Karma Crew #2 - Recreator! Re-Creating the Hemp Industry in America

Dear Reader,

We present for your enjoyment and education: Recreator - an LA organization determined to bring back the Hemp Industry in America. You guys know we support hemp and its proliferation in America hardcore, and we are so excited that this movement has a loud voice from young LA locals!

The big news with Recreator right now is their Kickstarter campaign. These guys are rocking it, with their initial goal met with more than two weeks left in the campaign! They've reached $25,000 and they're shooting for $50,000. They'll use the funds to employ artists, attend festival events as vendors, continue to outreach and advocate for Hemp and most excitingly, when they reach their stretch goal of $50,000, they'll expand their clothing line to include some warm weather gear and other new items!

What we love most about this organization is that it is run by young people looking out for the future of our country. I consider that to be true patriotism - using a natural solution and bringing that to our soil - "sowing the seeds" of change towards a sustainable, carbon neutral solution for many of the problems plaguing our society and the Earth in general.

They were inspired by Jack Herer, a writer and hemp legend. Justin, the group's PR whiz, says, "His omnivorous, sort of enthusiastic taunting to authority really captured the imagination of each one of us and got us thinking about what we could do with hemp, especially with young people who embrace cannabis as a lifestyle. It's beyond the "hippie" stigma and turning into something else…although I'm not sure what that is yet."

To us, it's clear that what "that" is right now is a near billion dollar industry built on great hemp products... that are made with hemp from China and Canada. Recreator's critical mission is to bring about a truly local "seed to stitch" process for American Hemp and bring more prosperity to our economy. The side effect of a Hemp economy is: reduced carbon in the atmosphere, more economical solutions for clothing, fuel, building materials, and the list goes on and on.



From our perspective, the Hemp movement is the most important movement of current times, perhaps for our whole generation. Its potential can change the trajectory of history and help us evolve our societies into ones that honor the sacred beauty and bounty of our mother Earth.

 While their main goal is to put Hemp into the forefront of American discourse, Recreator is more than just an advocate group. They have created an editorial short film, ACTAEON and have are developing a blog and community to be launched post-kickstarter-madness. There the guys will be curating local art, sharing hemp news and generating discussion about this amazing sustainable movement and the culture of hemp in general. It will be a great place to find out about the current status of the industry, learn about Hemp and connect with like minded hippies2.0.  

 KarmaCollective has backed Recreator and we encourage you to, as well. Though you can pledge anywhere from a dollar to your life savings, $40 gets you a great hemp shirt and smaller amounts will net you some awesome stickers!

 You never know who you can reach with a sticker. On a night out in early February, we saw an awesome "HEMP" sticker in the bathroom of a bar in Hollywood. Of course that went straight to instagram, tagged #hemp. The guys saw the post and hit us up. Ever since that fateful connection on social media, we knew we needed to share the work these guys are doing, big time.

 Welcome to the KarmaCrew, Recreator! We're super stoked to have you. NAMASTE!

BACK RECREATOR TODAY TO SUPPORT THE QUEST FOR AMERICAN HEMP. 
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Check out ACTAEON here! 

love&light to all! 

Urban Composting - How to accomplish composting in Los Angeles

I have begun a journey down a lifelong path. Everything has changed and I am so grateful to be committed to this new life. Spiritual journey? No.

I'm talking about composting.

This new frontier is foreign, a little scary and the road ahead is uncertain, barely paved by municipal infrastructure or private enterprise. It is exciting.

Assuming my audience is a tiny bit familiar with the concept, I'll leave the Composting 101 to EarthEasy (one of my new favorite sites!) and move right into a "How To in LA" portion.

Urban Composting has two sides. On one hand, if you have a balcony or a yard, you can compost on site and keep your pile outside in a container like this.  That one I linked is made out of recycled plastic so you score double environment points! This site here has an easy tutorial for a DIY plastic bin. If you're adventurous, try vermicomposting with this 5 tray system. The process uses worms to accelerate the process of composting! The little friends leave casings behind as they break down your food waste that are extremely beneficial for gardens and house plants.

On the other hand, if you are less inclined to have rotting food in your apartment, consider collecting your food waste and storing it in the freezer until drop off day, and physically bringing your compost materials to a drop off center that will compost it for you. This container is perfect for keeping your food waste neat amongst the other contents in your freezer, and should be compliant with LA's laws against transporting food waste in an open air container like a trash bag. In LA, we are still missing the infrastructure to drop off green food waste. The infrastructure to do urban composting needs to be built up and drop off points established. For now, I'm collecting my food waste. It's important to start somewhere, even if it's not glamorous! I'm researching where I can bring my green waste, saving up for my own composting bin, and in the meantime, the food waste lives in the freezer.

One solution available in select areas of LA is offered by a local organization called LA Compost. Their bike-powered pick up service, where they come to you and collect your food waste, saves you from the long-term composting process or taking trips to the drop off center.

Currently LA Compost is serving Whittier , Baldwin Park, Covina and West Covina. They are expanding into new areas in LA and I certainly look forward to the addition of my neighborhood. Currently they are really the only people in our area collecting food waste and their presence is much needed.

These Very Conscious People can be found online at: www.wastetofood.com and contacted directly by emailing info@wastetofood.com. They would love to speak with you to set up a pick up routine for you and offer their additional services, like free leaf removal from your yard!

No matter how you get there, the best part of composting is definitely the end result. The end product, called humus, can be used in gardens, lawns and potted plants. This rich soil additive is highly sought after and can be sold. It is often packaged like coffee and sold at farmers markets. Do we have any entrpreneurs in the building? Composting has potential for big conscious business. Is there one among us with some open outdoor space that would like to venture into this beautiful new world? We can easily pool our food waste to create a large pile worth mucho dinero! Let's create anew from what others consider waste and let's use our creation to enrich our plants, and our wallets.

Do you compost? Please take a moment to comment about your process and any successes or obstacles you've faced!

Mucho Love,
Farrah

Environmentally Safe Pest Control

My apartment is being fumigated today. A little gross, a little humiliating, but nothing can be done otherwise - the pests may live in the walls of my old brick apartment building, and who could blame them? I'm sure it's palatial and divine living quarters for bugs and mice and other little friends.

However happy the pests are to have made their empire near my dwelling... I'm not exactly jumping for joy. And so the exterminator that serves the building has been called. As I'm not the owner of the apartment, it's difficult to get someone to come out and perform the service independently and not only that, as a person of modest means, I don't have the extra cash to foot the bill for an out of pocket extermination. So I'm stuck with a traditional chemical-laden pest treatment. I'm not happy about it, except that it has inspired me to do some research and while I hope to never need fumigation again, I'm realistic with knowing that I live in Los Angeles, I probably will engage pest control services again. Any next time, it's going to be on my terms and without the harsh and harmful chemicals I'm subjecting myself (and my succulent, named Penelope Kruse) to. 

Not to focus on the negative, but the reasons to invest in non toxic pest control are clear and simple - traditional methods using common pesticides are as harmful as spraying poison on your walls. Pesticides have been linked to the emergence of cancer, reproductive health issues and neurological damage. Doubly disconcerting is the notion that a majority of pesticides aren't tested for their affect on developing neural systems like those of our children. (Spiegelman)

With that in mind, here are some resources for those of you that can afford to be more selective with the pest control you engage.

It turns out there are many alternatives to spraying harmful pesticides with abandon.

Here are some of your choices:
1. Natural Predators - a group of Lady bugs can be brought in to eat aphids - well suited for outdoor use
2. Boric Acid - a weak acid that can be spread as powder in affected areas
3. Plant Oil Based Pesticides - sprayed like chemical pesticides, these materials have plant-based, non toxic ingredients
4. Thermal Remediation - Specialists can safely heat a room to over 120 degrees to kill pests without introducing chemicals. This is typically used for bed bugs.
5. Diatomaceous Earth - A powdered form of fossilized algae with sharp edges that can break down insect exoskeletons and dehydrate the pests. Safe for use in gardens and even on pets' fur.

Companies In LA to try:

Koreatown: Green Termite and Pest Control
LA & Orange County: Greenleaf Organic Pest Control 
LA & Southern Cali: Hearts' Los Angeles Pest Control 

If you give these businesses your business, comment back and let's see who has a great experience with them!!

p.s. I wish I didn't have to kill any pests but I have to consider my living conditions. Pests carry disease and are super unpleasant to have around... what can we do but to keep them out of our living spaces? Of course it must be said that dilligence should be done to seal any cracks or openings, and all surfaces should be kept crumb free and clear of any food waste. I will be sure to double up on my efforts to keep the bugs away without having to kill them. This site is full of inventive and natural methods to keep pests at bay, often pre-empting the need to go on a killing spree! Anything that prevents violence, even if it is "just bugs" is a step in the right direction in my book.

Annie Spiegelman, Huffington Post. Article about Eco-Friendly Pest Control

Karma Credo

We are stewards of the Earth

Our actions are sacred and affect our entire universe. 

We are responsible for all that we do and all that we think.

We raise the vibration of humanity and of Earth herself 

We operate in this physical realm with 

Integrity 

Respect 

Kindness 

Gentleness

Understanding 

Compassion 

We use business and social organizations to improve the lives of others and our business practices reflect the purity we promote to the earth. 

We do not use harmful chemicals or substances 

We source locally 

We reduce or eliminate our carbon footprint 

We keep our prices fair 

We value ourselves and our customers 

We give back to our communities 

We support love, charity, health and spiritual wellbeing. 

We are the Karma Collective

Join us as we break cycles of indifference and apathy

Join us as we emanate positive karma throughout all of time and space

Join us as we ascend to a reality of Enlightenment for all. 

@thekarmacollective