For now this is brief, but I expect to expand it. If I were to work, I would wish to have a job where I did not use a computer nor a car, nor any other noisy, fume-producing thing. I'd wish to be outside, not in an office. Some thoughts on this follow. Of course, there is always starting one's own business of some kind, or simply going somewhere and living off the land, or living off the excess of other humans. This doc could be called "carfree lifeways."

• acle.org -- teach English in Italy. I did this, and got fired after a month. It is hard work, unless you're good at teaching kids. Me, I prefer unschooling. ACLE is a way to get yourself to Italy which has some nice carfree spots (including one in San Remo).

• Adventure Cycling Tour Leader -- I saw Green Tortoise looking for bus drivers, which sounded cool, but one must drive a bus. This is a bit more intriguing. Of course, one will often be riding on roads with cars. I've also thought of things like leading rafting trips, but I expect (and have the experience) that that involves a different clientele, and one still must truck the rafts around. We also have things like being a crew leader on a Boy Scout High Adventure base (Philmont: hiking, Northern Tier: canoeing), NOLS trip, or other outdoor school/expedition organization. David Ceaser of carfreecity.us fame and my sister have both been crew leaders for SCA (student conservation associaton). Appalachian Trail Club will feed you if you volunteer on trail crew in the summer. And then there's the primitive skills schools. I guess that with cycling though, I know I can do it, and enjoy it. I've been on hiking trips... In the woods I'd like to hunt/gather food rather than pack it all in and out.

  • Possibly, in the future I/we (want to help?) could establish a car-free tour of ecovillages/earthships/ and so on. This would require arranging ahead of time when to visit these places and where to stay. As I seem to like travelling solo, and being able to sleep where I find a free spot to lay down, and not plan ahead, I'm not yet up for such a project... Maybe someday?

• Apprentice on a farm -- attra , rural heritage , google search . Check out the Healing Harvest Horselogging Apprenticeship (scroll down to find the application). There are also opportunities to apprentice on ecovillages / intentional communities. I plan to head to Earthaven soon for that purpose, as I'm especially interested in both permaculture and ecovillages. Also, Willing Workers on Organic Farms.

• Simply go out there an live. Apparently tracker Tom Brown's books detail his experience with this. There is also Larry Dean Olsen, and Tom Elpel. Here's a collection of online stories about primitive living / nomadic communities:

  • the desert people (down at the moment). Vision Statement: To form a small group of folks that can live as a semi-nomadic hunter-gatherer band, as much in the old way as possible, for the long haul. Yet we'll interface as part of the local culture as it is (which is pretty primitvie anyway!), using whatever modern tools that may help us acheive our vision (like computers) and live balance in both worlds, modern and primitive. This means having a variety of people with a variety of strengths and talents--women and men, children and elders, medicine and craftspeople, hunters and gatherers. The size of our "band" must be small enough to harvest a living from the sporadic resources of the low desert, yet large enough to ensure a sustainable, safe and peaceful community. Danny August is (one of) the elder for that project.

  • possum living -- not totally primitive, but inspiring.

  • Wisconsin/Michigan primitive living

  • primitive yahoo group -- There are other, more established lists besides this one... What did natives do when it rained endlessly?

  • freeganism

  • Related reading: Coming Home to Eat by Gary Nabhan.

    I'm sure there's more.

• Teach sailing / windsurfing / kitesailing. I worked at Washington Sailing Marina , and Bellehaven (some of the coolest people in the world are there: Chip, Rolf, and who else? The pictures on the website are nothing like the place itself though), and even taught a windsurfing class on Maui.

Other thoughts?

One could be a camp counselor, a lifeguard, or a farm worker. Alas these can suck up a lot of your time. Try to find ways to not have to pay rent. Try to put yourself in situations and groups of people that encourage you to take care of yourself physically (dancers!) rather than neglect the body as worthless. So much of the valued work in our society relegates the body to a lesser position (computer work, what I'm doing now). The eros / eroticism / sensuality of movement and physicality is lost, and our bodies show it as we age... (speaking for myself here).

I also benefit from lifeways that make me less likely to eat as much.

Happiest times: Counselor in training at goshen scout camps. Manaical dancing (4+ hrs/day) in Monterey...

Dancing didn't do it for me since I seem to desire working toward a larger purpose in my work, and I prefer outside dance. Here's THOTH . I consider all of what I do dance, and am still working on the dance that feels best to me. Recently it has been a sedentary one... How can I do better? To be able to abandon myself to the dance studio, yet feel I'm progressing to some greater good, not simply paying a dance teacher lots of money (or dancing for a sedentary audience), and slowly becoming physically more proficient and better able to dance. To help make a society where all of daily life is dance. Living and finding our food used to be a healthier dance than our current one. Zerzan, and everything (even dance) is a symptom of our disconnection from the primitive lifeway comes to mind.

Learn to fish. Practice living off worms, learn your edible plants. Assist the construction of a US Carfree city, and take care of yourself. Help those who are living in ways that you respect. I've also looked into Monasteries, like the San Francisco Zen Center, or Madre Grande

• I almost forgot! Carbusters offers honest living. (scroll down, this was written on 2003-06-23). Well- I wish to live somewhere warm, and less car-infested (or if car-infested, at least more pleasantly so)... And the work there is not computer-, nor office-free. If I do such work it will be my own, or perhaps to help establish a US carfree city/ecovillage.

When I get hungry, run out of money, tired of eating worms or can't find any, what shall I do then? Maybe we'll find out!

---

Colin Leath <>    

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	Car- and computer-free employment, by colin on 2003-12-24 13:34:32
	teach english in france

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