Gen Z Permies

Silas Rempel wrote:Generation Z, colloquially known as Zoomers, is the demographic cohort succeeding Millennials and preceding Generation Alpha. Researchers and popular media use the mid-to-late 1990s as starting birth years and the early 2010s as ending birth years. Wikipedia

^ I had to look that up 😁

Hello everyone my name is Silvanus but most folks call me Silas or si. My dream is to have a permaculture homestead somewhere. Meet someone special and raise a family while hopefully raising pastured livestock and fruits and vegetables. My biggest challenge is I live on a small acerage that is completely surrounded by conventional row crop ag fields so my little garden gets a ton of chemical drift. Hoping to move soon and maybe start wwoofing to gain exsperience. Can't wait to meet more of y'all!!!

Cam Haslehurst wrote:

Silas Rempel wrote:Generation Z, colloquially known as Zoomers, is the demographic cohort succeeding Millennials and preceding Generation Alpha. Researchers and popular media use the mid-to-late 1990s as starting birth years and the early 2010s as ending birth years. Wikipedia

^ I had to look that up 😁

Hello everyone my name is Silvanus but most folks call me Silas or si. My dream is to have a permaculture homestead somewhere. Meet someone special and raise a family while hopefully raising pastured livestock and fruits and vegetables. My biggest challenge is I live on a small acerage that is completely surrounded by conventional row crop ag fields so my little garden gets a ton of chemical drift. Hoping to move soon and maybe start wwoofing to gain exsperience. Can't wait to meet more of y'all!!!

It sounds like you have pretty similar aspirations to my own! Whereabouts are you?

Silas Rempel wrote:

Cam Haslehurst wrote:

Silas Rempel wrote:Generation Z, colloquially known as Zoomers, is the demographic cohort succeeding Millennials and preceding Generation Alpha. Researchers and popular media use the mid-to-late 1990s as starting birth years and the early 2010s as ending birth years. Wikipedia

^ I had to look that up 😁

Hello everyone my name is Silvanus but most folks call me Silas or si. My dream is to have a permaculture homestead somewhere. Meet someone special and raise a family while hopefully raising pastured livestock and fruits and vegetables. My biggest challenge is I live on a small acerage that is completely surrounded by conventional row crop ag fields so my little garden gets a ton of chemical drift. Hoping to move soon and maybe start wwoofing to gain exsperience. Can't wait to meet more of y'all!!![/quote
It sounds like you have pretty similar aspirations to my own! Whereabouts are you?

Just north of Greenville Mississippi

Nowhere near me, but good to know there's another young person learning this stuff. Best of luck to you Silas.

Cam Haslehurst wrote:

Silas Rempel wrote:

Cam Haslehurst wrote:

Silas Rempel wrote:Generation Z, colloquially known as Zoomers, is the demographic cohort succeeding Millennials and preceding Generation Alpha. Researchers and popular media use the mid-to-late 1990s as starting birth years and the early 2010s as ending birth years. Wikipedia

^ I had to look that up 😁

Hello everyone my name is Silvanus but most folks call me Silas or si. My dream is to have a permaculture homestead somewhere. Meet someone special and raise a family while hopefully raising pastured livestock and fruits and vegetables. My biggest challenge is I live on a small acerage that is completely surrounded by conventional row crop ag fields so my little garden gets a ton of chemical drift. Hoping to move soon and maybe start wwoofing to gain exsperience. Can't wait to meet more of y'all!!![/quote
It sounds like you have pretty similar aspirations to my own! Whereabouts are you?

Just north of Greenville Mississippi

Nowhere near me, but good to know there's another young person learning this stuff. Best of luck to you Silas.

The same to you! God bless!!

Cam Haslehurst wrote:Hey James, thanks for posting this. I am definitely Gen Z as I was born in 1998. I am pretty much brand new to permaculture.

I learned about the state of our civilization and our planet around the end of last year and it shook me up quite a bit. For a few months I think I was depressed now that I look back on it now. My parents grew worried because I wasn't making all the dumb jokes I usually do and we eventually talked about it. From there I improved until I got to where I am today. Active Hope by Joanna Macy was and still is a big inspiration for me. "Hope is something you do, not something you have" she says. And she's right. The big change was going from waiting for humanity to do something to getting off my ass and doing something! I now consider myself a builder of whatever world follows this one. I see in my mind's eye of network of people fighting for our planet in diverse ways: some tell the story of ecological collapse or climate change, even if few listen. Others teach about how to survive and thrive in a changing world. Some fight to change or replace the corrupt systems that are in place now with something better. Many folks are getting to know local farmers, and starting to garden, and turning away from endless consumption. I see myself as just one tiny part of this growing network of people who are, in big or small ways, doing their part to love and protect our collective home. It's this thought that gets me out of bed in the morning and what drives me to do what I do.

As of now, I'm learning as much as I can about permaculture as possible. I am lined up to visit a permaculture homestead this summer and I am oh so excited to get my hands dirty and to soak up as much knowledge as I can. I hope some more folks respond to this thread, I am curious about how many younger folks there are out there.

James Landreth wrote:

Cam Haslehurst wrote:Hey James, thanks for posting this. I am definitely Gen Z as I was born in 1998. I am pretty much brand new to permaculture.

I learned about the state of our civilization and our planet around the end of last year and it shook me up quite a bit. For a few months I think I was depressed now that I look back on it now. My parents grew worried because I wasn't making all the dumb jokes I usually do and we eventually talked about it. From there I improved until I got to where I am today. Active Hope by Joanna Macy was and still is a big inspiration for me. "Hope is something you do, not something you have" she says. And she's right. The big change was going from waiting for humanity to do something to getting off my ass and doing something! I now consider myself a builder of whatever world follows this one. I see in my mind's eye of network of people fighting for our planet in diverse ways: some tell the story of ecological collapse or climate change, even if few listen. Others teach about how to survive and thrive in a changing world. Some fight to change or replace the corrupt systems that are in place now with something better. Many folks are getting to know local farmers, and starting to garden, and turning away from endless consumption. I see myself as just one tiny part of this growing network of people who are, in big or small ways, doing their part to love and protect our collective home. It's this thought that gets me out of bed in the morning and what drives me to do what I do.

As of now, I'm learning as much as I can about permaculture as possible. I am lined up to visit a permaculture homestead this summer and I am oh so excited to get my hands dirty and to soak up as much knowledge as I can. I hope some more folks respond to this thread, I am curious about how many younger folks there are out there.

They're out there, for sure (younger permaculture and activists in general)

I know a big challenge for our generation is access to land. But we've been coming up with all sorts of solutions to that across the board. Some people practice responsible guerilla planting. I volunteer to help religious groups set up food forests and pollinator gardens. Every bit helps, for sure. I've been so lucky to see as much progress as I have

I just want you all to know that you're not alone, and that there is hope, and that younger people like you have a seat at the table.

I'm far removed from your generation, but I'm happy to see that there are people your age interested in permaculture/homesteading/making the world a better place.  Thanks for that.

James Landreth wrote:

Cam Haslehurst wrote:Hey James, thanks for posting this. I am definitely Gen Z as I was born in 1998. I am pretty much brand new to permaculture.

I learned about the state of our civilization and our planet around the end of last year and it shook me up quite a bit. For a few months I think I was depressed now that I look back on it now. My parents grew worried because I wasn't making all the dumb jokes I usually do and we eventually talked about it. From there I improved until I got to where I am today. Active Hope by Joanna Macy was and still is a big inspiration for me. "Hope is something you do, not something you have" she says. And she's right. The big change was going from waiting for humanity to do something to getting off my ass and doing something! I now consider myself a builder of whatever world follows this one. I see in my mind's eye of network of people fighting for our planet in diverse ways: some tell the story of ecological collapse or climate change, even if few listen. Others teach about how to survive and thrive in a changing world. Some fight to change or replace the corrupt systems that are in place now with something better. Many folks are getting to know local farmers, and starting to garden, and turning away from endless consumption. I see myself as just one tiny part of this growing network of people who are, in big or small ways, doing their part to love and protect our collective home. It's this thought that gets me out of bed in the morning and what drives me to do what I do.

As of now, I'm learning as much as I can about permaculture as possible. I am lined up to visit a permaculture homestead this summer and I am oh so excited to get my hands dirty and to soak up as much knowledge as I can. I hope some more folks respond to this thread, I am curious about how many younger folks there are out there.

They're out there, for sure (younger permaculture and activists in general)

I know a big challenge for our generation is access to land. But we've been coming up with all sorts of solutions to that across the board. Some people practice responsible guerilla planting. I volunteer to help religious groups set up food forests and pollinator gardens. Every bit helps, for sure. I've been so lucky to see as much progress as I have

S. Bard wrote:
...
Europe has a lot of countries where rural properties in abandoned regions (in favour of the great move towards the cities in search for jobs) are up for grabs for very interesting prices. $25000 for a simple house (with some much needed work) and a few acres is no exception in these regions. But there’s little to no work for people who hope to be given work. There’s already a more interesting scene for self employed people willing to create work and set up a new market in a place where they have little competition. And even more ease for people who can work from home as long as there is internet.
...

Amy Arnett wrote:

S. Bard wrote:
...
Europe has a lot of countries where rural properties in abandoned regions (in favour of the great move towards the cities in search for jobs) are up for grabs for very interesting prices. $25000 for a simple house (with some much needed work) and a few acres is no exception in these regions. But there’s little to no work for people who hope to be given work. There’s already a more interesting scene for self employed people willing to create work and set up a new market in a place where they have little competition. And even more ease for people who can work from home as long as there is internet.
...

Similar situation in Japan right now. Lots of abandoned houses and land in the countryside. For people willing to jump through visa hoops and over cultural hurdles, there are lots of opportunities. The level of infrastructure still maintained in the countryside was very surprising to me. We have full bars on are cell phones and fiber optic internet is available nationwide. There are also some opportunities to earn cash in the village.

The farming population is quickly aging out, so depending on the openness of the area, farmers are looking for people to continue farming their land for free. The scale is small compared to the US, not acres, but plenty for one person to manage. Prices vary and those listed online are usually overpriced. The unlisted houses are unlisted because the owners think no one would ever buy them, so are pleasantly surprised with any offer. But getting the whole family to agree on whether or not to sell the "ancestral home" can be more difficult...even though it's falling apart....

There is a nice forum, where people talk about living and farming in the Japanese countryside to get an idea of what it's like for those interested: https://www.japansimplelife.com/index.php

We are in our thirties now, so millennials, and just starting on our land. Our neighborhood is mostly abandoned. We think it would be cool to slowly flip the neighborhood (and someday the village) into a permies neighborhood. Something to consider when travel restrictions are lifted.

Huxley Harter wrote:2002 here in north FL. Exploring human rewilding and natural farming.

ben heidorn wrote:

Huxley Harter wrote:2002 here in north FL. Exploring human rewilding and natural farming.

I fear that the human species has been domesticated for far to long to be successfully reintroduced to the wild. There are a few rare specimen out there though!

Cam Haslehurst wrote:

I learned about the state of our civilization and our planet around the end of last year and it shook me up quite a bit. For a few months I think I was depressed now that I look back on it now. My parents grew worried because I wasn't making all the dumb jokes I usually do and we eventually talked about it. From there I improved until I got to where I am today. Active Hope by Joanna Macy was and still is a big inspiration for me. "Hope is something you do, not something you have" she says. And she's right.  

J. Rosseau wrote:

Cam Haslehurst wrote:

I learned about the state of our civilization and our planet around the end of last year and it shook me up quite a bit. For a few months I think I was depressed now that I look back on it now. My parents grew worried because I wasn't making all the dumb jokes I usually do and we eventually talked about it. From there I improved until I got to where I am today. Active Hope by Joanna Macy was and still is a big inspiration for me. "Hope is something you do, not something you have" she says. And she's right.  

I'm not familiar with this writer, but Derrick Jensen is someone who has written extensively about the issues of modern civilization. You've reminded me of an essay published in Orion Magazine (a magazine worth checking out, a very beautiful publication, that at least some years ago helped shaped some of my views and thinking) -- the essay is titled "Beyond Hope".

Perhaps it's all just semantics, but he dismantles our use of the word hope pretty well.... an excerpt:

"The more I understand hope, the more I realize that all along it deserved to be in the box with the plagues, sorrow, and mischief; that it serves the needs of those in power as surely as belief in a distant heaven; that hope is really nothing more than a secular way of keeping us in line.

Hope is, in fact, a curse, a bane. I say this not only because of the lovely Buddhist saying “Hope and fear chase each other’s tails,” not only because hope leads us away from the present, away from who and where we are right now and toward some imaginary future state. I say this because of what hope is.

More or less all of us yammer on more or less endlessly about hope. You wouldn’t believe — or maybe you would — how many magazine editors have asked me to write about the apocalypse, then enjoined me to leave readers with a sense of hope. But what, precisely, is hope? At a talk I gave last spring, someone asked me to define it. I turned the question back on the audience, and here’s the definition we all came up with: hope is a longing for a future condition over which you have no agency; it means you are essentially powerless.

I’m not, for example, going to say I hope I eat something tomorrow. I just will. I don’t hope I take another breath right now, nor that I finish writing this sentence. I just do them. On the other hand, I do hope that the next time I get on a plane, it doesn’t crash. To hope for some result means you have given up any agency concerning it. Many people say they hope the dominant culture stops destroying the world. By saying that, they’ve assumed that the destruction will continue, at least in the short term, and they’ve stepped away from their own ability to participate in stopping it.

I do not hope coho salmon survive. I will do whatever it takes to make sure the dominant culture doesn’t drive them extinct. If coho want to leave us because they don’t like how they’re being treated — and who could blame them? — I will say goodbye, and I will miss them, but if they do not want to leave, I will not allow civilization to kill them off.

When we realize the degree of agency we actually do have, we no longer have to “hope” at all. We simply do the work. We make sure salmon survive. We make sure prairie dogs survive. We make sure grizzlies survive. We do whatever it takes."


https://orionmagazine.org/article/beyond-hope/


Possibly also read this one, "Forget Shorter Showers" - https://orionmagazine.org/article/forget-shorter-showers/ - this essay may be especially relevant to this community, though if I remember correctly it may also be a difficult idea to come to terms with. Personally I think there is space and room to live a good and somewhat selfish life, but one that is perhaps punctuated by important pushes of activism.






And, I think by definition I may be a millennial. Born mid-80's. Though the birth date range for millennials is quite broad I would say. For example, relating to the internet and computers, it was still quite young as my cohort grew up, we didn't see the iPhone until we were starting our 20's. I think it must have been a very different experience having access to social media, a more dominant internet, etc. in your youngest years.