Relocalization
Mar. 22nd, 2007 05:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
helwenFound this article by Sharon Astyk (known for writing about peak oil & sustainability issues) on women and peak oil:
http://www.relocalize.net/node/5386
And of course then I had to check out the site it was on, Relocalize.net. Hmm, will have to look more to decide if I'll be checking things on that site much... only so many hours in the day. But they do have listings of groups that are pursuing relocalizing, etc., and there is one in Greenfield, which is not too far away from Holyoke.
Relocalizing is about getting more of your goods locally, instead of being dependent on faraway places for everything -- especially things that are critical to survival. Getting more things locally, making more things yourself or trading with others who make things, helps the local economy and saves fuel (less pollution), among other things. It's also generally a healthier lifestyle, since if more of your food is locally grown it will be fresher and have more nutrients still than food that's traveled from across the country or the other side of the world.
Sometimes you may have to choose between organic or locally grown, as you may not be able to have both -- organic is great of course, but if I can't get it locally I may opt for non-organic so I can save some fuel being spent on my account. Also, at least in some states it costs extra to be certified organic and some smaller farmers can't afford that certification. So find out more about the farmers in your area, and how they grow their food -- chances are you'll find a number of them who aren't using tons of pesticides, etc. (those cost money too). My father-in-law has a little truck garden behind the house, and as far as I know he doesn't spray his veggies. Although he used to dust the potatoes when he grew them, because of pests that eat them. So, they may not be organic, but if we're visiting the farm and they have some extra veggies, I surely don't turn them down! And same goes at our house -- no pesticides, and usually no chem fertilizers. I got a little MiracleGro for free from a friend this year, and will have to think about that. I expect I'll give it to someone who likes using that sort of thing.
I'm only one person, and not likely to be speaking at peak oil or sustainability conferences, but I do like the idea of being more independent, and I'm happy to help/encourage any other people who want to do that too, at whatever scale they're up for. Even if it's just a few lettuce and a tomato plant, those'll be some of the freshest, tastiest salads ever. Or in Eli's case, I believe he's going to grow onions, because they're low maintenance and he likes them -- works for me!
***
Some choices are harder to make than others, of course -- like buying clothing that's been shipped from far away or buying cloth that's been shipped from far away. For me the plus to making my own is that I can choose fabrics that are better quality than most of what is sold ready-made in stores, for what I can afford to spend on clothing. So, if I make more of my own clothing, of good fabrics, then I don't have to buy clothing as often, which cuts down on the amount of fuel being used. Plus, since I'm not a "trendy" person, I kind of like being able to stick it to the fashionistas.![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
ellid knows all about making one's own clothing, as she's made a number of lovely things for home and office wear. Of course, not everyone knows how to sew -- which is why trading skills is a good thing :)
The shipment of linen arrived this week. A huge amount from fabrics-store.com and a smaller one from fabric.com -- my first time ordering from the latter. I'm pretty happy with all the colors and quality, and I'll probably order a little more from fabric.com at some point, as their lightweight linen is a nice tight and fine weave. We could probably still use a few more pieces of wool next fall, but for those I think I may wait until I seefreya46 again, because she carries some really yummy wools. In general though it looks like I can slow down a lot on buying fabric after this, as it'll take a few years to get through what I've ordered (hey, I have other things to do with my life). And, I am getting better at weaving, so some of our fabric for future clothing will hopefully be supplied by me :)
http://www.relocalize.net/node/5386
And of course then I had to check out the site it was on, Relocalize.net. Hmm, will have to look more to decide if I'll be checking things on that site much... only so many hours in the day. But they do have listings of groups that are pursuing relocalizing, etc., and there is one in Greenfield, which is not too far away from Holyoke.
Relocalizing is about getting more of your goods locally, instead of being dependent on faraway places for everything -- especially things that are critical to survival. Getting more things locally, making more things yourself or trading with others who make things, helps the local economy and saves fuel (less pollution), among other things. It's also generally a healthier lifestyle, since if more of your food is locally grown it will be fresher and have more nutrients still than food that's traveled from across the country or the other side of the world.
Sometimes you may have to choose between organic or locally grown, as you may not be able to have both -- organic is great of course, but if I can't get it locally I may opt for non-organic so I can save some fuel being spent on my account. Also, at least in some states it costs extra to be certified organic and some smaller farmers can't afford that certification. So find out more about the farmers in your area, and how they grow their food -- chances are you'll find a number of them who aren't using tons of pesticides, etc. (those cost money too). My father-in-law has a little truck garden behind the house, and as far as I know he doesn't spray his veggies. Although he used to dust the potatoes when he grew them, because of pests that eat them. So, they may not be organic, but if we're visiting the farm and they have some extra veggies, I surely don't turn them down! And same goes at our house -- no pesticides, and usually no chem fertilizers. I got a little MiracleGro for free from a friend this year, and will have to think about that. I expect I'll give it to someone who likes using that sort of thing.
I'm only one person, and not likely to be speaking at peak oil or sustainability conferences, but I do like the idea of being more independent, and I'm happy to help/encourage any other people who want to do that too, at whatever scale they're up for. Even if it's just a few lettuce and a tomato plant, those'll be some of the freshest, tastiest salads ever. Or in Eli's case, I believe he's going to grow onions, because they're low maintenance and he likes them -- works for me!
***
Some choices are harder to make than others, of course -- like buying clothing that's been shipped from far away or buying cloth that's been shipped from far away. For me the plus to making my own is that I can choose fabrics that are better quality than most of what is sold ready-made in stores, for what I can afford to spend on clothing. So, if I make more of my own clothing, of good fabrics, then I don't have to buy clothing as often, which cuts down on the amount of fuel being used. Plus, since I'm not a "trendy" person, I kind of like being able to stick it to the fashionistas.
ellid knows all about making one's own clothing, as she's made a number of lovely things for home and office wear. Of course, not everyone knows how to sew -- which is why trading skills is a good thing :) The shipment of linen arrived this week. A huge amount from fabrics-store.com and a smaller one from fabric.com -- my first time ordering from the latter. I'm pretty happy with all the colors and quality, and I'll probably order a little more from fabric.com at some point, as their lightweight linen is a nice tight and fine weave. We could probably still use a few more pieces of wool next fall, but for those I think I may wait until I see
freya46 again, because she carries some really yummy wools. In general though it looks like I can slow down a lot on buying fabric after this, as it'll take a few years to get through what I've ordered (hey, I have other things to do with my life). And, I am getting better at weaving, so some of our fabric for future clothing will hopefully be supplied by me :)
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no subject
Date: 2007-03-22 11:00 pm (UTC)I'm still not doing as good as I can with recycling because I'm physically exhausted by the time trash day comes around. I am going to try to get involved with a food co-op though.
no subject
Date: 2007-03-26 10:02 pm (UTC)Yes, I've heard of the 100 mile diet. It's definitely harder to do in a colder climate -- you'd need to freeze, dry, or can veggies for the winter time, or find someone local who sells stuff like that.
On recycling, we have two tall waste baskets (no lids) in the house, one for paper goods and the other for plastic, glass & metal. Cans, tea bag wrappers, etc., get put into those as soon as they're emptied and - in the case of non-paper stuff - cleaned. Most cans and jars are most easily cleaned if you do it as soon as the container is empty, before remaining food bits can harden onto the surface -- although _some_ cat foods seem to be quite resistant to being removed :(
Then on recycling day, you just dump them into their respective blue bins and take them to the curb. We'd just dump straight into the bins on a daily basis, but they're too big to really fit comfortably inside the house, and the wind would blow the paper around if we left everything outside. So, we've come up with what I think is a pretty good compromise.
The hardest part is cardboard boxes that we have no use for, because they have to be cut up if they're large, and if there are a number of them, we have to tie them together with cotton string. So that part sometimes takes a while :D
no subject
Date: 2007-03-23 01:11 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-03-26 09:11 pm (UTC)Sorry to have missed you -- sugaring season.