Seeds for a happy planet

By reading blogs of two friends I came across a beautiful, inspiring magazine with really interesting articles. It is called Orion, and its main theme is agriculture. But not what you think, it is not even about organic farming. It places agriculture where it has been and should be: in the middle of community. I just plunged in tonight to read some more and here is a part of it that inspired me:

“The book of James says, show me your faith without your works and I’ll show you my faith by my work. And I think the idea is that you have to work out your faith. You have to work at being a contribution, at being responsible and showing up to do what you say you’re going to do. That is where any kind of spiritual transformation begins to happen.”

This will read as a PR action for a camping in Vammen, somewhere in the middle of Jutland, Denmark.

First of all there is a gathering place that is cosy and inviting to sit in. Windows on two sides, looking over a long-sized lake, which is surrounded by mostly forest and some fields. I have never seen that on any camping site so far! The best it ever gets is a (good) place to play board games when it is raining.
This community place has two remarkable ‘features’. One is a big fireplace more or less in the middle, where the fire is lit every evening. The other is a corner with a piano, two guitars on the wall and two microphones beautifully integrated in the whole wooden environment. And be sure it is used! Nice too: freshly baked, organic bread every morning, announced by the sound of a kind of trumpet. Besides that, it has a little beach, canoes for hire, and it is located in a nature reserve – and guess what? – it has free internet access all over the place!

PS1. I forgot to mention the self-made apple juice.
PS2. It was fabulous weather this weekend!
PS3. Everyday they serve one ‘thing’ at a certain point of the day. Today it was the Danish version of apple crumble. Fabulous!
PS4. I enjoy it!

Since many years I am wondering that so many people don’t see the consequences of living with – and producing – such an amount of waste… here is somebody saying it in the good way. Thanks for Joel and Michelle for sending me this!

“When you say you’re going to throw something away, where’s ‘away’? There is no such thing and where ‘away’ actually is – is social justice issues and environmental justice issues.
Every plastic bag, plastic cup, plastic to-go container, that is the petroleum complex in Africa, Ecuador, Columbia, Alaska, you name it. Every paper bag, paper plate, paper napkin, that is a forest.

Every thing that is called waste or disposable is the ways in which we are saying that it is acceptable to throw our planet and its people away.”
Julia Butterfly Hill