NonFiction ~~- True Stories From The Jungle (Mission Journal)

Testing The Limits Of Voluntary Poverty

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We are testing the limits...
proving just how deep into voluntary poverty you can go, and still be effective.
We are probably too deep...
The poverty level is a real level, under which you get poorer every day just being alive.
We want to shave as close to the bone as possible, without nicking the bone...

There are a few things that really help you to be productive:
  • a comfortable sheep's wool mat to lay on, a bedsheet and pillow,
  • A small roof, walls, doors, some glass windows to keep the windy rain out and let the sun in,
  • Some basic cooking utensils, a sink and stove,
  • The tools necessary for your work,
  • Gardens, a cow, some chickens for eggs, some fruit and nut trees,
  • a bed, table, lamp, and chair.

    But most other possessions are just possessing you.

    Out here we have no cars,
    we go everywhere on foot or animal (occasionally hopping on the back of an old truck),
    we drink water from the rain,
    bury our poo-poo in the ground,
    sew up the rat-holes in the clothing by hand
    build by stacking up rocks,
    milk the neighbor's cow if it shows up,
    make soft cheese from the milk,
    try to find scattered eggs from the chickens,
    and scrounge what food we can from the makeshift garden.

    There's no city water, sewer, electric, or gas.
    No refrigerator.
    Only occasional internet or phone.

    It's wonderful
    and
    a painful transition.