Great question, eh? Really starts the ball rolling . . . While I haven’t watched this (yet?), I do know that farmer, activist, and I’d say, philosopher Joel Salatin is the real deal in terms of thinking about our global situation, and how individuals and families can respond locally to growing uncertainty and instability.
On the other hand, rather than adopting the Wild West Amurrican “prepper” mentality of rugged individualism, I’d MUCH rather think in terms of neighborhoods, community ties, relationships. Our main challenge is psychological and sociological: How to shift from me-and-mine-first to group trust and solidarity, so that we can we make our own neighborhoods centers of production rather than consumption.
And, inevitably, what laws will have to change in order for this to happen? Can you run a home business in your neighborhood? What kinds? What are the codes? Can you join with other households to run a home business, like an herb farm, a hand-made clothing store, a repair shop?How about some kind of joint animal operation — not just chickens, but geese, sheep, goats, pigs?, even a milk cow? (And a corollary: Can a mobile abbatoir operate in your town?) Would it be possible to set up a windmill for an entire neighborhood? How about selling — or trading, or gifting — food out of your home? What kinds? Gardens in front as well as back yards? Front yard chickens? Communal paths through back yards? What about community gardens on private property. Possible? What about insurance concerns for the owner?
These are just a few questions that occur to me off the top of my head. There are gadzillions of others. On and on, the sky’s the limit in terms both of what we can do to not just survive but thrive in a rapidly changing world, as well as city codes that will have to transform along with us.
Salatin: “All great healing comes from the bottom up rather than the top down. . . . A lot of self-reliance is about coming home.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1Cv6RhTpfc
1 thought on “Joel Salatin: How can we make our homes centers of production rather than centers of consumption?”
Reblogged this on Laura Bruno's Blog and commented:
More ways to become creators of something wonderful instead of consumers of the status quo or co-opted solutions. Thanks, Ann!