What does preparedness entail given the current landscape? A few years ago, articles on home preparedness began by explaining the impending environmental, economic and energy crises that loomed before us. Well, we’ve arrived. Now, all but the most entrenched elements of the status quo acknowledge these crises as ongoing realities with no easy solutions in sight. The transition to a post-fossil fuel era has begun. If we are to survive as a species and as a culture, we must again live within our means, sustainably. That’s the big picture.

But what do we do now in our daily lives? How do we prepare for the volatility in goods and services that is certain to unfold as the old paradigm wanes while also building the resilient lifestyle needed to make the shift into the new era before us? What do we let go of? What to we keep? What do we pursue? Continue reading this post…

If you haven’t seen it yet…The Story of Stuff by Annie Leonard is a must see. This creative short documentary takes on a complex and heavy subject (where we get our stuff and where it goes after we’re done with it) in a breezy twenty minutes. Featuring animated stick figures and a voice over and walk-ons from Annie herself, the film makes the journey through the industrial consumer chain, while preserving its unique mix of humor and information. And it’s free as an online video or a download. Watch it and share it.

Kids love The Story of Stuff. Irma’s twins, Mylar and Gauze, after seeing it on their computer at home, showed it on Earth Day at school. Unfortunately, the Social Studies teacher was tragically inspired to assign a 200 word essay on the subject of “Our Disposable Culture” to the class, which made lunch in the cafeteria a lonely experience for the twins for the better part of a week.

Bea Reddy has assembled some book titles to explore. These well-thumbed how-to favorites don’t collect much dust in her home library, because she refers back to them often and lends them out to others from time to time. They are great choices for researching the topics covered and will provide practical advice to you and yours as your household progresses along the journey toward self-reliance.

The list is broken down by subject: Cooking & Preserving, Food Storage, Gardening, Health, Survival, Woods, Livestock, Homesteading and, last but not least, Fruits & Nuts.

As Martha says, “A good book is like a good friend, they both open up when you need them.” Continue reading this post…

Title: Strawberry Jam
Location: TBA
Description: Three groups of IthaCan participants will make strawberry jam.
Start Time: 09:00
Date: 2008-06-28
End Time: 13:00

To sign up for this activity click here.