Tao
I was born out on the land where we’re building Maya Creek. My father delivered me himself in a cabin he and other people from the then commune built from reclaimed and local lumber. I’m 29 years old now and haven’t lived on the land since I was 4 when we moved to California as the commune dissipated. During that time I’ve lived and traveled in many parts of the world. A lot of those places I’ve considered home but they never truly felt that way. “The farm” as my family calls it has always conjured a magical feeling for me, and returning to the place I began seems the right thing to do.
My father, Luke, started learning how to use computers while he was on the commune in order to print out mailing lists for activist causes. When we left the commune he pursued a career in the area and before long I was using them as well. I wasn’t as interested in the hardware and repair aspects of them, but I learned how to do it and worked for my father’s computer business as well as for several other companies doing just that. My main interest was in their use, specifically web design and the Internet. I’m still awed at the potential power of the Internet to organize and spread ideas, tools, and other information and all it takes is a good idea and some web development skills.
I worked my way through college on computer and web jobs. I graduated in ’05 from UT-Austin with a degree in TV & Film production which may or may not be skills I use again. I would likely have dropped out and followed my own interests if it weren’t for my mother’s insistance that it was necessary to have a college degree. I will always be a student, I just prefer to learn on my own terms.
I toyed with the idea of moving back to the land in Missouri after high school, and although I gave it up then, the desire to return never left me. I went through fits where all I could do was imagine the freedom of providing for myself out there, of living with nature instead of off of it. It has only been in the last few years that I began making solid plans to move back. I realized that I had developed my web development skills and client base to a point that I could easily work from anywhere provided an internet connection and so I began reading everything I could find on alternative building, solar/wind power, permaculture, gardening, humanure, greywater recycling, rainwater harvesting, etc.
Now I’m on the brink of finally cutting my tether to “the grid”, and to me it can’t happen too soon. Almost everything available to eat seems like it is unhealthy, somewhat like eating plastic fruit. Deep meaningful connections and discussions are either frowned upon or hard to come by. I find myself constantly unsatisfied, which is no doubt what the captains of industry intend as they place yet another product in front of me which they guarantee will finally satisfy me.
When I imagine what life was like for Native Americans or even the pioneers, I imagine a much more laborious life but at the same time an immensely more satisfying and healthy life. One where large tasks meant teamwork and each bite of food was filled with a satisfaction that can only be earned with hard work. So when people hear what I plan to do and say, “sounds like a lot of work”, I feel sorry for them because they don’t see that all that work brings a lot of reward as well.
I refuse to continue burning through our planet’s natural systems and ultimately our children’s inheritence so that I can indulge myself and become fat and lazy. I’m going to earn my keep and hopefully I can find others with a similar mindset and we can work together, and maybe, just maybe, we can even change some minds along the way. That’s who I am.
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