Maya Creek

My name is Justin Garnett, and I’m a little unsure of what to write about myself. I am 27 years old as of the moment, and was born in Columbia Missouri, having lived my life entirely in central Missouri. I had a rather informal upbringing, not being really schooled in any meaningful way from 6th grade to college, at which point I enrolled in the department of Plant Science, since I have an interest in agriculture (As the Mayans say, “Corn is our blood”-And blood is pretty important).  My interests are split between plant research and anthropolgy, which I think is a useful split, since the pools of indigenous knowledge are valuable, deep, and often overlooked.

I have worked at the University of Missouri in a drought stress laboratory for several years, since I feel water is our most important and potentially limiting resource it is very important we learn how to use and manage it effectively.

I’m a primitive skills enthusiast, and try to live by the K.I.S.S (Keep it simple, stupid) philosophy.

I believe in keeping things small and simple whenever possible, and am interested in becoming a part of a community, rather than a society. I am slowly but surely working my way toward a more sustainable life, mainly through buying very little.

My wife and I are currently involved in the Maya Creek community in a satelite fashion, helping out when we can, and have (with help from Tao and Jesse) constructed a tipi at Maya Creek, in which I hope to begin living soon, at which point my help with projects at Maya Creek will begin in earnest.

Others agree a simple route to be the best:

“Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius — and a lot of courage — to move in the opposite direction.” -Albert Einstein

“Simplify, simplify, simplify.” – Henry David Thoreau