REVIVEMENT and CO-CONTRIBUTION

A way of living based on Co-operation and Co-conribution - doing what one loves from one's heart - not being slave to banks or landlords - a way of living that reduces individual burdens and duplication of parents, kids, visitors, interns, government officials lol:  ... VOLUNTEERING!/Active Co-Contribution!

If EVERYONE were to volunteer their time for 3-4 hours a day.... imagine what could be created.

If people did what they loved, and gave/contributed from their heart, imagine what feeling there would be among people.... Of course we still need money and there's certain things we like to be paid for. But things in general, that make up life, that have become commodified; that are really just very basic and I would even say “necessary” parts of being human – somehow have been relegated to “others” while we spend our time instead in shopping malls, in front of the computer/TV; behind a desk etc. 

For example, if everyone contributed 3-4 hours/day whether to the Organic Vegetable Garden, Preparing the main meal for the day, Teaching/looking after kids, Natural Building or Natural therapies like massage – we would have a lot of our needs met without having to spend money on things like rent, childcare, buying lunch, a regular massage treatment. … And when we live such a way in "community" - 'differently abled' people can be there too and mingle between what activities are going on. I would imagine so anyway... 

Like when I had my farm project going - and the Bhutanese families were there and around, Frey could just wander around and would interact with different people. And it felt like everyone was just hanging out - not like she was some great disturbance or like any one person was looking after her (though being her primary carer of course i had responsibility to supervise her and ensure she was fed/toileted).

The nice thing also is that when people work “in community”, people with disabilities can more easily be included. For example, a differently-abled person could help in child care or gardening/food prep... maybe even in helping prepare for massage treatments, and definitely in natural building. When there are more “eyes”, there is less need/pressure for one person to have “sole” responsibility, because in a “community-mindset”, we all help each other. Helping Together. That is how humans have survived over the millennia. It's Natural for people with disabilities to be included in the community this way. And, it's giving back to us some of the things we have become dependent on external systems for.

So the basis for the village-community is to encourage co-contribution – and to in this process see how we can change our individual and collective mentality from being “ownership/self-based” to “custodian/community-based”. A practical exercise, you might say. Coming from my experience at the Earthship build in Tacloban following Typhhon Yolanda/Hian in 2014, It is based around the one face-smacking realisation or – I'm tring to find the word in english haha – that what pervaded my experience at this site was the sense of happiness I felt; the sense of community – which I felt came from the feeling of everyone helping together – it was like a beehive. No one single person had anything to gain – but the community as a whole did... And it was this feeling of custodianship within people that permeated the whole camp with such an amazing sense of … I don't know what it was … maybe it was Freedom. All I know about the ingredients was that people came to Give Freely.

I'm not saying there's a way to make an ideal vision into reality. In non-disaster situations, it is easy to slip back into our old ways and patterns of thinking/behaviour. I'm not saying in any way that I am perfect. I have a lot of faults I am aware of. We need to check ourselves regularly and be able to participate in processes that help us to let go of our fears and also help us to be honest with where we are at in ourselves. I don't want to pedal some hippy day-dream; I've become a realist. I have a daughter; she and I need help in order to live in this world. I am just committed to making a good environment, a good life for her where she can enjoy being around friends doing activities that are “normal” and “meaningful” and where I'm not going insane looking after her by myself all the time. Oh, and so when I die she'll be part of a caring community with other families and parents who share my sentiment/concerns and can manage her life like I would want.

LIFE IN DEVELOPING COUNTRY

Travelling to a developing country, it strikes me as very obvious how the mindset towards people with disabilities is very different. In philippines especially, my daughter is seen as special and “lucky”... people don't mind when she grabs their stuff... I don't have to keep her “under control”; I don't feel “weird looks” from people... She's just seen as like another person. Also when I was working with Bhutanese people at my farm in Cairns, Freyr, my daughter, was just accepted (more than I was) and assisted by others there – which also felt “natural”. So it seems to make sense to me to start in a place where people have this deeper sense of feeling for each other and a more “caring” attitude. Also travellers who come here are more open to learning something, helping out or contributing to a picture that's away from their “everyday” lives where people don't have time for much else. The feeling of giving or contributing is more rewarding than the satiation of any self-serving desire we may have.

My own philosophy is to help local families build businesses that can compliment/be “employed” in the vision I have – to help create a sustainable economy around my project and to support the people that will be involved in helping. (For example – a transport business, catering/hospitality business, care-giving business, housekeeping, local food-production). The other factor is that people here in developing countries have much more TIME as opposed to us. We have money, but no time. They have time, but no money. So surely we can come up with a symbiotic plan to utilise our money and their time to build something that can help all of us. … ? !

It seems so obvious.

I also enjoy the sense of cooperation between people and lack of competitiveness and absence of “90210” mentality (when I feel american TV began to really change kids attitudes/self-importance in Australia).

Bedrock and base for Volunteer Support

Volunteer programs for teaching english to locals, building, sharing skills and knowledge about working with disabilities/autism and working with kids with disabilities will be part of a self-organising phenomenon (I'm predicting). There will be an application process, agreements and guidelines set as well as a monitoring and evaluation process. A co-working and workshop space will exist and there will be scheduled times for workshops and sharing seminars. 

I really would like to escape the rigid formalities of the word “training” because Real people impart their knowledge in a way that allows other people to take on board skills and experience in a way that retains the humanity of the people who are our subjects. If we want to create a culture of humanness and Real equality then we need to operate as a family unit and propagate and distill a culture of real caring and Being With Each Other as humans – which is what I believe “Special Kids” are here to help us to learn. 

I'd like to co-create a “grampies”-style learning environment – (those who were lucky enough to learn from their grandparents/elders will know their ways of imparting knowledge are unforgettable because they are imbued with love for us – except the militant ones like my own grandparents lol). I believe we can catch glimpses of and re-remember natural learning, as well as how to coach others, and still be assertive and empowered individuals.

Volunteers may come to learn new skills in building (natural building; renewable technologies), experience the life of living in an intentional/inclusive community; offer their skills, share and play music, join activities and help prompt/shadow/assist kids with disabilities. Depending on the type of volunteering and what position they have, volunteers may be asked to make a contribution to daily living expenses such as food, water and fuel. There will also be internship programs for people interested in learning natural building or other specific skills and an adjustable fee structure to ensure accessibility. Volunteers will be hosted by ourselves or another local family (in a homestay) or live in the 'volunteer village' (which hasn't yet been constructed).