Comments on: Homemade Prosperity – escaping the consumer trap

By: Greg Seaman

Greg Seaman — Tue, 03 May 2011 18:54:06 +0000

Thanks for your comment Jessica. I think your thoughts reflect the thinking of many people.
My wife and I left the mainstream in 1980 and have since led a lifetyle of 'production'. In fact I just came in from the garden! We baked our own bread, and never enjoyed bread more. We grew our food and enjoyed our meals that much more. We deal with weather events, and sometimes the weather set us back. But we always managed to bring in a harvest which sustained us through the winter.
In the process of doing these acts, our children were able to contribute. Today they have their own gardens and enjoy providing food for the family.
I feel we have had the best of lives, and without needing much money. Although we had opportunities which people in third world countries do not have, I think there is a balance that we need to find, where we take pride in our own production and our efforts to live lightly on the planet. Deriving our satisfaction from endless consumerism is counterproductive to the long term needs of our society.

By: Jessica

Jessica — Tue, 03 May 2011 18:33:40 +0000

May I offer a suggestion – all the people reading this article who want to live the lifestyle the author espouses, move to Africa, or Asia or rural South America. Switch places with another person or family there. You'll get land, houses, maybe even farm animals. Live there, so the people who want and work towards a modern lifestyle can enjoy it, and you can bake bread for hours, grow your own food, deal with drought and bad weather, and all the wonderful things that come with living a life of 'production.' And no – you can't come back. Enjoy!

By: Pavel

Pavel — Mon, 02 May 2011 23:52:53 +0000

Look up "culture of poverty" and the concept of food deserts.

The idealized agrarian fantasy you describe requires a large amount of prerequisite wealth and privilege. It's not realistic for most of the population.

By: bradappleton

bradappleton — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 08:23:44 +0000

I believe a lot of the 'required' income these days goes towards buying things that take family members away from each other and reduce family time. We are busy to 'do' things rather than just being together and connecting. Having little money helps you understand what really is important and then hanging on to those things when you do have money is a wonderful thing for a parent to do for their family!

By: Richard

Richard — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 20:50:22 +0000

Unfortunately the family farm starts it`s decline after the children move away and the parents can no longer maintain the workload. The result is often drastic for the farm and the family dream. People need to rethink the farm concept in order to make it continuous and profitable. The continuous factor requires multipliable families that are equally invested in the farm. These families enable the farm to diversify its production and vastly increase production/profit. Check out Community Supported Agriculture (CSA`S) or eco-villages. ie. Betterfields Community Development.

By: paul winter

paul winter — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 13:17:47 +0000

We started growing our own veg last year as a family and everyone seemed to love it the kids love watching the plants grow from Little seeds to the big plants and picking the veg it's really helped get them involved in cooking and they eat all their vegetables when they've grown and pick them. The only problem is we have only got a small garden so there is a limit to what we can do.

By: Granma jude

Granma jude — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 15:51:18 +0000

I so agree with you all. I love to make do and mending, but I feel creative and enpowered because I am the author of my lifestyle, not Ikea or Wallmart. I would love to share some information with you. Modern washing machines are so good at agitating the laundry that for most of the washing you don't need laundry soap or powder or liquid. I have been doing this for nearly two years , my whites stay white longer, are softer and seem to last longer. Yes greasy stains are a problem but there are simple solutions. Even muddy childrens clothes come as clean as if you used expensive chemicals. I wash on 35 -40 degrees centigrade, handhot. I love that I am not polluting the streams and rivers and seas. Don't forget to wipe the inside of your washing machine every few weeks as the dirt can build up inside. Oh and everything smells so fresh and natural.
Would love to hear from anyone else who does the same.

By: jean tyler

jean tyler — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 03:18:41 +0000

When families grow and prepare their own food ther is another benefit – each member of the family feels part of a team. Kids are needed and valued for their contributions. In too many homes today, kids are glued to entertainment while mom cooks up something fast and easy.

By: Chin

Chin — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 07:17:01 +0000

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Regars
Chin