Fruit, check it out.
3 comments:
Dave,
Here is Chico a local group, GRUB (Growing Resourcefully, Uniting Bellies) has a "fruit tree registry" where owners call up and register their trees and GRUB comes out and picks the top half of the tree, leaving the bottom for the owner, or they will pick it all and leave some for the owner.
Mark
Great! Tonight, I watched a family knocking apples out of a tree on a college campus where my kids practice on the weekends. It was a very pleasant sight - and my first thought was how happy I am that the fruit won't be wasted. My second thought was about how I can't believe it's already October!
Hi Dave,
Ancient knowledge is worthy no matter the source.
We have similar trends here and it helps to restore a long lost sense of community, ie for all the community.
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