Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us

Tribes is a short book that explodes with big ideas. Best selling author Seth Godin argues powerful and lasting change can be best be created by a “tribe.” Godin’s premise is that top-down, un-yielding organizations led by CEO’s (or “Kings”) can be out-maneuvered by sleek, motivated little people connected together by an idea, a movement, or an improved product. Like-minded “smart innovators” can use tools like the Internet to quickly attract more like-minded people … if they act consistently and quickly. (For example look at the recent success of President-Elect Obama’s campaign. He sidetracked the big guys and unleashed the power of the powerless and, BaM! Change really did happen.)

The Civil Rights Movement illustrated how black and Working Class people can out-power a Super Power if given an idea they can believe in, and simple tools to take the ball and run with it themselves. But the 60s also showed us how entire movements can be killed when the single charismatic leader is shot down.

White supremacist groups also learned the same lessons when in the 80s, they created, “Cells” … small groups of people united under an idea and armed with simple doctrines, duplicated themselves all over the nation. Like bees in a hive, they needed no visible leader, counsel, or governing body to enlist members, raise money, buy property and equipment, and successfully market their ideas. Bad ideas maybe … but successful marketing.

Godin says that Tribes can be inside or outside a corporation, and almost everyone can be a leader. “Most people are kept from realizing their potential by fear of criticism and fear of being wrong.” (Sound familiar?) Like a school-yard bully delivering blows to the head of a squealing nerd, ideas and messages erupt from the pages, motivating the reader and stimulating change simultaneously. Any and everyone can be leaders in the tribe. The tribes success is its openness. I imagine there are potentially all shapes, sizes and types of tribes. Their effectiveness have already been shown. The entire top-down, un-yielding culture of the Pentagon was changed my one, low-level, powerless guy after 9/11.

• The Green Movement is on the runway.
• People are yearning to either start their own businesses.
• Intentional Communities are springing up all over the world, contradicting modern alienation and creating safe places for people to live together while “watching each other’s backs.
• Many of us want to move out to the country … are stopped by fears over how we’ll make a living and who’ll be our friends when we get there.

As a truck driver I’ve talked with people from The Carolinas to Yakima, Washington. Blacks, whites, Hispanics, Asians, and Native Americans … all yearning for something different. Many young people realize that chasing that same old-dried out carrot is futile and Baby Boomers are just plain tired of it. No, not everyone wants something different, but like Tribes states … you don’t NEED everybody. Just a few like-minded people to work with on the road to creating your happy destiny.

Visit Seth Godin online and find out about his books, download his free eBooks, and subscribe to his informative blogs. In short, join the community!

The Farm Dog

So, what say you get that little 5, 10, or 20 acres out in the country … not too far from a city or college  town. How are you going to protect your critters? Coyotes, Raccoons, skunks and snakes are all predators  capable of wreaking havoc on your chickens, goats, sheep and calves.

Enter: The Farm Dog
The South African Boerboel was raised to fight off lions and protect the homestead. The Boerboel is also reported capable of herding, hunting, and tracking. Due to this Mastiff’s size, (140 to 200 lbs.) their bite is reportedly so strong that if it bites an intruder in the arm, chances are they’ll break it.

Loyalty
It’s important to know that this dog is bred to be loyal. It will protect—with its life—anything it was raised up with. It’s common for children to ride them like horses. Their mouths are dryer than English or American Mastiffs and they are a great deal more active than the Mastiff. Due to being a mixed breed, they don’t commonly have the same hip problems that their mastiff brothers do.

Confident But Not Aggressive
You don’t have to train a Boerboel to protect. If you’re away, no one is going to get in. Hence, it’s also important to be a responsible owner and keep these dogs securely fenced. These are not good “first time” dogs. The owner should know how to be the Alpha Pack Leader. You’ll most likely want to lean on the socializing side rater than doing something like Wrap Training (bite), or chaining this sensitive, intelligent, easy to train dog. Oh, and Boerboels want to be with you. Don’t relegate this fine friend to the backyard with rare visits. And never, never beat on your Boerboel. Like a Great Dane, he’ll remember it…

Best Boerboel Breeder
I’ve traveled the country and I’ve sought out Boerboel breeders to talk with. These dogs aren’t cheap. Think: $1,000 to $1,500. More if you want a proven female that’s ready to breed. The best, most knowledgeable breeder I’ve found is a brother named Roger who lives just outside of Phoenix, Arizona.

Roger’s mother showed dogs so he grew up with deep, inside knowledge of breeding, showing, and training dogs. One of the problems I’ve experienced with many Boerboel breeders is that after paying all that money for your dog, they want you to sign contracts stipulating what THEY want you to do with the dog. But Roger, while he may express openness to continually work with you in raising this high quality animal, he too is amazed at the arrogance of other breeders and will not attempt to over-step normal boundaries. Click here on: Atomic Boerboels to visit one of his websites.

Other Flock Guardian Breeds

• Great Pyrenees
• Cane Corso
• Rotweiler
• Doberman Pinscher
• German Shepherd
• Beaucheron

Good Companion Dogs (With Boerboels on farm)

• Rat Terriers
• Jack Russell Terriers

Faces On Today’s Black Farms

“We need to make sure African-American farmers are visible because for a long time we’ve been invisible. We, as people, have played a tremendous part in agriculture throughout the United States. This is one last-ditch effort to say we do exist, even if it is in a small number,” said Fresno, California Black Farmer Will Scott, Jr.

The African American Farmer isn’t any more monolithic than the story of the black businessman or woman. To touch the surface is to feel a womb pregnant with thousands of stories. Will Scott Jr’s story … that of the “New” black farmer is merely one. But his is the type of farming that reflects the greatest possibility for immediate change in the quality of life for African Americans fleeing urban comfusion.

Currently we’re facing what some prognosticators predict might become FIVE years of the greatest economic challenges since the Great Depression. (I can still hear some of the stories my mother told me about life on 40 acres in Mississippi during the greatest period of economic challenge this country faced in its modern history. Her story in short? “We didn’t miss a meal.”)

Blacks migrated to build farms on the West Coast more than half a century ago. Many left the soil for jobs in California cities. Others, due to over a hundred years of USDA’s Institutionalized Racism, were forced off the land. Currently there are at least 300 African-American farmers in California. While it’s true that there are 80,000 farmers total, the fact that 300 of them are black is a heroic story in itself. It’s also something that Scott would like to change. As President of the African-American Farmers of California, Scott and co-founder Will Robinson, are helping new farmers setup in the area. In recent years they have even built a demonstration site where beginning farmers can test their skills and earn valuable, hands-on experience.

“We bring in new farmers and existing farmers and we do training. They can lease an acre or two and grow something and then they take the technology back to their farm,” Will said.

Another way Will is trying to market not only his produce, but the produce of all African-American farmers, is by making the nearly 400-mile round trip journey to one of the newest and most unique markets in California: West Oakland’s Mandela’s Farmers’ Market. Every Friday and Saturday, come rain or shine, this is where you’re sure to find Will and his family out sharing the fruits of their labor. Besides selling his fruits and vegetables, he’s also selling a little bit of the rural life to people who normally wouldn’t have the opportunity to see a ripe tomato or a fresh ear of corn.

“I think regardless of where people live, they should have access to fresh, quality produce, and that’s one of the main reasons we started coming to the market in the first place,” Will said.

Art and Science in Rural Maine

Yeah, Guy (that’s his name) has a great brain. His resume includes having worked on “Star Trek the Motion Picture” in 1979.

The Hip Quaker

Somewhere around 2001, 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 info about solar differential temperature controllers, to links and comments about wireless surveillance equipment, and robotic equipment. (No, he doesn’t have any robots running around the acreage, but he does have a solar powered lawn mower … and I’m sure he’ll gladly answer any questions on robots you send him….)

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 to market her textile art and Guy… creates high tech toys, teaches homesteaders how to insulate their homes, answers high tech questions and provides solar and wind solutions. He even built a canoe.

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 under-served 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.” (Excerpt from, “community Heros” by Rosemary Prizker. Click on this link to read entire article.)

Van Jones inserting the reality Gratefully, there is a development occurring that makes us ask, “Is the Overwhelmingly White, Green Movement finally reaching out to blacks and other people of color … or are people like 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.]

Quit The Road: God MUST Love Me Because …

“Thank you for all you’ve done … and for allowing me to eat this past year … but ‘yall can have these keys back.”

That’s right … on Wednesday I handed the man back the keys to his truck.  No more Flatbed Fred wrestles with filthy tarps, heavy chains, and dusty straps. No more unloading in frozen ice and snow. Gone are work days spent in southern Arkansas … where you can pass out before your load is secure and tarped.

Now … I’ve returned to the INSANE, arrogant California Bay Area and on the first day, I’m amazed at how well things are going. This is the same place where economic racism forced me to become a truck driver. This is the same place where I left 14 months ago and traveled to OKLAHOMA to get a job! Now, on my first day back, I already have:

• A new job … one that allows me to go home every night
• A new van – the owner has a body shop and someone failed to pay, so he has to get rid of it…
• A new apartment – he’s throwing in the small apartment over the shop

This allows me to take a Greenhouse Production class out at City College. Amazing. God is good. I don’t think it’s ever been this easy. After the semester, it most likely will be the right time to pack “my stuff” into my new van and drive to South Carolina … which will become … “My New Home.”

Urban Gardening

“Patricia Moreno, the Garden Girl, was born in raised in New York City. She grew up in Spanish Harlem on Manhattan and was educated at Nightingale-Bamford School for girls. Her path to Urban Sustainable Living began in the mid 1990′s, after gaining seventy pounds during her pregnancy, and needing a way to be physically active and eat healthier. This began her path to finding and learning ways to make gardening fun and also fit into the city.” (From, “The Farmer’s Almanac“)

This is a wonderful time to add quality to your life by raising some or all of your own food. The price of eggs has leaped too. Patti has ideas. With her techniques, you don’t need a lot of land. Visit her site at: Patti..

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Healing Woman Assists Your Change

Adinah has game. From Financial Banker to holistic body cleansing, Adinah has something to help you in changing your life.

For those who share the idea that the values of urban America are driving us crazy, the idea of moving from the known to the unknown … um … may bring up a few feelings. But Adinah is a great resource for anyone who wants to start a new business … regardless if it’s in the city or the suburbs or out in the country.

She also has a deep wealth of natural healing to guide you through the internal changes you’re making.

Adinah is a Certified Natural Health Professional (CNHP) and offers intuitive Counsel Guidance, Body Type Analysis and Metabolic Nutritional Guidelines for food planning.

Concerning her administrative credentials, Adinah served as an Economic Development Specialist with the U.S. Small Business Administration; Senior Vice-President with Lintz Glover White, a Los Angeles based, equity and fixed-income brokerage firm; and held positions as Vice-President with the Public Finance Divisions of WR Lazard, Smith Mitchell, Pryor McClendon Counts & Co. She was financial advisor with Government Finance Associates. Prior to entering the investment banking field, she was an accountant with the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, and representative of the Internal Revenue Service.

… da sistah got game.

Remember, if you’ve done something for 10, 15, 20 years or more … more than likely, you’re DONE with it. Time to move on to your real dreams. Your first dreams. Keep in touch space travelers.

Alternative Building: Papercrete

Okay, so you’ve got your eye on a piece of property that has a 3 bdrm/1.5 bath house on it, 17 acres of land, a barn, an all season creek (fresh water is going to be increasingly more important), and is divided between 5 acres of cleared pasture/farmland and the rest in timber that you can mill or sell.

We’ve already learned that one of the best small farm practices is to start off using no more than one-to-three acres for crops and flowers. So what else can you do with all that land?

When you have land, you have SooOOooo many options. Every structure you add to your land increases its value. Building Green and “Alternative” allows you to creative wonderful, mortgage-free buildings at pennies to what traditional buildings cost. The building can be wood burning Sauna cordwood building or a Strawbale “Adobe” home that keeps you warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer while decreasing your dependence on both energy and energy companies.

The latest … and the building style that has recently caught my eye is Papercrete …. a substance that creates lightweight “concrete-ish” mix or “adobe-ish” blocks to build with.

Like cordwood homes, you don’t have to be a builder to build a house. There are books and videos at your local public library. You can begin your search by clicking on the links and by googling some keywords like: alternative building, papercrete, cordwood building, strawbale houses, and building with cob.

Successful Change lends to Opening The Heart

Things are looking just a tad different since I got out of California. I never thought I’d be anywhere near Tulsa, Oklahoma, but as they say, “God smiles when you make plans.” I’m shocked that Oklahoma is so very Kool compared to over-done “Cali“. It’s far from perfect, but very surprising.

I’m witnessing the effects of the policies and greed of the last 10-20 years. Huge Korporate farms caused huge numbers of Midwesterners in small towns throughout Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Arkansas to migrate to urban cities on both coasts. Some changed as a result. Others brought their resentment and fear with them and made urban life just a tad more toxic than it already was.

But this isn’t about finger pointing—because there is far too much blame to go around. No, this is about discovering that the new changes we’ll all have to make in the future just may be more racially inclusive than we imagine. Those who are preparing to leave the malnourished environments that urban America will increasingly become (as the economy declines and crime rises) are people who wear all manner of “labels”. Lesbian commune builders, new young black farmers, white permaculturists, Buddhist village creators, and Native American returnees will be opening aware hands and welcoming you.

Here in Oklahoma I see how economic struggle has forced many whites to be open to anybody with skills who wants to come here and better the economy by creating more jobs. Black Oklahomans seem respond by taking a more tolerant and accepting attitude in turn.

So, who for those who want to leave the no-win of life in the urban hood and move out to the land (once they’ve created the skills necessary to live anywhere), they are going to be surprised to find that they aren’t alone, and that some of the kindest hands that reach out to them … will be white, red … yellow … brown … pink … etc….

God has funny ways of opening our stubborn hearts. I came across this website as an example: Ryan Is Hungry