Food Not Bombs Initiative

From "FAQ" section of Food Not Bombs website:

"The government and corporations find our message – that we could redirect the taxes that currently are used on the military to fund things like education and healthcare – a threat to their profits and power. They also worry that our sharing of food with the hungry shows that we can end hunger. They fear that the sharing of food and literature with the message Food Not Bombs in high-visibility locations is an effective way to inspire public pressure for change to our political and economic system. In 2009, two U.S. State Department officials gave a lecture at the Fletcher School of Diplomacy in Medford, Massachusetts comparing the group that shares vegan meals in parks and al-Qaeda; they said the people sharing the food were a greater threat than al-Qaeda because people visiting their meals would be influenced to support policies diverting tax dollars from military spending towards education, healthcare and other social services...
"Americans discard over 40 percent of the food that is produced. 1,400 calories worth of food is discarded per person each day, which adds up to 150 trillion calories per year. The United Nations reported in 2010 that all one billion people that go hungry could be fed by the food that is wasted every day...
"ood Not Bombs has worked against racism since the beginning. The first collective provided food to the people protected by the Black Liberation Army at Columbia Point Housing Projects in Boston at a time when people of color were under attack by white gangs in South Boston. The first group also organized a multi-racial free concert in Cambridge and provided food to the Mohawk nation in New York. Food Not Bombs has many volunteers from all backgrounds, races and cultures. Most volunteers in Africa are black and volunteers in Asia are Asian, and so on. Food Not Bombs volunteers have even been killed while sharing food because of their work against racism. On November 13, 2005, Timur Kacharava  was stabbed to death by racists as he was packing up the weekly meal in St. Petersburg because Food Not Bombs provides food at anti-racists actions. Several other Food Not Bombs volunteers have been murdered by racists in Russia since Timur was killed. Food Not Bombs also organizes a People of Color Caucus at our gatherings and seeks to include all in the work of ending racism...
"over 17 percent of the people went hungry every month in 2010 and the United Nations is warning of a huge increase in hunger in 2012. U.S. Census data show that nearly half of all Americans struggle to survive. The United States is not alone. The global economy is in crisis. Hunger and poverty are increasing in every area of the world. When over a billion people go hungry every day, how can we spend another dollar on war? Why do we spend fifty cents of every federal tax dollar on the military when millions go hungry and are forced out of their homes here in the United States"

Constructing our own home: cob building, homesteading, & free materials

Birds, squirrels, ants, and other species construct their own shelters out of readily available materials, like sticks, rope fiber, straw, mud, and other debris. Us, on the other hand, hire a team of workers to build our homes using drywall, wood panels, laminate flooring, paint, insulation, and other toxic and refined materials.
If you're fortunate you can build your own home; but like most of us we have to search for a vacant home at an affordable price. My mother bought home in the 90's for around $10K, and the house was built in the 1930s! It was always falling in and everything is always breaking, or pipes are freezing and breaking. 
Unfortunately, even the simplest and decent of homes can cost up to $100,000. This could take ten or 20 years to pay off.
I don't want to spend my entire life going to school for training, then working over 20 years at an unfulfilling job...


We could learn from the animals, for example building our homes for free or little cost by constructing it ourselves using the same materials other animals use.

I believe we can and should build our homes out of non-toxic, free available materials, such as the wild animals do. 'cob', 'strawbale', 'earthbag', and earthship homes are examples of how we can use readily available materials efficiently and adapt to our needs.
 

I prefer the cob (straw, sand, and clay) method because I have these materials in abundance. The ground is clay, dried grass is straw and the creeks are full of sand. I intend to create a similar construction as this couple has done in the picture below. It requires no wood for frames; and instead the walls are built up with slabs of mud, straw, and sand until you have reached the desired height. Although this method seems unsteady, it is not-- because the materials mixed creates the consistency of concrete.

The couple that built the home (in the picture), took approximately 9 months to construct and several months to dry out.
For the step-by-step process (with pictures), go to their photo album here: "Year of Mud" The couple has several photo albums of their cob, and all natural building workshops as well as gardening photos on their Flikr page too.

 

For other references on building with cob, read "The Hand-sculpted house book" by Mike Smith, Ianto Evans, and Linda Smiley. Refer to Ianto Evan's and Leslie Jackson's book on heating your cob home: Rocket mass heaters.

 

My vision for a cob home would be somewhat of a nook. Perhaps as small as a normal sized kitchen! First the area will require leveling the ground, then digging a ditch in the outline of the shape of the home. It will be as small as a large shed, with one room to house dried herbs, books, some food, and a bed. I want a small frame that will allow us to save time on constructing the house while encouraging us to be outside instead of cooped up inside.

 

For those with no money or property, can experiment with building a debris shelter in the woods. In this case, you want to live absolutely free or temporarily in the woods, read a more recent post of mine "Semi-Permanent Debris Shelters (Minimal Living or living in the woods)" where I discuss how to build a shelter out of sticks and leaves. These debris shelters remind me of bird nests with more coverage.







bed made by monkeys







I want to live in a world where everyone views their life simply: We get our basic needs met through Homesteading (food, water, shelter) which involves gardening, collecting free energy (sun and water), and building an all natural home. Live self reliant, independent, sustainable, and free as the animal you are.

 

 

How Single Mothers (Homeless, Needy, or Poor) Can Live for Free

As I have mentioned before, I studied social work while I attended college; and from that I learned to be critical of a society that subtly manipulates women (especially working mothers and single mothers.) Technically, I was not raised by a single mother, because it wasn't until I turned 15 that my Dad left; but I certainly was treated like a second Mother during the time my Mom and Dad were married. When my parents divorced, I became the "Dad" of the house. Being a Mother is undoubtedly one of the hardest jobs, considering it takes four people to equal one Mom of four kids. For example, my boyfriend and I are the "housewife" and "handy-man" while my Grandmother is the cook, and my Mom pays the bills. 

I'll also say that it is difficult for a Mom (making just over minimum wage) to have decent clothes, furniture, car, or house. Most single Mothers try to apply for food stamps, child support, or seek some other government aid because a minimum wage job cannot afford necessities and luxury. But what if I told you, just by changing your priorities, that you can live debt-free, mortgage-free, and rent-free without having a career or going to college. Throughout this blog, I have repeatedly stated people should aim to live self-sufficiently and independent. In other words, we should aim to live for free by using the materials around us that are recyclable, reusable, all natural, and biodegradable in order to live cheap, save the planet, and save each other. 

the Media still promotes unhealthy eating standards

Famous weight loss programs/products, such as Weight Watchers, Atkins Diet, Jenny Craig, Sensa, and QuickTrim are telling people to starve themselves (or learn to starve yourself). While advertisements tell women/girls to lose weight by learning to calorie restrict, female figures (i.e. Mothers, teachers, sociologists, etc) tell women/girls they should be happy about their body and proud of their curves.

Overall, we believe women should feel good about their body while protesting media's beauty standards. Although it is not always possible to be proud of your body when you're overweight or even slightly chunky because it suggests you've "let-yourself-go" or "got-out-of-control." Subsequently, weight loss programs want you to restrict your food intake SO THAT YOU CAN STILL EAT YOUR ANIMAL PRODUCTS (meat, dairy, eggs, poultry, gelatin, etc.) The media would NEVER promote a low fat (cooked or raw) vegan diet because they cannot make money off of you that way (because you actually lose weight and save money and can eat as much as you want!!!) Plus, the media would not want you to give up your meat products because that would be like telling you to give up your cell phone.

Considering this, even a feminist woman, like myself, is not happy with her body shape... IF they're eating a high-fat diet. Most women have jobs (or several jobs) while attending college, taking care of kids (which is a four-person job), and trying to have a social life or intimate relationship. And of course it's easy to be eating fast foods, prepackaged foods, pre-made meals, frozen dinners when you're constantly on-the-go! That's what the MEDIA wants you to think. While the media is making you spend more money on skin care products, diet pills, multivitamins, makeup, exercise DVDs, and diet programs -- they're also making you spend more money on expensive, high-fat, low-calorie foods and diet plans. The media is promoting a calorie and carb restricting, anorexic, and bulimic diet!
The media also doesn't want you to grow your own food or eat a whole foods/plant-based diet because big corporations cannot make money off of you that way.

You should be eating for less money, for best nutrition, high-carb, high-calorie, and low fat to get skinny and happy about your NATURAL BODY SHAPE. Want to know how? If you want to look like a goddess, model, powerful, and happy woman: eat all the fruit, veggies, beans, and grains you want! Did I say you could have vegan pasta?!? Did I say you could eat potatoes!?! Did I say you could eat rice!? Yes, yes, and yes!

Get rid of the meat, dairy, eggs, poultry, OIL, OIL, OIL, and limit the amount of plant-based fats like nuts, seeds, and avocados. Since you're getting rid of the fat in your life, eat all the fruit and vegetables as you want (with some beans and grains.)

Eating a plant-based diet comes with an overwhelming amount of benefits. Studies have proven we should take out the fat (meat and dairy products) in order to overcome health obstacles, for example the China Study Many US doctors have seen drastic improvements in their patients health and weight loss when switching to a low fat vegan diet, like John McDougall, Neal Barnard, and Caldwell B. Esselestyn, Jr.

The most natural diet is consumption of fruit and greens, carbohydrate rich, low fat vegan practices. A moralistic diet represents ethical treatment of humans and animals.