Last night Ben and I heard a talk by Judy Wicks, owner/founder of The White Dog Cafe in Philadelphia. She spoke last night in Raleigh about what she calls “local living economies” which encompasses local food and farming, community energy and organizing, finding more sustainable ways to enhance commerce among people and businesses within a specified region, and integrate these alternative methods into global trade.
It was moving, to say the least.
None of the issues she spoke about were new to me: our overpopulation situation, effects of long distance food distribution, trade issues, loss of local farms and the connections between, etc. But the ways in which this woman has created change in her community (and by starting small) was *very* new to me. I tend to have a pessimistic view of our nation and mostly generalize people into one large group of “idiots” who succumb to the way things seem and don’t strive to make change. This, I realize, is wrong, but it’s difficult for me to snap out of it until I see someone who *has* made change come forward and talk about their experiences. Judy noted that a lot of her success comes simply from talking to people. For the past 25 years she has formed honest relationships through communication of mutual beneficial alternatives to unsustainable living, and fueled her community with information on how changes can be made, starting with the individual. It’s grassroots all around and gave me a lot of ideas.
Hearing Judy speak and feeling her energy last evening left me excited about creating a life in Toccoa. Living and playing mostly in cities my whole life I struggle with the vision of living in a small town on a farm. And I probably have no idea how much actual *work* it’s going to be, at least to get us started, but now, more than I ever imagined, I am looking forward to it. And I say that because I am hoping that Ben and I can make a difference in Toccoa and sort of grab the town by the balls, if you will. There is certainly a huge opportunity there for us to impact locals by setting an example of a more sustainable way of life and I can’t wait to get started!
