Eco-conciousness should be a byproduct of the way we live!
Like I've mentioned in some posts before, I always felt our civilized world wasn't our natural lifeway. I thought we could be much more than the animal that believes itself to be the only apex predator, living without respect for its habitat and imposing laws on one another, only a few elected elites agreed upon.
I watched with curiosity, the world around me and could never understand how we had become a society that cannot see (or even imagine) a way out of this domesticated life... in other words why can't we break out of our enslavement?
There's a bit more to read on that subject in a past week's post, Is it time to Re-wild ourselves yet?
I never came up with a solution but after traveling the world, my involvement with an intentional community (which sadly never put that first shovel in the ground) and having always lived in some sort of co-habitation, my ideologies evolved and sparked a vision for freedom.
The dream that started as a nomadic band of artists, healers and students in eco-consciousness has planted its roots in somewhat of a different adventure... we needed a homebase, a place to call home. How could we teach permaculture if we couldn't fully practice what we preached?
I can see now, with the help of @eco-alex's ecoVillage project that I needed to give you all an updated and improved post on the community we're building.
This here is a sample from a pdf file we're working on to hand out to those who would be interested in joining us:
The Dream
- A self-reliant neo-tribal village of about twenty people with their families, based
on direct democratic, voluntary and gifting economy practices. - Sustainable homes built mostly with natural and up-cycled meterials, on 19 acres of wild forest, two hours north of New York City. (The land has already been acquired, therefore isn't burdensome).
- A community, a maker-space, a
gathering of minds, a home.
Co-create a vision for re-wilding,
learning to be fully functional and
thriving in a more “natural human
habitat” while integrating aspects
of our modern way of life.
VISION
To live in a community setting modeled after many ancient tribal villages, where individuals are responsible for their actions while helping each other reach self-reliance
and self-sustainability.
MISSION
Community living feels like a more natural way to live, it also makes life easier and happier for everyone involved. Our mission is to re-learn how to live in a tribal setting and to be
prepared for any economic turmoil if one were to arise. The intention is to attain food sovereignty and live in abundance through permaculture, wildcrafting, natural medicine, art, and happiness. (This is where eco-conciousness becomes a byproduct of the way we live.)
GOAL
To become an educational center for self-reliance, sustainability, permaculture, and the practice of becoming a natural human in today’s society.
Now that you know what we're up to here's a little piece about the land we're calling home:
The Land of Dreams
19 acres of wilderness, located in the Mid Hudson Valley of New York State, bordering the Esopus Creek. The land is largely forested with hills, valleys, cliffs, a large meadow to create a food forest, and a humble pond dubbed “the swamp of no return” by the youngest human living in the community. Only a ten minute drive from town, we remain secluded in what we considere a nature sanctuary, as wild turkey, deer, coyotes and many other creatures are often spotted around the property, including two giant turtles, a bear and a bald eagle, which were all speacial treats to see!
There was always this idea floating in my head about the silliness of owning land. How can we really call ourselves proprietors of the trees and everything within a forest, or any piece of land on this earth?
It never made sense, but I guess other animals fight for their right to hunt all the time... peoples of past also kept certain territorial bounderies, but holding the title of a specific parcel of land seems a bit too far removed from our wild ancestors' lifeways.
Unfortunately, we need to abide to modern land ownership to properly manage the land we want to live on. We have purchased the 19 acre parcel and plan on having the community share the costs of operations only, not the cost of the land. Legally, we're looking at something called land lease where the community can act as the owner for a period of 99 years (renewable and transferable as per community agreement). We aren't lawyers in any sense of the word and will be looking for legal advice on the subject, so if you happen to know someone who specializes in community building, please let us know.
