Image: Western honey bee on a honeycomb - Matthew T Rader, MatthewTRader.com, License CC-BY-SA Some people are lucky enough to have a career that is a calling. They may be well paid to do what they love, to do something that is needed and that utilizes their unique set of skills and talents. But those who are so fortunate are few.
Many of the examples of things we can do to meet our needs are forms of self-provisioning, such as of food. And these can be done by individuals, but are often easier done, and better done, by small groups of collaborators within our neighborhoods. This is partly because collaborating neighbors can often empower one another to do what otherwise they cannot (or are not likely to do) on their own. But small, mostly informal neighborhood groups can help us all stitch together rather tattered fabric of local community, which will only become more and more important as the familiar systems continue to break down.
I'm a big advocate for what I call "community-oriented permaculture," which is permaculture practice "at the neighborhood scale". In my opinion, such community-oriented permaculture should occur within a gift economy which is a form of "community self-provisioning". That is, it is outside of the formal economy, but also outside of the model which is barter, exchange, etc. Basically, it is neighbors helping one another to meet their food and other needs within the ethical principles of permaculture. It requires meaningful human relationship outside of the market, and thus requires getting to know and trust one another. That is, it requires a sense of belonging in within our immediate place at the neighborhood scale.
And, yes, it requires exercise for the imagination! Which is a good thing!
I love this article!
Many of the examples of things we can do to meet our needs are forms of self-provisioning, such as of food. And these can be done by individuals, but are often easier done, and better done, by small groups of collaborators within our neighborhoods. This is partly because collaborating neighbors can often empower one another to do what otherwise they cannot (or are not likely to do) on their own. But small, mostly informal neighborhood groups can help us all stitch together rather tattered fabric of local community, which will only become more and more important as the familiar systems continue to break down.
I'm a big advocate for what I call "community-oriented permaculture," which is permaculture practice "at the neighborhood scale". In my opinion, such community-oriented permaculture should occur within a gift economy which is a form of "community self-provisioning". That is, it is outside of the formal economy, but also outside of the model which is barter, exchange, etc. Basically, it is neighbors helping one another to meet their food and other needs within the ethical principles of permaculture. It requires meaningful human relationship outside of the market, and thus requires getting to know and trust one another. That is, it requires a sense of belonging in within our immediate place at the neighborhood scale.
And, yes, it requires exercise for the imagination! Which is a good thing!
"Am I—gasp—going against the convention that all youth must aspire to go to college so they can have decent careers? Yes, actually."
Me too! This is a core part of my warning to parents about "innovation scams" https://mfioretti.substack.com/p/innovation-scams-education-myths