Kate Thayer and her partner Clyde Curry are futurists. They have a clear vision of where the human race is headed and they don’t like what they see. Unlike many, they’re doing something about it.
“We can design a new future, we can create alternatives,” Thayer said. She leaned back in her chair. The couple and this writer are sitting in the indoor garden of their enterprise: Eve’s Garden Organic Bed and Breakfast and Ecology Resource Center in Marathon, Texas.
The faint sweet smell of Wisteria floats through the air. Splashing water percolates from a waterfall at the pond. A cat jumps on my lap and purrs.
“Our world is getting trashed because nobody is stepping up. But we’re stepping up and we’re doing it in our own backyard,” Curry said.
Blue, red, gold walls add a kaleidoscopic background to the greens and whites of their plants. They grow much of their own food indoors; Tonight’s menu: sautéed squash, onions and garlic with free-range chicken soup and home made bread.
It’s a cold mid march day, but warm inside the garden. The walls are thick and made of papercrete, a shredded recycled paper product that has amazing insulation value.
A row of guest rooms open up into the garden. The doorways are arced. Pony-walls with sweeping curves outline the inner-pond, while water gurgles from a fall into a patch of lilies.
“We call our place the Hope Center. Our job is to inspire people. To affect them. To cause an intense reaction to our place,” Thayer said. She is an attractive middle aged woman with big eyes, high cheek bones and a quick smile.
“Our leaders are corporations, entities with no souls who’s sole purpose is to make profit,” Curry said. “The system is working for the rich. But for most of us, the cannibalistic, dog eat dog economy is not getting us anywhere. We need to learn to cooperate. Cooperativism. Maintain our autonomy but work together.” He sat at a small café like table, sipping tea. His graying beard curled around his face. There’s blue paint on his straw hat.
“We need comprehensive change to solve society’s problems. Politicians don’t have the courage or the motivation to lead change. We need grass root movements,” Curry said.
“The first thing to do is cut the load. Papercrete cuts the energy load for heating and cooling by 75 per cent. Grow food locally and eliminate packaging. A million barrels of crude are used every year in this country just to make grocery bags. Eat fruits, nuts and vegetables, that cuts the load of the health care system.” Curry said.
“Eve’s Garden is a small scale example of a village. We grow most of our food and because its not handled and processed and packaged and trucked, its cheap and healthy, fresh and delicious and we don’t have to see a doctor all the time,” Curry said.
“I’m not talking about civil war,” Curry said leaning back in his wicker chair. “I’m talking about an alternative way to live peacefully that doesn’t kill the earth. People want to live healthy. I see villages, eco-villages, units of five hundred people who work together; building, growing, connecting yet maintaining their autonomy. There’s no pay scale, because everybody works at the same rate,” Curry said. “And a few basic laws to help govern.”
Thayer looks out over their inside garden that runs the length of a city block. A black butterfly scurries by. “Art, archtitecture, swiss chard, a lap pool - its OK to have beauty, its OK to have good food, its Ok to have big space too,” Thayer said.
The doorbell chimes. It’s the five o’clock guest. Curry gets up and walks down a corridor.
“There’s a look in many people’s faces when they arrive here,” Thayer said “Inspired. Appreciative. And that’s what we want.”
No comments:
Post a Comment