About pinksprouts

This blog is an exploration of health in the widest possible sense – from the health of hedgerow wildlife to that of the human body, from the health of a community to the rivers that run through it, and from the health of bee populations to the quality of food sitting on our plates.  

I am interested in this vast dancing web of health relationships – the connections, the care and the neglect within it, and the stories and creativity that emerge from it as we try to find a balance between human and environmental well-being.  

As a student I studied Social Anthropology but felt frustrated by a lack of willingness to connect investigations of exotic, far away communities to experiences in our home culture, and also by a reluctance to see far away problems as consequences of our own greedy actions.  I felt uncomfortable pointing out the changes needed in other cultures before turning the lens on my own.  So being involved with the Transition Town Movement in Totnes, Devon made an awful lot of sense – affecting change and building resilience on home turf – starting at the beginning, on our own door steps – felt more sensible, robust and sincere.  

The book I co-authored with Rob Hopkins, (inspirarional friend and co-founder of the Transition Movement) is called Local Food: How to make it happen in your community and was published in September 2009.  It is a celebration and promotion of hands on, grass-roots reclamation of our food systems.  Many of the projects in the book (from community orchards to school veg gardens, food mapping to farmers’ markets) are about revaluing the health relationships that make up our food chains and that, if cared for and respected, will keep us fed for many generations to come. 

In January 2008 my daughter (who is now 10) was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia. Contrary to what the conventional medical approach would have us believe, her recovery to full health has been not only about taking various medicines and drugs, but also about her diet, exercise, happiness, education, care of her environment and her general enthusiasm for life.  The leukaemia madness we have been through has highlighted for me just how crucial a wide, complete understanding of health is, and how it cannot be detached from our relationship to our environment and home.

Tamzin Pinkerton