Equalogy

Archive for the ‘gardening’ Category

When most feminist-minded women think about having kids and raising a family there is one question in their mind: will being a homemaker go against my autonomy as a woman?

For Shannon Hayes, a writer for Yes Magazine, this question also involved the impact her decision would have on the planet.  She doesn’t believe in conforming to gender roles, but the sustainable benefits of having her AND her husband stay home with the kids outweighed any negatives.  After doing some research she also discovered that it was only after the industrial revolution took over America that taking care of the household was deemed “women’s work”

A search for the origin of the word housewife traces it back to the thirteenth century, as the feudal period was coming to an end in Europe and the first signs of a middle class were popping up. Historian Ruth Schwartz Cowan explains that housewives were wedded to husbands, whose name came from hus, an old spelling of house, and bonded. Husbands were bonded to houses, rather than to lords. Housewives and husbands were free people, who owned their own homes and lived off their land. While there was a division of labor among the sexes in these early households, there was also an equal distribution of domestic work. Once the Industrial Revolution happened, however, things changed. Men left the household to work for wages, which were then used to purchase goods and services that they were no longer home to provide.

Hayes had the notion that she was not alone in her new profession which she deemed “Radical Homemakers” and went across America to study other families like hers.

By virtue of these skills, the Radical Homemakers I interviewed were building a great bridge from our existing extractive economy—where corporate wealth has been regarded as the foundation of economic health, where mining our Earth’s resources and exploiting our international neighbors have been acceptable costs of doing business—to a life serving economy, where the goal is, in the words of David Korten, to generate a living for all, rather than a killing for a few; where our resources are sustained, our waters are kept clean, our air pure, and families and can lead meaningful lives.

Read the rest of Hayes testimonial to Radical Homemakers here

Taking a cue from 2003′s  Calendar Girls, a movie in which older British women bare all for leukemia research, Erika Biddle decided to jump on the train of the increasingly popular brand of calendars where locals pose naked for a cause.

In celebration of Earth Day’s 40th birthday, Biddle only asked women over 40 to pose, resulting in 15 women ages 44-78 posing au naturale in naturally beautiful locations.

The 500 calendars were sold, raising $8,000 for the non-profit organization Green Living and Education.

To hear about all the locations Biddle chose, read the full article here

In other Nude News, these women (and 2 men!) protested naked against the war in Afghanistan, hoping to put an end to the myth that War is Peace

California has changed its laws on graywater, making it more accesible and feasible for people to use.  Graywater, in case you haven’t heard the term yet, refers to the wastewater used when doing things around the house such as bathing, washing dishes or laundry.  Many have set up a system that takes that water straight to the their plants, but with more lenient regulations and a lower price tag, more people can implement this sustainable practice in their home.

From the San Fransisco Chronicle:

By some estimates there are already 1.7 million graywater systems at work in California – the vast majority without permits. Nationwide, there are about 8 million, according to Art Ludwig, a Santa Barbara environmental designer and leader in the graywater field.

Ludwig believes that number will only grow as more states grapple with the reality of water shortages, the problems posed by industrial agriculture and the shift toward what he describes as a more direct connection with the land and other precious resources.

“When you’re in a city and your water comes from the Sierra or wherever, you don’t necessarily care what you’re pouring down the drain,” Ludwig said. “But when you’re doing graywater and watering your citrus tree, you care.”

Check out the testimonials from households already using the system and more pictures here

Since I posted a short rant about Angry Green Girl yesterday, I figured today it would be a good idea to show a woman and her daughter who are vlogging about urban sustainable living the right way!  They are called the Garden Girls and feature Patti Moreno and her daughter and their backyard garden in Boston.

From her YouTube channel:

Working tirelessly to promote her ideas on the benefits and joys of urban gardening, Patti has also taken her message to the masses in a variety of ways. She is a contributing editor to Fine Gardenings GROW magazine, a columnist for Organic Gardening Magazine, a contributor for Farmers Almanac, and the host of their series Farmers Almanac TV. In addition, she has her own retail product line that was named Best Retail Product at both the 2008 Independent Garden Center Show in Chicago and the 2009 New England Grows Show.

The Garden Girls cover everything from how to set up a simple compost bin, to picking blueberries and making raised beds for an urban garden.  Check them out on YouTube for more great videos!