Our AweSOme Story - by Hope Saba
All our memories with grandma Hope and grandpa Tony revolved around their passion for the family, community and earth. It was their life, not just a slogan. They had a history of like 1000 years in organic farming, and sharing their journey with us was awesome! Grandpa lived until 90 and was on the organic farm at the base of the Macedon ranges until the last year of his life. Grandma is 82 and still radiating with love and health. This year is their 63rd anniversary! We come from the richest family without money and we are so grateful for that.
They migrated from Lebanon many decades ago and love Australia so much that grandpa used to say, "when anyone comes to Australian and doesn't add value and respect and love our soil, go back one way!" They are big on passion and timeless principles. Like all loving grandparents, their whole life revolved around, not themselves, but giving back to family and country. That's where we got our 0% grumpy 100% happy attitude from! Being grateful and honest and only focusing on the positive is how we were brought up.
Grandpa Tony and Grandma Hope Saba
From a young age, when us kids came home from school, it wasn't about running to the TV or playing electronic games-we were exposed to very little of that and still are. It was about cooking together, smashing and pickling organic olives, or going into the garden, making sure the chickens had enough organic feed, collecting eggs and making the most awesome omelettes, watering the veggies and grabbing fresh fruits that actually had flavour - directly from the trees!
Once we invited a friend to enjoy a juicy ripe apricot-and he said, "I've never had an apricot from a tree"!
As we nurtured that beautiful organic family farm, ate far more then we worked, Grandpa would always say he wished all the earth went organic. He said in their day, "fruit had flavour and nutrition-not like many things these days, pretty on the outside but lacking goodness on the inside. And then there's all the toxic chemicals. When will people realise the cost to earth and our health is far more valuable than money and modern farming methods?”
“ We have to stop and think about all the poisons we are exposed to and the long-term side-effects on our immune system and planet. Choose certified organic whenever possible, it's the safest and best happiness and wellness policy. ”
-Dr John Tickell
We also have a doctor in the family who we love very much - his name is Dr John Tickell. He says "We have to stop and think about all the poisons we are exposed to and the long-term side-effects on our immune system and planet. Choose certified organic whenever possible, it's the safest and best happiness policy." -Dr John Tickell.
Our grandparents were so aware of how important organic was that they even imported hand made organic body and skincare from their village in Lebanon. They knew that it's not just what we eat that affects our health but also anything that comes in contact with our skin, can end up in our body too. Our skin is like a sponge.
Hope Saba - I'm named after grandma.
The family's passion for love of people, principles and planet is a legacy that my parents and us kids love to continue. We want to make certified organic more affordable and accessible than ever, and wherever possible produced locally. Why certified? Because as a rule, if it's not certified, it's not inspected and guaranteed to be organic. And what's the point of having something 70 or 80% organic? Good start, yet not the best.
Some think that organic is just for hippies or a waste of money, because it costs more. It makes sense though - hippies are smart. Organic costs more to grow and produce because we don't use bad chemicals, poisons and other artificial stuff that ends up in our food, cleaning and body care products. Isn't that extra cost worth it for our health, happiness and the safety of family and earth? I've seen the benefits in generations of our family. Your choice of course. And it's not about being 100% obsessed with organic. Whenever possible, choosing organic is best for our health and earth. It's more than natural-organic hasn't been exposed to those toxic chemicals that are destroying our earth and our health and immune system. Our immunity needs to be stronger than ever.
