The Human Habitat Project

It's always nice to find like-minded folks. That's exactly what I've found at the Human Habitat Project. The website is run Kyle Chamberlain, my once-neighbor to the north (I believe I read that he's currently working in Utah in order to save up money for land here in the NW so that he can start establishing a food forest. Our stories are very surprisingly similar, and so are our motivations and trails of research. Here's what his website has to say:

Every creature has an ideal habitat, a place where it’s every need is met freely by the immediate environment. Habitat preservation is key to the survival of any species, which is why the wildlife refuge concept has been adopted worldwide. At a wildlife refuge, one may witness firsthand the ways in which nature consistently and sufficiently provides for her menagerie of flora and fauna. This may leave one to wondering: Why is there no such refuge for people? Examining the possibility of naturally sufficient environments for people is a primary focus of this website.

The overarching purpose of this website is to foster the restoration and maintenance of human habitat, for the preservation and prosperity of mankind. This may seem an overly anthropocentric mission statement. However, you may find that what I've advocated as good for our species inevitably incorporates the wellfare others. Such is the nature of wildlife preservation.

You can view his website here. I'm feeling especially inspired because it isn't every day that I find someone on this side of the planet who shares my ideology so completely. I've left him a comment to direct him toward my (i.e. this) little corner of the internet, and perhaps I'll go a step further and ask if I can interview him so  you can get a fresh viewpoint on the subject of forest gardening.

And I'm beginning to see that I've been running at breakneck speed, and haven't slowed down to show you the journey I took to arrive at my present conclusions. You could probably look outside and pick out a few things our society has done that need a-fixin', but do you understand it on a mathematical level? Read this: Stuff: The Secret Lives of Everyday Things. It's cheap and effective. It shows the steps that different everyday things go through to get produced and crunches numbers about the resources that they're using in the process. If I recall correctly it covers a t-shirt, a cellphone, a hamburger, and a car, to name a few. And if you want science mixed with philosophy, what you're looking for is Peter Singer's How Are We to Live? He's one of the most controversial contemporary philosophers alive, and has received many a death threat. He isn't controversial because what he says is questionable, but rather because people find themselves agreeing with him on subjects that they don't want to. These books helped lay the foundation for my present way of thinking. And now I'm feeling that I really do need to interview Kyle and find out what research and experiences have inspired him. (I do know that his reading list included Botany in a Day: The Patterns Method of Plant Identification and Food Plants of Interior First Peoples, since he explicitly lists them on his website.)

I've got myself so turned around right now that I don't even know what post is coming when. So many things are coming to me that I feel compelled to write about, but I'm trying to space them out so that you (whoever you are... please say "hello!") don't get overwhelmed by 20 posts in one day. In any case, lots of great posts will be popping up around this one. Stay tuned!