The Basic Idea

[Rain]

@Amaya

Are Heritage tomatoes the same as Heirloom tomatoes?

Also, that's a lot of veggies! I wish I could grow that many D: I'm still living in an apartment though, so there's not room on my porch. I grow what I can though, but it's mostly herbs (which I love <3)

Any effort, no matter how small you think it is, does more good than you know.

[Amaya]

hehe yes, heritage and heirloom are sortof interchangable words when referring to veggies and fruit.  Anyone out there looking for a good seed source (especially if you live in north america) I totally reccommend http://tatianastomatobase.com/wiki/Main_Page  She is also working hard to maintain a database of varieties (almost 3000 varieties of tomatoes ) and a few other veggies as well.

Heirloom/heritage varieties are SO important!  If we lose biodiversity, we risk loosing large portions of our foodbase to blights, disease and pests with no other option than harsh pesticides to deal with these problems.

Anyway before this turns into a rant... http://rooftopgardens.ca/en/kits although I'm not saying you have to buy, but this is a good way to garden if you have limited space ie: only a balcony or roof access in an apartment.  This is how my brother gardens.

[Prrwll Nari]

hehe yes, heritage and heirloom are sortof interchangable words when referring to veggies and fruit.  Anyone out there looking for a good seed source (especially if you live in north america) I totally reccommend http://tatianastomatobase.com/wiki/Main_Page  She is also working hard to maintain a database of varieties (almost 3000 varieties of tomatoes ) and a few other veggies as well.

Heirloom/heritage varieties are SO important!  If we lose biodiversity, we risk loosing large portions of our foodbase to blights, disease and pests with no other option than harsh pesticides to deal with these problems.

Anyway before this turns into a rant... http://rooftopgardens.ca/en/kits although I'm not saying you have to buy, but this is a good way to garden if you have limited space ie: only a balcony or roof access in an apartment.  This is how my brother gardens.

Awesome! Thank you very much for the link  I'm always looking for ways to cram more plants in my apartment, ha ha ha.

[Amaya]

Always glad to be of service!  I'm so addicted to my tomatoes, it really is kinda sad

[Rain]

My mother cuts up 2-liter bottles and fills them with dirt and makes those "upside down" tomato planters and hangs them from the trees. I wonder if there is any space inb your apartment with lots of light, outside, where you could hang them? It would free up floor space for more planters. There are other threads in this section that go into more detail on this subject.

Anyway, we're getting kind of off topic. I want to discuss getting people together from this forum to do group volunteer work. Many agencies send people to work with Ty Pennington on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. I wonder if anyone would be interested in getting a group together (preferably people who live close enough to participate without using huge chunks of time for travel. One state's worth of Learn Na'vi ppl would probably do it, especially East- and West-coasters) and signing up for such an event? And if y'all wore matching Learn Na'vi shirts, we'd get free air-time as well! I'd like for the world to see that we're not just "basement geeks who speak a made-up language", to quote an aquaintance of mine. I'd like to get it out there that we're the kind of people you want to help you when you need it most. Whaddaya say?

Another idea: Peace Corps. Doctors Without Borders. Mission trips (since I have no problem with spreading Christianity, just make sure you give them a choice, eh?). There are loads of options for people to get grants and donations to allow them to travel abroad and just simply HELP people.

[Technowraith]

Habitat For Humanity is also a good choice to look into. They have many local chapters. Epic win for Na'vi fans like ourselves!

[Rain]

I say show up all painted blue wearing LearnNa'vi shirts!

Also, as a smaller bit to do, tutor or mentor younger students.

[Rain]

I know it's been some time but I'm hoping to resurrect some of these extremely interesting eco-threads. Since being Green is what AVATAR was somewhat about, I think it would be good to keep the ideas moving around.

I've had another säfpìl. I know many people are interested in the Real Life Tribe and the Eco-Village, but it may take some years before either of those ideas can become a reality. So, what are we supposed to do in the meantime?

Solution: Learn how to do the things you'll need to do in either group while you wait. If you plan on being in the RL Tribe, why not take up hunting, learning what wild plants are good for eating, and roughing it.

If you plan on living in the Eco-Village, this is just a beginner's list of what you might need to know:
-how to plan a garden, select what you want to grow, how to plant it, and how to care for it
-how to preserve food without freezing (canning, drying, salting, etc.)
-toolmaking/tool repair
-how to build structures
-how to raise and care for any kind of livestock the Eco-Village decides to keep
-crafts such as carving, weaving, basketmaking, sewing, ropemaking, etc.

This can be linked back to The Basic Idea by this: Trying these can help you decide whether or not the Tribe or the Eco-Village is right for you. In the meantime, it could help establish green habits and also lead to setting an example for your community as well as being an educational experience. That way, if something happens and you can't be a part of the Tribe or the Village, like me, you can still do many of the things the Tribe or the Village will be doing without sacrificing technology, family, an income, a career, that social life you've gotten used to, that relationship you don't want to leave, that dream you want to pursue, or any other reason you might have for not joining or being able to join either establishment.

The whole point is that not everyone can live in a Tribe or a Village, so what do those people do while the Real Life Tribe and the Eco-Village does their thing? They can do their part on the home front, in the sight of the rest of modern society. The Basic Idea is the possibility that we at home can support the Tribe and the Eco-Village by being active in groups and movements that all work towards the betterment of the world. We can do this if we act now. Say if you want to learn how to built shelters for the Tribe, work for Habitat for Humanity of try to get a group to go with Extreme Makeover Home Edition and learn building skills that can benefit you and your tribe members. Gardening now can lead to making you a knowlegeable and efficient worker for the Eco-Village or learning how to weave can help bring in some cash to help support either group.

The big thing is education. I guarantee that the Tribe and the Eco-Village won't turn away someone with a Forestry degree, or an Agricultural degree when they'll be needing someone with knowlege and experience to help establish the crops that will sustain them. To get the whole thing started, to get the rum rolling, to say, there may be a need for grant-writers to ask organizations for the money to get started, and that takes an English degree.

So, while we're all waiting anxiously for the Tribe and the Eco-Village, I suggest for The Basic Idea that we all pick up green habits like gardening, recycling and trying for energy efficiency, get an education so you'll not only be more valuable but knowlegeable (I suggest things like Biology, Forestry, green technology engineering, and agriculture as well as figuring out how we can become 100% independent of oil, foreign and domestic), and try to get others interested in this Environmental, Ecological and Humanitarian movement that couldn't have been possible without all the amazing, brilliant people I've met on this forum. You've all got great ideas and I have no doubt that we can all make a big change together.

[Ash]

I do hope this does fit into this thread - for me it was a most interesting 20 Minutes. Although he doesn't use the word, I have been told that the principles he is applying are permaculture, which after checking out a bit more about does seem a very valid principle to me and maybe could be used at least for the Eco-Village.

[Rain]

Today, I walked four miles in the Columbus Relay for Life, held by the American Cancer Society. I thought "wouldn't it be great to get a group together and walk to show our support?" Because it's not just environmentalism we're fighting for. I think another idea for us is to form groups and walk at our state capitals to A, show people who we are, B, show people that we support good causes, and C, HAVE FUN!!

['Ì'awn Menari]

There has been much talk about a permanent or semi-permanent place for those who wish to live like the Na'vi, some year-round and others for shorter periods. There has been talk of finding a place to live, how to make money to support it, how to run it, etc.

I have a different idea. Instead of spending money, why not make money and give to causes that also wish to save this planet? How about volunteering for similar causes? I'm talking the Environmental Justice Foundation, the National Geographic Foundation, Habitat for Humanity, the National Wildlife Federation, Campaign Earth, Earth First!, Gaia Mater, NatureServe, funds and causes to help the people in Haiti, and hundreds of humanitarian and ecological organizations and foundations all over the world. My idea is that instead of making a small place just for the Na'vi, why not make the whole world a veritable Pandora?

What I would like to see is a group that offers memberships, like many Christian groups, and can also volunteer to help other organizations and hold its own charity events, possibly even at a permanent or semi-permanent site for the Na'vi(because that would be SWEET, but it would take considerable time). We could organize like the Red Cross or the Boy/Girl Scouts of America and work together towards goals that mesh with our Na'vi-esque values of helping our planet.

This discussion is open for questions towards me regarding my idea, and I'd love to hear more opinions!

that's a really good idea  .  the more we get involved with protecting our Mother, the more people we can inform.  and we may end up getting more people to help the cause.  it only takes a few to make a difference 

[Rain]

Thank you!!
The Basic Idea is for the people who can't just pick up and leave their lives to go live like the Na'vi. I'd like to establish an organization like the Boy/Girl Scouts of America or Survival International, an organization that will perform many functions:
teach survival skills (tracking, making fire, building shelters, wilderness living, etc.)
improve the lives of other people (Habitat for Humanity, The American Cancer Society, various volunteer organizations)
mission trips (religious or otherwise, for building either churches or bridges, shelterhouses and housing)

And I also want to use this Idea to encourage those who are in high school to go to college and get an education (I'm pushing for engineers and scientists who will improve and build efficient solar and wind energy systems) while they wait for the Tribal Council to find and purchase land for the Real Life Tribe. I also urge everyone to change small parts of their lifestyles at home (recycling, self-sufficiency, etc.).

Because even though a small stone may drop into a pond, the ripples can spread. The efforts of everyone will count. There are so many intelligent, motivated and passionate people here on this forum, I believe in them all!!