The confluence of Rocky River and Deep River in southern Chatham Co. at White Pines Preserve. Photo by Jenny Schnaak.

Thanks to you, our 7th Annual PepperFest was the best one yet!

We're celebrating how fun and successful PepperFest was, and grateful to so many new and old friends and allies who turned out for our annual fundraiser and celebration of peppers, small farmers, sustainable agriculture, and creativity of the Piedmont. We are big fans of creativity - what is 'place' without originality and ample fodder to encourage new creation? And with global weirding upon us, we're nothing if not creative and nimble, no? Creativity is certainly a resilience skill.

Want to bring out your inner creative and build stuff with us next year? Help us plan our 2015 DIY Workshop Series by taking this super quick Workshop survey.

If you attended PepperFest, please let us know what you thought of it! Complete this fast PepperFest survey. We want the people who come to PepperFest to feel great about their experience. Please take our anonymous and short two-question survey to give us feedback to make next year's PepperFest better for everyone who comes!

purple sweet potatoes, beets and garlic,

Tami, Jenny, Beth and Charlotte

PepperFest Photos

Pickard's Mountain Eco-Institute brought some sassy jalapeño hot chocolate. Photo by D.L. Anderson

Rose Dyer and Head Distiller, Chris Jude, of Fair Game Beverage Co. Photo by Beth Hopping.

Winners of the Best Pepper Dish Contest (from left to right) 1st Place - Angelina's Kitchen and John "Chili Shack John" Battiste, 2nd Place - Cottage Lane Kitchen and Elizabeth Swan, 3rd Place - Provence and Chef de Cuisine Baptiste Knaven. Photo by Beth Hopping.

The delightful Chef de Cuisine of Provence, Baptiste Knaven. Photo by Beth Hopping.

The Kid Zone was a scene of fierce adorableness. Photo by Beth Hopping.

Fall sweaters and knit hats were ever-present at this year's 65-degrees and sunny PepperFest. Cheery Nathan of Larry's Coffee pouring one spicy mocha drink. Photo by Beth Hopping.

Phil Cook playing lovely bluegrass on his guitar to serenade the pepper-loving crowd.
Photo by Beth Hopping.

View more PepperFest photos by D.L Anderson and Beth Hopping!

Featured Workshop:

Raising Rabbits for Meat
with Mary & Dan of Fatty Owl Farm

Oct. 25, 10am-3pm

The Basic Rabbitry workshop is designed for homesteaders or just anyone who wants to rely less on commercially produced meat. Two does and a buck can provide enough meat for a family of 4-6. Rabbit meat is healthy, lean and very low impact. With the manure you can fertilize your garden and with the fur you can make warm stuff!

During the Basic Rabbitry workshop, attendees will learn the "how" and "why" of raising rabbits for meat. How to choose breeding stock, feeding, and how to safely handle the animals. There will also be an extensive Q&A session to cover many other aspects of raising a healthy herd.

The processing portion of the workshop in the afternoon will cover how to safely and humanely dispatch, process and dress the rabbit. Each participant will instructed on how to properly process a rabbit and participate in the processing, if they wish. (Participants may just observe if they are not comfortable with processing, but the cost remains the same).

Featured Story:

Our Zero Waste Dreams Come True at PepperFest

Over the years, we've had mixed results of success and failure in this realm. One true thing that can be said is that we've been working to improve the waste system in many ways, for many years, and by George, I think we've done it.

Aaron Massey, a worker at Brooks Contracting who picked up this year's PepperFest compost, said, "Y'all, I have never seen such good compost. There is nothing in there that shouldn't be in there. Y'all did 110%. Whatever y'all did this year to make this happen....well, it was worth all the work, because it paid off."

The 7th Annual Pepper Festival created almost 400 lbs of prime compost for future use on North Carolina farms.

Read more!

Each compost bin was topped with a display of compostable service ware. Photo by Beth Hopping.

Coal Ash Stories Film Screening in Pittsboro

November 10th, 7-8:30PM at Chatham Community Library in the Holmes Room

Join Working Films, Haw River Assembly, Cape Fear River Watch, and Abundance NC for a free community screening event of Coal Ash Stories, followed by discussion with Cape Fear Riverkeeper, Kemp Burdette and Elaine Chiosso of the Haw River Assembly.

Coal Ash Stories includes four short films that illustrate the public health concerns, policy issues, and ways communities are responding. The purpose of the program is to educate residents on the local concerns and draw attention to the toxic impact of coal ash on their nearby communities.

This is a free event, open to the public.

Upcoming DIY Workshops:


RAISING RABBITS FOR MEAT OCT. 25, 10 AM-3 PM Rabbit meat is healthy, lean, and very low impact. With the manure you can fertilize your garden and with the fur you can make warm stuff! Instructors: Mary & Dan of Fatty Owl Farm $40 half-day $80 full-day Learn more + register!	DRINK 'N THINK: Prohibition & Repeal Day Party DEC. 7, 4-7 PM This session will enact a comparative religious history of the alchemical traditions implicit in the distilling of spirits and mixing of cocktails. The very word "cocktail" originated in 1803... Instructors: Colbey Reid & Gary Phillips $25 Learn more + register!	COMMUNICATING FOR SUSTAINABILITY JAN. 24, 1-5 PM We want to train as many people to be more effective advocates by relating better to stakeholders and funders. It is easy to engage your own peers! But what about people with totally different world views, personalities or goals? Instructor: Michiel Doorn of Ecoawareness $45 Learn more + register!

Join Abundance NC at the INDY Give!Guide Kick-Off!

November 9th from 3-8 PM at Person Street Bar, Raleigh -- free & open to public

click image for details

INDY Give! Guide is a large promotional campaign that helps fund and promote a select group of local nonprofits by encouraging year-end giving from the 18-35 year olds in the Triangle.

Go to give.indyweek.com for more info.

NC Climate Justice Summit - Haw River State Park - Nov 21-23

A statewide gathering of youth and adult community leaders focused on connecting the dots between social justice issues and climate change. We will explore how climate change impacts food, energy and the economy. We will name the problems, identify solutions, and build new community connections and skills. Join in!

Why the new look?

New logo, new website, new name... it's been a journey.

People also often ask us, "So... I've seen your name around a lot, but what exactly is it that you all do?" We decided we need to do a better job of explaining to everyone what we are all about.

So in the spirit of clarity, we decided we needed to do a better job of explaining to everyone what we are all about. And in figuring out how to explain how all the diverse things we do relate to each other, we realized it was time for a new name, a new mission and vision, and a new website that was easier to navigate and glean useful information from.

We sincerely hope that this re-visioning process will in the end make us better at doing what we came here to do...

Read the story of our journey, or...

CHECK OUT OUR NEW WEBSITE!

Thank you for being part of the Abundance community!

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