Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Playing the Links

I have found some terrific websites recently, ones I’d like to share:

The Well Run Dry: a diary of life on the down side of Hubbert’s peak offers discussions of the problems we face, with peak oil as the core issue. Both heavily religious and political, it nevertheless offers solid information and practical means of dealing with the coming crises. It was on this site that I learned of the next two links.

The Open Source Machine Site [quoting the description on Well Run Dry]: “The Open Source Machine site is dedicated to providing potential manufacturers with small, easily-built manufacturing machines that can be made from recycled and reused parts. Plans for these machines are developed for free and published on the Web without copyright or royalty or intellectual property restrictions, so that anyone can use them. One of their projects is called the “MultiMachine,” described as “...a humanitarian, open-source machine tool project for developing countries.” The neat thing about the MultiMachine is that it provides many metalworking functions in one device that can easily be made from used vehicle engine parts. The Open Source Machine project site also has links to plans to build other machines, including plans to build an air compressor from scrap.”

Casaubon’s Book: Sharon Astyk’s Ruminations on an Ambiguous Future is a treasure chest of practical information on homesteading and related topics. Sharon’s growing conditions couldn’t be more different from mine. She lives in the northeast with a short, coolish, rainy growing season, heavy, clay, acidic soil. I live in the southeast with a long, hot, dry growing season, salt winds, and pure, alkaline sand. However, I am hoping that I can adapt her growing suggestions to my own circumstances. She recently posted a list of the 25 best crops to try – and her readers’ comments are almost as helpful as the original post. I’ve plans to plant several on her list and will experiment with more next year. Of course, Sharon deals with more than just crops – food storage, animal husbandry, container gardening, etc – and she has multiple links to more information. I’m on information overload at the present, but loving it!

Also on homesteading is Path to Freedom, the story of the Dervaes family plot in Pasadena, CA. On merely a fifth of an acre, they have managed to grow tons of food annually, selling their excess to local restaurants. Their website offers not only practical advice, but videos and a store. One of the features I particularly like is their weekly menu posting. When one eats primarily from the garden, what does one eat? Well, they tell you and even have the photos to prove it.

Mother Earth News has been a source of information for decades now, and it wears its tradition well. It was on their site that I first learned of the Dervaes family, as well as discovering a new way to bake bread and suggestions for creating biochar (posts on both of these at a later date). Another rich source of information!!

The Rhizome Collective self describes as “We are working to build the world we want to live in. In our worldview, the dominant values of competition, greed and exploitation would be replaced with cooperation, autonomy and egalitarianism. We believe that all struggles against oppression and for self-determination are connected, and that it is important to construct viable alternatives while simultaneously fighting for social justice.” Practical suggestions for sustainable living in an urban setting – everything from vermiculture to building your own windmill out of recycled bicycle parts. Great source!

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