EmpathicWriter
  • About
  • Blog
  • Pearl Meditation

014: A chat with Sara Ellis.

5/27/2014

8 Comments

 
Picture
Sara holds a copy of La Huerta Roots + Rays' Remediation and Redevelopment Project, a 116-page highly detailed plan, available for online viewing here: ---> http://issuu.com/patriciabon/docs/book_1.1_print

Frequency.

I recently bought some strawberry plants and had to choose... between frequent and small, or less frequent and large.  Interesting choice.

And speaking of frequency... the first dozen podcast episodes
of the Empathic Writing Journey came out every week.  But the last two have taken twice as long.  One reason is because the weather has finally broken in Chicago, and there is food to grow and trees to plant!
  I've been learning so much from working with Cheryl Ann Wilkerson at Common Threads World Garden (Episode 7), and Matt Stephens at Hales Franciscan High School's Food Forest.  As well as six vegetable and herb beds my neighbors and I planted in our shared residential yard.  So pending outdoor projects, I might be posting a little erratically, but I am here.  And we will make it through the 12 permaculture principles, and beyond!

The 5th Permaculture Design Principle.

We are now at the 5th permaculture design principle, which advises us to "Use and value renewable resources and services."

When you consume things as quickly and constantly as we do, it isn't surprising that a "throw-away" mindset would eventually become normative.  Consuming and tossing go together.  They are companion activities that keep alive single-use this, and disposable that.  Every little thing is shrunk-wrapped, and then placed in an oversized cardboard box, or some other form of excessive packaging that is utter waste and poor design.  It's offensive not just ecologically, but aesthetically.  Waste is ugly.  Efficiency is beautiful.

How can we influence product manufacturers and shareholders to move away from planned obsolescence?  Intentionally building inferior crap, with deliberately shortened life-spans should not be the accepted way.  But it is, because we have not insisted on wiser design.

Planned obsolescence is a very common and successful business strategy that instills a product's break-down of function or fashion from its very conception.  Unconscious spending -- making purchases without really thinking about them -- feeds that moronic strategy.  Helps it to grow stronger and more longlasting while, ironically, churning out quick-to-expire product-junk.

When we take into account resource-scarcity and landfill-limits, it should be easy to see why hyperconsumption is a very serious threat to our planet's ecosystems
.  Building things to break is stupid.  Being so easily manipulated
as to believe a skirt has a "season" is stupid.  Skirts do not have seasons.  And if we keep behaving so carelessly, we won't either.


Building power.  Building community.

Second in our 3-part series on La Huerta Roots + Rays community garden in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago, please enjoy my chat with Sara Ellis, the garden's volunteer manager.  In our conversation (not transcribed) we discuss a variety of topics including:

  • how to grow into eadership skills;
  • how to successfully work with difficult personalities;
  • how the 3 ethics of permaculture apply to urban planning;
  • the tense realities of gentrification, and more.
Sara is a recent graduate of UIC's Master in Urban Planning and Policy Program.  If you'd like to connect with her, there's a link to her LinkedIn profile in the show notes of this episode.
8 Comments
Wisdom Seeker
5/28/2014 10:03:00 am

The energy of the interview with Sara Ellis was refreshing. Any employer would be wise to capture her abilities and exuberance.

In a relatively small urban space, the magic of beauty and hope can be created to uplift and inspire all who interact with it. This is evidenced in the faces of those who grace the cover of "La Huerta Roots & Rays" -- a source of pride for a community apparently steeped in values developed in the inner terrain. Here, the VALUE OF RENEWABLE RESOURCES is manifested beautifully with the use of recycled materials for planters. (The colorful boot and tire planters are especially adorable.) Congratulations to all who are working to make this project a success!

I agree that the extremes of 'planned obsolescence' should end, and I believe that it should be rendered obsolete.via mandated legislation. Hopefully, a successful bill will be passed through Congress to achieve this, and each of us can impact the situation
by contacting our elected officials!

Erika, thank you for this podcast and for your gift of time to humanity!!

Reply
Erika Harris link
5/29/2014 09:30:26 am

THANKS for your call to exercise our political will... which, strangely, brought to my mind this great (circa 1975) Schoolhouse Rock Classic, "I'm Just A Bill" ---> http://youtu.be/FFroMQlKiag

I am grateful for you and your contributions.

Reply
Jill link
5/28/2014 11:16:06 pm

Hi Erika,

I think it is great that you have cultivated shared space with your neighbors to grow edibles! I would love if you send me a picture of it and I could feature it on my blog as a Guest Peek.

With respect to Permaculture Principle #5 and planned obsolescence, last night I attended a session with a group called the Fixer's Collective. This group holds monthly "fixing" sessions, mostly in Brooklyn. I had wanted to attend one of these sessions for awhile, and am glad that I finally had the opportunity. They bring portable tool boxes and other stuff, and people are encouraged to bring items that are broken to see if they can be repaired. You can't just drop your item off, you have to be an active participant in the repair process. I love this idea because in some cases something is still in good condition, but for a minor repair, and can still be sued. No need to throw it away.

I brought an analog wall clock (not a digital one!). A few years ago, I had taken it apart to clean the glass cover and in the process the clock's hands became loose, so it couldn't keep time. It was perfectly good clock, except for that. But last night, with the help of another attendee, I was able to repair it, and now it works great!

I'm hoping a similar group can be started closer to home in the Bronx and have been in contact with someone at a local business association to see if this might be possible.

Reply
Erika Harris link
5/29/2014 10:28:27 am

Jill, what a sweet offer. Thanks! I'll take and send a pic when I water tonight :-)

Fixing sessions. I cannot tell you how much I love that idea... the empowerment of having restored something you still want to use... the rapport built between those repairing together... and the satisfaction of being part of what sounds like a *great* band name, LOL: "Fixer's Collective."

Hooray on the restoration of your clock! And bigger hooray on spearheading the start of an FC near you!

Reply
Jill link
5/28/2014 11:29:08 pm

In listening to your chat with Sara, it is interesting to see how "soft skills" emerge while engaged in a "practical" activity directly related to our basic human needs. I think society lost that innate sense when we began to shift away from rural farming communities (integrated with the seasons and the sequence things need to be done) and more to urban settings, where that connections is broken or obscured, and everything is compartmentalized.

Reply
Erika Harris link
5/29/2014 10:46:12 am

Yes! Broken connection -- with self, nature and each other -- is, I believe, the taproot of our deepest troubles.

Reply
DFK Oregon link
2/2/2021 07:31:12 pm

This was lovely, thanks for sharing this

Reply
Erika Harris link
2/11/2021 06:38:49 am

DFK Oregon, wow! I am honored by your visit, after 7 years. I re-listened, and thought it was lovely, too! :-) Sara was an awesome guest.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

​All content is created + shared by Erika Harris.

Copyright  ©️  2010 - 2023
E M P A T H I C W R I T E R . C O M
​

​​Love is where we come from.  
💜    Life is finding our way back.
Be sovereign in your thoughts, and mindful in your actions.
  • About
  • Blog
  • Pearl Meditation