Long walks / pilgrimages of the world

I have discovered that walking is one of the most powerful ways for me to truly experience a country and its people - the longer the better. I love the simplicity of life, the experience of community with other long distance hikers and the spiritual journey. There is an incredible freedom that comes with choosing to pare back ones possessions (as Peace Pilgrim said "Anything that you own that you don't absolutely need is a burden." and this becomes very evident when you have to carry it on your back day after day). I will gradually expand this list as I discover more long walks in different countries...

Australia

Generally, all tracks require you to be self sufficient, with food, tent, maps and compass and good navigation and survival skills. Trails may be unmarked and/or overgrown in areas. Long tracks go through remote country. You will often need to arrange food drops in advance and be very aware of water resupply opportunities.
Costs: You will usually require camping permits for national parks you pass through at about USD$3/day plus food costs. Also, arranging food drops can be a significant cost, depending on how remote they are.

• Bicentennial National Trail - 5330kms from Cooktown in north Queensland to Healesville near Melbourne. It's one of the longest trails in the world.
• Bibbulman Track - 1003kms Along the south west coast of West Australia
• The Overland Track - 73kms in Tasmania. I have included it because, although short, it is one of the most beautiful tracks in the world.

For more long walks in Australia, see John Chapman's list and the Wikipedia list.

New Zealand

Te Araroa - 3000km route from Cape Reinga in the North of New Zealand to Bluff in the South
New Zealand's Trail. Takes in spectacular New Zealand landscapes, from beaches to volcanoes to forests to cities.

USA

Walking the Appalachian trail transformed my view (positively) of the USA. I reckon it's the best country for long distance walking, in nature. Locals are friendly and supportive. It's often possible to resupply on route by hitching a short distance off the trail.
Costs: Generally, there are no fees or permits required on for thru hikers on the long trails but check first. So, all you will need to spend money on is food and replacing worn gear (eg shoes) and an occasional hostel if you want to take a break off the trail and have a shower. Budget about USD$10/day if you are doing a full long trail.

• Appalachian Trail (AT) 3,500kms in Eastern United States, from Georgia to Main National park Free camping Walk between March and October. Can walk without any advance food resupply arrangements - by hitching off the trail into a town every week or so.
• Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) 4,286 km bordering the Sierra Nevada mountain range, west side of USA. USA/Mexico border to Canada, passing through 25 national forests and 7 national parks. There is also a corresponding bike trail that runs parallel to the Pacific Crest Trail for 4,000 km.
• Continental Divide Trail (CDT) 5,000 km between Mexico and Canada following the Continental Divide along the Rocky Mountains and traversing Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. The "Triple Crown" is the achievement of hiking the full length of the 3 trails - PCT, AT and CDT.
• John Muir Trail 358km in the Sierra Nevada mountain range, from the Yosemite National Park to Mount Whitney. Best time to visit is from July to September, though snow may still linger on the higher passes. Free camping. Carry own tent and food.
• For more long walking trails in the USA, see the Wikipedia list

Spain

Camino de Santiago de Compostella Pilgrimage - 800 kms from France to Santiago de Compostella in Spain. Many alternative routes and possible starting points much further afield. Lots of road walking through towns and villages. Lots of relatively cheap pilgrim accommodation available and meals.

Canada

Bruce Trail - 850km from Niagara to Tobermory, with side trails extending out to 250km.

Israel

Israel National Trail - 990kms.

Japan

Shikoku Pilgrimage - 1,400km Accommodation in small, family-owned inns for 4,000-8,000 yen per night (depending on if you’d like food with your stay).

United Kingdom

Cotswold Way - 162km from Chipping Campden in the north to the city of Bath, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Other Countries

Wikipedia has an extensive list of long distance trails by country.

My Italian Pilgrimage - 800kms Italy to Nice in 2014

In August-September 2014, I walked from Assisi in Italy to Nice on the French Italian border. It is part of a longer pilgrimage I intend to complete one day, which will continue on to Santiago de Compostella, in Spain, another 2000kms or so.

This is the route I walked. Distances are for walking, along minor dirt or paved roads and forest paths. Distances are not direct but often through other scenic spots.

From Assisi to La Verna is the reverse of a popular pilgrimage route (the via di Francesco - a route that Francis of Assisi walked). From Siena north, I walked along the via Francigena (again in reverse) to Sazarna, changing across to the Via del a Costa until I reached Nice, in France. Exactly 800 years ago, Francis of Assisi walked a similar route to Santiago de Compostela. (There are Italian language guidebooks to these routes available in Italy).


I made a number of audio posts and video posts for family and friends (although I found the video posts too large to load easily, so didn't make many of them).
audio log or video log

Photos from stage 1 - the Via Francesco This was the first stage of my pilgrimage - from Assisi to Florence - the reverse direction of the pilgrimage route called the Via di Francesco (from LaVerna to Assisi). Click here to see the photos. From early August.

Photos from stage 2 - Via Francigena Late August 2014 I walked a section of the Via Francigena - from Siena to Sarazana (just over 200kms). This is the second stage of my pilgrimage from Asssisi to Santiago de Compostela. The full Via Francigena runs from Canterbury in England to Rome. I met three people who were walking the full VF. Click here to view photos

Photos from stage 3 - the via della Costa The third stage of my pilgrimage - about 300kms from Sarzana to Ventimiglia, near the French border. Once at Ventimiglia, it was a delight to spend 12 days at the ecovillage Torri Superiore. Click here to view photos

Various pilgrim emotions Well, there are plenty more - but here's a sample. Click here to see photos

Awakening the Dreamer

 

Yesterday I was blessed to be able to run an "Awakening the Dreamer, Changing the Dream" symposium at Bellbunya for our volunteers and guests. A couple of nights before that I had woken up in the middle of the night buzzing with the inspiration of a new idea - to run these workshops as a free offering for our volunteers and guests (and locals): a perfect synergy with our values. Six months before that I had participated in my first symposium and came away inspired and re-energised, with a renewed commitment to making a difference in our world. And three years before that I had stumbled across the symposium's vision via a group we hosted at Bellbunya. I was struck by the power and balance of that vision: "Bringing forth an environmentally sustainable, spiritually fulfilling, and socially just human presence on this planet."

The Changing the Dream Symposium, is a not-for-profit initiative designed as a response to the urgent call of the Amazon Achuar people to "change the dream" of the modern world. Here at Bellbunya, we see so many people (including ourselves) who are disturbed by the "dream" of our modern world and who are seeking something different. At Bellbunya, we are learning/experimenting/growing in living an alternative dream of holistically sustaining living.

The symposium is designed to help people connect with their own deep concern for our world and its people whilst empowering them to make a difference in their own unique way. It is a beautiful opportunity for those who stay with us to deepen their experience at Bellbunya and grow in their commitment to building a better world.

And so, I have committed myself to run this 4 hour workshop as a free opportunity to add to the contribution that Bellbunya is making to building a better world. Whenever we have six or more volunteers, guests, neighbours or interested people from anywhere who want it, I will gladly run a symposium. If you want to come along to one, just let me know.

Have a look at the video below for a brief intro to the symposium


If you are not near Bellbunya, you can find a symposium near you at www.uptous.org/symposium

The Clean 15 vs. The Dirty Dozen

 Want to know what non-organic produce uses the least pesticide and what uses the most? Let's see.

The Clean Fifteen :) - Top Produce with the Least Pesticide     1. Onion 2. Avocado 3. Sweet Corn 4. Pineapples 5. Mango 6. Sweet Pea 7. Asparagus 8. Kiwi Fruits 9. Cabbage 10. Eggplant 11. Cantaloupe 12. Watermelon 13. Grapefruits 14. Sweet Potato 15. Sweet Onion

The Dirty Dozen :-( - Produce with the highest Pesticide Residue 1. Celery 2. Peach 3. Strawberry 4. Apple 5. Blueberry 6. Nectarine 7. Capsicum 8. Spinach, Kale, Collard Green 9. Cherry 10. Potato 11. Grape 12. Lettuce

*The Dirty Dozen* are reported to contain 47-67 Pesticides per serving!

Other items with high pesticide residue include fatty meats, milk, chocolate, wine and coffee.

The Paradoxical Commandments of Leadership

The popular and beautiful poem by Mother Theresa is a reworking of the original by Kent Keith, called the “Paradoxical Commandments of Leadership”:

1: People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered. Love them anyway.
2: If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. Do good anyway.
3: If you are successful, you win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway.
4: The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
5: Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway.
6: The biggest men with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men with the smallest minds. Think big anyway.
7: People favor underdogs, but follow only top dogs. Fight for a few underdogs anyway.
8: What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway.
9: People really need help but may attack you if you do help them. Help people anyway.
10: Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth. Give the world the best you have anyway.

And here’s the later version by Mother Theresa…
Do Good Anyway
People are often unreasonable, illogical and self-centered;
Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.
What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you’ve got anyway.
You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and your God;
It was never between you and them anyway.

Going Green in Sri Lanka

Chris, one of Bellbunya Sustainable Community's founders has been in Sri Lanka for the AGM of the Global Ecovillage Network Oceania and Asia and he has just visited Eco Community Sri Lanka...

The speedometer on the bus read 0km/h which didn’t seem too inaccurate as I alternated between roasting my rear end on the gearbox and standing. I was on my way to Eco Community Sri Lanka (ECSL), about 6 hours from the nation’s capital, Colombo.

Chaminda, one of the founders had responded enthusiastically to my request to visit and exchange our ecovillage insights and lessons.

Chris & Chaminda at the community kitchen - earth building & solar light

Eco Community Sri Lanka sits on 52 acres in the dry zone of central north Sri Lanka. When I visited there were about 12 community members onsite and 2 international volunteers. The community has been in place for only 1.5yrs and, from my research, appears to be the first ecovillage in the country that has been entirely created by its members, rather than being initiated by a program of an NGO. (However, if anyone knows of any other independently created ecovillages, please let me know).

The community was started by a group of friends, studying Chi Gong together under their teacher Aruna. Thilena contributed his savings from 5 years of factory work in Korea and Eco Community Sri Lanka was born.

Aruna describes their vision as "mutual completion" which is about working together to achieve shared goals. He believes that each person has a special "Universal Task" and that in finding and following this "task" we will be building a better world for all. Following this philosophy, Chaminda left his well-paid job as an NGO aid and development worker to volunteer fulltime at ECSL to make a "real difference".

A down side of the large amount of international development aid that Sri Lanka receives is a culture of financial dependence that sometimes develops in NGOs. In contrast, ECSL is entirely self funding. Community members have contributed their own resources and they have a number of farm-based businesses, with more in development. ECSL has 450 loman brown chickens, 1400 indigenous chickens (most are not yet at the point of laying eggs), 38 turkeys, 48 cows, 37 goats. They sell on average 3600 chicken eggs per week and 350 litres of milk. They have two plantations of 800 organic papaya trees, 60 cashew trees, hundreds of pumpkins and eggplants and, when the rains come, will plant rice.

Taking fresh milk to the co-op

At this stage, much of the development is experimental, an ongoing learning and evolution process. For example, change will soon be made on the chicken front. The loman brown chickens are susceptible to disease and need to be kept in their barn. At the end of the dry season, feed for the chickens is costing more than their eggs are worth. However, the local chickens are disease resistant and can free range to feed themselves and their eggs (although less frequent) fetch double the price of the loman browns’.

Right now, everyone is hoping for rain. The paddy fields are bare. Other farmers have burnt their fields (they don't do this at ECSL) and are waiting to plant. The monsoon is now a few weeks late, which makes things very difficult. And it's not just for the farmers. Each night now up to 50 wild elephants come seeking food. Farmers try to scare them away from their homes and crops with fire crackers, yelling, bonfires and lights. It's dangerous and tiring but, at this time of year, it's a struggle for survival. These conflicts are common in Sri Lanka, as wild land for elephants to free range diminishes.

At ECSL, they are wondering how to balance the needs of people and nature. Stephanie, an Irish permaculture teacher from Auroville in India is developing a permaculture plan for the kitchen garden. A permaculture plan for the whole site would be great - trees, mulch and compost are particularly important.

Buildings are efficient - compact and made of local materials, with traditional mud walls and palm frond roofs. The community is off the grid, with a number of small solar panels providing for LED lights and a water pump.

Volunteer accommodation - natural earth building

One of the intentions of ECSL is to experiment and share useful technologies and lessons that they learn for the benefit of local subsistence farmers. For example, the community here has developed a natural pesticide, made from a number of local plants, that they have distributed to the neighboring farmers to try. They are also developing their organic papaya orchards to demonstrate to local farmers that they can be grown without chemical fertilisers or pesticides. As they develop their herds of cows and goats, they intend to develop a cow and goat bank system, including training and support, to assist local farmers.

The need for agrochemical-free farming was highlighted to me by the alarming level of kidney failure in Sri Lanka. Current research by the World Health Organisation shows a growing problem around the world - that began to emerge amongst poor rural farmers in the 1990s. It appears that ground water tainted with cadmium and arsenic from chemical fertilisers and pesticides are a key factor. Chaminda and the crew are trying to work out how best to assist the farmers in their area.

On the social level, sometimes ECSL volunteers teach English at the local school. They have also established and run the WWOOF (Willing Workers on Organic Farms) network in Sri Lanka.

As a small and new community, ECSL has achieved a surprising amount already. They are warm and welcoming and provide volunteers with a great opportunity to be a part of the life of a small rural community. They are open to new community members and volunteers (particularly if you have skills in website development or alternative technologies). For more information, go to http://ecocommunitylk.blogspot.com

Article by Chris Gibbings. Chris is co-founder of the Bellbunya Sustainable Community (www.bellbunya.org.au) on the Sunshine Coast in Australia and Vice President of the Global Ecovillage Network Oceania and Asia (http://genoa.ecovillage.org/).

Chris meeting with community members

Food and Sustainability

 I thought I would post some of the (at times shocking) facts that I learnt in Nepal from my amazing Canadian friend and nutrition teacher Wendy Akune. I will conclude with a post on how you can minimize your impact and monitor the affect your own nutrition on your moods, health and general well-being. Enjoy.

- In 1961 produce began to be shipped which signaled the end of predominantly local produce.

- In the US the average kilogram of produce travels more than 2400km from farm to plate.

-In the UK food travels 50% farther than 20 years ago.

- In Norway food travels 100% further than 10 years ago.

- On the average supermarket shelves there are roughly 30,000 products. Half of these are produced by 10 multi-national companies.140 people form the boards of directors of these ten companies.
That means 140 people controlling half the food in a large supermarket!!!

- 6 companies now control 98% of the world’s seed sales.

-Through consolidation-i.e mergers, takeovers and alliances, multi-national farms are now controlling the food system from gene to supermarket shelf.This Includes:
-Seeds
-Pesticides
-Grain Collection
-Grain processing
-Livestock production
-Livestock slaughtering; and
-Processed Food