Oh Coco, I was really referring to doing things that are possible for you at this moment. But I see nothing wrong with being a dreamer at the same time. Making room for the possible. You never know what will happen. You could be gifted a nice sum of money from an unexpected source. And then you could make your dreams happen

The CSAs have changed a bit, I believe. We can invest on a weekly basis in some cases. They were asking hundreds of dollars upfront. Who can afford that? Certainly not every demographic. So it has to be more affordable for the average person.

'Nanners, that's exactly what did happen to me in fact. I paid off all debt, bought the kitcheny stuff I wanted (water filter, air purifier, vitamix, excalibur), took courses in yoga instructing, mud building, first aid/cpr, driving, and I stayed home with my kids for an extra 2.5 years. I stretched it out by living very frugally but now it's gone and it's back to work for me. I don't regret one dime of that money but I'll tell you now, it does not go as far as you'd think it would. I certainly could not have purchased any land or even a home with it without having to also have a very good paying job and a lot of extra hands to do all the work required. This life is EXPENSIVE!

Storm, there are wwoofing experiences of all kinds, some are very short term (farming is seasonal or cyclical after all) and there are tons of intentional communities that have projects on the go and use that as labour for learning experiences for outside help. There are yoga ashrams that accept residents on karma yoga exchange. And you can be who you are in a lot of those places, practice your martial arts, they may already be sprouting or would be thrilled to have an experienced grower create space for that and give instruction/teach classes. I met a lot of people of all kinds, some of them had taken vows of silence and didn't speak at all, some just kept to themselves. If you ever want to try it out there's plenty out there to choose from.

coco, I understand what you mean and you're right but I was talking not for the whole world here but for this raw food community - we can grow food on balconies, do sprouting, etc. I believe we have a lot of knowledge. We can also look for good producers - there some very good ones and conscious too... Not all food is contaminated after all.

I think there is always a way if we do really want.

There is a book out there about farming in small spaces which is very interesting.

About WOOfing, I am curious if there are people of varying ages. I was thinking that would be a great way to dip my toes into it. I went on the site and they require a registration of $70 for access to the various farms so I have not yet joined. But I am curious about it, that is for sure.

My sister went after her first year of university, she must have been about 19. There were all ages involved. You don't have to register with the association, there are lots of places listed online. Lots of eco villages like dancing rabbit, plenty of cob building communities, organic growers. Look for places that run courses on rocket stoves, hay bale and cob construction, that sort of thing. A lot of them do energy exchange, you stay and eat in exchange for work hours. If I was on my own that's what I'd do all the time, just travel around from place to place working and learning.

Yes, Cynthia, absolutely there are things we can do if we really want to. I've got a local food resource guide for this new city we're in, plenty of options.