Hi Lawrence,

Thanks for the welcome.

Regarding the phrase food sovereignty, it is the term I use for growing almost all of my own food. Food sovereignty and energy sovereignty are two goals that Peak everything has me working towards. I want to be as sovereign an individual as much as possible. That doesn't mean being an island, but within a community, one should be able to produce, then trade for much of their food needs,as long as it is consistent with the carrying capacity of the land.

Peace,

Jay

Hi Lawrence, thank you for your lines. I am lurking from Europe, and I am looking for people especially interested in the Global Villages concept. That concept is manifold: local production capabilities, knowledge sharing, VideoBridges.">

Regarding Passive Houses, affordable ultra-energy efficiency is the point. The first Passive House in the US was Katrin's own, as she was experimenting on herself, but the second and third (on Fairview Ave) were Affordable Housing done in partnership with the City of Urbana, IL. On those projects she worked with Manufactured housing companies to develop lowest-cost Passive House Wall and Roof panels that could be factory built and shipped to the site. She's now working on a multi-family housing project, where economies of scale and the efficiencies of party walls cut costs even farther. In Europe, much of the Affordable Housing built is done to the standard, even though it has slightly higher initial costs than building to code, the government recognizes that freedom from the impacts of energy volatility is most critical for the low-income population. Thus living in a passive house can be the route into savings and up out of poverty for many - also it is the most healthy living situation, too.

Hey there Lawrence! By all means check out our website. We love having folks find our books helpful. It's always a little scary trying a new endeavor but our books and DVDs take the mystery out of it and explain how to get up and running. I really am hopeful that lots of Transition groups will find us a helpful resource. Had a friend Maggie, way way back from Sebastopol. Thing her husband was a veterinarian. Met her at the Grand Canyon. Tell her hi if you know. Good luck with your group out there! Cheers, Donna

I hope I'm replying correctly. Thanks so much for the welcome :)

We're blessed with a fairly long growing season (southwest Missouri) so that we can eat fresh for several months. To extend the harvest I can, freeze and dry. Drying as much as possible because it take up less room and we have a tiny house. I also hang dry all the medicinals, i use a dehydrator for many food or pot herbs but for medicinals I believe it causes them to lose more of their precious oils. Hang drying take much longer and does use a lot of space but is worth it in the end. Root crops, squash and the like do well here stored in a cool, damp (not to damp) place. Sweet potatoes and carrots stored in tubs of sand.

Lawrence, Let's try this. Last 40 years self-supporting and basically doing everything connected with homesteading and community living(24 members). We lived on the land, raised families,built domes and multiple other shelters,always self employed, and lived free. We sunk below the radar and dug in for collapse. We saw it coming, just a matter of time...didn't realize that it would take so long.
We are snuggled up against a wild river and and 7,000 acres of game refuge. We have a tight rural network of landers who have no interest really in towns. I don't know if we really have a place in your dialogue about towns and cities, but see a value in connecting with people and groups globally for creating a more sustainable and just planetary community. We could really use some filling in of the spaces between bioregions. It is interesting to us how the words and volcabulary have grown to allow so many folks to begin participating in some kind of change. There is still alot of land out here waiting to be nurtured and give up her secret's...cheers

Hi Lawrence, As a 14 year resident of Sonoma County, it's great to hear from you. Living in VT now but will be visiting Sebastopol in a couple weeks. Will add you to my friends. Watch my website for an article sent to me by Shepherd Bliss from the Press Democrat about the healing power of farming. Cheers! Carolyn

Thanks for the greeting, Lawrence. We are an agricultural area although loosing land to development. We have the Penn State ag college, several CSAs, several farmers markets and lots of Amish. There is tremendous potential for greater local self-reliance here. Bill

Thanks for the comments Lawrence, I too have worked with workers comp clients particularly depression from chronic pain...they are the unsung heros of resilience and have taught me a lot about humor through a dark prognosis...I would love to chat more...p

Thanks Lawrence,
I'm really not so versed in this world of blogs, websites, and electronic communication. This is the first online thing I've participated in like this-no facebook, not even a cell-phone! How to collaborate between Oakland and Sonoma is a great question. As I said in my profile, I don't really know what is possible in a metropolitan area the size of the Bay Area. As a permaculturist I know the idea is that we're only limited by our imagination, and I admit to a failure in my own imagination many times when I consider the possibility of simply feeding an area of this size locally. Perhaps Sebastapol needs to ready itself for Bay Area refugees!

Thanks for getting back to me. I am fairly new on the computer but would like to learn how to transfer pictures and to blog. A friend is going to come over next week and teach me more, so I can be more effective. Also I do not know why I used my given name McDonald as I usually do not. I will figure out how to change that. For now Susan Sunshine-Earth Poet. Most important though is good works and good energy.

Thanks Lawrence, It is good to be here. I hope I will learn a lot.

Hey Lawrence - Thanks for the compliment! hyperlocavore.com
is about helping people grow food together, share space and be more efficient. Check out 100 Reasons to Be a Hyperlocavore at
http://tinyurl.com/d2g4g5

or share hyperlocavore.com with your friends and neighbors and set up a yardsharing group!

Many hands make light work!

Let me know if I can answer any particular questions!

Or help me pick my new logo at:
http://www.ask500people.com/profile/hyperlocavore

Thanks again!

To get a good feeling as to what Cleveland is doing, check out www.localfoodcleveland.org, another ning site. I really can't tell you more than that since I haven't even had a chance to look around here (transitionus) yet.

Free Skool is a network of volunteer operated classes. Teachers volunteer their time and promotors volunteer their time to put out a calendar of classes. We are just getting started in the east bay's current free skool reincarnation. Free Skools are great in a variety of communities, the scale is easy to scale down to the amount of people who are interested. I just visited Sonoma County and it amazed me at the beauty and bounty and proximity. How do you think East Bay can help Sonoma?

Thank you for your comment. Yes, canning and drying. One of our group happens to come from a Mormon background and has much experience to offer with canning tips.

Hello Lawrence, thanks for you comment. It is great to see so many people across the country starting projects and activities on their own. This is how we will move forward.

Thank you for your welcome. Would you know if there is a Transition site in Canada?

Wendy

http://www.webofdebt.com/

Just saw the author speak in Tucson. This is an excellent, fact-based, non-conspiracy theory discussion of the problems with our current economic structure, and what we can do to fix it.