Sunday, June 6, 2010

ALTERNATIVE LIFESTYLES

Sometimes life feels like just ticking the boxes and filling in the blanks.
You go to school, get a job, get a partner, marry, have kids, get a car, a house, stuff and have the optional hobby and travel.
Not that its necessarily bad to live like that, but it would be good if there were some more options.

For example, of course, i can decide if i want to have kids or not, but as a woman, i feel I'm living in a society where its expected from me to become a mother at some point, otherwise my life is not seen as completely fulfilled.

It can be difficult at the best of times to go your own way in this society, but i think its important to stand up for the life you want to live and to be the person you truly feel you are.

I want to share with you some different ways of living, videos of different housing solutions people chose for their lives which i find interesting.

The first is about an eco village in Kew, where people occupied vacant land and built tents and huts from reclaimed material, started to grow their own food and live sustainably.
As far as i heard the Kew site has been evicted by now, but people are always on the lookout for new land and might actually have a new site already by now.



Then there is Coed Hills, an artist community living in the forests of South Wales.
I like the yurts. I like some of the ideas. Probably would hang out there for 2 or 3 weeks, but i like my hot shower and clean clothes(its a bit muddy).



And then there is my ABSOLUTE favourite way of building houses and living and that is the 'Earthships'!

The earthship concept got to be THE most sustainable way of building houses and its just so elegant and stylish.
I don't think living consciously and in harmony with nature can't also be amazingly beautiful and comfortable at the same time and it just makes so much sense.

Once i got money i surely will get one of these, might even build some of it myself.



If you wanna find out more about this subject, you might wanna watch 'Garbage Warrior'. Its a documentary about the founder of the earthships and explains the idea even better.
I cant find the movie online, but here is the trailer,

4 comments:

  1. Great post Fran! Lots of interesting things to think about ... I love the idea of living sustainably with solar power and a herb/vegie garden.

    My partner and I probably won't have children ... we just have no desire to. You should see the looks on people's faces when we tell them! They usually say, 'Oh, you'll change your mind as you get older' ... although we're both almost 30. Hah!

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  2. Love this post, half of my house is reclaimed or scavenged materials. Also my friend is looking for land at the moment to build an earth house.
    X Kerri

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  3. Oh, goodness, Fran, I spent two years visiting alternative households and communities. Alas, Peggy didn't share my enthusiasm, although she tried. And I must admit that most people don't stay in such places forever, and I doubt that most people even last ten years. My final choice was group marriage because it offered more intimacy than simply sharing a household or even an ideal. More about that some other time, perhaps.

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  4. This is very very interesting & I just love this post!! Thank you!!

    Agneta, the swedish one ;)

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