Our Uncertain Future Podcast

Johanna DeBiase / Eric Mack

Dialogues digging deeper into life off-grid. www.ouruncertainfuture.com

  1. Altars to the Earth

    05/13/2025

    Altars to the Earth

    I have been writing and unwriting. Weaving and unraveling words. I have had profound thoughts that had no language and language that could not form thoughts. So while I have had so much to share with you all lately, I have not been able to create a wordful composition to express it. Mainly what is on my mind is the lack of control most of us have. Though I wish I could singelhandedly bring peace and harmony to the world and restore the environmental damage being perpetuated on our one and only habitat, I can not. All I can do is find peace within myself and steward my own little plot of land. This project was originally created for a college course I am taking called Art & Ecology that I have thoroughly enjoyed. It forced me to complete an idea I had been playing with for a while, which is to create an altar that will give people a place to go to to pray for healing for the Earth, a small way to give back and commune with our big mama. Altars to the Earth are site-specific nature based mandala-like temporary creations meant to draw people’s attention back to the land. Funny anecdote, at one point while creating one of the altars a couple from Long Island, New York were sitting on a bench behind us talking on the phone complaining about how there is nothing to do in Taos, while gazing out at the beautiful Rio Grande Gorge and seven majestic Big Horn Sheep. We rolled our eyes. If this is nothing, then I don’t know what something is. See if you can spot the sheep in the video. I hope that you might consider creating your own Altars to the Earth in your neighborhood or a nearby tourist location. This video shows you how easy it is to do. You don't have to make five, one is enough. And you don't need to paint any rocks. If you do create an altar, please share it here in the comments or with me directly. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.ouruncertainfuture.com/subscribe

    11 min
  2. Desert Gardening

    08/05/2024

    Desert Gardening

    Gardening in the desert creates a lot of challenges. We have a small garden but any amount of gardening helps to save money. Also, its enjoyable to be outside digging in the soil and growing your own food. I love harvesting vegetables that I nourished from seed to fruit. I feel a great deal of accomplishment. As someone who enjoys cooking, growing my own food and creating new recipes with said food, makes me feel like a true provider for my family and a highly capable human. The main issues of desert gardening are water, sun, soil and wind. In this video, I mostly focus on water and how we utilize our grey water system to save water. I also use a drip irrigation system to help save water. I mention how we created garden beds by digging them into the ground and filling them with gardening soil. I discuss how I use shade cloths for sun to cover my greens. Bugs and weeds are rarely a problem. You will also notice in the video that we have corrugated metal fences around the garden. These are used to block the strong winds that come primarily from the southwest. All this also serves to create a microclimate around the garden that keeps moisture in and helps prevent the topsoil from drying out. In the future, we will have an attached greenhouse that will also use grey water from the house. Perhaps next year, I can create another video with an update on how the greenhouse has changed our food production. Here is my garden version of the Jennifer Aniston salad, which is kind of a version of a Mediterranean salad. (Thanks to my friend Mel for this recipe. She grills the zuchinni, which I chose not to do but sounds tasty.) Zucchini Salad Ingredients: chopped garden zucchini chopped garden chard feta cheese garbanzo beans pepitas cooked quinoa sliced olives Dressing: olive oil lemon juice salt pepper fresh garden herbs Mix together and serve. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.ouruncertainfuture.com/subscribe

    13 min

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Dialogues digging deeper into life off-grid. www.ouruncertainfuture.com

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