from Jean paul courtens
Hi Jane and Allan:
I think it is also important for the subscribers at BD Now to know
that Jan vanderTuin (whom I had forgotten to mention), had brought
the idea with him from Dornach, Switzerland. There Jan had either
worked, or just met with a farmer that had a CSA relationship with
the people in the community of Dornach. (I assume everyone knows
that Dornach is where the headquarters of the anthroposophical
society is centered.) I mention this since we need to understand
what the core values behind the CSA concept are if you want to
understand where to move from here. You can find similar
core-values in the community land trust movement, within Native
American wisdom, etc. The main idea behind CSA is an associative
relationship in which a true partnership develops between the farmer
and the consumer. It arises out of the understanding that economic
arrangements are a balance between altruistic and egotistic
interests. The consumer has an interest in good food and understands
in order to sustain his physical body he needs to find an excellent
farmer that understands how to nourish the earth. The consumer is
egotistic and altruistic at the same time since his/her concern for
the earth and the well-being of the farmer go hand in hand with
his/her own health. The farmer needs to provide for him/herself and
it is in his/her interest to provide a good value to the consumer.
As far as ownership is concerned and the importance of it, I find
that people generally think too simplistic in the terms of
ownership. It is not that you either own a farm or you don't. The
ownership has many aspects and you can refer to ownership as nothing
more that a bundle of rights. For example it is quite appropriate
for the farmer to own the farm business but can be very
comfortable in leasing the land from the consumers providing the
consumer is willing to write a long-term lease, and is willing to
protect the investment the farmer makes each year in the land and/or
other improvements. The community land trust movement has a lot of
experience as far as looking at the question of ownership and we can
learn from them. The anthroposophists, like the people in the
community land trust movement have looked at issues like the place
of the economy in context of our social life. How we derive value,
and come up with a price in the contex t of a just economy are very
important questions and lie at the heart of the CSA movement. To
counter Leigh in his bitter experience, I have to endure the
pressure of my members to get more serious about my own financial
future, get an IRA, increase my profit etc. I appreciate their
concern, and it is a proof that what we do works and has a profound
impact on others. Where do you find that outside the CSA movement?
Jean-Paul
ps, Allan, I had a little chuckle when I saw your subject line above
the response to Steve in the SANET which read: BD BS. A Freudian
e-slip maybe?
