In Praise of Neighbors
The hardest part about running a farm is that you are effectively married to it. And, as those who know me well can attest, I’m not a very big fan of marriage. You have to put in a little work every single day. Somebody has to feed the chickens just as somebody has to water the garden. And if not me, who? This isn’t such a big deal when I’m in my normal routine but whenever I need to go out of town for any length of time it is. Tomorrow morning I leave for N’Awlins, and once again panic struck: who will be minding the Quikee Mart?
Luckily, my neighbors, for the most part, are cool as cucumbers—the exception being those who allowed someone to steal my chainsaw out of my garage (inner city!). I honestly couldn’t have accomplished half of what I’ve done without their assistance. The one who has deserves the biggest prize is Jenny the Archaeologist. She’s looked after my chickens just about every time I’ve gone out of town. In fact, it was because of her that I started referring to my chicken house not as a coop but a co-op, an egg co-op to be exact. In exchange for feeding the chickens she gets to collect all the fresh brown eggs she can eat. Not such a bad deal.
Jenny lives three houses down on the opposite side of the street, and many of her projects have proved very inspirational for me. She’s got a really cool backyard pond with a healthy school of fish, so guess what I’m planning to build one of these days? Of course, mine will be even cooler. She also has a pair of funky fences/trellises in her front yard, built out of tree limbs. I’d like to think she might have been inspired to make those after seeing the gazebo I made out of tree trunks and bamboo in my back yard.
Is it contradictory to say that I am striving to be self-sufficient but am at the same time so reliant on my neighbors? Not at all. The king and queen of the American self-sufficient movement, Helen and Scott Nearing, relied heavily on their neighbors in both Vermont and Maine. They swapped tools and traded labor, and by doing so they created a better sense of community and made themselves that much more independent from the system, the global economy, the Man. I’d like to think we’re doing a bit of the same here on Franklin Boulevard.
June 12th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
I had the same realization after we got chickens! Leaving town was a little bigger issue than before, but fortunately we have several people to divvy the work when we’re away.
I like the distinction between being self-reliant and being self-sufficient. Self-reliance is exactly that. Relying on your skills, wits, knowledge, and saavy to get by, even when that includes banding together with other people. While self-sufficiency implies providing for every one of your needs with your very own two hands. Which is damn near impossible, if not isolating. In creating a permaculture we aim for self-reliance, including relying on our relationships with others. Am I making sense? Anyway, good points.
(I can’t seem to stop commenting! I think I’m going to go plant something now…)