A stitch in time...

I feel like our old timers from days of yore, the ones who’s lives were truly life and death on a daily basis, had a knack for creating useful sayings. Maybe their day right then and there wasn’t life or death, but tomorrow could be, and without warning. Modern day slang is fun, and expressive. But it rarely carries a message that could save your life.

“Make hay while the sun shines”, “Inch by inch, life’s a cinch, yard by yard, life is hard”, “One persons trash is another persons treasure”, “Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water” and on and on. They had a gift for the metaphor, and for the scathing review of foolishness, even while probably being fools themselves so much of the time.

One saying has stuck in my craw for the last many weeks as we all hunker down with unknown outlooks. “A stitch in time saves nine.” Amen and Hallelujah!! Now, its just a matter of us all, as individuals and as a collective to actually put that into practice. Can I get some mercy please!!

This one sticks for reasons that are obvious in the present. But also because there is this looming question over our heads going forward. With Covid 19, we knew it was coming, but actively undid our stitches. The experts told us to beware, and we were all like “I don’t hear well out of that ear.” Because we were actively unraveling our sweater, we not only have 9 stitches to make, we have to break out the loom and knit all new clothing. And lets be honest, only a few of us know how to do that.

How does this ramble relate at all to farming?? Like such: Even over the years where local foods seemed to gain some fame on magazine covers, the farming infrastructure and networks that weren’t flashy and glossy were being actively dismantled, unwoven. We here on the renaissance side saw some new opportunities, and pushed them. But in recent years, that too has wained in the mainstream. Our truly caring customers (you all reading) keep with it and make our farms possible. But our society at large puts up market barriers and glossy roadblocks. All the while I’m thinking, “One day you are going to need us, and there won’t be enough of us to save you.’

That sounds harsh, no? What do I mean by that? Well, there is a welcome and renewed interest in local foods at the moment, because Covid has cracked the wall, and we can look through to see how tenuous things are. Because the supply systems are shaking a little, and local feels secure. And because rightly so, it’s safer. “Is the system holding up?” one might be thinking, “I’ll have to look closer to home to get what I need”.

But here is the thing about this particular crisis; it’s horrible, and many people are paying a hefty price. Above all those that were in a more disadvantaged position to begin with. But, despite how difficult it is, it probably won’t break the system. It’s going to take a while to get back on track. And when we do, we’ll have some half woven clothing and some half taken solutions after the fact. But what will we do then? Will we start unraveling our stitches again?

There are potential crises out there bigger than this one. And if we think we are ill prepared now, then we really need to take a big, long look at all the stitches that we need to make so that our clothes don’t disintegrate completely when a larger storm comes. Healthcare, energy systems, economic issues, and of course, food systems. Because, let’s face it; when there is a crisis that completely empties store shelves, then were will we turn? To local farms? There’s only a handful of us. Enough to provide for maybe .5%. And that’s being generous.

So, I guess in this crisis, I have two things to say. A stitch in time saves nine. But also: Tomorrow is today. If we want the things that can save us in a crisis to be there, then we first need to nurture them in our best days.