Team member Chelsey reporting:
Ahhh- today we got to sleep in till about 9:30am- all of us a little sore and itchy in many different places from the waterfall run/bike-ride/slackline/acro day we had before… Sam hobbled down the stairs, Dan just ached all over, I woke up itching like crazy and Jason woke up talking about trying to harness and ride dogs… mmmm.
Yep, I have discovered poison oak deep inside my bellybutton… lovely. Were we rolling in it? Nope, just running, climbing and jumping around it. I guess I didn’t wash it off enough after jumping off of or sliding down all those waterfalls! The run was called 7 waterfalls… literally, we jumped off of 7 waterfalls, the highest being about 15 feet.
After voicing our dreams and aches, we ate some chocolate ganech cake, bran muffins, eggs and tea all 100% recycled thanks to the dumpster behind Trader Joes. After some digestion time we were off for some ocean kayaking. 2 sit on tops- Jason and Sam and then Dan and I. It’s amazing how 6 years of rowing and whitewater paddling doesn’t complement endurance sea-kayak paddling at all… it was a humbling/challenging and fun experience… by the eighth mile, I started to get the hang of it, hopefully we can find some lakes in Flagstaff!
In the middle of our paddle journey we stopped at an oil rig barge where some buoys were attached to the barge with a steel cable. At first we were just checking out the huge seals barking at us, but then Jason had an awesome idea- which he then talked Sam into… slacklining on the steel cable! Of course!
It didn’t take much convincing, but enough for us to gain some attention from the guys on the boat. We weren’t too worried though, as they were pretty far from us, what could they do? Sam jumped off of the kayak (almost causing Jason to fall out) and swam over to the cable. He was able to sit on it and then stand but then fall off. It looked pretty difficult and not to mention freezing! Definitely something to try.
I think we all wanted a piece of it after seeing him do it… it could be a new thing, as Jason said, “we could call it DOSING: deep ocean slacklining”. We got some footage which we’ll post here soon. Pretty sweet!
By the end of Sam’s session, a patrol boat was on it’s way out to us. He motored on up to us and started saying, “this barge is part of Homeland Security and you guys can get a pretty hefty fine for that, oh and by the way, just a week before we spotted some white sharks feeding on some seals”. We smiled, nodded and went on our way, but that’s partly why we did it — it makes it more exciting!!
It’s amazing how much the ocean takes it out of you when you aren’t used to it. I love that feeling. We all walked back to Dan’s, wet, hungry and tired. We fed our empty bellies with french fries, salad, bread and cookies- all yet again thanks to TJ’s dumpster.
Related Posts
No related posts were found, but here is a random post you might find interesting: Head South to the High Seas.
Why must people brag about dumpster diving. Maybe you should leave the food for the next guy who really needs it. Some people cant afford to buy food. Or maybe wont, so they can come up with 30 dollars to come do arco yoga with you guys. Drumpster diving is like yoga or meditaion, it better to just do it and not talk about it, or you might be doing it for the wrong reasons.
Jason here:
Dean, thanks for your comment. I know that this is a interesting and controversial subject, and perhaps we should have offered more than a flippant boast in the post. We (almost unanimously on the team) do get most of our food through alternative methods, and have for quite some time. We also have become more vocal about it in the past months, not as a way of bragging, but in an attempt to educate people on some of the shortcomings of our societies current way of dealing with an agricultural based economy.
I was impacted seriously in my earlier days by books By Daniel Quinn and others. And in truth, my reason for dumpster diving (I feel it is probably similar for the rest of the team) is based on the same reason I make most choices. I want to make a minimum impact on this planet. By taking and surviving on what most people consider waste (this is certainly a very incorrect concept as I eat better now than I ever have) I, and those like me are removing ourselves from the cycle of over consumerism.
And to address one more point of your comment, we give away much of the food that we get, and in all my experience, I have never met a dumpster that did not have enough for many many more. Often, I have offered the food to people in need and been turned down (whether or not they knew it was “reclaimed”.), even when they are standing on a street corner holding a sign saying “Anything helps, God Bless”. We will continue to try to find ways to re-integrate still viable food into our communities.
Lastly, it does save us a lot of money. Which allows me to travel, offer free or donation based teaching, and explore human potential in inspiration without being tied to the need to “make” money.
Thanks again for your comment. We will actually be posting some blogs in the future more about it.
As with Yoga, Meditation and other very worthwhile transformational practices, sometimes there needs to be a teacher to start one on the path. While I am certainly not putting Dumpster Diving along side yoga, it was a similar mindfullness that led me there. And I had a teacher….
First I am usually the quiet one.
I would just like to back Jason up on everything he said, and let you know that a good Idea like yoga, meditation and Dumpster Diving kept quite does no one any good.
I am a better person for being involved with all three. I also have a degree in social entrepreneurship, there are so many opportunities and policies to be made about wasting food the more people with the information the greater the rate of change.
We pull so much fresh produce, mostly organic, out of Dumpsters that it would behoove a company to implement a juice making and food drying facility right in their store. Why not turn 4 rotting apples into $5 worth of dehydrated fruit. Until they have a shift in consciousness I will continue to dive, taking full advantage of the Dumpster Divers dozen 11 (eggs mostly) and the one broke in a case and the amazing there is nothing wrong with this at all, find…
Thank you for your comment as it has prompted us to fully explain our intentions.
Samuel Joseph Salwei
Team YogaSlackers.com
You guys know that I admire your lifestyle and your commitment to living green, but I think what Dean is getting at is, that so-called freegans make use of the capitalist system that they rail against. What really troubles me though, is that though something might be free to any of us personally there is a cost (environmental notwithstanding), assocaited with producing goods. I imagine creative minds and able bodies as yours might take the act one sustainable leap further.
Also, personally, I try to avoid trader joes because of the amount of plastic packaging they use.
ok guys, my two cents, since this is interesting to me. it is great that you are eating so well and sustaining your endeavors (in part) by diving. however it is a bit much (as lejohn mentions) to make it more than it is. i agree that there is a huge problem with waste, etc – but by eating some small fraction of it, you are not helping to solve it. neither are you when you ‘educate’ others about the virtues of the act.
Jason writes: “Lastly, it does save us a lot of money. Which allows me to travel, offer free or donation based teaching, and explore human potential in inspiration without being tied to the need to “make†money.”
This is the truth of it. this is not bad either, as this freedom is at the core of what you are trying to do. perhaps it would be better (and more genuine) if you left it at that.
the rest of it sounds an awful lot like rationalization, although may not be consciously intended as such. if everyone dumpster dived, the system would collapse. there is certainly not enough ‘healthy’ food of quality to feed even one percent of the population, is there? the excesses of society CREATE the sustenance for you – but by taking advantage of this you are doing nothing to mitigate the problem. consumerism is not an evil per se.
also, the idea of having a the minimal impact is a bit too easy i think. what about having the maximal ‘positive’ impact. grow your own food. support sustainable agricultural practices, co-ops, etc – teach people how to do things that might actually catch on, or at least have the potential to, if they catch on, create change. dumpster diving does not have this potential at all. again, however, it serves your purposes well.
i’m also confused at the implicit suggestion that eating dumpster food is somehow ‘better’ (for the world) than eating food you’ve bought. i really am fascinated with your seeming recent fascination with ‘teaching’ this – but wonder if you’ve really figured out the motivation (other than that when you start something new and really cool you feel an innate need to tell other people about it, especially when it’s so unusual – i get that part). Consider that if most people did yoga or took steps to cultivate that awareness, the world would be a better place. if most people decided they wanted to eat really great food that they got behind TJ’s, well, you get the idea.
I do like sam’s practical idea of the juicer/dehydrator, etc in a store – and think that there are paradigms that businesses/society ought to examine more closely to minimize some of the excess, but there are bound to be many complications that are faced along the way – and simply condoning DD as a step in the right direction is a bit of a drastic oversimplification.
I left an earlier reply that was somehow lost, so I will summarize as best I can. This is a good discussion (especially for us) and I am happy to have an opportunity to further think through these views and practices.
First to address the minor comment about Trader Joes (I left a more detailed response in the last one). I agree with Laurie (lejohn) about the waste in TJ’s packaging. One nice thing about diving there, is that we get the packaging along with the food, and recycle the packaging. Our home recycle bin is full of thrown out packaging.
I am not suggesting that Diving is a good choice, or a solution, and am sorry if that was implied. I know it is not sustainable for the masses, but I also believe that our current system is not sustainable for the masses either. I am willing to eat what businesses throw away. Not everyone will make that choice, or can make that choice.
In thinking of a way to make positive change, there are many, and I do not intend to suggest that DD is a panacea or will solve anything. But it does give me a constant reminder of the power of trash (I have been VERY influenced and inspired by fellow YogaSLacker Adi Carter’s trash crusade http://www.adicarter.com), and it is often a very powerful platform to start a conversation from….People are intrigued, repulsed, mystified….and then they start to think, and listen and talk.
I also do make an attempt to support agriculture that I see as a good model. Joining CSA’s, frequenting local farmer’s market, buying local goods, etc. I see these as good possibilities for future progress.
Andy writes:
“Jason writes: “Lastly, it does save us a lot of money. Which allows me to travel, offer free or donation based teaching, and explore human potential in inspiration without being tied to the need to “make†money.â€
This is the truth of it. this is not bad either, as this freedom is at the core of what you are trying to do. perhaps it would be better (and more genuine) if you left it at that.”
I do agree that this is the truth of it, but must disagree on one point. I have learned through my journey, that there is nothing “non-genuine” about speaking up or out for what I feel. I am very happy with my choices, and actually consider what interactions and thoughts to present to a wider audience. I am excited (and disturbed) by by discoveries of the past year in this realm of food gathering, and have personally learned (and grown – at least I feel so) because of it. I can only effectively teach what I believe and have experienced. And in my opinion, that is what I teach most effectively. There is nothing un-genuine about it. I may be wrong, or flawed, or delusional, but that does not keep me from being genuine.
And in the end, I am not suggesting that people become die hard divers…nor that every one become yogis. Neither leads to a better world. Yoga often leads to greater awareness. And in my experience Dumpster Diving does the same. Ultimately, that is what I am after for myself and others.
Very interesting, best of luck to all of you on your journey