Country Wisdom & Know How

Of the hundreds of titles on the P’lovers Eco-Bookshelf, this is one I definitely needed in my private collection. “Country Wisdom & Know How – Everything You Need to Know to Live off the Land” is a reference book like no other.

While the summers I spent working on a farm throughout high school were great learning experiences, I am still far from completely competent or self-sufficient in this regard. In fact, I (half-jokingly) refer to myself as a handyman second class — no clue as to build something from scratch, but give me a detailed set of instructions, and I can usually follow along.

Thus my attraction to Country Wisdom. Part cookbook, part encyclopedia, part how-to manual, the book gives you the background, resources, and confidence to tackle projects of all kinds.

My tiny little backyard garden will benefit from the instructions I received in the chapter on planting garlic. Pikachu, our new golden doodle puppy, will be the appreciative “guinea pig” when the kids and I try our hand at making doggie treats. I’m a self-confessed candle freak. While I personally think that our Pheylonian beeswax candles are the best in the world, that won’t stop me from trying to make one of my own — with some new found “Country Wisdom”, of course.

-Steve

From the Publisher
Reminiscent in both spirit and design of the beloved Whole Earth Catalog, Country Wisdom & Know-How is an unprecedented collection of information on nearly 200 individual topics of country and self-sustained living. Compiled from the information in Storey Publishing’s landmark series of “Country Wisdom Bulletins,” this book is the most thorough and reliable volume of its kind. Organized by general topic including animals, cooking, crafts, gardening, health and well-being, and home, it is further broken down to cover dozens of specifics from “Building Chicken Coops” to “Making Cheese, Butter, and Yogurt” to “Improving Your Soil” to “Restoring Hardwood Floors.” Nearly 2,000 illustrations, diagrams and photographs run throughout and fascinating projects and trusted advice crowd every page.

Wrestling with the Loonie

During a recent trip to the pet store to buy still more supplies for our new pooch, the clerk warned me that prices on most everything have increased — in some cases pretty dramatically.

After thinking on it for a split second, I opined that this was most likely due to the plunging Canadian dollar, now sitting around 80 cents versus the American greenback. Sure enough, the product I had in my hand was from a US company, as were, I was told, many of the other products impacted by the price increase.

While a good percentage of the products we carry in P’lovers are made in Canada or purchased from Canadian companies, there is a small selection of important American products that we import directly. Special companies like DreamSacks, Resource Revival, Lucuma, Klean Kanteen, Planetary Design, and Syracuse Cultural Workers all have truly wonderful products that we simply cannot get in Canada. As such, when I am considering an order with these companies (as I am this week) I really do have to concern myself with the strength of the dollar.

Here…try on my buyer’s hat for a moment…

In short, an 80 cent dollar is the equivalent of a 20% increase in the cost of the product. In general, the cost of bringing a product across the border (shipping, duty, brokerage fees, etc…) adds anywhere between 15% and 25% to the cost of the order — depending on the product shipped and the method of shipping used. To add insult to injury, that 80 cent dollar just increased my shipping cost by 20% as well. (To add still further insult, make the purchase on your credit card and they will take an extra couple of percentage points for themselves — just because they can.)

For the big box, mass merchandisers carrying low price, high margin products with greater price elasticity, this is hardly a dilemma. Not so for the small, independent retailer like P’lovers or my local pet store. If we want to carry some high quality US products, the impact is much more dramatic.  We get the price increase — either directly as described above or from our Canadian distributor.  Our challenge is to evaluate whether some or all of these ancillary costs can be absorbed either by our company and/or our customers. If the answer to both is no, the ultimate result is to cancel the order and do without.

Okay, give me my hat back!

-Steve

Editor’s Note: Remember, only a few short months ago, all the fuss, initiated and driven largely by the media, about how prices on all retail goods should be lowered due to the high Canadian dollar? Isn’t it curious how there isn’t a similar call for across the board price increases now that the dollar has fallen again.

Waste Not with Bamboo!

My “Rider Green” Planetary Designs travel mug is already an indispensable tool for my on-the-go lifestyle. It literally travels everywhere with me and if I don’t have it, no coffee – simple as that. Now I have something else to add to my nomadic culinary toolkit — bamboo utensils in an incredibly convenient recycled plastic holder.

Single-use plastic cutlery, like throwaway coffee cups, are an antiquated “luxury” our society can no longer afford. A tremendous amount of energy and resources are consumed, an immense amount of pollution and waste created — only to have the end product tossed in our landfill after such an incredibly short lifespan. Does this make sense to you?

My new bamboo utensils are lightweight, convenient, and compact. They also have everything their plastic counterparts do not. They are exquisitely made, durable and strong, crafted from a sustainable resource. Each set comes with a knife, fork, spoon, and for those times you are feeling particularly adventurous, chop-sticks.

Each utensil set comes equipped with it’s own carrying case that has an amazing story all it’s own.

“CONSERVE is a recycling and waste management non-governmental organization that was founded in October 2003 in response to the mountains of garbage and litter, especially plastic bags that had become a common sight around the city of New Delhi.

The project employs poor urban women and men in the slums of east Delhi to collect, sort, weigh and clean plastic bags. Through a heating and pressing process, the plastic melts together creating a thicker more durable plastic material. Since the plastic bags come in all colors, different designs can be created using strips and cutouts of bags, no dyes or inks are required.”

Perfect for picnics or meals on the go, this eco-chic product is ideal for anyone who doesn’t want to sacrifice convenience in their quest to reduce their personal impact on our planet.

-Steve

Customizable Eco-Fun!

Anyone still hanging onto the tired, outdated notion that “stylish” and “eco-friendly” are mutually exclusive will definitely be challenged when they see the newest fashion accessory to hit P’lovers in Port Perry.

Shainsware bracelets are brand new, funky, colourful and customizable and are made of 100% post-industrial recycled plastic scraps. The bracelet itself is available in a selection of colours and you create your own design or message using the letters, numbers, and icons that accompany it.

The company makes an extra effort to send a green corporate message. All products are packaged using recycled card stock and 10% of net profits are donated to a variety of environmental organizations.

When we inquired about labour practices in their manufacturing facilities in China we were reassured they have done “due diligence” — using long established, dependable contacts. In short, they take these concerns seriously and watch over their situation carefully.

While I know this item will be red hot with all females from six to sixty (and beyond), there’s no reason to let the girls have all the fun! Now, what colour will I wear today?

-Steve