Help
Sign In
earthship
October 2009 
Earthship Nutrition Vision
Posted on Oct 10th, 2009
by 
J~E~S~S
J~E~S~S
(cross posted from Facebook Note)
I awoke well today (Friday) for the first time in a week, since I was struck with fever. But what an interesting feeling to finally think clearly. This was no ordinary moment of clear thinking. An entire vision for the future fell into place and things that stumped me in the past were finally no longer obstacles. I'm just writing this as a note to myself so I don't forget. Back in design school in 2000 I took a goals class and they had us do a vision board for our perfect day. Now, my vision board was quite something because I didn't put a job in there. My perfect day would consist of morning yoga followed by music lessons, lunch at a healthy cafeteria, time for exercise, time for learning or doing some designing/art. I figured it must have been a Saturday vision because I had no clue how that would ever come true.
This morning I saw it, and all the pieces fell into place. I spent 2008 writing my ebook which I've basically discarded. It was all about the kind of diet that supports a healthy mental function. Turns out that the standard American diet is the antithesis to a healthy diet meant for mental support. And there was my dilemma; how would normal Americans living within society manage to completely revolutionize their eating habits while living in the world that addicted them to white flour, white sugar, and empty carbs full of excitotoxins? The only solution I could see was to create an intentional community centered around food choices. Very hippie and utopian at best, and I discarded this idea too.
But now I think it could be something big. I think it could work because I also think that there are enough people in America about to lose it all because of their failing health, or their children's ADD, or because they're in foreclosure. This year I've learned of Bernie Glassman's Zen work with building a zen community based on a bakery. I know ashrams and self sustaining communities have gift shops or restaurants as a means of revenue. I've been learning slowly about running a business by helping run our family's guttering business.
So what I see is a big plot of land, donated by an investor, where we could teach people to build their own self sustaining dwellings (usually of rammed earth or recycled tires/bottles) and we could build a little community with a school for children where they won't be bombarded with temptations to eat empty meaningless food-like things. This community could be a combo of an adult learning center (participants pay to learn nutrition basics and eco building basics: they come and go) and a self sustaining live-in community of people who are committed to a better life eating the food God designed for them and lessening their footprint on the Earth. Big influence from Maximized Living Christian chiropractic group. Influences from retreats featured in film Generation Rx and Food Matters. In the movies, I saw people sick with chronic diseases like diabetes and coronary heart disease go to a clinic where their healthy food was given to them; and their bodies resolved the diseases after detoxifying and fortifying with real vitamins and nutrients. I am only guessing that these sick people have to be pretty rich to be able to afford to go to this clinic. What if daily life was that good and you could actually make your living in a healthy environment?
Revenue structure: continued education for nutrition and for eco conscious dwelling instruction (earthships), possible ganoderma farming (learned from Denver Green Fest), gift shop, educational books, possible educational tv channel for preschoolers. Art center for creating and selling art. Evening live music retreats. I suppose since I envision the entire community coming together to eat in a cafeteria like at college or at a retreat, we could also run a restaurant for paying customers to get a taste of real healthy eating.
This was my vision this morning. It happened within the first hour of arising. It sure feels like a purpose. What a tough thing to start! Where to begin but with research into existing self sustaining communities to see what their stumbling blocks were.
It should be accessible to anyone who has just lost it all, not just rich people. But still, in communities like this there are usually extensive interview processes to review prospective live-in helpers. I could imagine going into a tent community of people who just lost their homes and asking if they'd like to help build their next one in exchange for changing their entire lifestyle to a healthy one. Would people be reluctant or excited?
Access: Public
J~E~S~S!!!!!!!!
I love your vision. I'm going to go find you some links to further your research.
http://www.sosiomedia.fi/utopia/english_article.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amish
http://www.damanhur.org/
http://www.findhorn.org/index.php?tz=360
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sams%C3%B8
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/30/world/europe/30samso.html
more to follow. these should keep you busy for just a bit though.
oh yeah….
http://earthship.net/
Thank you so much. I saw your comment on my phone several days ago and have just now had a moment to sit down and thank you properly for gathering all this info. I remember I had gone to see the Island of Samso link that day because my maiden name is Sams; it's Norwegian. I'll finish looking through the rest soon!
I certainly don't want to build a sect! Not even a utopian community, either. This is the first I've heard of Damanhur, that's for sure, and from the first glance I'm having a hard time determining what that's all about. So many of these communities fizzle out due to internal disagreements, or politics. I'm certainly not a political person, yet I'm sure someone somewhere is ready to label me as fitting into somesuch political party.
I think maybe it should just be a school. I just read about Findhorn; too bad it's so far away (Scotland). It is a school and ecovillage. I'll read more about that one.
so many communities do indeed fizzle out due to internal disagreements, but then, we have a lot of internal disagreements in these united states. many communities thrive despite and sometimes because of internal disagreements. if you can show me a country or state or town or even a household where everyone agrees with everyone all the time, I'd be mighty surprised. I think the key to success of any community, is to have some agreements in place as to how to settle disagreements or how to agree to disagree and be able to live in relative harmony despite the disagreements.
I linked to all those because I think they are tremendously interesting, whether or not they succeeded for the long term, we can learn from their successes and their failures, but most of all from their willingness to take a risk and to try, their boldness & vision if you will. :-)
and in answert to your question of whether people would be reluctant or excited – i suspect that many would be reluctant and very many would be excited and plenty would be completely indifferent. the only way to find out if there is enough interest to keep the thing going is to start.
“”Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back– Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth that ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now.”
as to who said that - you'll have to click the link for the longish discussion about it.
I have some Norwegian ancestors as well. My mother's father's parents were from Norway, emigrated to the US before my grandfather was born. Their name? – Salmonson. :-) Perhaps we're related. lol. :-)
lol :) I think our family name was Samson because of the -son and -datter suffixes on the names. I would have been “Robertsdatter” if the Norwegian customs were applied to my last name. My father may have been “Samson”. Of course, I have no real authority to say anything about this matter because I don't study genealogy like my father does. He's the one that told me all this about the last name custom.
I've definitely heard about the quote you mentioned. Once one commits to a goal, Divine Providence can make it happen. I rely on that in my life a lot! I've picked up and moved with nearly nothing in the bank and no plans for work at the destination at least five times. I've been through rough times but everything always works itself out, usually at the last minute.
it's very similar in Icelandic too -son and -dottir. I suppose I would have been Leonsdottir, which doesn't suit me at all. It might be more appropriate for me to be Sandrasdottir, since my mom was the parent who was present for my upbringing. :-)