How much longer until the utopic Solarpunk future where Capitalism is dead and we all live in ecologically sustainable high-tech forest cities? Asking for a friend.
Until we make those ecologically sustainable high-tech forest cities ourselves. It’s going to take a lot of us to do it though, so best to spread the word (and gather native tree seeds).
And, like, get started now. Then our “weirdo houses” will be the only thing functioning when everything falls apart!
The only reason why we don’t live in a solarpunk world right now is because no one has bothered to make it yet.
We’ll have to make it ourselves, and we’ll have to help each other make it. That’s why it is solarpunk.
Some resources to consider creating or joining or doing:
Repair cafes - create or join your local repair cafe! Repair stuff, learn how to repair stuff, teach others how to repair stuff.
Map of Makerspaces - make some things! learn how to make some things! teach others how to make some things!
Community Garden Map (note that this is US-only, and not a complete list) - join a local community garden
Support your local farmers / local economy (US only link)
Support or create a local Food Not Bombs chapter
Support or create a local Food Not Lawns chapter
Grow food in 5 gallon buckets
Volunteer for Habitat for Humanity (as a bonus you can learn extremely practical skills)
Volunteer via 350.org to help the environment / the planet / the place we live and depend on
Excellent-and-still-growing wiki from reddit’s awesome r/zerowaste community - great resource to learn how to live more lightly on the earth
Spread the word about solarpunk, especially to engineering students. Show them projects like Open Source Ecology - Global Village Construction Set and Bridges for Prosperity
Learn how to Patch a Hole, Mend a Seam, and Fix a Hem
Learn how to repair a hole in the sole of a shoe
Learn some basics on passive solar design - clever use of the sun can create extremely energy efficient homes and buildings. You can use these principles to save on energy bills, even if you’re renting.
Free USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning, 2015 revision - cut down on personal food waste! Learn how to safely preserve food. Very useful if you suddenly harvest / purchase for crazy cheap in season / dumpster dive a ton of perishable food.
Donate to One Acre Fund, which provides training and capital to farmers (making them more productive and pulling them out of poverty) in various east African countries
Donate to Bridges to Prosperity, which provides technical expertise, money, and volunteers, to help local people build and maintain their own footbridges in extremely isolated rural areas
joining r/solarpunk, and sharing links/ideas/art/music with the community. Also, upvoting stuff for greater visibility. There’s over 900 members!
Adding a few!
Replant scraps from your produce
Graft fruit-bearing branches onto ornamental trees in your area
Turn plastic waste into pretty much any plastic thing you need, in your garage, with machines built out of cheap and accessible parts
Make your own paper out of recycled paper or cardboard
Build a composter or a wormery
Harvest rainwater
Mod your toilet to flush gray water (used sink/shower water, or even that rainwater you’re harvesting)
Build a solar collector on the cheap
Build a wind turbine on the cheap
Build a hydroelectric water wheel on the cheap
Get internet access without going through cable companies using cheap, low-tech equipment
Make your own beer, cheese, soap, wine… really anything you can make rather than buy is a success!
And HELP YOUR NEIGHBORS! Don’t just build/grow/mod/repair your own stuff, help them do it too! Share it! Depend on each other! Work together and grow closer with your community!
