Our discussions are guided by the book, "The Transition Handbook: From Oil Dependency to Local Resilience", by Rob Hopkins. We chose this book because Hopkins focuses on actions we can take as a community to plan for (instead of being surprised by) an inevitable energy descent.
Last Monday we discussed theoretical frameworks for our activities as a group; Will adaptation, evolution or collapse occur when fossil fuels are scarce and climate change is affecting our ecosystem? We didn’t agree on what the future will bring, but we did concur that whatever happens, we’d like to be a part of a well-knit, capable and locally sustainable community.
Last Monday we discussed theoretical frameworks for our activities as a group; Will adaptation, evolution or collapse occur when fossil fuels are scarce and climate change is affecting our ecosystem? We didn’t agree on what the future will bring, but we did concur that whatever happens, we’d like to be a part of a well-knit, capable and locally sustainable community.
The activities will be hands-on—individuals take turns sharing experience/experiments in resilient living. Last Monday we cut up locally scavenged apples and left them to stew during the discussion portion of the evening. After the discussion, we canned the applesauce. Ingredients: free apples, glass jars, lids and laughs. On December 22nd, we’ll be learning to make soap from lye and vegetable oils.
This group is in its forming stage, but I am truly excited about the list we generated of skills to learn and skills to teach.
What we’d like to learn from others
- Living sustainably without alienating others, being elitist or escapist and being aware of the dynamics of privilege
- Gardening
- Food preservation
- Fire-building
- How to make this group multi-generational, -lingual and -racial
- Knitting
- How to build rain barrels
- Getting off the power grid: Having a home that relies on closed loop systems
- Feel more empowered to make changes
- Cooking
- Yoga
- Making kombucha
- Straw bale houses
- Soap
- Drum circles
- Basic bike repair/maintenance and winter riding tips
- Low-maintenance lawn coverings
- Organize volunteers and hook them up with needy non-profits
- How to spread the word, connect with other communities
- Share mutually
- Recycle water
- Live without so much electricity, natural gas, coal and oil
- Make instruments from scavenged materials
- Eat wild plants
- Build simple structures with easy-to-come-by materials
- Turn dead animals into meat, fur, leather and other useful materials.
- Treat illnesses without modern medicine
- Local plants and wildlife, herbal medicine, holistic mental health
- Self-defense
- Survival in freezing and subzero temperatures for sustained periods of time
- French, Psychokinesis, Tabla drumming, kiai and bi-location
- Fermentation
- Earth-centered paganism
What we know and can teach others
- Fermenting vegetables
- Making kombucha
- Making wine
- Making soap
- Making moon pads
- Living in community
- Interacting with homeless people
- Cooking
- Baking bread
- Rendering tallow and lard
- Knitting
- Yoga
- Pilates
- Modern dance
- Zen meditation
- Website making
- Making apple cider
- Setting up rain barrels, harvesting rain water
- Making plant medicine and Identifying plants
- Growing mushrooms
- Bio-remediation of soil and water
- Fixing bikes
- Capoeira
- Facilitation
- Listening
- Singing
- Playing
- Tromboning
- Chanting
- Outreach
- Working with kids
- Conducting Anti-oppression workshops
- Raising chickens
- Repairing Volkswagons
- Making biodiesel
- Juggling
- Womyn's health
- Mentrual pads
- Salves
- Making massage oil and massage
- Nonviolent communication
- Impromptu theater/dance, rap
- Percussion
- Fitness
- Self-defense,
- Finding free stuff
- Souture thrift shopping
- Action as opposed to talk
- Various arts/crafts (collage, button-making)
- Moderating discussions
- Writing
- Mental health and alternatives to traditional psychiatric methods
- Fermenting veggies
- Changing motor oil
- Converting diesel cars to veggie oil
- Constructing cold frames
- Making mead
- Testicular & prostate self-exam
- Martial arts (tai shin doh)
- Basic womyn's self defense
- Hiking
- Painting houses
- Home repair
- Deck-building
- College radio and audio production
- Natural history
- Spiritual resilience
- Diabetes self-care
- Strategic planning for grassroots groups
- Grant-writing
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1 comment:
Good lists, thank you!
Recycle water
Check this out: "This Green House" a video interview at the NYTimes on youtube
Had trouble embedding, but here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fik20UVkox8
You didn't mention vermicomposting, but I imagine you know how to do this and teach it.
Also - cohousing may be necessary, so learning to live with others. I do this in Cleveland Heights... sssshhh. I don't know if the city approves.
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