At the same time, I’ve been busy launching a brand-new site that has its own bright future: LoveandTrash.com!

It’s a project with some of my very good friends. We’re calling it “a DIY blog for people who do things differently.” There’s a ton of content, some very fun stuff, and lots of “actionable inspiration” to get you motivated.

The truth is, the more I traveled, the more I found that while I love traveling, my true passion was more on the environmental/DIY track. Love and Trash gives that passion a voice, and I couldn’t be more excited about it.

So stop by and check it out! I think you’ll like it. LoveandTrash.com

© jessicareeder for Uprooted, an eco/travel blog, 2010. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
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A congress member speaks at the morning fire ritual

In October, I traveled to The Farm in Tennessee, where the 10th Annual Bioregional Congress was taking place. I was excited to be there, though I couldn’t help but wonder…

What’s a bioregional congress?

Good question. To understand it, you need to understand “bioregionalism”. From biocongress.org:

[Bioregionalism] is taking the time to learn the possibilities of place. It is a mindfulness of local environment, history, and community aspirations that leads to a sustainable future. It relies on safe and renewable sources of food and energy. It ensures employment by supplying a rich diversity of services within the community, by recycling our resources, and by exchanging prudent surpluses with other regions. Bioregionalism is working to satisfy basic needs locally, such as education, health care and self-governance.

Essentially, bioregionalism boils down to getting more out of what you have, instead of importing what you don’t. Many new organizations and communities are working in this way, with an eye toward resource (and human-resource) management.

Shared meals in the common center, prepared and paid for by attendees

The Congress started in 1984, at which age your humble author was just learning to sing to trees. Since then, it’s continued to grow into a vibrant semiannual gathering of people from throughout the Americas who are actively experimenting with new forms of community and environmental awareness.

For example:

• a group called Ecobarrios who are working with residents in Mexico City’s housing developments to institute sustainable practices, composting and gardening (more on Ecobarrios);
• a housewife from Nashville who just got involved in nonprofits and wants to find out what the challenges are from a marketing perspective;
• a self-described eco-punk from LA who organizes traveling shows to teach underprivileged communities around the world about sustainability;
• several members of intentional communities from North to South America, here to discuss what works, what doesn’t, and where they are headed.

There is a fair share of outré hippie yahooism here as well. Tie-dye, massage, singing with the earth, singing Woody Guthrie songs: it all happened. But that hippie veneer was only skin-deep: beneath the surface, every person here is honestly, fully dedicated to working for change.

These guys talked animatedly for a long, long time.

Hippie Soup to Nuts

Each morning, the entire group met to discuss the day’s topics. Nothing was predetermined; it all had to be hashed out by discussion and vote. Laborious, yes—but it meant that everyone present had a voice.

These folks have their system down TIGHT. I’ve never seen anything like it. They conducted a huge meeting, circle-style, in a format where everybody got a chance to talk, with minimal interruption, almost no off-topic ranting, and not a single insult. You try that sometime with a group of 100 people.

That was my first sign that the people here were not just trying to share, give and change, but making it happen.

Proposed lecture topics for a single afternoon

The next sign was the depth, breadth and complexity of the discussion topics. People here were not speaking in generalities, but addressing topics that had direct effects on their work.

One woman wanted to discuss GMO seeds, and how we can keep them out of gardens. A small group proposed a new community and asked for potential members. A man offered dowsing lessons. A Venezuelan woman offered to share stories from the revolution. A short film on Cuba’s survival without petroleum drew a crowd.

Throughout the day, people gathered in various groups and addressed various questions and topics. The level of intellect was high, and the work accomplished was impressive.

In the evening, there was food, music and dancing.

I could only stay one day at the Bioregional Congress, but I left completely inspired. I fully intend to take part in future Congresses: as the environmental movement ramps up, these are the people who are leading the way to the future. I have faith they’ll get us there.

© jessicareeder for Uprooted, an eco/travel blog, 2010. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
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Intern housing at The Farm

Way out in the Tennessee hills lies a 1750-acre establishment that has been quietly affecting change for almost four decades.

The Farm, an intentional community, was formed in 1971 by Stephen Gaskin and a group of hippies who were tired of the status quo. Like so many other groups at the time, they chose a new path, dropping out of society and moving to a plot of land outside Summertown where they could start fresh. Like other groups, they were dedicated to peace and love and new age spirituality.

Unlike many other groups, The Farm survived.

39 years later, it’s not much of a farm. In fact, almost no farming goes on. It feels more like a small town with its own roads, store, school, town hall and university. The long-term population is around 150 people, with plenty of visitors who come and go. This is a huge drop from the peak population of 1500.

People used to drop their lives and come live on The Farm, but it doesn’t work that way anymore: now, they come for education and training, then take their knowledge back home.

One of The Farm’s biggest draws is its school of midwifery. Ina May Gaskin is the author of Spiritual Midwifery, a seminal book that reinvented childbirth practices in the 1980s. Ina May is now considered “the mother of authentic midwifery,” and continues to practice, teach and write. Together, the five Farm midwives have birthed over 3,000 babies in 38 years.

But that success couldn’t shield The Farm from the harsh realities of survival in America. By the mid-1980s, the group was deep in debt and, to save themselves, had to abandon some of their more radical practices. From a loose commune, they became an intentional community: a group of like-minded individuals who are responsible for their own wellbeing, while still sharing the most important resources.

Residents own the land in common and share property taxes, roads and water costs. Apart from that, they’re on their own to build their homes, create their lives, and figure out how to survive.

As a part of the community’s evolution, Farm residents began taking on individual projects that were supported by community money and chosen by a vote from all members. This led to the founding of Gaia University, Plenty International, Kids to the Country and other endeavors. The Farm had become, rather than a unidirectional commune, a diverse community united by a desire to improve the world.

From what I could tell, the key to The Farm’s success is that it has adapted over time. From a fever dream of hippie farmland to a grown-up, idyllic town, this group has clearly dedicated their lives to finding the answer to that age-old question: how can we all live together in peace, without going broke?

Not to wax overly poetic, but that’s really what it’s all about. Residents of The Farm appear to have figured out that their work here can have wider effects: they are a testing ground for a new type of community that most people only dream of.

That’s why The Farm was chosen as the host of the Bioregional Congress in 2009. And that’s how I came to visit Summertown, Tennessee.

Hilarious: a TVP silo.

Next up: uh, what’s a bioregional congress?

© jessicareeder for Uprooted, an eco/travel blog, 2010. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
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By the time I got to Asheville, I was nearing the end of my journey and the bottom of my wallet. The last thing on my mind was spending money: it was beautiful outside, and there were free things to do everywhere.

But. When I’d posted on Facebook that I was coming to town, no fewer than three people told me I just had to visit the Tupelo Honey Cafe. So I checked their website, and instantly fell in love:

“Tupelo Honey Café opened in downtown Asheville in 2000, an early pioneer in the farm to fork movement and an active advocate for the independent restaurant landscape that pervades the city. Our food is fresh, made from scratch, sassy and scrumptious. Our cuisine salutes our love of Southern traditions at the table, but like the good people of Asheville, marches to its own drum. The result is a unique riff on Southern favorites.” – tupelohoneycafe.com

I was convinced—but I wasn’t alone. On a sunny Sunday afternoon, the waiting list was an hour long. After hemming and hawing and assessing my food stash (contents: 10 saltines), I decided to go for it anyway.

By the time I finally got a seat at the counter, I was starved. It took me about thirty seconds to pick out the Charleston Chicken Sandwich: “grilled marinated free-range chicken breast on sourdough with melted havarti, romaine lettuce and cranberry mayonnaise”. Free range? Cranberry? Havarti? Yes, I could dig it.

While I waited for the food, I checked out the back of the store where Tupelo Honey Cafe hawks their homestyle wares: preserves, pickles, salsa, honey, t-shirts, aprons and all sorts of mini-advertisements for the restaurant.

I’ve visited plenty of farm-to-fork restaurants, and this one may be the best I’ve seen at self-marketing. There’s nothing wrong with it: the food in those jars is probably delicious, though I question whether the $10 tupelo honey had to come from Florida or if it’s produced locally.

Either way, it’s nice to see a restaurant built on ethics that also happens to be incredibly busy. Some of that is surely due to good marketing, but the real reason for its popularity is this:

That sandwich was so good, I found myself eating slower and slower with each bite to savor it more completely. The potatoes were light and un-greasy; the flavors were perfectly balanced; the chicken was juicy and rich; and let’s be honest here, I’m always happier eating dead animals when I know they’ve lived a good life. I found myself silently thanking the chicken for its delicious contribution. Thank you, chicken. I will never forget you.

I stopped eating halfway through, not because I was full. I stopped so I could take the rest home and taste it again later.

On another topic, I made a discovery there in the Tupelo Honey Cafe, one which I’d like to share with you now.

If you’re going to a busy restaurant and want great service, bring a camera. Take a few photos of the menu, the kitchen, the food.

No sooner had I taken the above photo, when a server (not even my server) appeared at my elbow. Later when I stopped eating and lifted my napkin from my lap, it took approximately three seconds for someone to take my food away to be boxed up.

Now, I’m not saying the service before my camera-flash was bad, because it was awesome. But wow, it sure improved once I appeared to be some sort of food critic or travel writer.

Which, it just so happens, I am. But even if you’re not, try this out sometime. I can’t guarantee it’ll work, but I personally will do it again—and probably back it up with a stellar review, just like the one I’ve given the Tupelo Honey Cafe.

Everybody wins.

Okay, that’s it! I could talk about Asheville for weeks, but it’s time to move on. Next stop: sunny Tennessee, where I get down on The Farm.

© jessicareeder for Uprooted, an eco/travel blog, 2010. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
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There I was in Asheville, wandering around on a sunny autumn day, when I spotted this strange berry:

My first reaction was “wow, that sure looks like a poison berry to me.” So I didn’t eat it—but gosh, that thing looked so amazingly toxic, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Never did find out what it was.

So I’m asking you, Southerners and foragers and armchair botanists: how are my instincts? What is that? Was I right not to chew on it? Or should I have merrily popped it in my mouth and gathered more for supper?

Comment below if you’ve got an idea.

© jessicareeder for Uprooted, an eco/travel blog, 2010. | Permalink | 15 comments | Add to del.icio.us
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It was all there, and more: North Carolina, as I experienced it, was a study in contrast.

I hopped off the train in Durham, which is right smack in the middle of North Carolina and home to Duke University. Durham’s neighbor cities, Raleigh and Chapel Hill, are each within a few miles; locals call it “the Triangle,” and commute frequently between towns.

That’s where the area’s main problem lies: commuting. These towns, built on tobacco and once connected by fields, weren’t designed for the 21st century. But as they grew in concert, more and more roads were built: now, the Triangle is almost impossible to navigate without an automobile. Vast open spaces are bordered by wide roads. No sidewalks, few central areas… just a lot of cars.

It took me about five minutes to realize that Durham was a car town—and 45 more to procure a carton of milk and a little food for the night. To find eats, I had to hike down to the strip mall; cross a massive, empty parking lot; and wander through a ridiculously huge outlet store (which, luckily, was open late and had a grocery section).

Despite the hassle, I was undeniably happy. As I left my hotel, it started raining: a warm, fragrant rain that I’d rarely experienced out West. By the time I got to that gigantic parking lot, it was transformed: a river flowed across the sealed blacktop, lit orange by the streetlights, steaming gently. Frogs croaked, and the air was heavy with the odor of flowers and grass. It was beautiful, and it was new. I was in the South!

Kirsten and CJ

I’d stopped in Durham to visit Kirsten Hausman, who (aside from being Larry’s daughter and therefore a step-cousin of some sort) is an environmental crusader in her own right. She’s a Director at Green Plus, a program of the Institute for Sustainable Development. Their mission: to set standards for sustainability in business, and help people meet them.

One of the issues the Institute for Sustainable Development cares about is the same one that confronted me: getting around the Triangle without a car.

Kirsten told me that the area is at a crossroads both literally and figuratively. People are moving around more, and populations are growing; more and more locals commute from one town to another. But the infrastructure to support all those cars hasn’t been completed.

Without careful planning, this area could become just another mass of strip malls—or, it can be guided successfully into a more sustainable future. Right now, that’s all up to the civic planners.

For now, we poor folks and carless freaks have to ride the bus.

Lucky for me, there was a bus stop next to the Target. When I got there, a woman loaded down with grocery bags was standing near the door. I asked her if she was getting on the bus.

“No,” she said, “that bus costs two dollars and I only got a dollar. I’m waiting for the next one in a half hour.”

I, carrying exact change for my own bus ticket, shrugged and climbed aboard. But the driver stopped me.

“She gettin’ on?”

“I don’t think so,” I told him. I explained what she’d said.

As I sat down, the bus driver was unbuckling his seat belt; I watched through the window as he got off the bus and convinced that woman to come ride the bus for free. He even carried her bag for her.

That’s what it comes down to, in this part of the world: you might be poor, you might be carless, but you won’t be stranded. Not if someone is around to help.

I was to encounter this attitude more and more frequently as I moved through the South, but here it really shocked me. That just wouldn’t happen in my beloved San Francisco, where people are more in the habit of stepping over others than stopping to help. It gave me something to think about.

And I had plenty of time to think, riding the bus all over Creation.

Ultimately, the Triangle wasn’t for me. I had two delicious meals with Kirsten and the family, then hopped a bus to Asheville. See you there next.

© jessicareeder for Uprooted, an eco/travel blog, 2010. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: community, design, Durham, ecotravel, green building, green living, green plus, North Carolina, sustainable, transportation, travel, weather

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UPDATE: Polls are closed! And the winner is…

LOVEANDTRASH.COM

We’ll be launching in just a few weeks. (Don’t know what this is about? Read below…)

Big news from Raggedy Annarchy and Jessica The Hun:
We’re launching a new blog
dedicated to
creativity, radical interdependence
and
how to be awesome for cheap.

This will be a place where YOU can show off your projects, promote your friends’ good work, and pick up new ideas. It’s dedicated to the little things we all do in our lives: to guerrilla gardeners and creative welders; to bike riders and secondhand fashionistas; to fire dancers, banjo pickers, amateur collagists and part-time poets.

Name That Site → WIN

Now through Saturday 3/6, leave a comment below with your name suggestion! We’ll pick the finalists, and run a vote next week.

If your suggestion becomes the name of this new site, you get a one-year Flickr Pro account, or a year’s subscription to one of these mags: Juxtapoz, Make, Wired, National Geographic or Popular Science. Your choice.

Need some inspiration? Here are some examples of what we’ll be publishing:

art video bikes general food pr0n zombies unicorns sewing lessons motivation ridiculous recycling poetry	photos fashion recipes (vegan and meatatarian) clowns weird welding inspiration transmogrification music lots and lots of art fabulous trash
…and whatever else YOU come up with.

Please note:
1. We get to suggest names too. If our suggestion wins, we keep the prize.
2. You can check to see whether your name idea is available: click here and search for your domain name.

OK GO.
Comment below to win!

© jessicareeder for Uprooted, an eco/travel blog, 2010. | Permalink | 56 comments | Add to del.icio.us
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photo by Russ Roca of The Path Less Pedaled

I discovered Tammy Strobel (of RowdyKittens) early on in my journey, and she’s been a continual inspiration. Her simple-living tips and car-free lifestyle, all documented with great photos and useful information, got me through more than one situation—and I expect to keep learning from her for a long time to come.

Now, Tammy’s released her first e-book, Simply Car-Free: How to Pedal Toward Financial Freedom and a Healthier Life.

Simply Car-Free is an excellent, real-world, homespun resource for anyone who wants to get more serious about cycling and spend less time in traffic. I highly recommend you download a copy. It’s cheap, too: $9.95 for the first 500 customers, and $12.99 thereafter.

The book is full of extremely knowledgeable and useful info on why, how, when and where to ride your bike. There are also some great tips and facts you’ve probably never heard before. For example:

Sitting down and honestly analyzing the cost of our car was shocking. The car payment, interest, insurance, gas, maintenance and more added up to about $7,000 per year. The average American spends $8,000 a year on their car.

Also inspirational: Tammy’s own story of how she and her partner Logan switched from driving to riding, and what the process was like for a self-described “normal middle-class” suburban couple.

I started out biking 5 miles a week and slowly increased the number of miles I rode on weekends. Before I knew it, I was going for all-day bike rides that were between 30 and 50 miles. Anything is possible, just remember to take it slow.

Want more? Yes, trust me, you do. Check out the first three chapters for free here. Then buy the book, and support Tammy’s awesome lifestyle and excellent work!

(legally required) DISCLOSURE: I got a free advance copy of this e-book for the purpose of reviewing it. Neener neener.

© jessicareeder for Uprooted, an eco/travel blog, 2010. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: adventure, alternative, bike, car-free, e-book, ebook, ecotravel, energy-efficient, environment, featured posts, green living, sustainable, transportation, travel

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Tracy L. Barnett
Photo ©2010. All rights reserved.

I arrived in Mexico three weeks ago as the first leg of my yearlong journey through Latin America documenting the environmental movement across the continent, from the perspective of its protagonists. I’ll be traveling through Latin America for this entire year, interviewing green architects and guerilla gardeners, indigenous farmers and bicycle activists, journalists and academics, even public officials engaged in the transition to a more sustainable lifestyle. I’ll be reporting on what I find – in Spanish and in English – on the Esperanza project, a new media initiative.

Inside the theater at Huehuecoyotl, an ecovillage in the mountains of Morelos, Mexico.
©2010 Tracy L. Barnett. All rights reserved.

Here’s how it all began. About 10 months ago I was working as the travel editor at the Houston Chronicle, when a round of cutbacks slashed a third of the staff, including me. It was a shock, but it ended up freeing me up to launch a project that feels meaningful and exciting to me in a way that working for a daily newspaper never could.

The roots of this project really began long ago in Columbia, Missouri, long before I became a travel writer. Back in 2000, I started the bilingual newspaper Adelante, and my student reporters and of course our readers came from all over Latin America. I accepted every invitation I could to visit friends and their families in the South. Before that, I was an environmental writer at the Columbia Daily Tribune. The Esperanza Project tries to pull all of those themes together—travel, Latin America, and the environment—using the multimedia tools I learned as a travel writer and the Spanish I learned as an immigrant affairs reporter in Missouri, California and Texas.

Community members at Teopantli Kalpulli, an intentional community near Guadalajara.
©2010 Tracy L. Barnett. All rights reserved.

Some people have asked me, why Latin America? I can give several reasons for that: First, I wanted to do it. All my life I’ve wanted to take that trip where I just keep on going. Now I’ll be headed south for a whole year, and I’m really excited about that.

But more importantly, I think we in the States get a little self-important thinking we have all the answers. But there’s a lot we can learn from other cultures, ones that aren’t quite as caught up in the consumerist, carbon-dependent model we’ve adopted in the States.

Latin Americans, in particular, bring a different perspective and a level of creativity and passion to their activism really inspires me. My hope is that it will inspire my North American compatriots, as well.

Right now a completely unexpected green revolution is going on in Mexico City. Rooftops of homes and factories are being planted in gardens to provide an alternate food supply and offset carbon emissions.

A young activist in Coyoacán.
©2010 Tracy L. Barnett. All rights reserved.

In Guadalajara, bicycle activists are taking to the streets by the thousands, demanding green spaces, bike lanes and a more people-oriented approach to transportation and city planning. In the mountains not far from here, the Huichol people are fighting a groundbreaking legal battle to take back their ancestral lands and manage them in their own integral way.

But this is just the tip of the iceberg. Everywhere you look in Latin America, local groups have formed to raise consciousness about the urgent need to shift to a more sustainable lifestyle. They don’t have a lot of resources, but what they do have is creativity, passion and spirit.

One of my first articles, though, has to do with a more personal dilemma: Whether to buy carbon offsets to help compensate for the pollution my travel will inevitably cause. Carbon offsets have become pretty controversial of late, but after a lot of thought, I decided to donate $10 a month to the Marda Permaculture Project to plant olive trees and build greenhouses in the town of Marda, Palestine.

Composting at the ecobarrios in Mexico City.
©2010 Tracy L. Barnett. All rights reserved.

I don’t claim that this is the answer to corporate pollution on a broader scale, but on a personal level, it felt like the right thing to do. It’s a wonderful project that builds community resilience using tried-and-true permaculture techniques, and you can read all about it here.

This year I’m going to be using video and photography and my best reporting skills to bring these people to life for The Esperanza Project readers. I’ll also be seeking collaborators, people to write stories from their eco-experiences in Latin America, and people to help with translations. I hope some of you will join us at theesperanzaproject.org.

© tracylbarnett for Uprooted, an eco/travel blog, 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: adventure, americas, community, ecotourism, ecotravel, ecovillages, environment, esperanza, featured posts, green living, latin america, mexico, photography, sustainable, the esperanza project, tourism, tracy barnett, travel

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In honor of Valentine’s Day, guest blogger The Apocalyptic Housewife is back with a dose of romantic realism—and a freegan Valentine idea.

I’ve been married a long, long time.

My husband loves me, loves us, and hates ‘compulsory holidays’. He also hates Facebook.

But he’s a great guy: he always gives me something special for non-compulsory occasions, like a $100 pillow when he noticed I’d been cracking my neck for weeks. And when a persistent, Facebook-obsessed friend finally copied a quiz into email and sent it to him, he answered it.

I was copied on the email, so I peeked.

“What would ______ say is your favorite scent?”

“My wife’s pillowcase.”

The Inspiration

On Thursday, M. had to leave for work immediately following a, umm, ‘nap’. I had the day off.

“I hate getting up now. Look at how even my t-shirt is mocking me”

After M. showered, dressed and left for work, I took my after-glow-anointed neck and my shrug and my cat onto the sofa for a nap. ZZzzzzzzzzmmmmmmmmmm.

When I awoke, I noticed that M. had left his old headphone bag in the trash. My brain leapt from headset to sewing machine to pillowcase, like a pinball lighting up the ’tilt’ sign.

If you try this at home, don’t leave out the ‘nap’ part;
your idea will undoubtedly be even better.

I already had Grandma’s ancient creaking sewing machine set up on the kitchen table where I made this bitchin’ shrug (pictured above) out of a bagged-out sweater and Brother Dennis’ dia de los muertos heart.

I had been meaning to make some Pillowcase Dresses for Haitian Relief, but my sewing skillz needed some brushing up—ie, I was ready to sacrifice a pillowcase for practice.

How to Make a Pillowcase Headphone Bag

You’ll need:
• A standard pillowcase
• A string (shoelaces work great)
• Scissors
• Iron
• Sewing machine, or needle+thread+dedication

1. Cut the pillowcase roughly in half lengthwise, and remove the hemmed section. You should have a long-ish strip of fabric, sewn on two sides. Cut it down more if you like.

2. Fold down the long edge. Turn down twice to make a casing, which should be wide enough that your string slides through easily. Iron to make a straight edge.

For best results, use a press-cloth.

For lousy results, iron directly onto a vinyl tablecloth, which is guaranteed to melt all over your iron.

3. Sew along the folded edge, using a zigzag stitch, and thread the string through. This will be the mouth of the bag, and the drawstring to pull it closed.

If you have trouble, attach a safety pin to one end of the string: it’ll be easier to thread that way.

Since I wanted this bag to remind M. of  my side of the bed while he’s using his headset at work, I used the shoelace that he teases the kitties with.

What’s a catnap without a cat?! And, look! Hearts!

4. Turn the pillowcase inside out, and sew along the open edge leaving the drawstring casing open. You should now have an inside-out bag.

5. Turn the bag right-side out and admire your handiwork.

The finished bag. It fits neatly into a backpack, holds a standard headset comfortably, and reminds M. of his warm, sleepy wife. Also, it cost NOTHING.

(Except for a new tablecloth.)

Happy Valentine’s Day, world! Go do something half-assed and whole-hearted. It’s worked pretty well for us.

© raggedyannarchy for Uprooted, an eco/travel blog, 2010. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: alternative, buy nothing, craft, diy, featured posts, freegan, green living, how-to, love, reuse, romance, sewing, sustainable, valentine's day

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