AIM # 3 JAS 2017 | Page 15

Issue 3 Connect JAS 2017 We sure do. Now, the kids enjoy their time on farm, building tree-houses, clearing the debris, riding a cart pulled by dogs, collecting eggs, picking vegetables. This fun is not limited to the farm though. The family house has a kitchen garden in Sydney where kids continue to pick and eat fresh veggies, collect warm eggs in the city as well. ‘They are country kids on the farm. Once they are there, off come their city clothes, their shoes. They are mostly bare feet in the soil. Bare feet? Palisa laughs at the surprise in the tone. ‘It is fun. There is also a huge advantage of this contact with earth’. Earthing - as it is referred to these days; based on a discovery that connecting to the Earth’s natural energy is foundational for vibrant health. ‘Isn’t is strange that we (as a society) know more about space than we do about soil (that feeds us)’, Palisa says. Equally strange is the general apathy towards growing, picking, making or eating good, nourishing food; something that is the basis of our existence. ‘We just want them to know what good food, and to learn to grow their own food.’ Says Palisa who is a second generation restaurateur and advocate of sustainable farming. This consciousness is visible in other choices the family is making. This year, on his 7th Birthday, Archie raised AUD 502.20 for UNHCR Syrian Refugee Crisis in lieu of gifts. Like all girls her age, Soraya once wanted Shopkins because all her friends had them. Since that wasn’t a good enough reason to want, Soraya was denied the instant gratification. Soraya, as a response spent a long time over a few days, diligently drawing the Shopkins figurines to make a poster. Now, that poster adorns her wall – an everlasting memory and creation instead of stuff that would invariably end up in a trash can within days. No wonder these kids can appreciate and wait for a seed to sprout, tree to fruit, chickens to lay eggs… 15