All IS MADE OF LIGHT
Flavor of Aliveness
June's box features honeys farmed through partnerships between Forested Foods and smallholder farmers in Ethiopia. In order to create a world where forest ecosystems are more lucrative conserved than destroyed, the company has been working to deliver high-quality products while keeping forest conservation, agriculture production, and equity for forest-based communities in harmony.
Fermenting Honey:
It’s Alive!!
.
This is what aliveness from an intact biodiverse forest sounds like...
Taste the aliveness of…
An intact forest ecosystem.
Flowering trees.
Wild bees making honey from tree blossom nectars in hives made by people for the bees, suspended in tree canopies where the bees live.
Human communities collecting honey in ways aligned with the aliveness of the bees and the trees and the forest.
Fermenting honeys that continue to change flavors as they travel into the world and change the people who taste these flavor messages of what is possible if we listen with diligent care.
Geteme
Tree Flower Honey
from 20 to 30 meters tall Geteme trees in Oromia that provide shade for coffee trees.
Taste sweet, fresh, spring flowers in your mouth.
Bissana
Tree Flower Honey
from fragrant, flowering trees used by Ethiopian farmers to provide shade for coffee trees in Oromia.
Taste tart fruit skins and orange blossom with a floral finish.
Abalo
Tree Flower Honey
from the Majang Forest in Gambella, stealthily harvested under cover of the night.
Taste smoked pinewood, from the cow-dung smoke used to calm down the fierce Ethiopian bees.
Grawa
Tree Flower Honey
from the nectar of the “bitter-leaf” tree flowers found all over Ethiopia.
Taste the bittersweet caramel used medicinally since ancient times.
These honeys come from wild bees living in intact vibrant, highly bio-diverse forests. The hives are suspended in tree canopies, and the honey has to be collected in the dark of night, when the bees are sleepy. All of this aliveness is present in the honey, which is fermenting. The honey's flavor will continue to change over time, and the honey may even try to escape from the jar.
(re)Generative Stories
Meet Ariana, founder of Forested Foods:
Forested Foods - WIN WIN Award Video.mp4A Sweet and Sticky Story:
Join us in Fermentation!
How do we recognize (know/intuit/story/sense/feel/measure/track) aliveness?
What sensing—somatic and digital—supports this?
How are food systems adapting to embrace aliveness (of living foods, vibrant human communities, wild bees, and forest ecosystems)?
(comments coming soon)
Memes to explore aliveness...
02 Community Reflections
Share your 02 reflections with the community.
Curious how afraid we are of mold of fermentation. We lost that connection to no-heat cooking with the tiny wild!
Really interesting approach to creating more value in a scarce resource (like the forest).
Sadly I did not participate in the fermenting honey exercise due to meeting conflicts
my honey fermenting went moldy ):
I loved how the bees refused to fit into the European style hive boxes
The honey was delicious. The tej was Avery unique experience!
I guess I am not great at fermenting honey lol - mine kept getting black mold on top. But the honey was amazing! I used the remaining on yogurt which has been such a great.
i loved the aliveness of the honey and the nuanced flavors.
Loved the session and the tastings. This engagement is so powerful as it elevates all of our senses. Throughout this past year, through our one dimensional screens, we have been void of experience all of our other senses.
Our tej grew mold :( We considered drinking it anyway
I missed it! Sad panda
Honey remains one of nature's most nutrient dense sources of food. fermented foods were critical to human survival and we find fermented foods in every culture. the science of individual microbiomes is also starting to emerge and show the role that bacteria in human bodies plays in our physical and mental health (and social health as a result). Pulling all this together, I'm curious how we can leverage forested and fermented foods to connect to the inner food ecosystem at play in our bodies. by taking the sources and preparations that our ancestors relied on for survival what might we learn about our own survival in the hot mess of our possible futures?
Not possible yet 😅
Photo Gallery
Check out how different people receive their boxes!