Books by Sharon Rempel

Demeter's Wheats. Growing local food and community with traditional wisdom and heritage wheat.

Published in 2008 by Grassroot Solutions, Victoria B.C. 124 pages.

BOOK CONTENT: Start at the back and read some earthy poetry. Find a list of heritage varieties of wheat starting with Red Fife. Learn how to plant a row or a field of wheat.

Demeter's Wheats is a practical 'how to grow wheat' guide as well as visionary statement and wake up call to produce food 'gently' with Nature. Demeter's Wheats tells us we can go back to our cultural roots and relearn how to live in 'community' with each other and our ecosystem.

Demeter's Wheats introduces a hope for the future grounded in ancient wisdom and a philosophy based on Abundance and Regeneration.

Demeter's Wheats teaches, preaches and inspires us to co-create a reality that is truly sustainable.

Sharon's unique '3 Ps' plant breeding philosophy links dynamically People, Plant and Place. She teaches us about finding varieties adapted to the bioregion, finding varieties that thrive without high inputs of chemicals and recongizing that plants and place have wisdom.

AUTHOR:

Activist, writer, group facilitator, educator, organic food pioneer since 1986, local food guru, seed bank designer, heritage conservation specialist with seeds, researcher and public speaker - a few of the hats Sharon Rempel wears in her 'work' with seeds.

Sharon Rempel is the creator of 'Seedy Saturday' seed exchanges and the godmother of 'Red Fife' heritage wheat in Canada.

Sharon challenges mainstream paradigms in agriculture, science and spirituality. Sharon believes seed should not be patented or 'owned' by breeders or corporations.She has served on three United Nations delegations for Canada and has worked with grassroot farmers in the fields of Bangladesh, Greece and Canada.

Sharon runs a registered charity called The Garden Institute where she conducts research and links biodiversity with conservation, music, culture and food lore.

Photos on the book jacket of 'Demeter's Wheats':

The photos, taken by Sharon Rempel are symbolic of her philosophy.

The top photo is a bundle of various species of Triticum (wheat). Sharon grew all these wheats. Diversity IS Security for all local food systems.

In another photo Sharon's hands form a heart and hold heritage wheat next to a saying 'the hand that holds the seed controls the food supply'. Symbolism to Sharon: the heart of food security is seed.

The cover of Demeter's Wheats shows Tel Halula archaeological site in Syria along the Euphrates River. The site grew wheat in 10,000 BC and is where people began to live together in community. Sharon visited the site in March 2008. Wheat wasn't being grown because people had forgotten the traditional wisdom of planting wheat with 'zatar' to repel the nematode. Symbolism to Sharon: we have to go back to our roots and traditional wisdom.

This story of zatar and wheat is the beginning of Sharon's upcoming book - 'Wisdom of People, Plant and Place'

The cover of 'Demeter's Wheats' shows a young woman farmer from Syria holding grain. She has taken over the running of her family farm. Symbolism for Sharon: A young woman as Persephone is a symbol of the fertility of life in times when Demeter held grain in her hand and fed her people and taught the Mystery School of seed wisdom and regeneration.

The cover of 'Demeter's Wheats' shows a photo of an Aleppo Syria street bakery where flat 'Syrian' bread in a traditional clay oven. This flat bread is dipped into olive oil and zatar. Smbolism for Sharon: In the Western world wheat and bread are always linked to the symbol of food security and 'daily bread'. The clay oven is a womb where flour, water and yeast are transformed into nourishment.

On the back cover of 'Demeter's Wheats' Sharon Rempel is harvesting Red Fife heritage wheat from a field in Victoria BC. Sharon Rempel's hands form a heart that holds heritage wheat varieties. 'The hand that holds the seed controls the food supply" says Sharon Rempel.

Demeter's Wheats: Growing Local Food and Community with Traditional Wisdom and Heritage Wheat (2008) | $19.95 | ISBN 978-0-9689248-3-9

Buy this book if: you are interested in growing local food you want to learn the language of wheat growing you believe in Abundance you want to put 'culture' back in agriculture you want to develop a community seed program you want to set up Seedy Saturday and learn how to do it you want to read about Red Fife wheat you are interested in Demeter's Mystery School wisdom and philosophy you want to own a paradigm changing book about science, agriculture, philosophy and art reuniting you are curious about Lamark you want to work in harmony with nature while you grow food

Table of Contents Part One: Society and Systems Redefining Value People, Plant and Place – Historic Relationships Agriculture and Change Cost of Agricultural Progress Lamarkian and Reductionistic Sciences Uniformity and Stability; Power versus Force Bringing Culture Back to Agriculture Voice for the Seed Community Roots Mysteries Past and Present Red Fife Wheat Transformational Power of Seed Part Two: Wheat Types of Wheat Landraces and Hybridization Seed Saving Uses of Wheat Flour Other Marketing Possibilities for Wheat The End and the Beginning; Spiral and Sphere Seedy Saturday Food Security Slow Seed Contacts and Resources Poems Canadian Heritage Wheats

Ordering, Taxes & Shipping

• Canadian or US customers: $19.95 plus $1 GST and $6 shipping TOTAL $26.95 CAD ( higher US postal rates eat up the exchange difference). Click the left Pay Pal button.
• Europe and overseas orders $28.95 please - click the right Pay Pal button
• Cheques or money orders should be payable to: Sharon Rempel, #38, 38-3200 Island Highway, Nanaimo, B.C. V9T 6N4 Canada. $26.95 in CAD or US, your choice. Cheques are fine.
• Please include your name, address and postal code for the receipt

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