A Taste of Communal Living…"Living Well With Less”

Steve has returned from a week at Griffith full of enthusiasm and new ideas.  He has just completed the first stage of research on his PhD - investigating alternative community and household models that encourage co-operation.  The research – a collection of 6 papers – is now ready to be published and has a title, The Hexagram!  It is all very exciting. You can download the papers that will form this collection at: http://www.polisplan.com.au/Polis/welcome.html

It is also exciting for me to hear his professor is encouraging him to start his field work.  Eco-villages, Transition Towns and Intentional Communities are spread across the globe so Steve will need help navigating what is very familiar territory for me!!  I’ve volunteered to be his research assistant, documenter, photographer and travel plan coordinator!    There was once a time in my life where I was quite well paid for this kind of work…but I’m happy to settle for a seat next to him on any plane ride he takes!  I think that was a yes…

While in Griffith, Steve made phone contact with Kaye Healey who has converted her home to a communal living project for women over 50. 

http://www.womenscommunallivingproject.com/p/home.html

Kaye has invited us for afternoon tea and so we set out for Eden Farm eager to hear her experiences and learn from her journey.  Eden Farm is situated in the Southern Highlands and we set off early, looking forward to making a day of it.  After a late lunch in Bowral we make our way to the project.

We find the mud brick house set in a 5 ha block to be both comfortable and welcoming.  In fact the large open plan house reminds me of our own house in Hornsby.  It has the lived in feel of a place where you want to sink into the cushions, curl up with a good & a cup of tea and relax…watching the world go by.

Over a cup of tea and a slice of the apple pie we have picked up in town, Kaye begins to tell us her story.  She explains the setup she has created is modelled on the benefactor model.  A model where the house has one owner <herself> who shares her space with other women.  This is an example of an intentional community as all those who are invited to stay here are single women over 50.  These women are carefully selected by Kaye after first getting to know them both on-line and over the phone.  Kaye explains that she quickly gets the sense of who someone is by just listening to the sound of their voice. Being quite perceptive myself, I can related to this.  On my travels I am quick to spot the travellers I connect with and have formed lifelong friendships with perfect strangers almost instantly. 

The home is setup with shared spaces but also with lots of private spaces.  We learn that many of the women who come here are introverts, people who crave time alone far more than those of us who are extroverts.

The women come together at night to share a communal meal, which is prepared in turn by each of the residents.  You are left to your own devices during the rest of the day but many of the women will choose to help Kaye with the veggie garden, the chooks or the sheep.  She stresses there are no rules and many women come here to escape the hustle and bustle of their lives…some to read….others to write and a few who want a different kind of therapy.  Ironically, this is part of Kaye’s background…but the kind of therapy she provides now is the space she shares and the communal living arrangement she has created.

We are taken outside and marvel at the work that has been done on the place in the short period of 5 years.  I know many older women who often complain they are bored and that they have nothing to do…so I find what Kaye has done immensely inspirational.  If only, more people were willing to give of their time and volunteer their talents as they got older and had more time on their hands our communities would be healthier & happier places. 

Over our conversation I find out Kaye is an Aquarian…born just a few days before I was but in a different decade.  She seems to recognise the free spirit in me and I realise why she is futuristic in her thinking.  We are thankful for all that she has shared and for giving us our first insight in to the fact that one person can indeed make a difference.

Peter Fitzsimons

You don’t expect to meet a former Wallaby rugby international at your local library author talks.  The words literary great and rugby don’t usually go together.  Peter’s life indicates why generalising about anything or anyone is a pointless exercise. 

In 2001, he was Australia’s biggest selling non-fiction author with just under $250,000 in sales. He duplicated that feat in 2004 with his book on Kokoda and had similar success in 2006 with his book on Tobruk.  He is here to promote his latest book Eureka: The Unfinished Revolution. 

Right away it is obvious that here is a man with the X Factor.  A man who is funny and not afraid to be self deprecating.  He recounts a story about a time when he found himself in the company of the literary glitterati.  He shares the fact he has just finished his first book with the gentleman he is making small talk with, who gently encourages him to read another.  The audience is in fits of laughter…is he pulling our legs…?

The event is being held in the largest room in the library, normally set aside for computer users.  The audience is more than double the size of visitors that the usual authors attract.  It is also an equal mix of men and women, older and younger people, some of whom are just here to be in the presence of one who once played in one of the greatest Wallaby sides.  Peter not only shares stories of his literary work and his writing habits but also talks about the days on the playing field.  It has been a good nights entertainment but we don’t queue up to buy the book.

Photo Workshop

October is one of those special months that has 5 Tuesdays..and hence in addition to our monthly competition at our photo club, we also have a photo workshop.  I’m excited because this workshop is all about shooting water droplets….and I’ve never really given that a go.

Sean has done all the hard work prior to us getting there.  There are a number of setups that we can practice at…and I give the wineglass a go.  Sean has has fastened a wineglass on a piece of wood which sits on top of a bucket.  Our task is to photograph this has he carefully pours coloured liquid on to it.  Our camera’s are set on manual.  We choose a fast shutter speed (1/1600 sec) and an aperture of 7.1.  I adjust the ISO, to ensure my photograph will be exposed according to the available light.  I end up with an ISO of 800, which is quite high but expected under the light conditions.  I manually focus my camera and as Sean begins to pour I begin to shoot…….!

The following are a few of the images I captured that day……….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think a photography class should be a requirement in all educational programs because it makes you see the world rather than just look at it. ~Author Unknown

Questions of Travel–Michelle de Krester

The title of her latest book obviously drew me in. Questions of Travel…ah..has some one has already written the book that I had always meant to author one day..

Steve and I went along to the library talk not knowing what to expect.  When Michelle walked in and introduced herself, I was blown away.  She was Sri Lankan born and had lived on 3 continents…and was obviously a keen traveller.  Having lived on 3 continents myself and being born in the same town…I felt an instant connection.  This was interesting as Michelle questions in her book if travel helps us make connections with strangers or if it only serves to reinforce our isolation.  It is the first time we have had a Sri Lankan author at the library.   The author talks are dominated by a very Anglo audience as well as Anglo authors…so this is a refreshing change.

She is an engaging speaker and has come well prepared.   She talks to us first about her process of writing, the idea of creating a double narrative and of weaving stories within the main story.  She talks about the fact that the majority of people who travel the world actually do so for work or economic benefit or for the purpose of seeking asylum.  Having travelled for pleasure myself, I realise that my ideas about travel have been rather blinkered and am intrigued by what Michelle appears to question in this book.  Why do we travel………why is it that some people are quite content to sit at home and imagine distant lands while others are compelled to discover/smell/taste and hear the sounds of these lands for themselves? 

I buy the book and am looking forward to reading it…but as I sat and listened to Michelle I hear the voice within me…a voice that gets louder everyday…when will you start writing your first book…?  Each time I sit at an author talk and listen…I long for the luxury of time…so that I can begin in earnest my own journey of becoming a writer…….

Here is a snippet from the internet of what Michelle’s book is about.  It promises to be a compelling read….

“A mesmerising literary novel, Questions of Travel charts two very different lives. Laura travels the world before returning to Sydney, where she works for a publisher of travel guides. Ravi dreams of being a tourist until he is driven from Sri Lanka by devastating events. Around these two superbly drawn characters, a double narrative assembles an enthralling array of people, places and stories - from Theo, whose life plays out in the long shadow of the past, to Hana, an Ethiopian woman determined to reinvent herself in Australia. Award-winning author Michelle de Kretser illuminates travel, work and modern dreams in this brilliant evocation of the way we live now. Wonderfully written, Questions of Travel is an extraordinary work of imagination - a transformative, very funny and intensely moving novel.”

The onset of a long hot summer…

It has been awhile since we have seen bush fires in Hornsby.  The last few summers have been wet and in fact last year, many of us questioned if we’d had a summer at all.

Recent reports indicate this summer will be different.  The smell of bush fires is already in the air as back burning takes place in many National Parks to reduce the risk we will face this summer.  The smoke that hung over Hornsby last weekend was a wake up call to all of us.   Let’s hope the preparation is enough to stave off the worst of it…

		Long Hot Summer 2012 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Melbourne Revisited

We have come down to Melbourne for the Stormwater conference.  It is being held this year at the Sofitel Hotel on Collins.  It is a beautiful location for what is the second National Conference.  There are presenters from overseas as well as from around the country and we are here to learn from each other.

It is interesting to see what our peers in Melbourne are working on.  The large presence of Melbourne Water in the industry makes it a lot easier for projects to get funded and implemented.  We learn about the 10,000 rain garden project where residents are encouraged to build their own raingarden at home.  Well thought out pamphlets explain how this can be done simply and they have now passed the halfway mark in this ambitious goal.

We visit the Melbourne goal on our only evening off, and learn about the horrific treatment these inmates suffered.  Ned Kelly himself met his end at these gallows.

The technical tour is one of the best I have been on.  We visit a stormwater harvesting projects and marvel at the technology that can treat water that was once considered a nuisance to a quality that is virtually fit for drinking.  We visit an aquifer re-charge project and once again are taken aback at the scale of the projects here.  It is a great day of learning and looking and we leave Melbourne exhausted but full enthusiasm and ideas to share and implement.

 

“Water is the driving force of all nature.”   Leonardo da Vinci

Rotten Gods

October is packed with interesting author talks at our local library. Steve and I are here to to listen to Greg Barron the author of Rotten Gods.  Greg draws on his studies in International Terrorism to write this novel set in Dubai.  The novel is about a group of extremist who hijack an international conference packed with presidents and prime ministers and hold them ransom till they come up with a solution that will release the stranglehold that has gripped the world in every sphere including the economic, social political and environmental dimensions of society.  Our leaders have gathered to bring the world back from the brink of disaster that it finds itself in.  The terrorist are there to make sure they deliver. 

Rotten Gods is a reference to Dubai, the city where the drama unfolds.  Dubai on the surface appears to be prosperous.  Sky scrappers look down on streets where cars zoom by at speeds unheard of in most other places.  Opulent shops are patronised by sheiks who have made their wealth on the oil this land has offered up in plenty.  But if you look closely one sees the disbanded construction sites, workers who sold their all to make their way here from the sub continent left without jobs and without the means to get back home.  The suicide rate is rising…but the world is full of rotten gods uncaring of the problems swirling around them. 

I am excited to be here but at the end of the session I am a little disappointed that he hasn’t shed much light on the actual book itself.  He talks about his writing experience and his time in both Kenya and Somalia where part of the novel is based.  The photos he shows have been taken with an iPhone and don’t really convey a sense of these exotic locations.  Neither of us have read the book so we purchase a copy…the cover hints that we won’t be disappointed.