A post comparing fears of the working class and middle class on Dave Pollard’s blog How To Save The World got me thinking about how lucky I am to be able to pursue my eco-lifestyle. I guess most people, even if they wanted to, just couldn’t take a couple of years and few thousand to set up a ‘permaculture back yard’.

Is sustainability just a whimsy of the middle/affluent class? Can we reasonably expect people who are only just getting by, fearful of unemployment, illness and crime, to have the mind-space to care about thier ecological footprint? Once I’m set up in my own backyard it would be interesting to explore ways to make such a shift easier for others.

A nice quote from a conversation between Srila Prabhupada and Richard Webster in Rome, May 24, 1974.

Prabhupada: Yes, naturally. If this man is fed up with this industry, he can go back to his village and produce his own food. But he is attached to this industrial activity … “We are getting more money for wine and women and meat. Let me enjoy.” … But if he chants Hare Krsna maha-mantra his consciousness will be purified and he will be made not interested in this kind of work. He will go back to the village and produce food.

I got a bit caught out with changing seasons this year. Robin became available to paint the house at the beginning of December, so I had a full-on December and January helping with the painting (to keep the costs down) and organising things like scaffold and ladders.

During this time the garden got away on me. Things grow REALLY fast when the weather starts to warm up in December, especially weeds! I’m only just starting to get back on top of it, and it’s nearing the end of February.

Here’s my plan for the year, taking into account my newfound awareness of the seasons.

Autumn

Keep up with the garden

Push forward with my construction projects - perhaps the retaining walls and the sleepout

Winter

Let the garden rest, under cover crops such as peas and barley

Let myself rest! Hibernate, read books, and plan for next year

Spring

Get seedlings ready for a big Labour Weekend plant-out (this year I learned that not much will grow before then because it’s too cold and windy)

Another construction project push - perhaps finishing the sleepout or building a greenhouse

Summer

Full-time keeping up with the garden

Any spare time - have a holiday!

Sounds like a nice plan, but let’s see what happens in reality. If I’d paid more attention to the “gardening calendar” books then I might have been more prepared this year…

I’m never a straight-forward person and there’s several interesting reasons for why I’m developing Gaura Urban Permaculture. I thought it might be good to articulate one or two of them.

If I wanted to take a spiritual tangent, then I’d claim I’m doing this because A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami (the founder of the Hare Krishna movement) wanted his followers to establish self-sufficient rural communities; places where people can live simply and focus on spiritual life.

This is an aspect of Hare Krishna that’s always been calling me, and I’ve been dreaming about moving to a farm community for several years. My thinking has changed recently, because I’ve realized that it would be quite impractical for me to suddenly move to the country and expect to live off the land. I wouldn’t have a clue where to start! However, something practical that I can do now is to learn how to grow my own food and live simply in an urban environment.

Simple living and environmental consciousness are central aspects of the Hare Krishna philosophy. I’m hoping to make my contribution by practically demonstrating this philosophy.