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Landlocked is an interactive blog of Detours magazine. Landlocked bloggers seek to highlight Midwest events and culture with an international perspective. Comments and questions are always welcome!

 

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A Permanent Culture of Permanent Agriculture

April 16, 2010 by Michelle Martin

By this point, the majority of us are aware that we have been on the wrong track, environmentally speaking, for many years and are still charging full speed ahead into the great incinerator of doom. Obviously, we need a new system.

For those of us who want to unplug from the machine, Permaculture offers an answer. It’s a comprehensive system designed to create agricultural and lifestyle systems that can ecologically sustain themselves. Indefinitely.

Photo from: http://www.westchestermagazine.com/images/2008/August2008/Talk%20of%20the%20County/garden-tools-6-18-08--0015

Photo from: http://www.westchestermagazine.com/images/2008/August2008/Talk%20of%20the%20County/garden-tools-6-18-08--0015

An answer to our crisis, according to Permaculture, would involve creating systems of human life that replicate the self-sustaining systems of nature. Relying upon the city to bring you water, a supermarket to sell you food, and electricity to produce your power means there are a lot of external environmental costs you don’t see on the surface. Meanwhile, you could catch your own rainwater—treating and reusing it, grow your own food from a garden and/or livestock (or buy locally) and produce your own renewable power—or don’t product it at all.

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Teaching English in China

April 03, 2010 by Jessica Rapp

Truman alumnus Mark Couch spoke last Wednesday about teaching English in China. Couch taught English as a foreign language in rural Guangdong Province and plans to return to China to continue teaching.

As someone who’s been there and done that, kudos to him!

Photo from: http://www.women-on-the-road.com/image-files/teaching-english-in-china-01.jpg

Photo from: http://www.women-on-the-road.com/image-files/teaching-english-in-china-01.jpg

I’m planning to return to China this summer to teach English to Beijingers, and I greatly look forward to the task. Teaching kids isn’t an easy job, but with a stack of UNO cards, a vocabulary list, some patience and enthusiasm, I think I fare well.

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Possibility Alliance

April 02, 2010 by Molly Skyles

Haven’t you always wanted to learn how to can your own food so you can have organic, locally grown tomatoes even in the middle of winter? How about how to build your own house out of adobe or cob? Fix your bike? Make cheese and sourdough bread?

Photo submitted by: Michelle Martin

Photo submitted by: Michelle Martin

I present to you the Possibility Alliance’s schedule for spring, summer, and autumn classes. If you haven’t heard of the Possibility Alliance, they call themselves  “an educational center practicing simplicity, self-reliance, service and gratitude.” In a nutshell, it’s a homesteading experiment in La Plata that values sustainability and service to the community. The home runs on no electricity and they make almost everything they use, down to their candlewax. These people have hosted thousands of visitors at their home who wanted to learn from them. Their guiding statement is to live so that all life can thrive. Simple and powerful. If you haven’t visited, I’d highly recommend it. They are very down to earth and enthusiastic about their mission. But just a warning-your overall perception and values might shift a little!

In addition to these classes, which last just a few hours each, you can also head over for a tour on the second Saturday of each month starting in April and ending in November. And if you want to spend some time learning hands-on, come by on the last Saturday of every month from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. for a Volunteer Day. Remember to call the folks at the Alliance for registration and to pack a bagged lunch.

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A Hand of Friendship, Mitrata-Nepal

March 24, 2010 by Slok Gyawali

The best thing about being a human is our ability to feel compassion without any regard to natural or imaginative boundaries. Mitrata-Nepal Foundation for Children in St. Louis, Mo. is one such organization that is helping to create a better environment for hundreds of children in Nepal. Founded in 2005, this organization provides shelter, medical care and educational opportunities for underprivileged children in Nepal. Through its fundraising activities it links children in Nepal with sponsors, and supports a group home for children in Kathmandu run by the Mitrata Nepal Foundation (an NGO in Nepal).

Photo from: http://mitrata.org/Default.aspx

Photo from: http://mitrata.org/Default.aspx

The organization was founded in St. Louis in 2005 by Dr. Christine Schutz of Logan University and Dr. Nancy Williger in collaboration with Mitrata Nepal Foundation in Kathmandu. It is unique in its approach toward child welfare, because its main focus is the one on one relationship between child and sponsor. By doing so, it not only provides a home through financial aid but also provides the child with a family and an emotional support system.

Another reason why the Mitrata-Nepal Foundation is distinctive is because it supports these children into adulthood, assisting them in becoming educated and independent. Seeing a child into adulthood is important to complete the mission of the organization. Doing so decreases the chances of a child being somewhat stranded half way into his education. To accomplish this, Mitara-Nepal Foundation has five basic methods: 1) Child sponsorship 2) Operational support 3) Career development and scholarship 4) Technical assistance 5) Cultural travel.

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