Developing Sustainable Skills

(Photo: new knitting needles & yarn sitting on a blanket I crocheted a few weeks ago.)

I am now the owner of a pair of size 6 knitting needles and a skein of 100% organic cotton yarn (which, by the way, is GORGEOUS and so soft!). Using my 40% off coupon made the yarn affordable. And tonight I will search for video tutorials online and learn to knit. First project: a nice, rectangular hand towel. LOL. Yep!

Last week I bought a spindle and some wool fiber on Etsy and learned to spin yarn, using YouTube tutorials. I'm not going to be spinning award-winning artisan yarn anytime soon, but it's a good start just to know some basics.


And the week before that, I was ordering organic, heirloom seeds online and got a couple of packets of cotton seeds. You just never know how handy that might be someday! Now I can grow fiber and make my own thread to repair clothes if I need to. Simple skills, inexpensive purchases - but they will make a whole world of difference in a post-peak oil world if I can't get basic supplies. And it reduces my potential "stockpile" of STUFF if I am able to make my own things. I like that!

I registered to have a spot in the County-sponsored community garden this year. I will be able to learn to grow an organic garden hands-on. I don't know how to garden. I thought I did, actually, because when I was a kid my Mom always grew a summer veggie garden. I helped plant seeds, weed, water the garden and harvest. A couple of years ago I mentored a child and we grew a garden. Sort of. I learned that just planting and watering does not guarantee garden success. We got a couple of small cucumbers and a bunch of radishes, mostly. Nothing else grew very well, but we did have a fun time trying. This year will be a more serious gardening effort, however. I will keep a notebook, read, watch videos and take any cheap/free classes I can find, to learn to grow a healthy and productive garden. I intend to use my harvest to learn to can and preserve food, and see how long it will last me throughout the year.

So, you may have already gleaned that the point of this post is that learning sustainable skills is important! I don't think I need to hoard a bunch of stuff to "survive." If I develop some basic,old-fashioned homesteading skills I will be way ahead of the curve!

This is where I suggest starting to plan for the future: make a list of skills you have and of those skills you would like to learn. Then add skills you think you probably need to learn (even if they don't sound fun). Then go online and start searching for local groups, craftspeople and artisan collectives who can teach you these skills. Reach out to them or simply sign up for a class or lecture. Go to YouTube and look for DIY (do it yourself) videos and bookmark them- and actually practice the skills. Buy inexpensive tools, locally made, if possible.

I can't tell you what skills you'll need - that will depend on your lifestyle and what is important to you. Brainstorm. Make lists. Prioritize.

If you need a starting point, this is a good article:
http://www.activistpost.com/2010/11/10-skills-needed-to-thrive-in-post.html

Essential media for every person

I've figured out what I want to use this blog for: to keep track of my quest to live more sustainably.

To that end, I will begin by posting links to the various resources that I think contain essential information for anyone interested in why a sustainable lifestyle is important. This is super easy - just take a nice long afternoon and watch movies. That's all. For me, this time came recently as I've been sick at home with nothing to do....so I started to follow a discussion board conversation about "Peak Oil," and found all of these videos after searching online from keywords I found in those readings.

To start your education, watch these videos (I am listing them in the order I think they are important to watch, YMMV). I am listing titles and in some cases, links. It is up to you to find the video on NetFlix, YouTube or whatever other source you have for media. (All videos are available either on NetFlix or on the websites I link.)


1)Collapse: http://www.collapsenet.com/free-resources/collapse-dvd-reviews
You can find the documentary Collapse on YouTube or via streaming media on Netflix.
IMO, this is the foundational primer video that explains, in the most concise way I've seen so far, what is going on in the world. Everything else I will post builds on this topic, fleshes it out and adds more detail so that you will get a comprehensive view of what is going on.

2)The Future of Food - This documentary explains why genetically modified foods are dangerous to our way of life and our economy. Essential viewing, IMHO!!

3)Tapped - the importance of our fresh water resources, how they are being exploited and some really thought-provoking information. If you can watch this documentary and ever buy bottled water again, then I can't help ya.

4) Crash Course - http://www.chrismartenson.com/
This is a rather long presentation (though you can find a shorter version of it on the website also) that goes into deeper detail about everything mentioned in Collapse.
This website also has a TON of useful information about what to do and lots of resources for you to pursue, once you have watched these videos and are now shitting your pants, freaking out about the future we have created for ourselves.

5) Radically Simple - this film gives you a good view into what sustainable living may actually look like.

In future posts, I will begin to outline the steps I am personally taking to "change the course of the Titanic" (e.g. my life) and hopefully steer myself clear of any future icebergs!