A Season of REST

As we usher in a new year, Sourced is starting a new season with the ingredient - Rest.

Happy new year! In the north we are in the heart of winter, but the days are getting lighter and we begin to think about what can be planted as the soil softens and spring awaits. 

We rest bread, we rest meat, we allow things to infuse, to marinade, to age in barrels, to ferment; we let soil rest from being farmed, we let our bodies rest at night, and we let our minds escape with murder mystery books or reality tv… 

Rest is such an important ingredient in cooking and growing that is often forgotten, and often not even named. With the start of the new year we will enter a season of rest. 

What does that mean?

Firstly, it means that all paid subscriptions will be on pause until at least the beginning of April. We note that winter and the rise in cost of living (especially energy prices!) makes this season hard and an extra bit of cash is probably needed. 

Secondly, it means that we won't be commissioning any new work. It is truly a time for both of us to rest. As most of you know we do this work on a voluntary basis, any money we earn via this newsletter goes straight to paying those we commision. We have published over 100 pieces of work since we launched in August 2020, and even though we work on a slow journalism principle - this is still quite a lot of work!

We would like to take stock of this work, give space for this work to be re-read and enjoyed. I am sure there are pieces you have missed seeing as well! During this time we will be publishing one  newsletter a month(ish) to everyone revisiting some of the work that we’ve published. 

Lastly, with rest comes time to ruminate and time to daydream. When constantly on the go and racing to deadline after deadline we can miss the wood for the trees. Sourced is a project that we deeply believe in and we want to be able to spend time building it - this means that we need to make it financially sustainable, for our time to be compensated. We have let newsletter timelines slip and been slower than planned on publishing pieces as we madly try to earn money elsewhere, we’d like to change that dynamic. 

Therefore, we will take this time to plan 2023 and beyond, and think, search, and plot how to get funding (sponsorship, investment?)! If you have any leads or ideas - get in touch! We’re open to all ideas. 

In the meantime, we will be publishing the RICE pieces we didn’t have time to post before the festive season. 

As always, please do share any work you have enjoyed on Sourced, the more we’re read the more the project will be able to grow:

www.sourcedjourneys.com

And, thank you so much for the support you have shown us in the last 2.5 years. We are so grateful.

Anna & Chloe xx

Reading list

Things we’ve been reading over the festive break:

Mistletoe Murders, by PD James (ASM)
A collection of short, murder stories! Perfect little mini escapes

Unearthed: on race and roots, and how the soil taught me I belong, by Claire Ratinon (ASM)
Claire’s exploration into learning to grow, as she examines the history of colonialism, race and belonging in the UK. It is a reclamation, and a beautifully told story. 

Masa, Techniques, Recipes, and Reflections on a Timeless Staple, by Jorge Gaviria (CRC)
Most commonly associated with tortillas and tamales, this cookbook/textbook looks into what masa is, how it is used and why we should care more about how it is sourced.

Taste of Place, podcast (ASM)
The winter is the perfect time to get immersed in my narrative form podcast, all about pepper! And colonialism, racism, indigenous farming and supply chains.