Appropriate level of Technology
I am fascinated with non-electric "old ways" of doing things and have an ever-growing collection of cast iron farm and kitchen machinery (hand and horse powered) as I collect up old technologies that can be adapted for use in the future. I am convinced that we are about to experience radical climate and social change, within my life time (I am 42) and I am keen to develop survival strategies that I, and my family, can share with those of the wider public who are interested. I intend to become a horse-powered farmer within the next few years, and am working on ways of becoming trained and experienced in this dwindling practice.
I have a wheat plot on our suburban back yard (dug up the lawn) as I am very keen to understand more about home-scale grain production. The books I have collected on this topic are out-of-date older titles hunted down on the internet, but thankfully still available with a bit of committed searching. I probably have the only urban wheat plot in Nelson! We have a hand grain mill imported from the US, and it does a fantastic job - very impressed.
We will begin building on our land next year. It will be a fairly slow process, but I want to have the degree finished as soon as I can, before we get too involved out there. Helen Walker