The credit crunch, fancy suits and being computerless…
I can really feel the tide turning as regards all things freeconomic. Every week now we get inquiries from the mainstream media, and last week we won one of the UK Catalyst Awards, which are awards for social technology that helps communities given out by No.10 Downing St. If the PM Gordon Brown signs up to become a member, our work here will be done!
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Inspiration to get you through any situation…
Life has been a bit hectic over the last few weeks, hence my lack of blog writing on here lately. All for the best of reasons though (I hope). I got a call from the BBC at the start of the week as they were looking to do a programme on The Freeconomy Community for an ethics programme called Sunday Life.
So they came ...
Guide to getting a local Freeconomy Community group started…
One of the most common emails I get is from members around the world who want to kick off their own local Freeconomy Community gatherings, but who aren’t sure of how to go about it. Which always gives me a lot of hope for the future - it’s great to hear that so many people from all walks of life want to actively bring this community forward and enable more people to both ...
Hints and tips on living more freeconomically...
As you all know, the Freeconomy Community is all about making the transition from a life focused on money to one where sharing, generosity, kindness and community rise to the fore. Whilst in the area of sharing skills, time and tools our philosophy is unique, thankfully we are not doing it alone, as there are many other organisations in other fields that are founded on the same ‘pay-it-forward’ foundations that this community is built on. < ...
How a small decision can symbolise a really big one…
Before I start the following debate, I should make it clear that what I write below is not an argument for veganism; it is merely an argument for ‘thoughtism’. I have no ambition to ‘make’ the world think as I do, even if I could. My only wish has ever been that people think about the chain of events intrinsically connected to what they eat, down to the rubber
Yes we can...
There’s always a thin line between reporting on issues you know that you should relay to the rest of the world, and making everything seem all doom and gloom. On one hand, you have a responsibility to raise awareness. The problem exists when the issue is perceived as being pretty depressing. I say ‘perceived’ as in most cases it’s meant to be the opposite! On the other hand, if you don’t tell ...
How I feel about it all so far...
One of the commentators on my last blog pointed out that I should report back to everyone the results, so far, of my dive down the rabbit hole of ecological living. Which made me realise I have an ingrained dislike of reporting! In my old job I was exactly the same – loved doing stuff but could never be bothered writing reports on it!
Where should I start then? The local food diet is ...
Going off-grid after a great week for the community…
Spring is such a magical time of year. Not only do I see green everywhere as life begins its wondrous cycle again, I feel a new lease of life myself. I think we forget sometimes that we are as much part of ‘nature’ as a tree, and just as it awakes after the long cold winter, so do we. I know I certainly do anyway.
Given this new found energy, I decided the ...
What would Gandhi do about it all…?
Despite the onslaught of work that ensued after a couple of really positive articles came out about ‘freeconomy’ at the weekend, I eventually decided that it was nothing that couldn’t wait 24hrs and took off to the forest in search of food, fun and friendship. And what a good decision it was – ...
No camping and foraging for me then this weekend…!
It woke up this morning all ready to pack my bags to take off camping and foraging for the weekend in the woods with some friends, only to learn that ‘The Times on Sunday’ have written a great article (click link to read) centred around ‘Freeconomy’ and all the ways we can live ...
I can't write this morning...
I was about to sit down to write this blog this morning and set about it in my usual manner. One part of my blogging process is to research the tonnes of stuff people send me every week, to see what I can add to my own thoughts. This week one such link I received in my mailbox was an online documentary called Earthlings (click ...
Why did I take the red pill…?
Sometimes, just every now and then, I wish I had taken the blue pill. You know that scene in The Matrix, where Morpheus offers Neo a choice between two pills; if he takes the blue bill, he carries on existing habitually in a zombie like state, accepting everything he has been conditioned to believe since he was born into this world. However, if he ...
The Transition experiment expands beyond just food…
I’ll be honest with you, I am not much of a movie man. I would like to say it is because the embodied energy of most modern day movies is the equivalent of roughly five thousand long haul flights. But the truth is that they rarely excite me.
Having said that, in the last month I have watched two free online movies ( ...
Even I wasn’t expecting it this soon…
I don’t know how many of you have been reading the news this week – I don’t usually, I find that its focus on the negative tends to, surprisingly, have a depressing and paralysing effect on me. However one of the main stories this week really caught my eye – the food riots that are occurring all over the world, some of which ...
For those of us who still aren't money-free...
I’m fast becoming an expert on the country of origin of every product on the shelves of UK health food stores – I’ve just spent the last few days trawling through products, squinting at the small print where it inevitably says ‘Produce of Turkey’ or worse, ‘Produce of more than one country’. On the plus side, I’ve learned that safflower and hemp seed oil is pressed from local crops, which solved one of ...
The local food, no plastic, no bin experiment...
After writing my last blog and realising that my food bill was almost half of my estimated annual costs for this year, I realised that working an allotment was not only something I really wanted to do, but a money-free imperative. So whilst applying for a plot on my nearest allotment site, a friend from the gardening world popped over to offer me his patch.
Full ...
How to live money-free in a city…hhhmmm
During the last few days I have been wondering about how I can life in a city and use as little money as possible. The less of it I spend, the less I need to earn and hence the more time I can devote to non-paid voluntary work, which to be honest is where my passion and heart is.
Being relatively new to all this myself, I went on the read this entry in full
A tiny beak - a beautiful little tale...
I've been talking with a lot of the people involved in different positive movements over the last week, and for some reason there seems to be a lot of tired souls at the minute. Maybe it is the change of seasons. Maybe it is the fact that this world can be tough some times for those who want to make it a bit more beautiful. Who knows?
Either way it made me think ...
Peak Oil and why it’s not reported…and Stage 2 of Freeconomy
Before I start I should point out that we may have a problem with our member’s Freeconomy emails getting into the inboxes of those they contact. This is for a variety of reasons which I have outlined on our Testimonial page – please take a read of it as it will improve the service for everyone with very little effort from you all as individuals. Anything ...
To respond or not to respond, that is the question...
The last few days have been pretty full on for me. I knew coming back to my community in Bristol would spark off lots of question asking, but to be honest it has been amazing being back. I am a really privileged guy to have the friends I have here, who all welcomed me back with open arms and a lot of love. And it has been great talking to people who actually know me ...
Endings and new beginnings...
After a couple of days of recuperation in London with the amazing Sarah, we got back on the road again with a march to the march. The Stop the War Coalition, led by veteran campaigner Tony Benn, organised an huge event across 87 cities of the world, and as we were in London we thought we best make our way with the thousands of other activists to show ...
What does 'unconditional giving' actually mean?
We went to bed on Sunday night mentally prepared for the 96km trip to London, a journey I've been a bit apprehensive about to say the least! Not so much the distance, but the fact that it is such a huge place and if you get stuck out for the night there are few places to camp.
Our enthusiasm for the walk dropped though on waking to a storm the next morning, knowing ...
Inspiration, fun on the road and some great debates...
After making the 80km hike from Hastings to Faversham with a couple of pitta breads, two tins of beans and a packet of trail mix, how glad were we to make it to an amazing organic smallholding run by a very ecological family.
With no sound of cars whizzing by, no street lights in the vicinity and only surrounded by orchards, geese and chickens, I saw constellations last night I haven't seen in ...
Actions and actors, positive media and organic living...
Aleister Crowley once said that you cannot leave Hastings, a town on the south coast of the UK, until you findrock with a hole in it. Well it felt like that for a few days, we seemed to run into one great person after the next who had a job that needed doing. It's a great place, very cultural and probably the friendliest town I've been in since setting off. We ended up spending the ...
Paper accepts all ink...
I woke up early Friday to a barrage of phone calls - a programme about the walk was due out that evening and as the BBC were promoting it on thier breakfast news, the whole media caught hold of the story. It was relentless all day and a lot of it was intended to be negative though I did my best to neutralise a lot of it by being as honest as I could be. < ...
Want to find out more about the ethos behind freeconomy?
I've just written a long blog (titled 'Radical education, inner thoughts...) about what has been happening on our pilgrimage over the last couple of days - all fantastic stuff I'm really pleased to say. But shortly after posting it I realised that a lot of you may have only joined in the last month or two, given that membership has skyrocketed since the New Year.
So I thought it might be appropriate now ...
Radical education, inner thoughts and ways to help...
The last two days have both inspired and grounded me. To start with, nothing could be better than spending your day around kids and that beautiful genuine energy they have in abundance. There were kids running around us all day, still with loads of questions, all wanting high fives and shouting 'peace to the middle east', a phrase they coined themselves...wish I had thought of that one.
The school itself is fantastic, ...
Today - working in an amazing school...
The response from everyone about what has happened over the last week has been immense. The comments were so varied, often polarised, and I feel that no matter what I do I will upset somebody. So I personally feel like it's time to move on and get back to walking for peace and helping unconditionally along the way.
One of the main things that has arisen from it all is the issue of ...
Criticism and the way forward....
This is the first chance I've had to read the comments to my last blog. I expected quite a bit of reaction and I wasn't wrong. A lot of it was very inspiring for me, I was really concerned I had let all of you down, and to an extent I still think I have. I promised something and failed to deliver.
Mixed in with that was also a lot of criticism. A ...
The Big Decision...
I'm aware that my last blog came across a bit unclear and mysterious to say the least - it was intended to be, it was just that I wasn't in a place to say exactly what was going on. Last week was very heavy and tough to say the least.
It all seemed to start last Sunday as we were trying to get out of the port of Dover. Everyone we spoke to ...
Safe and well but faced with a big decision..
I am painfully aware that it has been many days since there has been any sight of me or a blog, which I am sure has worried some of you. So much stuff has happened and I've had to make big decisions, so it has been a really tough week. But I am in really good spirits and health, I am just learning on the job and facing each big test as it comes. This ...
Survival of the kindest...
On hindsight I feel like I should apologise, in a way, for yesterday's blog, which I felt came across unfairly critical of the people who have given this community a lot of exposure. Or maybe I shouldn't, I'm not sure. I did say from the very start that this blog would be about how I feel at any given moment, and yesterday I felt a bit frustrated. But today I feel like apologising, so the ...
Canterbury, the media and helping....
I've just had the most amazing day in Cantebury, the Glastonbury of the east. Woke up in the mood to really radiate as much love as possible and the days when I feel like that it really shows - you attract people from every angle.
First ran in to someone who had read about the pilgrimage and offered me a place, then a priest who had last week done a sermon at his ...
Healing body...and then there were two!
Things have taken a real turn around for the better this week since hitting Brighton. My body seemed to suddenly come out of shock mode and start to walk again, I've met lots of amazing people and the weather has been so beuatiful, meaing I got four days of beautiful coastline sunshine!
I left Brighton on Monday with a beautiful soul I met over the weekend, and after doing 40km to Eastbourne met ...
So what have I learned so far?
When you start a trip like this you think you know how it is going to be. This is how it will work, this is what I'll do and it'll all be a piece of cake. Well I think that is my first lesson - to remember to never think you know how things are going to unfold.
My initial plan was to spend about 6 weeks in the UK, going from small town ...
Work is love made visible...
The events of last Monday will have a profound effect on me forever. On the surface, it could all seem quite trivial - I post a piece about having problems with my footwear on here and about 24hrs later I have a new pair of sandals delivered by two of my very best friends.
But the string of events which occurred to make it happen was far from trivial. People reorganised their working ...
Learning on the job - about myself and the world...
The last few days has made me realise the magnitude of what it feels like to be homeless. In some ways its easier - I've chosen this path and have lots of support from family and friends. In other ways harder, I can't take money or a bus ride or non-vegan food. And I think you can't really understand what it feels like to be homeless until you have been, just like you can't begin ...
The highs and the lows...!
Whilst writing my blog on my first night in Glastonbury, a few local freeconomists, and also the founders and organisers of the amazing Sunrise Celebration festival, found me and brought me back to theirs for my second dinner that evening, gave me a bed and packed my bag full of food.
Got up the next morning, had one great experience after the next, had to refuse about £45 in cash and lots of lifts, ...
Humanity is beautiful!
There is one day in everyone's life that they can say is their best. For most it is the birth of a child or the day they got married. Given the fact I am the worst ever lonely hearts advert - no money, no job, no house, no car, no sense - then neither of them will likey happen to me!
Today has to be that day for me. It's the day my ...
The day after tomorrow, my life changes...
For twenty eight years I've been part of a world where money means security. That's twenty eight years of knowing where my next meal is going to come from, twenty eight years of knowing I can have a roof over my head and twenty eight years of having friends and family close by or at least at the other end of the phone.
It's also been twenty eight years of insecurity, fear, complacency ...
No.3 - Peace Pilgrim
In the last few weeks I'd be lying if I said I hadn't a moments apprehension about my upcoming pilgrimage. Other people's doubts enter your own head, you see all the potential obstacles and problems and you wonder 'What on earth possessed me to go and do this?'!
It's in moments such as those that I take inspiration from a silver haired woman who callied ...
No.2 - Satish Kumar
From Gandhi we flow quite nicely to a man called Satish Kumar. A Jain monk as early as nine years of age, he eventually left monkhood and joined the Gandhian movement, where he met a man called Vinoba Bhavé, who had set up the amazing Bhoodan movement. Vinoba was Satish's guru for many years and ...
No. 1 - Mohandas K. Gandhi
A pivotal point in my life came when I was midway through my fourth year of a business degree. After looking over some notes on marketing and economics, I decided to take an undeserved break and to watch a movie for the night.
So I went up to our local video store and came across a movie which was on sale, one which had received nine oscars at a time when films didn't ...
The Top 10 people who have changed my life...
This weekend I had a bit of a wobbly I must admit. People everyday ask me "What are you going to do if this happens?" or "How on earth do you think you are going to be able to that?" and similar doubt inducing questions.
After a few weeks it can take its toll I can tell you. You start to intellectualise stuff and go through all the permutations of what could happen, ...
Giving & receiving - two sides of the same non-monetary coin
When I first started this project, I was inundated by people telling me it could never work as too many people will abuse the system. Well it seems that nothing could be further from the truth.
I've had the good fortune of meeting a lot of freeconomists over the last week and the most common bit of feedback I received was that most of them are actually slightly cautious about asking for help ...
The crossing of a mental threshold....
Last night I was asked the fairly regular question of how long it now was until my impending pilgrimage. As per usual I donned a rather confused face, made a simple calculation seem difficult and worked out it was two and a half weeks.
And just then it suddenly hit me - I have just over two weeks to train, get the volunteer team ready to take over this website and to spend ...
Resolutions
It's that time of year again when we reflect on the last twelve months and think about what went well for us, what lessons we learned and what we want to do differently in the future.
For everyone it is something different. Just remember that everything that happened did so for a reason, even the 'bad' stuff. Especially the bad stuff. Sometimes things happen to prevent even worse stuff happening. To give an ...
Hitching and the Law of Abundance...
The law of abundance is a foundation of freeconomy. I believe that if you live your life in the service of others without a care in the world for what tomorrow brings, you will have your needs met in a way infinitely more beautiful than our dog-eat-dog society could ever manage.
In the last couple of days I had my first chance to put my vow of never flying again into action. It was ...
Flying...
I recently had the good fortune of seeing a band called Seize the day play in Bristol. They are one of those bands who seem to have that rare art of producing wonderful music while backing it up with some of the most insightful lyrics I have ever heard. And that's not something I say lightly as I am a man who likes his lyrics.
One ...
The 10 books that changed my life....
As I said in my last entry, if you are going to buy somebody something this Christmas, one of the best things you can do is buy them some inspiration, in the form of a book.
Well I thought that now would be a great chance for me to share with you the Top 10 books that changed my life to give you some ideas...
The Prophet - Kahlil Gibran
Gandhi ...
If you are going to buy this Christmas...
Here at the freeconomy community we love Christmas - it's an amazing time for the family to come together and to celebrate all that is beautiful about life - good food shared with our closest friends.
Increasingly though it has become a shopping festival where the extent of your love is judged on how much you spend. For the sake of our planet we are encouraging people to not buy the line given ...
The Camel and the Mouse
This is a beautiful story given to us by Emma Forsberg (Quantera), just thought I'd share it with you. It' s beautiful and a lesson to all us Camels and Mice...
There was a Rumi story I once read about a mouse and a camel. The camel and the mouse were standing by the side of the river and the camel (seeing the height of the river was not too great for it) ...
Make Spiritual Poverty History
Poverty means different things to different people. To the UK government, it means earning less than 60% of the median household income, which incidentally is £28,000. To others in the west, it may mean having a TV that still has a dial for tuning in the channels. For many in the South, it may simply mean not having enough food to survive.
The word itself – the state of being extremely poor - remains constant throughout ...
The Apple Tree
Over the last few weeks we have been working hard to get the latest two pieces of the sharing puzzle, Toolshare and Spaceshare, into the freeconomy community. In the process of doing so we have been getting lots of feedback from people, and lots of debate seems to be flying around the internet regarding whether it will work or not - 95% of which is positive I should add.
In this process, a common ...
All I can say is thank you all so much....
Freeconomists the world over have been offering their innumerable skills to help get this project really up and running. I could barely have imagined such a response, my only difficulty has been keeping up. Everything from website coding, translation, blogging to just plain good old encouragement has been offered. I don't even know where to begin to say thank you, it has been an immense first two weeks.
The pic of the bunch ...
Guide to Freeconomy - Episode 1
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And so the journey began in a video store....
You could say my impending journey started many years ago. A pilgrimage doesn’t start when one starts walking; it begins the first moment the thought entered the pilgrims head. That moment for me was when I bought a used video as a hard-nosed business student six years ago. It had won quite a few Oscars, so I thought I’d have a look. Three hours later I was drying up tears that had been ...