Oddbean new post about login | logout ***Permaculture Ethic: People Care*** Helping a neighbor reclaim his trailer that was loaded with spoiled hay https://i.nostr.build/tRo2xnW9ExnBbywo.jpg A neighbor down the road has been having continued health issues limiting his ability to do physical work. He generously lent me his disc to plant the turnips in another neighbor's field across the street from me. I called him asking for advice on how to plant the turnips using the limited equipment I had available and he offered up the disc without question. https://i.nostr.build/7MNfafsAahlRBMg8.jpg After returning the disc, I told him I would be happy to help him out for a few hours as a way of saying thanks for the favor. He didn't hesitate to take me up on it because he needed to get rid of the spoiled hay on one of his trailers. I was happy to take the hay and use for bedding in my chicken compost system. https://i.nostr.build/zWChRiHvhUA7X8mn.jpg By helping the neighbor across the street manage the weeds in his field by planting turnips to graze my sheep this winter, I was also able to help the neighbor down the road by returning the favor of him lending me the disc. In each instance I was trying to take care of my community and in return I was rewarded by gaining access to marginal land and renewable resources that those neighbors didn't value as much as I did. https://i.nostr.build/KLXrlzGIo1bjCZG4.jpg It's taken me several years of living in this area for the relationships to build but we are all winning by taking care of each other. nostr:nevent1qqs9aq6lfz9e6hyz546w6467falrlzgezpgk3cp55p8l9ffgwgpq5gqpz9mhxue69uhkummnw3ezuamfdejj7q3qf5pre6wl6ad87vr4hr5wppqq30sh58m4p33mthnjreh03qadcajsxpqqqqqqzmlvj5y #permaculture #permies #homesteading #meshtadel #learnpermaculture #peoplecare
This is a kind of value for value trade. Because value is subjective, we can all walk away thinking we got more out of the trade. Neighbors are important in a rural setting. Government services just take too long to get to you. You have to help each other when theres an emergency.
Exactly! I try to operate with the ethics in mind first and all the capital/yields I accumulate are downstream of the ethics. The obtain a yield principle is important when designing systems because it's the incentive to follow the ethics. If someone wants to simply spend their time giving in the name of the ethics, obtaining a yield makes it more sustainable. There's a fine line in balancing the social capital of favors between neighbors. I try to create win win situations instead being extractive and I try to go out of my way to reciprocate on generosity. Sometimes it's hard to pinpoint what's meaningful to the neighbors, especially at first when I didn't know them well. My nextdoor neighbor, I found out, could care less about my homebrew even though he drinks beer every day. He sticks to the beer he likes and that's it. To me the homebrew is very valuable and when I give it away it's a sacrifice but what I found my nextdoor neighbor really wants is someone to rely on to feed his cats when he goes away on fishing trips.
Yes - we really can't know what people actually value until we've developed a relationship. What people value most highly also usually reveals a perceived weakness. Expressing what you value also allows others to more effectively reciprocate. Anticipating what people generally will value is also difficult. You know the opportunity cost associated with growing anything is what you could do with that time, land & resources pointed elsewhere. Sometimes you just have to observe & iterate though. Can you even imagine what this way of thinking leads to at scale?
