permaculture

["Carrie Shepard" <outlikeelijah@gbronline.com>]

Ahh, I've recently been reading Michael Novak's Spirit of Democratic
Capitalism and Hildegard of Bingen.

Both of these writers speak to community and our relationships to one
another and to nature in a positive light.  Together these books along with
the Covey writings on interdependence being the goal instead of independence
are really helping me be content with where I am in my own community
building efforts here.

Recently a neighbor and her husband and I drove an hour and half from here
to pick up enough used steel hoops at only $3 each for 4 families to put up
hoophouses near here.  We're all working on year round harvesting from our
pieces of land and trying to make a way for our teen children to make an
income from home.   All of us see the importance of a holistic view of life
and are making changes to help our children focus on the more important
things in life instead of consumerism.

Last winter I had checked out some books (but can't even remember them
because they were more like rootless ideas instead of tried and true real
life this is where we are and can move to) on community minded permaculture.
>From what I remember these books seemed like stuffy college texts lacking
nuts and bolts reality of real work.

I haven't been to any formal training courses and may be off the mark here
alltogether, but from what I have studied and tried to implement, it seems
that these writings offer good insight.

Carrie