Daily Archives: March 4, 2017

Since my father was told to walk the Trail of Tears our family has traveled 14,000 recorded miles through 24 states by foot and by horse. This journey started when my dad wanted to understand being American Indian (or Native American as said today) and talking with my great grandfather who said pointing out his door in Cherokee North Carolina; Walk the Trail of Tears and than you will know somewhat it is like to be Indian.

Leaving with myself (9 months old in a kids carrier backpack), my mom, and our horse Prince Hussein a retired Thoroughbred race horse packed with our minimal goods we started the walk which took 14 months helped and inspired by the good will of the people. Whenever we needed food or anything dad would offer to do a work exchange and since he was multi skilled laborer there was always work to be had. This trip started a 20 year odyssey of travel by horse. Over the years we acquired 3 more kids, more horses, and a couple of wagons. Our first upgrade was a loaner of a couple of mules and a wagon which we used for about a year. Than we got a 2 wheeled buggy (our chariot) that was pulled by Prince, which had Amish wooden wheels with a metal band around them and we made a cover using bent willow branches and canvas. We used that for quite a few years until we got our Cadillac wagon. This is a 4 rubber tired wagon which is made using the straight rear axles from a Cadillac. Such a smooth ride though we did get the occasional flat. We pulled the old two wheeled buggy behind with our supplies in it. Going by horse has its disadvantages (averaging 5 miles an hour or under 30 miles a day although our record is 76 miles on a cold upper state NY winter day when Prince just wanted to run all day), and advantages (no cost grass powered).

Sung to the clippy clopping of the cadence of the horses hooves;

The bull was looking through the fence,

He says; I seem to have lost my sense of sight,

I think I see a wagon, coming down along the road,

Sure looks like they have an easy load.

Ol Prince is clippy clopping

And ol Smokey just aint stopping

And we thank you Lord for an easy load

Popcorn popcorn road, Popcorn popcorn road, I like the popcorn road

Zoom zoom road, Zoom zoom road, who likes the Zoom zoom road?

I have heard many people say and lately have read many memes that have some version of: It is not the destination, It is the trip.

This is definitely how we went. Although we mostly went back to Alabama, or Tennessee, or once to Israel in the winter to rest up and not travel in the cold weather, we also did travel through Connecticut and New York in the winter. One Christmas we camped out on the green in New Haven Connecticut and we created a real life nativity scene next to the normal one. That was fun as I had lots of kids to play with.

I remember once on my birthday in January we were snowed in somewhere in our buggy and I was crying; this my birthday and I have stuck in this little 5 foot square with nothing to do all day. Somehow in the midst of the windy snowstorm someone saw our tiny 5 foot square buggy with our horse hunkered down nearby and knocked on the canvas. I dont know if it was when dad went out to check on and feed Prince or not, I just remember being invited to a strangers house for what turned into my birthday party. Up to that day I had not liked carrot cake but when they provided me a carrot cake with candles my joy overwhelmed my dislike and I like carrot cake to this day some 30 years later. Reflecting on this miracle, I am truly amazed by the kindness of strangers.

We usually didnt have a problem finding a place to camp, whether is was just the side of the road or in a church lot. When we wanted to rest up or stay in an area for longer than a few days we carried with us the Directory of Intentional Communities and Alternative Schools. These people always seemed up to doing work exchange for us to stay for a week while we looked for more permanent work.

When we hunkered down for the winter in Tennessee we had a truck for hauling wood but mostly for hire. We would haul, transport, drive to work in it and go to town once a month to buy food and do laundry. I got my first full-time job baby sitting or being basically a servant to an eldery man and used the truck to get to work. My first real part-time job ( I was making minimum wage of 3.25) helping Bob, a great handicapped man, with his house and raised bed garden. Since that was only 3 miles away I rode my bicycle there.

In Tennessee we were near a bicycle factory that made low quality department store bicycles and since many people in the area worked at the factory there were tons of these bicycles around. I got highly skilled at repairing them, using only the tools I had, which were a screw driver and an adjustable wrench, as they were such low quality they constantly had to be repaired. Years later, this skill came in handy when I become a manager of the Bike Surgeon bicycle shop where I was the Bike Doctor ( I make house calls) and later when I started my first full time business Alternative Transportation and Energy. Who knew that the hassle of constantly repairing low-quality bicycles would lead there? Now living in a smaller University town I find it easier and faster to get somewhere on a bicycle especially if you have to find parking. In the winter when I ride or walk to gym I always find it funny to see my neighbors who drove to the gym.

We and our society are very car dependent. I got my first car, a 64 Plymouth Valiant, when I was 14, which I loved to drive around our farm and I fixed up to sell. Growing up in rural Tennessee I was driving tractor, raking hay when I was 8. The hard thing is to try to break free from our dependence on the car to try to realize it is just a tool, not a lifestyle or whatever is marketed to us. I love my Subaru and at least once every 3 months (used to be every month) I love going on a high speed jaunt. I do tend to not use my car in town but rather walk or bicycle which is why I bought a small 300 square foot house downtown. I bought a house in town when I found myself driving to town 2 or 3 times a day almost every day for work or meetings. How can I be Living Off Grid, Really?!?! with solar for my electricity but be fuel dependent and waste all that time ( 2 or 3 hours a day) driving?

I am trying to reset my mind that the car is to be used only for travel outside of town or for on a rare occasion hauling a bunch of bulk goods. This is how I grew up but after 10 years of becoming addicted to the car it is difficult to break the addiction. My dream is to live somewhere with a lifestyle that doesnt need the cost and hassle of a car! The challenge, joy and speed of riding a bicycle around town is becoming as addicting.

I look forward everyday to the interactions I have on my Living Off Grid, Really!?!? Facebook page and hope you will join the discussion there.

Stay energized, Aur

Aur Beck has lived completely off-grid for over 35 years. He has traveled with his family through 24 states and 14,000 recorded miles by horse-drawn wagon. Aur is a presenter at The Climate Reality Project, a fellow addict at Oil Addicts Anonymous International and a talk show co-host at WDBX Community Radio for Southern Illinois 91.1 FM. Find him on the Living Off Grid, Really!?!?Facebook page, and read all of Aur's MOTHER EARTH NEWS posts here.

I put together this kids ditty was I was super young and remember it for some reason;

Popcorn popcorn road, Popcorn popcorn road, I like the popcorn road

Zoom zoom road, Zoom zoom road, who likes the Zoom zoom road?

I have heard many people say and lately have read many memes that have some version of: It is not the destination, It is the trip.

This is definitely how we went. Although we mostly went back to Alabama, or Tennessee, or once to Israel in the winter to rest up and not travel in the cold weather we also did travel through Connecticut and New York in the winter. One Christmas we camped out on the green in New Haven Connecticut and we created a real life nativity scene next to the normal one. That was fun as I had lots of kids to play with.

I remember once on my birthday in January we were snowed in somewhere in our buggy and I was crying; this my birthday and I have stuck in this little 5 foot square with nothing to do all day. Somehow in the midst of the windy snowstorm someone saw our tiny 5 foot square buggy with our horse hunkered down nearby and knocked on the canvas. I dont know if it was when dad went out to check on and feed Prince or not, I just remember being invited to strangers house for what turned into my birthday party. Up to that day I had not liked carrot cake but when they provided me a carrot cake With candles my joy overwhelmed my dislike and I like carrot cake to this day some 30 years later. Reflecting on this miracle years later I am truly amazed by the kindness of strangers.

We usually didnt have a problem finding a place to camp whether is was just the side of the road or in a church lot. When we wanted to rest up or stay in an area for longer than a few days we carried with us the Directory of Intentional Communities and Alternative Schools. These people always seemed up to doing work exchange for us to stay for a week while we looked for more permanent work.

When we hunkered down for the winter in Tennessee we had a truck for hauling wood but mostly for hire. We would haul, transport, drive to work in it and go to town once a month to buy food and do laundry. I got my first full time job baby sitting or being basically a servant to an eldery man and used the truck to get to work. My first real part time job ( I was making minimum wage of 3.25) helping Bob, a great handicapped man, with his house and raised bed garden. Since that was only 3 miles away I rode my bicycle there.

In Tennessee we were near a bicycle factory that made low quality department store bicycles and since many people in the area worked at the factory there were tons of these bicycles around. I got highly skilled at repairing them, using only the tools I had which were a screw driver and an adjustable wrench, as they were such low quality they constantly had to be repaired. Years later this skill came in handy when I become a manager of the Bike Surgeon bicycle shop where I was the Bike Doctor ( I make house calls) and later when I started my first full time business Alternative Transportation and Energy. Who knew that the hassle of constantly repairing junk low quality bicycles would lead there? Now living in a smaller University town I find it easier and faster to get somewhere on a bicycle especially if you have to find parking. In the winter when I ride or walk to gym I always find it funny to see my neighbors who drove to the gym.

We and our society are very car dependent. I got my first car, a 64 Plymouth Valiant, when I was 14 which I loved to drive around our farm and I fixed up to sell. Growing up in rural Tennessee I was driving tractor raking hay when I was 8. The hard thing is to try to break free from our dependence on the car to try to realize it is just a tool not a lifestyle or whatever is marketed to us. I love my Subaru and at least once every 3 months (used to be every month) I love going on a high speed jaunt. I do tend to not use my car in town but rather walk or bicycle which is why I bought a small 300 square foot house downtown. I bought a house in town when I found myself driving to town 2 or 3 times a day almost every day for work or meetings. How can I be Living Off Grid, Really?!?! with solar for my electricity but be fuel dependent and waste all that time ( 2 or 3 hours a day) driving?

I am trying to reset my mind that the car is to be used only for travel outside of town or for on a rare occasion hauling a bunch of bulk goods. This is how I grew up but after 10 years of becoming addicted to the car it is difficult to break the addiction. My dream is to live somewhere with a lifestyle that doesnt need the cost and hassle of a car! The challenge, joy and speed of riding a bicycle around town is becoming as addicting.

I look forward everyday to the interactions I have on my Living Off Grid, Really!?!? Facebook page and hope you will join the discussion there.

Stay energized, Aur

Aur Beck has lived completely off-grid for over 35 years. He has traveled with his family through 24 states and 14,000 recorded miles by horse-drawn wagon. Aur is a presenter at The Climate Reality Project, a fellow addict at Oil Addicts Anonymous International and a talk show co-host at WDBX Community Radio for Southern Illinois 91.1 FM. Find him on the Living Off Grid, Really!?!?Facebook page, and read all of Aur's MOTHER EARTH NEWS posts here.

All MOTHER EARTH NEWS community bloggers have agreed to follow our Blogging Guidelines, and they are responsible for the accuracy of their posts. To learn more about the author of this post, click on their byline link at the top of the page.

Excerpt from:

Transportation/Traveling While Living Off Grid - Mother Earth News

Jim Kopriva believes the migration of youth away from rural areas isn't just a lack of career opportunity. It's a lack of habitat.

"What we see around here is land rented to the top bidder," Kopriva said. "Next thing you know, somebody from several hundred miles away is buying land right next door. The whole idea of renting for top dollar becomes like driving 40 miles to get gas for a penny cheaper."

For young people desiring to get started in agriculture, the concept of handing out land to the highest bidder becomes a challenging stumbling block.

And on the heels of a short window when high crop prices turned marginal land into farm ground, many old homesteads that could have been handed over to young farming hopefuls are now gone.

Kopriva, who farms and ranches northwest of Raymond, initially began raising livestock on a small acreage while he held a daytime job in town. Without the chance to fix a rundown acreage as payment for a place to live, he might not have had the chance to pursue his ultimate passion of raising livestock. He believes that encouraging individuals to start small by making land available for them will bring young people back into agriculture.

"They need an opportunity to try and an opportunity to get their hands on some land resources," Kopriva said. "How nice would it be if land owners would prefer to rent to young people that are beginning farmers or just trying to get themselves established in agriculture?"

Living in the country provides families opportunities to become involved in agriculture even if it's not their primary occupation. Some of the most valuable ethics can be taught on a farm, and in Kopriva's mind those lessons are best taught through stewardship of livestock.

Responsibility and commitment are quickly learned when those principles live right outside the back door for families that live in the country.

"Young people need livestock," Kopriva said. "If they don't go out and feed their bicycle nothing bad will happen the next day, but if they ignore their livestock, livestock teaches kids something they can't learn any other way."

Kopriva also sees benefits for the older generations that rent to younger families instead of holding out for the highest bidder. Younger individuals with families can tackle odd jobs to help out older neighbors while building a sense of community in the country.

"When that land owner needs a ride to town or needs snow removed from driveways, who's going to help them?" Kopriva asked. "I think it pays in a lot of ways."

The 2011 Center for Rural Affairs Census Report supports Kopriva's observation that fewer opportunities are available for young people to become rooted in small farming operations. However, South Dakota State University Extension community development specialist Peggy Schlechter notes that South Dakota communities as a whole are growing.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, South Dakota's population swelled by 7.9 percent from 2000 to 2010. While this population boost bodes well for larger South Dakota towns and cities, it masks the 4.4 percent drop in the rural countryside and small towns seen over the past decade.

Schlechter notes that rural communities need to change how they develop opportunities for young people. Instead of providing scholarships for youth to move away and pursue an education, communities need to build more incentives that will draw back former residents, especially those who already desire to return but require economic or entrepreneurial encouragement.

Schlechter has seen interest in young people wanting to move back to their home areas. The issue becomes creating a viable habitat for young people to work and raise families in.

Schlechter believes that rural areas offer prime potential for people to play a significant role in communities. Rural communities require involvement from everyone in order for roles to be fulfilled. These communities need to become more intentional in promoting themselves as well as ensuring that everyone in the community has the chance to play a part, Schlechter said.

"In rural areas you really have an opportunity as a leader to make an impact on people's lives and make a difference dramatically."

Both Kopriva and Schlechter agree that proactive steps need to be taken for rural communities to thrive.

"How many people die with money in their account that they never used, but it crowded young people off the land?" Kopriva asked. "It's worth more to rent locally and keep people in the country than it is to seek the top dollar. To me, that's habitat."

Excerpt from:

Renting land to highest bidder stumbling block for young people looking to start in agriculture - INFORUM