SCARECROWS IN JAPAN
Sustainability is a word that gets tossed around quite a bit lately. Current usage seems to encompass the idea that one can be sustainable on a piece of land, large or small, and live well. Self-sustainability seems to be the mantra of the day.
Yet recently I read an article in Fall 2008 Mother Earth News magazine of a couple that live in
HOMEMADE SCARECROW, BEREA COMMUNITY GARDENS, KENTUCKY
In the sixties, here in the states communal living was popular and some communes grew produce
communally. With time, communes fell by the wayside. Today, my question is why neighborhoods can’t become communal when it comes to raising a garden, modeling after the Japanese idea of community-sustainability. Much would be gained from this idea as the whole of the community would have common interests and a sharing of production.
This seems to be a better method then striking out on ones own to learn from the bottom up. Why reinvent the wheel when there are people in your community that have much wisdom when it comes to gardening.
HOMEMADE SCARECROW, MADISON COUNTY, KENTUCKY
Now I am quite sure that community-sustainability is practiced in some parts of the
Here are a few links for groups practicing community based sustainability gardening here in the United States. One is based in Detroit and the other New York City.
ReplyDeletehttp://georgiastreetgarden.blogspot.com/
http://www.greenthumbnyc.org/index.php
Darcy -- Thanks so much for the links to community based sustainability in the U.S. I'm going to check out the links. Its nice to know that there are gardens following this idea. -- barbara
ReplyDeleteInteresting post about community sustainability. Here in southeastern West Virginia we are losing a lot of local wisdom as the elders expire without passing on their knowledge of gardening and other basic country skills. I think they would gladly share it, but it seems like our youth is caught up in the consumer culture and has no interest in such things. Although we sell produce from our market garden here at the farm, the garden is still somewhat communal since we have people who help us with planting, harvesting, and preserving the harvest in exchange for fresh fruits and vegetables.
ReplyDeleteThe scarecrow pictures are fantastic! Looking at these images has given me another idea for a farm event...a scarecrow making contest. I'll have to flesh out the details, but it sounds like it would be a fun event for young and old at the farm. Thanks for the idea!
Thomas -- Thank you for your nice comments.
ReplyDeleteI like your way of including local people to work in your market garden in exchange for produce. This is an idea I am not familiar with, but, surely it would be a good idea to promote.
It would be fun to have a scarecrow contest. Having a scarecrow in your garden was a common tradition in my youth. I remember my dad building one in our basement for our vegetable garden. When I went out looking for homemade scarecrows for this post, I was amazed how difficult it was to even find two. Especially as there are lots of home gardens in this area. I asked locals if they knew of some and they couldn't think of any. Unfortunately, this tradition, I believe, is becoming a dying breed in this area, . Perhaps people like you can begin to re-introduce this fine tradition in southeastern West Virginia.