Beyond the Dervaeses – Mobilizing the Urban Homestead Community for Greater Impact
With all the controversy over the Dervaes family, it’s easy to get caught up in discussions of trademarks, ethics, intellectual property, and greed – and while these are all interesting topics, I think it’s important not to lose sight of the positive things that have come out of this episode.
As of this morning, there are 4,510 members of a Facebook group called “Take Back Urban Home-steading(s)”, a group of urban gardeners, homesteaders, advocates, and like-minded individuals who mobilized to spread the word about a more self-sufficient lifestyle, no matter how small your space. On Monday, February 21, hundreds of people took part in Urban Homesteading Action Day, where they shared their own experiences on the internet. This was chronicled by blogger Deanna Duke from the Crunchy Chicken, who compiled a list of over 100 blog entries on the topic.
What now?
After exchanging messages with some members of the Facebook group, including Lailah Robertson and Elizabeth A McLellan, I’m proposing another day of action next Monday, February 28. This one is different. Instead of a reaction to something negative, let’s turn the energy into something positive. Here’s the plan:
- This weekend, reach out to one person who doesn’t know as much about our country’s food system as you do. This could be anyone – your mother, father, son or daughter, a friend, a colleague, the doorman, the mailman, someone in the supermarket…you get the idea.
- Share some information about something you’re passionate about – whether it be a random fact about Monsanto, obesity statistics, or information about how to start a window garden.
- Blog about it on Monday, February 28, and post the blog entries back at “Taking Back Urban Home-Steading(s)”
- If you’re using Twitter, tag the post #BeyondDervaes
I’ll compile a list of the entries here at Grown in the City. With 4,500 group members, we can do a lot of educate the population outside of this small circle.
I don’t blog or tweet for myself, but I will take action on Monday, Feb 28 and post it to my FB page. Yesterday I spent the whole day organizing Santa Barbara Food Not Lawns garden exchanges for my neighborhood. This is our 3rd year and we are now 150 strong. I’m encouraging everyone to plant a few seeds, I let them know when it’s time for what, how to use eggshells as containers for their transplants, etc. Just small stuff that might encourage someone to take their first step. Our first exchange will be focused on Home Beekeeping, since that will be my next step! Keep it positive folks, its all good…
Thanks for the support, Shelly! It’s great to reach out to people who may otherwise be intimidated. Great ideas for getting the neighborhood engaged. If you let me know about your post, I can transpose it here and link people back to your page.
I will be posting something that day, so hope you can check it out.
Yes, Chard Lady! Please email me at growninthecity [at] gmail [dot] com and I will add it to the list.
Obesity statistics? That example sounds like those offensive PETA billboards that suggest being a vegetarian = skinny = health.
Krista – I am not an apologist for our country’s health epidemic. And I question the jump in logic that you made. Please see http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/trends.html#State for data on our obesity epidemic. I said nothing about vegetarianism, being skinny, or being healthy. The country is facing an obesity epidemic, and it’s got a lot to do with our food systems, the way we design our cities, and a host of other factors (including personal choice.) When 1 in 3 people in Mississippi are obese (34.4 percent) in 2009 compared to 10% in 1990, it’s worth talking about.
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