Sandra Brown

<snip>I would love to hear more about this Sandra, it fascinates me. What
is a
"permaculture" activist, and what are the details of you "working together
to build a sustainable community?" <snip>

Hi Nancy K.,

There is much on the web about sustainability and permaculture. We are
involved with a group of people who are interested in a sustainable mode of
living which includes renewable energy like solar and wind power, organic
farming and gardening, natural non-toxic building methods, sharing resources
like tools, cars, living space, and much more. There is one Co-Housing
community in Ann Arbor and several co-operative houses, and we are seeking
to form a rural community that has a sister urban community. There is also
interest in this forming community in holistic healing, alternative
education, and teaching sustainabilty to the larger community. You can
learn more online about intentional community and the eco-village model.
Some of the basic principles are looking at the effect of our actions on the
next seven generations; will it deplete the eco-system or enrich it? Is our
garbage toxic or is it compost? Another principle often involved in
community living is the method of consensus, peaceful conflict resolution
and problem solving.


<snip>I just came back from spending a week with my friend and her four
children,
she is and always has been very materialistic, where I am not, I would love
to live in the country and have lots of animals and a garden ect..., I
cannot right now, I do live in a small town, that is very laid back and I
love it, she on the other hand lives in a much larger city, (lansing) it is
much faster paced, everyone works almost every family is a two income family
where she is, and the bigger the house and cars and the fancier the clothes
the better you are<snip>

This is so true here in Ann Arbor as well, Tanya. We have long dreamed of
living simply on a farm and growing our own fruits and vegetables and
raising animals. But some things hold us back; the isolation of living
alone on a big farm, the cost of real estate, and the work involved in
country living, historically done as a community. It is very hard for a
mother with young children to do all of the work of running a farm while
daddy commutes to work six days a week just to pay for it. Been there, done
that. So we have been meeting with a group of between ten and twenty others
who share the same vision and want to do this work together; not in
isolation, to *escape* the city and modern life, but as a conscious choice
to be a model for sustainablity and future of society.

My husband and I lived in a rural area of Michigan for several years, and
decided that we just couldn't raise our family there without community of
people who are diverse, tolerant, and care about education. We feel really
blessed to be where we are now; the main drawback to where we live is really
only money, since the cost of living is much higher here then in a small
town without any of the resources. Funny, but we didn't have basic things
in a poor small town like even access to local produce or u-pick farms that
we do now living in a college town.

I look at my decision to unschool as right and a responsiblity. I need to
look at how my life affects society, and what kind of life I choose to work
towards. Choosing to homeschool has led me to many things that have
enriched my life deeply, including permaculture, intentional community, and
choosing a spiritual community that practices tolerance and peace-making.

Sandra Brown
Ann Arbor, MI

B & T Simpson

Sandra, sounds great! are you living in a co-operative group right now? that
has always appealed to me, I need to get my family to the point where we
are eating more simply! I have checked out the sites on cooking for a month
at a time, do you practice this and if so is it working out well? I need to
buy my freezer in order to do this, but before I can buy the freezer, we
have to have our final inspection so I can use it in the garage! anyway, I
would love to hear more about what you do with your family on a daily basis
to save energy and money and live simpler!
Tanya Ohio

Tanya M Simpson
Be sure to check out my online mall at
http://www.blmall.com
please enter d81371220 in the space
provided for code number



-----Original Message-----
From: Sandra Brown <sbrown2@...>
To: [email protected] <[email protected]>
Date: Tuesday, August 31, 1999 9:39 AM
Subject: [Unschooling-dotcom] Re: Money, Status, and Higher Education


>From: "Sandra Brown" <sbrown2@...>
>
><snip>I would love to hear more about this Sandra, it fascinates me. What
>is a
>"permaculture" activist, and what are the details of you "working together
>to build a sustainable community?" <snip>
>
>Hi Nancy K.,
>
>There is much on the web about sustainability and permaculture. We are
>involved with a group of people who are interested in a sustainable mode of
>living which includes renewable energy like solar and wind power, organic
>farming and gardening, natural non-toxic building methods, sharing
resources
>like tools, cars, living space, and much more. There is one Co-Housing
>community in Ann Arbor and several co-operative houses, and we are seeking
>to form a rural community that has a sister urban community. There is also
>interest in this forming community in holistic healing, alternative
>education, and teaching sustainabilty to the larger community. You can
>learn more online about intentional community and the eco-village model.
>Some of the basic principles are looking at the effect of our actions on
the
>next seven generations; will it deplete the eco-system or enrich it? Is
our
>garbage toxic or is it compost? Another principle often involved in
>community living is the method of consensus, peaceful conflict resolution
>and problem solving.
>
>
><snip>I just came back from spending a week with my friend and her four
>children,
>she is and always has been very materialistic, where I am not, I would love
>to live in the country and have lots of animals and a garden ect..., I
>cannot right now, I do live in a small town, that is very laid back and I
>love it, she on the other hand lives in a much larger city, (lansing) it is
>much faster paced, everyone works almost every family is a two income
family
>where she is, and the bigger the house and cars and the fancier the clothes
>the better you are<snip>
>
>This is so true here in Ann Arbor as well, Tanya. We have long dreamed of
>living simply on a farm and growing our own fruits and vegetables and
>raising animals. But some things hold us back; the isolation of living
>alone on a big farm, the cost of real estate, and the work involved in
>country living, historically done as a community. It is very hard for a
>mother with young children to do all of the work of running a farm while
>daddy commutes to work six days a week just to pay for it. Been there,
done
>that. So we have been meeting with a group of between ten and twenty
others
>who share the same vision and want to do this work together; not in
>isolation, to *escape* the city and modern life, but as a conscious choice
>to be a model for sustainablity and future of society.
>
>My husband and I lived in a rural area of Michigan for several years, and
>decided that we just couldn't raise our family there without community of
>people who are diverse, tolerant, and care about education. We feel really
>blessed to be where we are now; the main drawback to where we live is
really
>only money, since the cost of living is much higher here then in a small
>town without any of the resources. Funny, but we didn't have basic things
>in a poor small town like even access to local produce or u-pick farms that
>we do now living in a college town.
>
>I look at my decision to unschool as right and a responsiblity. I need to
>look at how my life affects society, and what kind of life I choose to work
>towards. Choosing to homeschool has led me to many things that have
>enriched my life deeply, including permaculture, intentional community, and
>choosing a spiritual community that practices tolerance and peace-making.
>
>Sandra Brown
>Ann Arbor, MI
>
>
>
>--------------------------- ONElist Sponsor ----------------------------
>
>ONElist: home to the world's liveliest email communities.
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Check it out!
>http://www.unschooling.com
>
>

Joseph A. & Susan D. Fuerst

You can read The Tightwad Gazette (from the library) to find many
'simplifying' ideas. there's also an online newsletter called Simple Living
Network.....with resources, articles, etc. re: living more simply
(including simplified eating/cooking) Another practical book is "100 Ways
to Simplify Your Life" by Elaine St. James.
Good Luckl!
Susan
-----Original Message-----
From: B & T Simpson <michigan@...>
To: [email protected] <[email protected]>
Date: Tuesday, August 31, 1999 10:08 AM
Subject: Re: [Unschooling-dotcom] Re: Money, Status, and Higher Education


>Sandra, sounds great! are you living in a co-operative group right now?
that
>has always appealed to me, I need to get my family to the point where we
>are eating more simply! I have checked out the sites on cooking for a
month
>at a time, do you practice this and if so is it working out well? I need to
>buy my freezer in order to do this, but before I can buy the freezer, we
>have to have our final inspection so I can use it in the garage! anyway, I
>would love to hear more about what you do with your family on a daily basis
>to save energy and money and live simpler!
>Tanya Ohio
>
>Tanya M Simpson
>Be sure to check out my online mall at
>http://www.blmall.com
> please enter d81371220 in the space
>provided for code number
>
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Sandra Brown <sbrown2@...>
>To: [email protected] <[email protected]>
>Date: Tuesday, August 31, 1999 9:39 AM
>Subject: [Unschooling-dotcom] Re: Money, Status, and Higher Education
>
>
>>From: "Sandra Brown" <sbrown2@...>
>>
>><snip>I would love to hear more about this Sandra, it fascinates me. What
>>is a
>>"permaculture" activist, and what are the details of you "working together
>>to build a sustainable community?" <snip>
>>
>>Hi Nancy K.,
>>
>>There is much on the web about sustainability and permaculture. We are
>>involved with a group of people who are interested in a sustainable mode
of
>>living which includes renewable energy like solar and wind power, organic
>>farming and gardening, natural non-toxic building methods, sharing
>resources
>>like tools, cars, living space, and much more. There is one Co-Housing
>>community in Ann Arbor and several co-operative houses, and we are seeking
>>to form a rural community that has a sister urban community. There is
also
>>interest in this forming community in holistic healing, alternative
>>education, and teaching sustainabilty to the larger community. You can
>>learn more online about intentional community and the eco-village model.
>>Some of the basic principles are looking at the effect of our actions on
>the
>>next seven generations; will it deplete the eco-system or enrich it? Is
>our
>>garbage toxic or is it compost? Another principle often involved in
>>community living is the method of consensus, peaceful conflict resolution
>>and problem solving.
>>
>>
>><snip>I just came back from spending a week with my friend and her four
>>children,
>>she is and always has been very materialistic, where I am not, I would
love
>>to live in the country and have lots of animals and a garden ect..., I
>>cannot right now, I do live in a small town, that is very laid back and I
>>love it, she on the other hand lives in a much larger city, (lansing) it
is
>>much faster paced, everyone works almost every family is a two income
>family
>>where she is, and the bigger the house and cars and the fancier the
clothes
>>the better you are<snip>
>>
>>This is so true here in Ann Arbor as well, Tanya. We have long dreamed of
>>living simply on a farm and growing our own fruits and vegetables and
>>raising animals. But some things hold us back; the isolation of living
>>alone on a big farm, the cost of real estate, and the work involved in
>>country living, historically done as a community. It is very hard for a
>>mother with young children to do all of the work of running a farm while
>>daddy commutes to work six days a week just to pay for it. Been there,
>done
>>that. So we have been meeting with a group of between ten and twenty
>others
>>who share the same vision and want to do this work together; not in
>>isolation, to *escape* the city and modern life, but as a conscious choice
>>to be a model for sustainablity and future of society.
>>
>>My husband and I lived in a rural area of Michigan for several years, and
>>decided that we just couldn't raise our family there without community of
>>people who are diverse, tolerant, and care about education. We feel
really
>>blessed to be where we are now; the main drawback to where we live is
>really
>>only money, since the cost of living is much higher here then in a small
>>town without any of the resources. Funny, but we didn't have basic things
>>in a poor small town like even access to local produce or u-pick farms
that
>>we do now living in a college town.
>>
>>I look at my decision to unschool as right and a responsiblity. I need to
>>look at how my life affects society, and what kind of life I choose to
work
>>towards. Choosing to homeschool has led me to many things that have
>>enriched my life deeply, including permaculture, intentional community,
and
>>choosing a spiritual community that practices tolerance and peace-making.
>>
>>Sandra Brown
>>Ann Arbor, MI
>>
>>
>>
>>--------------------------- ONElist Sponsor ----------------------------
>>
>>ONElist: home to the world's liveliest email communities.
>>
>>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>Check it out!
>>http://www.unschooling.com
>>
>>
>

[email protected]

In a message dated 8/31/99 9:08:49 AM EST, michigan@... writes:

<< , I
would love to hear more about what you do with your family on a daily basis
to save energy and money and live simpler! >>
Oh yes! This is something I would like too. It's interesting how
"alternative" ways of living often go hand in hand.
Blessings, Lori

Thomas and Nanci Kuykendall

At 09:37 AM 08/31/1999 -0400, you wrote:
>Sandra, sounds great! are you living in a co-operative group right now? that
>has always appealed to me, ... anyway, I
>would love to hear more about what you do with your family on a daily basis
>to save energy and money and live simpler!
>Tanya Ohio
>
>Tanya M Simpson


(jumping up and down waving arms in the air) Me too! Me too again!
Someday, we'll build ourselves an "Earthship" (wistful sigh.)

Nanci K. in Idaho