Water: More precious than Gold
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Water: More precious than Gold
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ALTERNATIVES
But no one is an island unto themselves, no 'one' (paradoxically) stands alone. All the rules and law of society have come about because people wanted the collective group of Humans in that district, land or civilisation to simply get on without too much trouble. But when the rules and regulations got too much, and when what was "legal" became an intrusion in the private rights of the individual, more and more people began believing that the system as it stood was becoming a burden to them, not a help. These are the ones in the past who became the cliff hangers, the ones on the edge of society. In the 1960's the revolution occurred and the cliffhangers became their own movement. Peace and Love, make love not war, these became the new catch phrases. Of course, it was doomed to failure in the short term. You can't defy the military and political structures of society all that easily, and expect that the status quo will allow you to "Tune on, Tune in, and Drop Out" all that easily. There were protests against the unnecessary Vietnam War that became the glue that held people together, and later the protests over the Franklin River also became a catalyst and a new focus for the rapidly growing Alternative Society. At this time the issues of the wilderness and Mother Earth became powerful influences, and the heart of the Alternative movement became focussed on a love for the planet being more important than your love of money. In truth, it was a step up in consciousness throughout the entire movement. The issues of Conservation and Environment turned the tide from self obsessed Hippies to people with purpose. The protest at Timbarra, like Jabiluka, have been the setting agent to cement a new awareness of the rights and the power of the Alternative Movement to create positive change in the society about us. Never before have common folk taken on the might of the Mining Industry and WON. And so Timbarra is a milestone as powerful as the 1960's and the Franklin River Protests, which, in time will become a focus and rally point for generations to come. Naturally, the war at Timbarra is not yet over, but the commitment is powerful… We can't allow a Greed Driven Gold Mining Corporation to dig in the bones of the Cathedral. Yet for the Alternative Movement to truly survive, there is another milestone it needs to leap over. No matter which way we look at it, the current movement in Australia is based on a Government handout. A high percentage of people who feel compelled to Drop Out do so because they CAN. And it is the Government payments that allow this. FREEDOM THROUGH WORK The Dole is death to the Spirit of the individual. I personally am not saying it is wrong, but that the cost of the Dole is high on a spiritual level… Why? Because if we are saying to ourselves inwardly "I can't look after myself." This becomes a negative chant that breaks down the person's belief in themselves. It is also an opening for the arrows and slings of societies wrath. This is why the land owners at Timbarra went out and beat up the Greenies… Not because they were protesting but because these landowners believed these people were worthless. They couldn’t look after themselves, they lived off the dole, the Government handout… They wanted blood for the inconvenience caused by these low life scum. It won’t change. As soon as the current level of wealth takes a dive, and it will, then those who consider themselves the majority will start picking on the minorities once more. It is called "finding a scapegoat". The only way to avoid this is to develop structures within the Alternative Movement that are self supporting, and which contribute in a positive way to the rest of society. And let us not forget that 'society' is really an agreement between Humans on how they will behave and get on together. There are many options, and the agricultural solution is clearly the best. Obviously, of people love the earth, it makes sense they should work with it and help the body of people in our society … As a result, we get paid for our efforts. That money, either in barter or in cash, gives greater freedom of action for all. What are the crops? Well, certainly the traditional ones will not do. They require too many pesticides and are not suited to the ecosystems they are being forced into as a rule. Organic fruit and vegetables are clearly a major focus, both to feed the communities that are working to provide these, and as an important income source. Currently negotiations are underway at high levels for the set up of Organic Fruit and Vegetable supermarkets Australia Wide. This will involve contracting out the growing of these at set rates, and so this will become the Golden Opportunity for groups to amalgamate and create a powerful and stable income stream for themselves and their community. Contact the address supplied at the end of this book if you are interested in participating in one of these ventures. A farm will need to be set up near every capital city, so if you have the right sort of chemical free large acreage get in touch … Please write and we may be able to help you get underway with this project. EXOTIC ALTERNATIVES for SELF SUFFICIENCY There are other more exotic alternative crops, such as Babaco (Mountain Paw Paw), Bamboo, Essential Oil Crops, Herb Crops (Medicinal and Spice) and how many more good ideas? There are hundreds of ways people can go if they work together and become self supporting. One of the truly interesting avenues that has opened up in recent times is a Policy Statement under SEPP 15 ratified in April 1998. This is a policy that allows, for the first time in modern society, for a group of people to collectively hold land and build self sustaining eco-villages WITHOUT the pain of Multiple Occupancy and Community Title applications. (These are very expensive and time consuming applications) Only one that I know of is approved at this point, in the Lismore Shire. But this opens the door for people to genuinely consider banding together, purchasing land, and creating an environment for themselves that is stable and long lasting. It is an exciting development in the legal structure, which allows previously illegal situation to be made legal. Personally I hate it when someone buys some land, puts up their own house, but because they didn’t fill out all the paper work and pay all the costs to the local council… They are then "illegal". It is patently absurd, but that is how the present structure is. At least this new development recognises a need, and allows the individual to work WITH society rather than (of necessity) against it. PERMACULTURE CITIES But Rusty was clearly told in his revelation with the Golden Light… "With the seed of the Hemp Plant"… Permaculture cities using the seed of the Hemp Plant. At first I was a little hesitant to push this barrow, knowing the bias against marijuana that exists in society. Marijuana, or 'dope', is considered as the hall mark of the Drop Out, the Hippie. It is seen as the evil drug that is destroying social values, and causing children to get onto Heroin. The Authorities even teach this in the Police Academy! It is a pity that this is completely erroneous, because it makes such a good scapegoat. Now let me stress… NO ONE here is recommending the use of marijuana. No One here believes that children should be using this drug, or any drug. But let's set the record straight… It is not "evil". Marijuana is just a product that has many good commercial application, and a few negative possibilities of misuse. The entire history of how Marijuana was made into the "Evil Weed" is charted in the excellent documentary narrated by Jack Thompson "The Billion Dollar Crop". I spoke with Jack about this documentary, and I asked if all the salient facts were accurate. I asked because they were damning to society, and the way it suppressed a perfectly good business to favour powerful money cartels. His answer was … "We watered it down. There is no way we could have stated ALL the facts without getting heavily sued." The suppression of the cannabis trade is one of the evils of our society incarnate, not the use of cannabis, but the suppression of it. Let's go over the story in brief so we know we are all up to speed. Cannabis, or Marijuana as the authorities called it, was a healthy business through out the world. Hemp made the best rope, the longest wearing clothes, and was considered a better crop to grow than cotton with the exception of one thing… There was no automated harvesting. This gave cotton a price advantage that led to it becoming a major force in the market place. Along side this, the powerful Rockafeller family had developed through one of its subsidiary companies to the oil industry (Dupont) an alternative fabric… Nylon. When the mechanical harvester for Cannabis was developed, both these cartels realised that they would be putting their industry at risk if they didn’t stop it… So they bribed, cajoled and persuaded statuary authorities to ban the growing of this crop… And all because there was a history of drug usage in some very small circles. This came about largely from the farm workers who used the drug t ease the pain of their hard days work. They could not afford alcohol, so they used Cannabis. These same workers became the musicians that went to Chicago, and made they name and fortune… They took with them the use of Cannabis as a recreational drug. Now we are talking about .001% of the entire population using a drug that at the time was far less powerful than the hybrids of the species are today. We are talking about a nonsense figure in relation to alcohol abuse and pharmaceutical drug abuse… But his "abuse" became the focus of a major campaign to BAN the evil 'wed'. HEMP is a MILLION DOLLAR CROP More than this, the US Government participated in this venture… They paid for the propaganda, but they did a rather amazing thing. They did not call the drug "cannabis" as was known by the cannabis growers… They called it "Marijuana". This was a term used by a few Mexican farmers, and was completely unknown in the United States. The net result was that the Cannabis farmers did not even KNOW they were talking about banning the crop they grew. They could not rally support against the propaganda, because they didn’t even realise the government was going to ban the Hemp Crop they had been growing for generation. In fact, the Hemp Growers were excited about the new possibilities opening up for them with mechanisation, and the last thing on their mind was that the Government was going to knife their industry in the back. But that is what happened… Government agents turned up, ripped up their crops, and said they were bad men for growing Hemp. It was a political process used exclusively against the people in order to promote cartels that poisoned the land. The banning of Hemp was INJURIOUS to society, not a help. It was an active and calculated move by the US Government to negate competition to Dupont and the Cotton industry, and it makes no sense to think otherwise. Cotton is one of the most poisonous crops. It is destroying the water table here in Australia, it consumes VAST amounts of sprays to keep down the insects that love to eat it, and it consumes vast acreage's in order to survive as a mass market product. Nylon, well… Would you wear it if you had a choice of something better which you could afford? Nylon has been associated with disease causing aspect because of the way it stops the skin from breathing. Apart from stockings, not many use the stuff today at all… But the plastic manufacturing has taken off. Plastics are one of the great poisons choking the planet today. They are flowing into the rivers and oceans, killing the fish and clogging up the drains. The man who invented the plastics of modern day times was so guilty when he realised what he had done, that he invested a fortune in developing plastics that break down in sunlight. Has this taken off? Nope… It uses Starch, not petroleum. Don’t mess with the petrol companies… They don’t like it. And don’t forget what the petrol companies own… Dupont is but one arm… The Anti-HEMP Lobby is a Capitalist Plot! And so Hemp remains Banned. A billion dollar crop set aside and wasted. It has so many uses, we cannot name them all here, but essentially the BEST clothing material, the BEST rope, the BEST paper… Even the US Currency is printed on Hemp. And what is the harm to the environment? Virtually none. Nothing likes to eat it, apart from wallaby and kangaroo in the early stages. It grows in semi arid conditions, it does not leach the water table, it does not contribute to rising salt levels, it does not need poisons to grow… Yet it grows prolifically in this climate. And who are the people who know more about growing Hemp than anyone? The Alternative Movement… Because this has been a mainstay income for them for years. Doesn't it make sense to grow the non-hybrid Hemp Plants as a major farming project Australia wide for agricultural purposes? We have a crop that can be earning Australia many times the national debt, and we are simply ignoring it… Why? I would like to suggest that it is not because a few people might sneak in, grab some heads, and get stoned… I would suggest it is because Private Interest Groups are MAKING it this way. SO we are ignoring a major income stream. By legalising the growing of hemp for commercial purposes, the government can authorise the use of only the low THC varieties… Not a hard thing to do I might add… that are entirely unattractive to drug users. While they are at it, the Government may as well decriminalise Cannabis growing as they have in South Australia, which stops the criminal element from being involved. If you can grow a plant in your own backyard, why pay lots of money for it? Remember, it costs as much as Gold!! There are trials of the crop going on right now in Tasmania, so there is some hope at the end of the tunnel… But it is a hard road to hoe in order to get this wonderful crop back into the marketplace. But what does a crop like this mean for COMMUNITY! What it means is that a real cash resource can open up for ordinary people to move back to the land, and earn a decent living. Communitie4s can also use the Hemp plant as building materials… I bet you didn’t realise the stuff actually grows to become a TREE… It is a strong but brittle wood that has applications in many areas. The oils and resins of the Hemp Plant have an incredible array of uses… Many are probably not even discovered, because it has been banned through the period where the industrial chemists might have turned their hands to looking at its uses. But the essential quality of the Oils is the THC it produces… This is what gets you stoned, but in nature it is what blocks out the UV light and allows the plant to grow in almost desert conditions of sunlight. Blocking UV Light is a prime concenr in creating stable building products. Research has already been done in creating building boards from wastepaper. The addition of a product like Hemp Oil is what is needed to 'seal' the product and make it UV stable. The only alternatives are expensive chemical additives from 3M, or heavy weight processing and heating of aluminium salts. But given the opportunity, we can solve our waste paper problem, and convert all this into building products. Rusty's vision of a permaculture city may not be so far fetched at all. Hemp is not the only crop, but it must be seen as a major alternative income stream for communities. Obviously there needs to be the food gardens as well, and the community needs to be self supporting as much as possible… But what does "self supporting" actually mean? What does SELF SUFFICIENT Mean? Many people think it is being an Island, but that is the opposite of self support. It is simply to not 'rely' on other people to support you. In fact, we should change the name to "Mutual Support" because any community relies of every other member of the community to pull their weight. If everyone lifts an ounce, the pound is lifted. If everyone does their bit, and grows a tonne of something that is useful to other people, the weight of the world goes off your shoulders… People WANT what you have, you feel loved, needed and respected. This is MORE important than the money you earn. You now move into a state of being where you feel WORTHY. This is what community offers, a fast track to a sense of worthiness. It also offers a fast track to disaster if people cannot work together. This is another reason why a crop such as Hemp is perfect for Alternative Communities. It is ideologically motivating as well as financially motivating. Hemp is the crop that will help people to get out there ad DO it… Not talk about it. I look at the Tweed Valley and see thousands of acres of Sugar Cane… This is probably the world's most useless crop and one of the most damaging to the health of our children. (I won't go into the evil of overly processed sugars and grains at this point). Replace this with Hemp, and you have a higher profit margin, an improved ecology (No more dead fish every time it floods) and a healthier population… How many realise that the toxins from the burning of the cane contribute to the single fact that the Tweed Valley has the highest rate of Asthma per head of population anywhere in the world? What is more, sugar is such a cheap crop that it doesn’t earn much money. In fact, this year it was SUBSIDISED by the Government. It looks to me like we should be banning sugar, not hemp. Certainly the Tweed Valley would be a lot better off if the Government did!! The Government won’t… I know… But the idea should cause a ripple of thought. However, if you think of how many deaths are directly linked to sugar abuse, the proven association with ADD and hyperactivity, the medical proof that indicates excess sugar as a major health condition of society … Then given that Marijuana is banned for far less of a consequence… Why NOT sugar? COWS: Environmental Vandals? Other alternatives need to be looked at as well. As Rusty has often said "We are allowing kids to starve in the streets while we give the cows the best real estate!" Cows are a major environmental vandal. Not only because each cow produces 2000 litres of Methane Gas a DAY (Yep, a day) but also because of what they are tying up in land and resource which is better suited to other uses. In truth, if we want to be meat eaters, we really should be eating poultry, pig and kangaroo. These are food sources that are not injurious to the environment, and which thrive in our climate. The Cattle trade and the Dairy trade are the single greatest contributors to deforestation in Western Society. If every cow and bull was shot today the only problem it would create would be the use of dairy substitutes and the eating of different meats. But I like my cheese, and I don’t want to see that happen because my own interests are being put at stake on this one… I will bet that a LOT of people are saying the same thing as they read this. This is the essential problem… The Self Interest Groups get a stranglehold on the ears of the politicians and policy makers… and they apply pressure and cash (Let's not forget the bribes) to obtain the legal results they require. That's life in Western Society. What does this mean for the Alternative Movement? It means it needs to form a lobby group strong enough to deal with the policy makers. This means organisation, which means resources and a central FOCUS. Timbarra has provided the beginning of this focus, so from an evil good will spring… Potentially. It is up to each individual to come to an agreement within themselves of the direction to go with this. The reason the Romans ruled the world for so long, and still do within their ideology that has been supplanted into the Western ruling consciousness, is that they were ORGANISED. The Celts, God love them, were a rabble in comparison. The reason they lost was not that they were not good fighters, or well intentioned.. It was because they were not well organised. They were TOO independent to come to an agreement within their own tribal groups. LET'S CREATE A HOME FOR THE GOLDEN ONES My personal suggestion is that the building of community will be the start of this focus. THIS is where things must start… HERE is where the Golden Children will flow to, because they will feel that this is the place where the seeds of their truth can take root and not be dragged out with the words "It's just your imagination". It is naïve to think that we few will change the course of the world in this one lifetime. It has taken thousands of years to get to this point, and it will take time to change… But we can START. By creating community that allows greater individual freedom, and greater awareness of thought, we can open the door for the Golden Ones to step through. WE ARE THE DOOR OPENERS This is our task. We are the door openers, the guardians of the gate. We will solve nothing by trying to impress people with our own ideas… So why not step back and allow that wonderful Love that is waiting to come to this planet to flow? We can be the harbingers of a new Golden Age of simplicity and kindness amongst our fellows… Or we can stand to the side constantly wanting our own view to be seen as important. This world needs people like Rusty Harris to help create the energy and the focus we need to create the first Golden Child Communities. He is the one who is prepared and able to create the energy and focus we need to build community… and there are many more like him waiting to help out. But you… yes… YOU… You need to set aside your belief in your personal importance long enough to look into your heart and ask yourself "What do I truly want?" Do you want the Earth to be a Garden? Do you want to help ring the bell that will attract the Golden Children? Do you want to get out of the mill wheel of society and become your own free and independent spirit? I can understand if it is too great a jump… Leaping from conformity to the strange new world of freedom is just too much ... Take a battery hen out of its cage, and it will hide from the sunlight. It is just too different, too strange and experience. So maybe make the shift gradually. Stay in your cage for a year or two longer if that is what you need to do, but contribute SOMETHING to the vision. Give some time and energy, give some money… Help those who want to offer the world the new alternative. If you are in the public service, start asking questions… These are powerful things. Start building a pathway to freedom inside yourself. You CAN be a part of something Great… You CAN be a part of a new awareness that is currently sweeping the planet. It is up to you… Do you want the Garden outside your door, where you have no mortgage and the freedom to be yourself? Or do you want to continue as the isolated cell in your society? Either way, as long as you CHOOSE something you will be in a better position internally. But give consideration to speaking with your friends… asking them if they are interested in the group purchase of land. We all want the acreage in the country, and if you have the job that helps pay for it, learn to work with others and make it a reality. There are several ways you can go to make this a reality. The first is with Tourist Cabins. This is the easy way to get an application happening to create multiple housing on a single title. GET TOGETHER WITH YOUR FRIENDS You can apply under the policy statement of SEPP 15 in NSW for a rural land share, again allowing multiple housing. You can go for Multiple Occupancy (Not recommended unless you are with close friends) or Community Title (Individual Free hold title over a single block of land) … You can just buy some land and put up "sheds"… I saw one "shed" that was 300 sq m with Moon Rooms of Glass and huge balconies… The council inspector said it was the best shed he had ever seen! But thank GOD it didn’t have a stove in the marble kitchen, because then it would have been a HOUSE, and that wasn't allowed in the rather strange zoning circumstance the "shed" occupied. SO MANY OPPORTUNITIES! Contact us if you want to talk about these things, because there are opportunities left right and centre for creative individuals who are prepared to look at the ALTERNATIVE… If you have a group of interested folk, we will help. That is what the Alternative Movement is really all about, networking and connecting with people who share your vision, and allowing the freedom and respect for life, the environment and the individual to flow to all.
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