As Fire Approaches Big Sur Monastery Monks Prepare to Fight

TASSAJARA, CALIF. -- In this remote Zen enclave on Big Sur's forested backside, wildfires lurk on three sides. As flames edge closer and ash falls from a crimson sky, the Buddhist monks are readying for a final stand.

Priests and students alike at the Tassajara Zen Mountain Center have been doffing their traditional black robes, hefting picks and shovels, and forging 10-foot-wide firebreaks. Atop the roofs of the monastery's old retreat cabins and meditation hall, they've jury-rigged plastic pipe sprinkler systems.

Perhaps more serene than some, they were among a multitude of Northern Californians coping Friday with more than 1,200 blazes from the Nevada border to the Pacific.

The fires, triggered by fierce lightning storms last weekend, have charred more than 193,000 acres and destroyed at least 20 homes -- 16 of them just over the mountains along Big Sur's legendary 70-mile coastline.

The blazes prompted Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Friday to ask that President Bush declare a state of emergency in the region. In a news conference, the governor suggested that fire-stricken counties consider banning Fourth of July fireworks.

In the Los Padres National Forest surrounding Tassajara, America's oldest monastery devoted to Buddhism, fires have devoured more than 80,000 acres in the last three weeks. Steph Wenderski, a 30-year-old native of Minnesota who has lived at the monastery for two years, admitted to occasional bouts of fear. But those periods, she said, invariably gave way to calm.

"You don't have much time to think about what could be coming," she said.

Local authorities asked that those staying behind in this spiritual center -- a series of rustic wood and stone buildings in a remote canyon 14 miles up a roller-coaster dirt road from the nearest pavement -- provide the names of their dentists for identification purposes.

So far, there have been no fatalities in the Northern California fires. And by midday Friday, the fire licking the edges of Big Sur's famous cliffs and new-age resorts had backed off a little.

Kirk Gafill, general manager of the cliffside restaurant Nepenthe, decided to reopen his eatery Friday evening. "We've been blessed with very little wind activity for the last week," said Gafill, fresh from a tour of redwoods burning across Highway 1 just 1,000 feet to the east. "If that were to turn around, all bets are off."

Fires in the area have been burning for seven days, spiking stress levels in an area renowned for its tranquillity.

"We've had other threatening fires over the years," said Gafill, a grandson of the couple who started Nepenthe nearly 60 years ago. "But the whole world showed up to deal with it, and for 24 hours you'd be scrambling to secure your property and pack your belongings. When it's over, you felt it was over. This is psychologically unique."

At Tassajara, a crew of monastic protectors showed the same fortitude as suburban homeowners hosing down their homes in the orange glow of approaching flames.

"We don't intend to let the oldest Buddhist monastery in the Western Hemisphere burn," declared Greg Fain, who rushed down from the Bay Area, where he serves as treasurer of the San Francisco Zen Center.

"This place is my heart," said Fain, eyes narrowing behind black horn-rim glasses, his shaved head covered by a yellow baseball cap. "Every time I come over the ridge, my heart starts to soar."

The 160-acre complex sprawls along the edge of Tassajara Creek in a narrow canyon filled with maple and sycamore, alder, oak and pine.

Built more than a century ago as a hunting lodge, the original buildings fell into disrepair before the San Francisco Zen Center bought the property in 1967.

For half the year it operates strictly as a monastery, with monks following the traditional Zen practices imported from Japan by Suzuki Roshi, devoting at least 10 hours each day to meditation and chants.

In the summer months, Tassajara opens to the public -- Zen followers or simply seekers of solitude. With gourmet vegetarian meals, a hot-springs bath house and cozy cottages, rates run up to $325 a night.

When word came Monday that fire might be closing in, 75 guests and some students left in a caravan of cars. Those remaining began to prepare for the worst.

By Wednesday, flames were just three miles to the west. The sheriff ordered an evacuation, but a skeleton crew was allowed to stay.

They cut branches, raked leaves and laid out fire hose. They triple-checked the two big pumps that can be used to draw water from the 50,000-gallon swimming pool and the riffles of Tassajara Creek.

As ash fell from the sky, Mako Voelkel, the monastery's tenzo, or cook, was cutting fire breaks as well as vegetables.

"I'm feeling pretty good about it," she said. "We're prepared."

She and the others were working from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m., with time off only for meals.

Fires hit the monastery twice in the last three decades. In 1977 and 1999, flames burned all around the complex. Each time, the losses were kept relatively minor, thanks to the firefighting monks and professional crews from the U.S. Forest Service.

That's auspicious: With its remote locale, the monastery can't get fire insurance.

David Zimmerman, Tassajara director, expects a rerun. The monks will don yellow, flame-resistant fire jackets and yellow helmets with protective shrouds and will work to stamp out spot fires. Everyone, he said, feels "happy and honored to be here right now."

Late Friday, help arrived. A Forest Service strike team pulled in, along with a 30-man crew of firefighting inmates. They'll be fed out of the monastery kitchen.

Hours before sunrise, the 20 remaining monks still meditate and chant.

"Buddhist tenets say that all things are impermanent, and fire can be a great teacher in that," said Alec Henderson, a former defense attorney from Los Angeles who forswore material wealth to take up the Zen creed of "one robe, one bowl."

Henderson left Wednesday with the task of safekeeping Ginger, the monastery dog. Now he's holding his breath, along with thousands of Zen followers and former Tassajara guests, hoping the monastery emerges intact.

But if the flames prove too tough to defeat, the monks plan to retreat along with the Forest Service firefighters.

"We won't risk anybody to save the buildings," said Devin Patel, a bearded 28-year-old who serves as the monastery's fire marshal.

"The buildings can burn, but you can't actually burn down Tassajara. Fire can never touch Tassajara's heart."

eric.bailey@latimes.com

steve.chawkins@latimes.com

Helping the environment with “eco-friendly lunch boxes”

Learn how a caterer made the switch to compostable packaging on ethipedia.net

Summary: 

Founded in 2001, Avec Plaisirs is a corporate catering company with over 60 employees that delivers business meals throughout the greater Montréal area. The company is affiliated with La Maison Traiteurs, a food services business group whose members include Agnus Dei Inc., a special events caterer, and Origine Bistro.

Thanks to owner David Carrier’s concern for environmental issues, Avec Plaisirs has introduced a number of measures to reduce the company’s environmental footprint and do more for the community. One of these measures, launched in 2008, is the “Ecofriendly Lunch Box”, which is made from 100% recycled cardboard and vegetable dyes. Not only is the box itself recyclable, but all utensils and food containers (the latter made from corn starch) can be composted.

The Ecofriendly Lunch box is based on the principles of “eco-design”, whereby the life-cycle of all the box’s components are taken into account: choice of materials, method of manufacture, transport, lifespan, waste disposal, etc. As mentioned above, the lunch box consists of biodegradable containers, dishware and cutlery; furthermore, contrary to most disposable and compostable packaging, the containers furnished by Avec Plaisirs are more solid and last longer. The company also offers biodegradable bags in which to dispose of the box, containers and utensils after the meal is finished.
Hoping to cut down on garbage and avoid wasting food, Avec Plaisirs tries to determine exactly how much food its customers require. In terms of nutrition, the company’s lunch box is aimed at providing healthy and balanced meals. Overall, sustainability is a primary concern for the company, and the lunch box has been designed with the following criteria in mind:
-Social sustainability: high-quality food = better health;
-Environmental sustainability: minimizing the lunch box’s environmental footprint and any waste produced;
-Economic sustainability: the product will help the company move into new markets.

Implementation: 

After months of research and development, Avec Plaisirs was at last able to get its Ecofriendly Lunch Box off the ground. Doing so was difficult, but the company’s employees are proud to have overcome this challenge; if anything, working to make the lunch box a reality has brought them closer together.
When the company decided to move ahead with the project, it hired Pierre Morency of Nova Envirocom, a firm that specializes in environmental programs and waste management.
Avec Plaisirs also worked closely with renowned nutritional expert Isabelle Huot; this partnership has enabled the company to offer a menu full of nutritious and seasonal dishes all year long.

In undertaking its lunch box project, Avec Plaisirs decided to take a gradual approach, without cutting any corners. Carrier speaks of a philosophy that consists of “moving quickly at our own pace”, meaning that environmental initiatives are undertaken in keeping with the company’s rhythm and objectives.

By doing so, Avec Plaisirs has ensured that environmental concerns are integrated into the economic equation. In fact, it is with this philosophy in mind that all of its sustainability initiatives are implemented. Carrier and his team first check to see if a project is feasible and whether it will be beneficial to the environment and society. They also try to determine what returns the company will see on its investment (e.g., costs, employee involvement, improved brand visibility, etc.).

Challenges and Solutions: 

During a presentation to the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montréal on June 12, 2009, Carrier highlighted the importance of having sufficient “room for error” when implementing sustainable development initiatives. By this he means that a company planning to introduce a sustainable practice has to develop an organisational structure or corporate culture that allows for flexibility. Given that such practices are often innovative and the first of their kind, it is only through trial and error that a high-value and viable product or service can be developed. This is often easier to do for a company the size of Avec Plaisirs than it is for large corporations or government bodies.

However, this process has not always gone smoothly for Avec Plaisirs, and maintaining “room for error” has been crucial. For example, Carrier says the company at one point failed to meet one of the organic decomposition criteria for a certain certification it was seeking, and was therefore forced to begin all over again. He says it was important for him to obtain sufficient certification to ensure that the project was legitimate. It is likely that this episode was rather costly for the company.

In terms of production expenses, some items (such as utensils) cost approximately the same as those made of plastic or styrofoam, but others may be 10-15% more expensive. Everything depends on the volume ordered. The company says that it did not think customers would be willing to pay more, but it believed that the product would be sufficiently appealing to attract new customers.

Social and Environmental Benefits: 

Avec Plaisirs claims that its practice will prevent tens of thousands of plastic containers being thrown away over the next few years. However, we could find no figures to back up this claim, aside from the publicly available information provided by the company.

Results: 

The lunch box project has created a strong sense of belonging amongst the employees at Avec Plaisirs. The initiative has also bolstered its reputation and that of its sister companies. Customers appreciate being able to purchase a product with a low environmental footprint. Avec Plaisirs says in a press release that this initiative has even become one of its trademark products. The company has also become more prominent in Québec’s environmental community, which will no doubt lead to increased business.

Other Examples: 

It seems that the practice’s component of rigorous life-cycle analysis has not been adopted by other businesses, which will thus allow Avec Plaisirs to position itself in Québec as a true leader in terms of sustainable growth. Other lunch box products on the market are often worthwhile with regard to the products they contain, but not necessarily in terms of packaging or manufacturing.

Other companies in Québec’s food and beverage industry that provide catering services, such as Capital Traiteur (Montréal) and Traiteur Fine Bouche (Estrie), now offer compostable dishware.

Java Green Organic Eco-Café, based in Washington, D.C., offers an “Eco Lunch Box Meal”.

In Vancouver, Savoury City Catering offers a range of services that are environmentally-friendly. The company supplies ceramic serving dishes, wicker baskets and utensils made of birch, the latter of which will biodegrade within 45 to 60 days. The same is true for the utensils provided by Avec Plaisirs, but they are not made of wood, which is more solid and appears to be of better quality than standard plastic cutlery.

Savoury City Catering is a member of Vancouver’s Green Table Network, an association of restaurant professionals working together with food producers to develop practical and concrete environmental strategies.

In response to growing demand from consumers, many caterers are now becoming socially responsible. One example is Buffet Insère-Jeunes Montréal, a catering company and bakery that also provides social and professional reintegration services. A member of the Collectif des Entreprises d’Insertion du Québec (CEIQ), Buffet Insère-Jeunes also offers a lunch box product. Another such company is Cuisine Collective Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, also based in Montréal.