The Hip Quaker

Yeah, Guy (that’s his name) has a great brain. His resume includes past destinations like: “Industrial Light and Magic” and “Star Wars.” Somewhere around 2000 (you’ll have to check his website for the exact number), he and his artist wife Rebekah packed all their belongs and escaped California for rural Maine. I’m highlighting them because we urban folks tend to dismiss everyone who lives in the sticks as “potentially dangerous ignorant hicks.”

But regardless if you want a home in the country or not, you still need to have a look at Guy’s website. He’s got everything on there from thermal window insulation solutions and solar differential temperature controllers, to wireless surveillance equipment, and robotic equipment.

Arttec.net is intentionally folksy and down-to-earth.  One trip to the site and I guarantee you’ll … feel smarter. It’s like a mini Smithsonian for geeks, homesteaders, and art lovers. You quickly discover there are no high or low-tech problems that can’t be solved. Some solutions are expensive and others … relatively cheap. (After all, he was one of the Visual Effects engineers for Star Trek…)

Guy and his wife Becky are wonderful examples of “Back-to-the-Landers.” I doubt if they’d classify themselves as such, but this team of art and science lowered their overhead, escaped the rat-race, and now live healthy and extremely creative lives. They have time and space to create far more than they would had they remained in an urban space where problems like … well … everyone knows the problems.

Oh yeah, any woman curious about fashion, click on the Chicago Native’s link to her  textile art … and while there, explore her latest photos that came out of a recent MFA program. These are folks. Smart folks … but folks… aware … GOOD folks. People who enrich the “neighborhood” they move into—if allowed. They do their homework before picking a spot in paradise, and then they become “neighbors.” Neighbors are important in the less alienated rural countryside. You have to be. One wet spring morning you might need one to pull your car out of a ditch. Isn’t that part of the allure?

Becky continues to travel the U.S. and Asia to market her textile art and Guy builds canoes.

Visit the hip Quaker at: http://www.arttec.net/

Becky’s newest art site: http://www.rebekahyounger.com/default4.asp

Her older mainstay website is: “Younger Knits”: http://www.youngerknits.com

Van Jones: The Green Movement’s Black Hero

“When people think about climate change, often the first thought that comes to mind has to do with all the solar panels, wind farms, and green rooftops we need, and how quickly it needs to be done. But the question that rarely follows is, “how much manual labor will this take and who’s going to do it?” It’s also becoming clear that more and more people in underserved communities, especially young people, are getting left behind while the rest of us struggle to climb closer and closer to the American dream. Can we think of these people not as a burden, but as an underused resource? The man who isn’t afraid to ask these questions, and who has an answer, is Van Jones, President and co-founder of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights (EBC) based in Oakland, California.” (Exerpt from, “community Heros” by Rosemary Prizker. Click on this link to read entire article.)

Greatfully, there is a development occuring that makes us ask, “Is the Overwhelmingly White, Green Movement finally reaching out to blacks and other people of color … or are people like Van Jones inserting the reality that black people can and will play an integral part of this “New Green Movement“?

“What’s a nice black guy like me doing in a movement like this?” asks Van Jones. The tall, 39 year old cuts a striking silhouette in a black turtleneck and blazer as he strides the stage at the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center. A  charismatic lawyer who grew up in rural Tennessee, Jones graduated from Yale Law, and founded the Ella Baker Center for jobs and justice in Oakland.

“The Prius people, the polar-bear crowd are great,” Jones says. “We’re not mad at them. We like them! At the same time, if the only people who can participate are the kind who can afford to put solar panels on their second home, the green movement is going to be too small to fix the problem. If we want to beat global warming, there’s no way to do it without helping a lot of poor people. If you design a solution that does not do that, it’s a solution that’s too timid.”

In Jones’ eyes, the first wave of environmentalism, led by Teddy Roosevelt and John Muir, focused on preserving the nation’s natural beauty in parks. The second wave, led by Rachel Carson of “Silent Spring,” concentrated on federal regulation of toxics. The third wave, he says, is about investment. Initially, that meant individual consumer choice: hybrid cars, organic food, energy-efficient light bulbs. Now, it’s evolved into major public spending and community-wide action.

Jones’ grand vision? Think New Deal and civil-rights movement combined with a clean-green industrial revolution. The nation needs to train masses of “green-collar” workers to conduct energy audits, weatherize and retrofit buildings, install solar panels and maintain hybrid vehicles, wind farms and bio-fuel factories. The icing? Wiring buildings and installing solar panels can’t be outsourced.

“Brother,” Jones says, “put down that hand gun and pick up this caulk gun.”

[Partially re-written from article written by Paula Bock. Click this link to read the entire article.]

The Perfect Small Farm Cow … Dexters

The concept of moving to the contry after a lifetime spent in urban America is daunting, but part of the fun is dreaming about what types of farm animals I’ll raise. So far I’m certain about the two breeds of dogs … and I know there will be both chickens and Guinea Hens, but I’m still undecided about, “Goat or Sheep?”

But last week I read an article on Dexter Cows. Not those big, intimidating things that “guard” countryside fence lines and stare back at me with unblinking eyes … not them. I’m talking about Little Cows. Not pygmy cows or miniture cows … a real breed of bovine … that’s naturally small. Cool.

I don’t have a family so a “normal” size dairy cow would have me making cheese, ice cream, and butter on a 24/7 hour basis. But Dexters give smaller amounts of milk and every web site I’ve looked at swore they are “gentle.” Have a look:

Financing My Urban Escape

Okay, so in the process of concluding that I want a greater quality of life than I can create in urban America … and then deciding that I can best create such a life on a small farm (8 or more acres) … I’ve learned a great deal even before leaving Oakland, California.

But perhaps the greatest thing I’ve learned is how to make my fantasy a reality. In other words, how to finance the move. Life in the country requires a lower amount of money to live on. The reason why all that beautiful property is so cheap is there is a lack of jobs out thar. Hence, I decided to learn to become a truck driver.

I drove a cab in San Francisco back in the late 80’s for a few years to finance my return to college, but I never dreamed I’d ever yearn to drive an 18 wheeler. But it’s such a great choice because not only can I drive through various parts of the country and get a feel about potential areas where advertised cheap property is located, but I can live anywhere and be a trucker. (Not to mention that truckers can potentially earn up to $200, 000 a year!)

FREE Truck Driving School
This journey is teaching me faith … and more… the power of following your dreams. I actually found a FREE truck driving school. When I graduate, I won’t have any contracts nor will I owe anyone any money. More, the school is located in San Francisco’s City College Bay View Campus off Evans Street. It was started by Tania Alexander and her father, Rev. Alexander of True Hope Baptist Church in the Hunter’s Point area. Class is located in the Evan’s Street Campus of San Francisco City College. (The program is so new that I see it isn’t even listed on the SFCC Webstite .) The program is sponsored in partnership with Goodwill Industries and here’s a link to press releases about the program:

Goodwill Truck Driving Academy

Bayview True Hope Truck Driving Academy

Phone Number: 415-550-4421

NOTE: If you look at the picture above, you can see me standing in the backgrown just between Rita’s eyes (the person in the simulator’s driver’s seat) and the screen.) Da kid ain’t playin’ … I’m going to have my Class A in about two weeks. Um … perhaps you folks should decide to stay off the streets for the next two months … )

14 Steps To Begin Your Black Farm Dream

Dreams of moving to the country continue as I walk constantly into the reality of making it happen. Only a few more steps before I enter truck school. It’s a free program sponsored by a church in Hunter’s Point, Goodwill Industries, and San Francisco City College. Attending an independent truck school rather than a truck company’s school means I won’t be under a $5,000 contract when I leave. It also means I will most likely earn more money starting off.

Why truck driving? I dunno … I like to drive and it’s a long way from listening to crack addicts tell me lies all day. Homes and land are cheap in rural America … but it’s that way because there often is a lack of jobs. This means I’ll have to:

1. Take a few Horticulture and/or Permaculture courses
2. Take a welding class (FREE too at several locations here in urban America)
3. Make sure I’m getting enough exercise so that I’ll be fit when I get there
4. Research the appropriate farm equipment, farming practices, local truck actions, and other means of paying less than full price for much of what I’ll need
5. Read up on rural life … like a book I ran across the other day that illustrates why country neighbors really are better than city neighbors … because they need you more … but … research will still have to be done …
6. Visit http://www.city-data.com and gather as many candid remarks about the towns, states and cities I’m curious about
7. Visit http://www.unitedcountry.com and check out the tip of the iceberg of what’s available (I’ve noticed they’ve stopped posting the really cheap places … hey … Real Estate Agents want to make money too… they also have a huge book that comes out twice a year that’s far better … only $9.00 a year for a subscription.)
8. I also like to open http://www.wikipedia.com and pull up the demographics of an area … won’t paint the whole picture … but it can fill in a few blanks
9. And if you visit the http://realestate.msn.com ’s Real Estate link, you’ll see where you can request hard copy books for areas you’re curious about. These books are found in free sidewalk newspaper bins all over the U.S. … but if you request one online, Real Estate agents from those areas will send you emails, listings, and letters inviting you to build a relationship with them
   [Click on http://realestate.msn.com ... and check out the second one down that has a house and two barns with acreage and timber for $160,000]
10. Start dreaming into all the things you’d do if you only had land … and a bit of time to pursue them. Then start searching the web for examples of what those projects look for other people. You’ll really be surprised if you let yourself go
11. If you’re single, start posting your ad on dating sites for country and farm people
12. Remember … there are fears about a looming global recession in 2012 … so people with small farms WITH WATER under or on it will do better than those sisters and brothers still complaining in the hoods … did I mention the fears around a global water shortage starting in 2015?
13. But above all … I have to remember that it really isn’t all about me. That if God gives folks gifts and talents, He wants them to funnel them into our bringing something to the table … assisting with the greater good …
14. Look around for friends and family to bring along. Asian and Mexican immigrants are showing us some excellent examples of how to create successful social models that create both economic success and individual / group safety. It’s FAR better to bring some trusted comrades to watch your back as you build your fences … and more importantly … your bridges … in the new rural community you select

But if it’s one thing that all that non-profit, social service trench work taught me … when I want to save someone… I’m usually projecting onto someone else a part of ME that needs “saving.” Hence … pause, SAVE MYSELF FIRST, then do some … wise … charity work.

Green Movement Can Help Blacks

I rode the 38 Geary out to the San Francisco Ft. Miley Veteran’s Hospital this morning. A group of pre-teens were headed to school. Several of the boys were black … the scene they put on wasn’t nothing nice.

 I always write that if it ain’t broke ~ don’t fix it. We all know this buggy ain’t just broke, the wheels done come off and the bottom done dropped out. Time to re-boot the system and get back to baseline. That’s why I always assert that getting out of Urban America and rejecting its values are key to our survival, our healing, and our future economic growth.

Land has always been the major path to wealth in this country. The fact that so few blacks currently own land is a corner stone to our problem. Forget racism. Forget what the white man done done or might do. Look at what we’re currently doing to ourselves….

• Our rate of divorce far exceeds our rate of marriage.
• The Civil Rights Movement was won on moral grounds … and that’s exactly where we’re losing it.
• HIV/AIDS continues to be the Number One killer of black men 16 - 25 and the senior citizens are now following suit. That looks like deep despair around love to me. When so many are desperately jumping for lust instead having the faith and character to create love … well folks … don’t look good. You cannot point a finger in any direction of the African American Community and not see, hear, or feel pain … yet we want to keep doing the same things and believing in the same fantasies?

First black men were demoralized, then black youth. Next they got to women and now they’ve hit mothers. Ain’t nothing left. Grandmothers are struggling to raise their children’s children. We make up the vast majority of Foster Children numbers even in places where we are a fraction of the population. Are many of these systemic problems? Yes. But that has little or nothing to do with our responsibility to grow through them.

“Every problem is an opportunity in work clothes.” ~Henry J. Kaiser (I love that one…)

This is why the Green Movement holds out great promise to blacks. At present, whites and others have been holding down the fort at Ecology Centers all across America. Middle class despair and “Liberal” blindness abounds. But give them credit … they have and are doing their work and they are holding out the door for us. That means there is already tons of information available on Permaculture (a system of planting, housing, and living the incorporates everything in a  person’s environment.

The Green Movement touches every aspect of a person’s life and in the future, this will be of even greater importance. Global warming and the very, very real threat of a future WORLD economic “downturn” means that those who live on land with a watershed beneath it will feel no pain and in fact be in a great economic position.  [NOTE: It's forecasted that the shortage of fresh water alone will cause a world crisis by as soon as 2015. Read Guardian Report ]

 Canadians fear Avian Flu could help ignite economic crisis. I don’t know about you, but when white people keep warning each other about something, after a while, it’s time to look up.

The list of reasons why it makes sense for us to move out of urban America, create some sweat equity, rebuild our family structure, and prepare of any one of the many future threats that loom is large.  Just the fact that it’s black men’s  responsibility to create families AND make them safe should ignite some desire to look into moving onto 5 or more acres in rural America. You don’t even have to farm it!

1. You can lease some or all of it out to others who want to farm (and there will most certainly be many)
2. You can put some cabins or trailers on it and become a “Home Developer.”
3. You can adopt some of those many black children currently in Foster Care and orphanages and discover the spiritual truth that it really isn’t all about you … but more, it’s about what do you bring to the table!

Here … just glance at some of the post I quickly pulled up about a LIKELY, world economic disaster:

 Australia on: “The Future Collapse Of The World’s Economy”

Mainstream, respected European economist Stefan Karlsson on: The Future of The World Economy” (read the last two paragraphs)

 The World Conservative Union on Why It’s Not Business As Usual … or bust: (Meaning OPPORTUNITY FOR US!!

And last, here’s a “funny” one that raises your eyebrows: Samizdatdata.net

Lawyer’s Website Helps Blacks With Ideas

Came across this site dated 2005. I haven’t researched it much (give a hollar if you find out more info on it) but the website states that it helps black entrepreneurs start businesses. Patent and trademark attorney Darcell Walker post information about the processes for protecting ideas, using patents, copyrights, trademarks along with trade secrets issues.

Check the brother out and see if he has any information you can use. One thing I agree strongly with is his assertion that ingenuity and creativity abound within the hearts and minds of African Americans. I’ve posted a new article on the window we are currently looking at concerning monetary incentives for new farmers that the Department of Agriculture has recently initiated. [SEE: Black Solutions ]

Baby Boomers are getting old. The age of the average black farmer is 60. Only 1% of the American population even farms. I don’t know what that sounds like to you, but to me that sounds like a “window of opportunity” for a whole lot of quick thinking brothers and sisters to climb into. Check out the link$.

Supporting Small Agriculture & The Beginning Farmer

Okay …. so the posts have been slower of late. It’s amazing how fast change can start coming at you once you make a decision.

One of those decisions will be to move this and “Black Solutions” onto a paid site of another name. (The link will be posted here.) Until then, may I offer you this information on making the dream of owning a small “hobby farm” one step closer?

So far we’ve talked about the availability of small … very inexpensive farms in the Midwest and southern states. I’m talking about as low as $40,000 in some cases. True … many such “deals” are located in a “no man’s land” for people of color (e.g. the Ozarks Mountains…) but that still leaves tons of leads in a variety of states for those who want to pursue their dreams.

We’ve also touched on some of the reasons for blacks to move out of Urban America … especially if they have children. Reasons like increasing wealth through land ownership, along with the fact that Thug Amerika is most likely going to get worst before things get better … and you DO want to keep that CD player in your car, don’t you?

So now, thanks to a kind soul who left a comment, here is a very valuable link for anyone dreaming of escaping Urban Madness for rural life:

Farming & Business Skills Assessment Sheet

Exploring the Small Farm Dream from the New England Small Farm Institute

Small Farm Library & Online Catalogue along with a host of other information

Alternative Housing Reaps Big Reward$$

There are so many ways of moving back to the land. For young, middle age, or even retirees, alternative building is certainly a valuable choice to look into. For instance, say a person is tried of life in the inner city, yearns for the freedom of country life, but feels insecure about posting a down payment on a small farm. (I don’t know why such a person would … there are so MANY affordable places to chose from and so many finance options that almost anyone could … but let’s hypothetically look at it from this perspective.)

I personally dream of buying an older, small home with detached garage, outbuildings that once served as workshops or storage buildings, and of course, an old barn with old treasures still remaining inside to be used as restored art treasures.

But there are several other ideas floating around my head that involve generating income as well as community. But how would I keep my cost down and build other cottages?

www.naturalvillages.org/ provides answers. One of the Cob Houses posted on the site was built for almost nothing but salvaged materials, that include mud and straw, and rocks. After all the work was done (in less than 2 months time), it was appraised for over a quarter of a million dollars.

“Our little cob is one item away from a certificate of occupancy and has been appraised twice by major banks: one for $250,000.00 and one for $275,000.00. Not bad for 6l0 sq. ft. of mud.” (View pics.)

You don’t have to move alone.
I love the idea, but in this time of alienation, there is a huge value in joining in communal living. www.ic.org is a site chocked full of Intentional Communities located in every corner of the world.

Why, “Back To The Land”?

 

“I personally want a higher quality of life than I have been able to create as a city dweller. I don’t want a lot, but I want to walk out of my door without seeing that my car has been towed … and I’m tired of parking tickets. If feels like the various municipalities all have hoses hooked up to me and they’re slowly, parasitically draining me dry. When I talk with people who have children, many are concerned about where and how to raise them in these “interesting times.” For many people, it just makes common sense to do so in the most natural and healthy environments possible. Places where you can raise healthy food without worrying what has been sprayed on them or meat without wondering what they ate. These pages are designed to explore a few of the many alternative ways anyone can live without being either wage slaves, or institutional slaves…regardless if you want to acquire property in the country or continue to live in urban or suburban environments.”

What are “we” facing? Why should people look into buying some of the many cheap, small farms now available throughout the Midwest and South? Are there other ways to make a good living on the land without “just farming?” This blog discusses these along with other related questions.

“The Only Constant is Change”
Currently we all know about large segments of black and other “People of Color” being locked up. Yes, the laws are unfair, but far too many have fallen prey to their own choices and feel that their future is “locked in stone” as a result. I assert that current Urban Values are not “Black” values. African Americans as well as others thoughout the diaspora share intrinsic values that reach back to agricultural  ways of being with self and others.

There are subtle but huge but huge changes amongst black and disenfranchised urban value systems. Joe Marshal of “Street Soldiers” remarks that, “..even in good, two parent homes, the lure of the streets is often too strong to save a child.”

It is clear that the dynamics now in place throughout urban America will have to run their course before things change. Murder rates in many large cities have declined, but does that mean that being just one more rat amongst an already over-crowed cage of rats is the only option open to me?

Back To The Land
I assert that it’s best for blacks …and anyone else who has not created enough security in their careers and safety for their families and trusted friends…to find greener pastures by joining with Intentional Communities, Co-Housing Communities or simply, become one of many who find remote places and buy their own land. We don’t have to waste time condemning what is naturally happening … we just have to find our own paths.

We’re living in a Bardo … at time of transition. What comes next will most likely be, “interesting times.” So, in “interesting times” it’s best to have someone to watch your back. Those who don’t believe in work certainly do … and they will certainly be watching who is buying new cars, and new computers, furniture … etc…

American psychologist Abraham Maslow wrote that we all must self-actualize. When I was young, I needed places and lifestyles filled with drama and over-stimuli to balance the internal turmoil I felt. I know desire a place to serve as a backdrop for … “putting it all together.” A sort of place to serve as a creative palette for ideas I’ve yet not found time to bring forth. There are many reasons let nature balance us out.. return us to baseline…quality of life, security should the greater economy turn unstable, or just a desire to learn a fuller sense of self-reliance by living as our forefathers did are just some of them.

• Grand Theft Auto
• Rock Star Games
• CBS News: Can A Video Game Lead To Murder?
• Young Black Farmers

 

“Without a vision, the people perish.”

“…They want you to self-destruct.”