We reframe the "Victory Garden" as a blueprint for community independence rather than a tool of war. We look at the staggering 40% production levels of 1943 and the Russian Dacha system—where 3% of the land produces over 80% of the vegetables. We discuss how nutritional sovereignty is a fundamental requirement for a peaceful society and a direct form of disarmament.

Homework:

1. Look up the"Russian Dacha movement" and find one statistic on how much food these small plots produce compared to industrial farms.
2. Write down one question you have about home gardens or any topic in this episode. If you don’t have a question, just write “no question.”
3. Optional:Journal for five minutes about what "Victory" looks like in your own neighborhood. If your street was 40 percent independent from the grocery store, how would your sense of security change?

Learning Topics:

The 1943 Victory Garden Production Stats; The Russian Dacha System: Small-scale resilience; The 2020 Pandemic Seed Surge (Burpee and Johnny’s Seeds); Supply Chain Disconnection as a Form of Disarmament; Nutritional Independence vs. Traditional National Security.

• Get the book Peace Stuff Enough: AvisKalfsbeek.com/peace-stuff-enough

• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

We examine the brutal history of manufactured famine as a tactical instrument of war. From the Holodomor to the "soft power" of the 1960s Food for Peace program, this class teaches scholars how to recognize when hunger is being used as a logistical weapon of control and why local agricultural sovereignty is a vital peace strategy.

Homework:

1. Look up "The Holodomor" and read the "Causes" section to understand how government policy, not weather, created the famine.
2. Write down one question about any of this episode’s topics. If you don’t have a question, write “no question.”
3. Optional:Journal for five minutes about the concept of "Calorie Leverage." How does it feel to realize that your own food security might be tied to a global logistical "valve"?

Learning Topics:

The Holodomor (Logistical Famine); Scorched Earth Tactics vs. Soil Health; Food for Peace (PL 480) and Calorie Leverage; Modern Supply Chain Blockades; Agricultural Sovereignty as a Peace Strategy

• Get the book Peace Stuff Enough: AvisKalfsbeek.com/peace-stuff-enough
• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

Episode Summary: We explore how the concept of "shortage" is used as a psychological and political tool to justify war. This class examines the history of the Enclosure Acts, the chemical dependency of modern agriculture, and the "Food as a Weapon" strategy to reveal how scarcity is often a manufactured policy rather than a biological reality.

Homework:

1. Look up "The Enclosure Acts" and read a summary of how they changed the "Common Land" system in England.
2. Write down one question about any of this episode’s topics. If you don’t have a question, write “no question.”
3. Optional:Journal for five minutes about a "shortage" you see in the news today (gas, food, or water). Is it a biological shortage of the earth, or a logistical shortage of the "fence"?

Learning Topics: The Scarcity Script vs. Biological Abundance; The Enclosure Acts and the End of the Commons; Haber-Bosch: The Fertilizer-Weapon Link; Strategic Food Reserves and Political Leverage; The Yield Gap and Distribution Waste

• Get the book Peace Stuff Enough: AvisKalfsbeek.com/peace-stuff-enough

• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

Peacewarts: Living Roots 101 - Seed Sovereignty (Class 2)

We move from the soil to the seed. This class explores why the right to save and exchange seeds is a foundational act of a peaceful society. We examine the transition from "Common" to "Commodity," the hidden costs of the 1960s Green Revolution, and the heroic sacrifice of the Vavilov Institute scientists who guarded the world's genetic heritage during the Siege of Leningrad.

Homework:

1. Look up "Vandana Shiva" and read one paragraph about her work with Navdanya and seed freedom.
2. Write down one question you have after this episode or your research. If no question comes to mind, write "no question."
3. Optional:Journal for five minutes about the difference between an "heirloom" seed and a "patented" seed.

Learning Topics: Seed Sovereignty vs. Patent Extraction; Open-Pollinated vs. Hybrid Systems; The Green Revolution's Dependency Loop; The Vavilov Martyrs (Stchukin and Ivanov); Seed Saving as an Act of Disarmament

• Get the book Peace Stuff Enough: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com/peace-stuff-enough Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com

• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

Peacewarts: Living Roots 101 - Orientation & Soil as a Peace Treaty (Class 1)

We descend into the Greenhouse to introduce the Law of Return. This class focuses on the historical cause-and-effect chain between soil health and social stability, examining Mesopotamian salinization, the American Dust Bowl, colonial monocultures, and modern fertilizer dependency.

Learning Topics:

1. The Law of Return (Anti-Extraction)
2. Mesopotamian Salinization & Systemic Collapse
3. The Dust Bowl as a Displacement Driver
4. Colonial Monocultures vs. Soil Health
5. Synthetic Fertilizer Dependency

• Get the book Peace Stuff Enough: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com/peace-stuff-enough
• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

In this episode, Avis pauses the Peacewarts series to explore a long tradition of walks for peace. Across history, people have chosen to walk slowly and publicly as a form of nonviolent witness, reclaiming roads and landscapes through presence rather than force.

From Gandhi’s Salt March and Vinoba Bhave’s land gift walks to Peace Pilgrim, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Cesar Chavez, and monastic peace walkers, this episode traces how walking has been used to make injustice visible and invite participation without violence.

The episode closes by situating today’s walk for peace within this wider historical lineage, reminding us that walking remains one of humanity’s most durable tools for peace — slow, visible, and human.

• Get the book Peace Stuff Enough: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com/peace-stuff-enough
• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “Dalai Lama Riding a Bike” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

In this final lesson of the Understars series, we explore why peace is a stable infrastructure while war is a fragile system requiring constant upkeep. We summarize the "Understars Perspective" and dive deeper into JFK’s 1963 "Strategy of Peace" speech as a blueprint for human-made solutions. We define our role as Peace Scholars as we prepare to bring the High View down to the ground.

Homework:

1. Interrupt your routine by looking at your passport or ID card. Imagine it doesn't just list a country, but says "Citizen of the Understars." How does that change your responsibility to the person standing next to you?
2. Write down one final question for this department. If no question comes to mind, write "no question."
3. Optional:Look up at the night sky tonight. Tell the stars, "Hey Understars, let's keep an eye on peace. How about it?"

Learning Topics:

• Peace as infrastructure vs. war as a fragile system
• Summary of the Understars Perspective
• JFK’s 1963 "Strategy of Peace" Speech (American University)
• Reclaiming global citizenship
• Transitioning from theory to daily practice

Resources & Links:

• Follow the podcast as we launch into the first semester of this new peace school.
• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

We shift our focus from philosophy to the practical "infrastructure" of peace. We survey the various tools—from shared scientific endeavors to verification treaties—that allow humanity to maintain the High View. We look back at what we have named The Great Disarmament (1963) to see how tools like the Partial Test Ban Treaty protected our shared biology. We conclude with the understanding that peace is an inevitable destination that requires constant maintenance.

Homework:

1. Interrupt your routineto look up the "Global Peace Index." Find one "Tool" or metric they use to measure how peaceful a country is.
2. Write down one questionyou have after this episode or doing homework #1. If no question comes to mind, write: "no question."
3. Optional:Journal about your own "Personal Toolkit." When you feel a conflict rising, what is the first "tool" you reach for? (Is it a deep breath? A question? Taking a walk?)

Until our final lesson in this department, keep your eyes on the Understars. Class dismissed.

Learning topics: Peace Infrastructure, Verification Treaties, Shared Science, The Global Peace Index, 1963 Partial Test Ban Treaty, The Great Disarmament.

Resources & Links:

• Follow the podcast as we launch into the first semester of this new peace school.
• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW