Archive for the ‘Sustainability’ Category

Saturday, August 22nd, 2009

Posted by Amyelis

Something I’ve failed to blog about yet was a HUGE project the house did May 17th. On this day our home experienced an incredible make-over to the front yard. The whole house got together to help out making a Garden of Gratitude…as inspired by the Westside Permies! (http://westsidepermies.ning.com)

Redoing the front had been on our minds, but it was with the inspiration of the Westside Permies Garden of Gratitude event that really got us going on it! Marla and I spent hours preparing during the weeks leading up to the big event by measuring the lawn, researching plants, searching the free section on Criagslist for supplies, and building raised beds.

We tore out our lawn by hand (and rake and hoe and shovel, as well as a lot of brute strength!!) and then we got to work filling the raised bed with soil, planting, and landscaping the rest of the used-to-be-lawn area! We had help from our neighbors, friends, and some inner-city students that one of our community members, Jessie, works with.

People came and went but everyone gave their best to the effort and 12 hours later our front lawn had been transformed into a low water garden of joy!

Now, 2.5 months later we have been enjoying luscious artichokes, tomatoes, lettuce, beets, strawberries, peppers and zucchini!

Our home is an interest point for all who walk past! We are the only house on the block without grass and it is a vibrant and brilliantly textured and colored feast for the eyes (and stomach!).

We hope our home is planting seeds in the minds of our neighbors to follow suit and grow food in their yards!


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Introducing the Department of Efficiency

Wednesday, August 5th, 2009

Posted by craigwill

Dear World,
I am officially starting my blog.  Here are a few pieces that I have recently finished.

This blog will serve a few different purposes.  It will be a place for people to view art and music that I am working on.  I will also be examining other efficient human beings and seeing what tips they have for hard working Americans like us.  If you feel like you are efficient, or even if you just want to impart some wisdom my way, please leave a post or email me.  I am excited to learn, and I am excited that I am excited.  Keep your eyes peeled for the upcoming EP Dear Mr. Ford.  Thanks homies.

Posted in Heroes, Music, Projects, Sustainability, Visual Art and Design, What We Do | No Comments »

evangelical crack, or the balance

Wednesday, July 29th, 2009

Posted by jchaseinyoface

I have now entered the young to old adult tradition of constant annoyance with my work and non-work imbalance.  The dubbing of this tradition has been assumed, as I am not sure yet how to fix this imbalance.  I was taught to live a life of constant meaning-making, belief and positive thinking, though it wasn’t named after any of those non-Christian terms.  I remember starting my day with prayers that sealed the pain I felt from life’s up and downs in a small place inside my heart that was hardly ever given attention.  My prayers, mainly consisting of hope, positive expectation and certainty, were the centerfold of my evangelical reflection; also the base of my ignorance of politics, psychological health and social blind-sided-ness.  It’s not like this for everyone and though I have a multitude of friends who have experienced this centerfold dilemma, either in their personal history or current beliefs, but the inner workings of the Christian Evangelical life that I led, had me thinking positive, confident, and certain.  In time I found this unsustainable.

I have left the practices and culture of the American Christian Evangelical church (”non-denominational”: though that does not accurately regard where my childhood church was started, initially funded, or legally affiliated) for so many reasons.  The first part of my transition to my current spiritual/economical/political practice happened when I moved to college.  In southern California I did not have the same people, church, or reputation; what I later learned to call my identity.  In my past no one talked about personal identity as a changeable or tangible social construction, rather it was poetically drafted into the New International Version of the Bible and various mysterious stories about people’s personal lives and the changes that occurred when that individual had responded or been a recipient of a supernatural interaction, however normal or abnormal it might be (I experienced many of these mysteries).  Thus began my conquest and enrapturing experience of academia, feminism, bi-sexuality, art, Christian organizations, churches, biblical studies, independence, and activism.  When I realized that the identity I found most honest and most personally connected to no longer fit the Evangelical mold, I was slowly and naturally phasing out of those circles and networks as a professional.  I mean, I was going to be working at an Evangelical Christian institution for the rest of my life until just a couple years ago.  Now I have left that work to some friends and some folks who I hope to shake off like dust from my sandals – some of them, I will see again, as life so unravels, and I will stretch my fabric to intertwine with forgiveness if I have the strength.

Now, as a woman, tied to her heart and mind, I find myself sinking into the negativity of the secular institution.  A slave to sloth and financial insecurity, my heart and mind sometimes morph into the wheel of fortune and time ticks away on pegs of different calculations and theoretical options for my adult profession and way of life.  I used to rely so heavily on the time tables of school and church activity.  These days my months are both short and long and this whole last year a trial at living without any system but the one that I create.  And my emotional solitude so easily cramped in between different productions and going somewhere.  I have all this space to balance all that I desire and yet I have found my former evangelical love affair a habit that my dependancy and identity became entwined with and still crave.  It was almost like a crack addiction: now I have to create a new lifestyle, equipped with all the positives of my past while reinforcing my identity as the woman who is aware of her economical, spiritual, emotional and sexual self.  And somehow as an adult you figure out how to balance all of that simultaneously with a job?  To all of you adults out there, I put it to you for getting through the times of imbalance and professional exploration.  I believe things will change, but also know that it is important to embrace the now and be cool with it, “Don’t stress.  Shit happens.”  My theological training is a lot less articulated these days, but maybe that’s part of the balance.

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Homemade Shoe Polish or Ariel’s First Post on Synchronicity

Thursday, June 11th, 2009

Posted by arielclimer

Something I think we are all striving for at our house is to avoid bad chemicals and chemicals that are not sustainable. I came across this article for homemade shoe polish and thought it would be a nice first blog for me to post. You know, just something simple and practical. I have more complicated things coming though, don’t worry. I just need time to iron out my words.

Erin Huffstetler at About.com gives us this cool recipe for shoe polish!

Polished shoes look great and last longer. Here’s how to make a top-rate shoe polish from things that you already have at home:

INGREDIENTS:

  • Olive oil
  • Lemon juice

PREPARATION:

1. Combine one part lemon juice to two parts olive oil to form a polish.

2. Use a clean cloth to rub a small amount of the polish into your shoes. Then, allow it to soak in for a few minutes.

3. Buff with another cloth, and enjoy your shiny shoes!

Benefits of Using Homemade Shoe Polish:

  • inexpensive
  • chemical-free
  • environnmentally-friendly
  • all-natural

Tips and Warnings:

1) Apply to clean, dry shoes

2) Repeat monthly or as needed to extend the life of your leather shoes

3) Cheap olive oil works just as well as more expensive grades

Posted in Projects, Sustainability | No Comments »