ReadyMade is a book – but not just that. It’s a DIY bible that grew up reading popular science as a kid, and now has a collegial 50’s garage tinkerer sensibility.  It launches with fiery trails. It soars. When it falls, it brushes itself off and starts over. It is the Captain of Creativity. Resistance is futile. This book is 100% hope.

Shoshana Berger came up with the idea for ReadyMade Magazine in 2000.  At a time when no one was launching a magazine with less than $5 million to invest, she decided to take a more DIY approach.  After all, that’s what they would be writing about, creating things yourself instead of buying them.  For two years, she and her partner, Grace Hawthorne, worked on a small budget, starting from scratch and learning the intricacies of the magazine business as they went. They did everything themselves – from conceiving and proofing every document that went out the door, to taking out the trash. Three years and many interns later, they were able to start paying themselves, and were the official editors of a widely regarded magazine.

The lush ridges and valleys of the Sierra Madre rise high into the clouds of western Guatemala. The unique combination of high elevations, dense neotropical forests, and cold wet nights create an ideal setting for the production of great coffee. Known in the coffee world as Huehuetenango (way way ten ango) this region was one of the first recognized appellations, a historical fact that testifies to its unique ecology, culture, and distinctive coffees. In fact, Huehuetenango is one of two appellations recognized by Slow Food International as a heritage producer.

So first - the story. Yes! The story, who can i be without the story? A man in the wilderness sitting squatted in padmasana meditating about the self... Of course the story, once you succeeded, transforms into the path. The story is the funny thing we get to remember. The story is what puts bunions in the feet of our ego. The story, once expressed, is ether released into reality, and whoever gets to witness (if they are well enrolled) can help you reach the greatest goal. 

The Slow Money gathering aims to fix the economy from the ground up, one small food enterprise at a time.  At a time when the big business in town is a struggling stock market, disgraced investment bankers, and a market overrun with poisonous factory-farm produce – the Slow Money Gathering is bringing to bear a new kind of investing.  They call it natural capital, farmer capital, social capital, local capital, nurture capital & cheese capital (why not?).

In the last two years, the gathering has hosted more than 1000 people form 24 states, and more than $4.25 million dollars have been invested in 16 of the presenting small food enterprises.  The event has also given rise to local chapters, who have begun investing around the country.

My name is Andrew, I’m a brand new employee at Cafe Gratitude’s central office, and I want to share some inspiration with you. What inspires me is compassionate food--food that’s kind to the soil it’s planted in, the people who prepare it, and the hungry bodies that make it part of them. This inspiration has lead me to work with Cafe Gratitude, and also with another organization re-imagining good food, and one I’ll talk about today: the Cooperative Food Empowerment Directive, or CoFED, which empowers college students to launch food cooperatives.

What both these organizations have in common is that they empower people to transform their lives, with compassionate food as a catalyst. We like to call the Cafe a school of transformation disguised as a restaurant, because our core mission isn’t to sell you food - our aim is to give you tools to shape your life how you want it to be. Part of actively taking control of your life involves loving yourself, and a key part of loving yourself is feeding yourself really awesome food. So when you decide that you’re worthy of nourishing your body, mind and soul with meals that are kind to the Earth and her animal and human inhabitants - meals that make you feel and function great - you’re taking the first step on the journey of self-transformation.

This year, the California Label GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) Campaign is committed to proposing legislation to ensure that all GMO foods sold are labelled as containing GMOs. Currently, food distributors are not required to label their food as containing GMOs. Cafe Gratitude is a stand for the labeling and regulation of GMOs, the use of which pose untold threats to the health of our community and planet.
Why does this matter? If you are not currently aware of the social, economic, ecological, and health dangers posed by GMOs, check out the video of Vandana Shiva, Ph.D. below.  She is a philosopher, environmental activist, and ecofeminist, who is regarded as an authority on the global implications of GMO crops.

What can you do?  Take action today by:
- Spreading the word in your social network, website, or neighborhood: Click Here to Share
- Visit LabelGMOs.org/pledge to pledge to collect signatures to help us meet our goal.
- Donate to help this grass-roots campaign succeed!
- Learn how to avoid GMOs when you shop, by going to a local California farmer's market, or by checking out the Center for Food Safety's Non-GMO shopper's guide.
Thank you for sharing your inspiration with us, and for helping us to create this world as a safe, healthy, just place for future generations.

"Forks Over Knives" follows the journey of several Americans as they move from lifetimes of eating mostly animal products and processed foods to a whole food plant-based diet, and the miraculous health results that follow.  Two scientists, Dr. Campell of Cornell University, and Dr. Esselstyn of the Cleveland Clinic, lead the way, sharing their research findings that illuminate the healthfulness of a plant-based diet, and it's ability to steer fork-eaters clear of cancer, heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. 

The film also touches on larger issues, including the morose diagnosis that given the healthfulness of most Americans, today's children may not reach the average age of their parent's generation.  So, our scientists start asking the big questions:

"Who will protect the public?"  Their answer: Not the government, not the American Dietetic association, not the insurance industry, or the pharmaceutical industry, nor the medical or food industries.  Perhaps only the public can protect the public, and armed with the information in this film, we might all learn how to live long and fruit-full lives.

Hi Everyone,

At Cafe Gratitude, we experience our community as ever inclusive, larger than life, and growing every day.  Even so, it is thrilling to find whole new chapters of our extended family who have been inspired by our offerings, and who are crafting powerful, abundant, conscious, lives.  That being said, I would like to introduce you to Tangee, a passionate writer, mother, performance artist, and dedicated eco-scout, who has been practicing conscious parenting with her "hubby" for their "lil munchkin," Andrik.  They all belong to a cohesive community of conscious parents called Family Love Village.  It is a real joy and a wonder to follow this group of parents and parents-to-be as they journey together, sharing a path of joy and commitment.

"The Family Love Village is a cohesive community where other like-minded parents support one another with alternative, natural, positive, eco-friendly and conscious parenting choices. It’s a sacred place where judgments are left at the door and loving trust and bonds are formed.   It's a forum where we can discuss and share our concerns, frustrations, and triumphs, as well as create the space to be open to learn more tools that help guide us on this cognizant parenting journey – knowing that we’re not alone on this parenting path!"

Cafe Gratitude celebrates Family Love Village for embracing a conscious lifestyle, fulfilling on the promise of community, and creating a better future for all of our children, "one cloth diaper and green toxic-free toy at a time."