Kabuliwalla Khabar
Gandhi Mahal’s FREE Neighbor-to-Neighborhood Gazette is back!
DELIVERY & TAKE-OUT CALL 612-729-5222 WINTER 2012-2013
“BE the change you want to see in the world”
Barter-Based Local Food in Corcoran
Excerpted from an article by Christine Tuhy
Greetings!
(This is the space
where we let Ruhel
spout off about what
he’s been pondering
lately. Fortunately,
space is limited. : D)
My name is Ruhel
Islam, and I’d like to
say a few words about
ACTION!
If you have ever
Ruhel Islam, Small Business Owner,
fellow human being, involved citizen,
talked with me, you
gourmet cook, and hopefully - friend.
know I have many
ideas of how to make things better for all people. I
have said that together we can accomplish much.
Now I can say, the words have become
actions, and as we know - with the actions of many
working toward the greater good - good things DO
happen. Here are some examples of people working together with amazing results.
Peace, Ruhel
Julia Nerbonne and her gang of miracle-workers. Students volunteered to work in the garden, along with others in the community. It was a
huge success and promises to be even better next year.
What was in early May a weedy, overgrown lot on infertile soil, by early October
had become the site of a model for organic,
barter-based, local food production. And it
was all quite easy. There were no grants, no
policies and procedures, and no bureaucracy.
How did this happen?
1. A local woman with a knack for rallying
people around sustainability purchases a
dilapidated, foreclosed duplex in Corcoran.
2. A community-minded restaurant employee
becomes a tenant at the rehabbed house
and agrees to allow use of the yard space
for the growth of nourishing food.
3. The homeowner recruits an urban farm
manager.
4. Student volunteers plant, maintain, and
harvest a garden in the yard.
5. A local restaurant owner agrees to use the
harvested produce to create tasty meals,
which he offers for free to the gardeners.
Julia Nerbonne, along with her husband,
Brian, are the property owners. Ruhel Islam
is the owner of Gandhi Mahal restaurant.
Laura Recker is the farm manager.
Riz Prakasim is the property tenant and an
employee at Gandhi Mahal.
The student volunteers are from HECUA
(Higher Education Consortium for Urban
Affairs), an organization that creates real-life
educational experiences for students.
An astonishing fourteen hundred pounds
of peppers, tomatoes, greens, and potatoes
were harvested, which Ruhel used to prepare
Indian dishes at Gandhi Mahal. About 120
gift-based lunches were provided to the volunteers by Gandhi Mahal.
What could have taken years to dream
up, fund, and manifest, became a reality in
one summer. A pilot project that could easily
serve as a model to bring their food production to the back yard was born. This alliance
has it all: organic, sustainable, and locallyproduced food; a gift-based barter system;
and intercultural exchange—all wrapped in
one nifty concept that went from dream to
reality in just two short months!
How can you get involved?
Those involved have hired a farm
manager and are looking to expand to
five new gardens this coming summer.
1. Check out HECUA’s Environment
and Agriculture Program at
https://hecua.org/enviro
2. Go to Gandhi Mahal Tuesday nights
when 10% of proceeds go to sustainability.
3. Have yard space you’d like to offer
for gardening? Contact Julia
Nerbonne at [email protected].
4. Follow the HECUA/Gandhi Mahal
Urban Farm Project on Facebook.
5. Do you have a favorite local
restaurant and some willing
neighbors with yard space?
What could you make happen in
your yard or neighborhood?
Kabuliwalla Khabar
Join us in ACTION! There are many groups who are
making use of the Gandh Mahal Community Room.
Community Room Hosts MN350 Project Kick-off
Ruhel’s dream-become-reality Community Room has been busy this
year. Recently, MN350 held their kick-off meeting at Gandhi Mahal
Community Room to launch what will be an ongoing infusion to the
cause of building a climate movement in Minnesota.
Every Tuesday night Ruhel will donate 10% of proceeds to MN350
to help in their efforts to reduce carbon dioxide to 350 parts per million
(ppm) in a just and sustainable way. You can help just by having a delicious dinner on Tuesday nights at Gandhi Mahal.
350 is more than a number—it’s a symbol of where we need to head
as a planet. To preserve our planet, scientists tell us we must reduce the
amount of CO2 in the atmosphere from its current levels to 350 parts
per million (ppm) - the safe limit to support life as we know it. Right
now we are at 392 ppm.
MN350.org says, “We are pleased to announce seven teams that will
be working to move MN350 forward in building the Minnesota climate
movement. Sign up to plug in your skills and energy at:
http://www.mn350.org/get-involved/
— or — Call 651-402-8901
NEW YEAR’S EVE PARTY AT Gandhi Mahal
Spend your New Year’s Eve with us. Enjoy a
COMPLIMENTARY GLASS OF CHAMPAGNE
with each buffet dinner purchase. Listen to
some soothing live music while you dine.
Gandhi Mahal
will donate 10% of the proceeds to MN350.
Lake Street Business
Council’s Fundraiser a
Success Again This Year
An appreciative crowd enjoyed tastting and learning about beer, wine, and
coffee while feasting on Mexican fare at
the annual fundraising event in November at El Nuevo Rodeo just up the street.
172 offerings were donated for the
silent auction, from a bicycle to yoga
classes, from Indian embroidered bags
to a Hawaiian ukulele, from Flamenco
dance lessons to Bengali cooking
lessons (donated by Gandhi Mahal), it
was a multi-cultural feast!
Pleasing Palates and Winning Awards in 2012!
City Pages: Best Indian Restaurant 2012; Readers’ Choice & Editor’s Choice
Minneapolis/St. Paul Magazine: Best stops on Light Rail 2012
Minneapolis/St. Paul Magazine: Best Indian Cuisine 2012
Star Tribune: Best Indian Cuisine 2012
Dowling Urban Environmen- Mosaic Church Helps Students
A partnership between Mosaic Church
tal School Receives Funds
Gandhi Mahal is donating 10% of
proceeds to Dowling Urban Environmental
School from sales on Thursday nights.
An easy and delicious way to support local
success stories and improve your community
- eat at Gandhi Mahal and you automatically
help the community.
Dowling School has been validated as a
Minnesota School of Excellence.
and Gandhi Mahal is combining much
needed tutoring and healthy, nutritious
food for students 10-16 years of age.
The students are picked up, given a free
meal, and given individualized personal
tutoring to help them succeed in school.
This community based sharing was
facilitated by Riz Prakasim who is the Pastor
of Knox Presbyterian Church where Mosaic
Church shares space.