Green Options » radical simplicity http://greenoptions.com/tag/radical-simplicity Posts tagged 'radical simplicity' Wed, 01 Oct 2008 02:12:59 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 en Radical Simplicity: Living Car-Free and Off The Grid at the Possibility Alliance http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/10/01/radical-simplicity-living-car-free-petroleum-free-and-electricity-free-at-the-possibility-alliance/ http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/10/01/radical-simplicity-living-car-free-petroleum-free-and-electricity-free-at-the-possibility-alliance/#comments Wed, 01 Oct 2008 02:12:59 +0000 Brian Liloia http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/10/01/radical-simplicity-living-car-free-petroleum-free-and-electricity-free-at-the-possibility-alliance/

In the small town of La Plata, Missouri, something of a revolution is beginning. A brand new intentional community has recently formed, and its aims and message are radical, inspiring, and daring: the Possibility Alliance is a completely car-free, petroleum-free, and electricity-free community striving to raise a new level of awareness regarding sustainable, cooperative, and compassionate living.

Currently composed of a small handful of members, the Possibility Alliance is totally off-the-grid and uses candlelight and wood stoves for heating and cooking, and it owns no vehicles. Instead, members use bicycles as their main mode of transport. (See above for an example!) Another of the group’s goals is to depend entirely on 100% local food, so that whatever is not grown by the community is obtained within a 200 mile radius. The Possibility Alliance hosts students, visitors, and guests and provides educational workshops free of charge on topics such as permaculture, bicycle maintenance, gardening, etc. Although the group might use the term “radical simplicity” to describe the lifestyle they have taken on, they see it as more of a return to what makes sense for humans living harmoniously with the earth.

Last week, I wrote about the Superheroes bike ride which is currently traveling through Missouri. I spoke at length with friend and communitarian Ethan Hughes, who is heavily invested in both the Superheroes and Possibility Alliance projects. There is a strong bond between both movements, as Ethan explains in this interview about the project. We discuss at length what it means to live sustainably, and what the sustainability community needs to do to take the next step in progressing the ecological movement.

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