What a year for weather!
After living in Eagle River for five years, Cindee and I
thought we knew what to expect. We
had already established the Alaskan EcoEscape Permaculture Learning Center to
teach practical skills for living sustainably on this planet, and it was time
to schedule some classes. We were
confident, last fall, when we scheduled a class on Clay-Straw Construction for the weekend of June 1-2 that we would have
several weeks to prepare. All we
needed was to get the roof up before June, so the clay would stay dry if the
weather was wet. Plenty of time.
Of course this was the year when winter wouldn’t die; it was still snowing on May 18. Before the roof could go up, we had to
prepare the site. The new
construction was going to be a greenhouse and therefore on a south-facing
slope. As it turned out, the slope
was not accessible with a tractor, so we had to dig terraces by hand,
Preparing the site for the class turned into a marathon event, digging
and wheelbarrowing late into the night, digging house posts into frozen and
rocky ground, and finally putting up walls and roof.
.
I have rarely been so exhausted in my life. But the class was worth it. In fact the class was so overbooked we
had to schedule a second weekend for another group.
Our desire was to offer a class on how to build using
alternative building techniques.
We wanted to demonstrate one of the methods that uses less fossil fuels,
that designs buildings to last centuries, and that uses materials that do
little harm to the environment.[1]
Through the Alaskan EcoEscape Permaculture Learning Center, we want to engage
people in trying out ideas for living better on the planet. This means living in right
relationships with the planet, with our fellow human beings and with God.
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| Class learning to lay Clay-straw |
Some have accused Cindee and me of being a little too
fanatical about living into a future that is different than the present. Some have expressed a distrust of
people like us, who dare to believe that God really will lead us into a
different future, the future we need.
And make no mistake, we do need a different future.
Everyone knows, for instance, that our planet cannot support
seven (maybe growing to be ten!) billion people much longer, not if we continue
living the way we are living now.
Many are praying for a very unlikely technological miracle. Others fail to believe the looming
crisis is real, because it has been developing for decades—what some have begun
to call the slow emergency. Others choose simply to ignore the
situation.
Yet, across the world millions of people are taking the
situation seriously. I believe
these people are like the Good Samaritan of Jesus’ parable. Samaritans did not follow the Bible
properly. Nevertheless, it was two
properly religious leaders who passed by an injured man, while this Samaritan
was the one who saw his plight and responded from the heart.
At our Clay-Straw Construction people came from across southern Alaska. All wanted to know about how to build using local building
materials.[2] Some wanted to know about permaculture principles
and organic gardening.[3] Most were also interested in connecting
with a community that cared about the shape of our future together.
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| Terraced Greenhouse, with clay-straw in one wall |
Christians need to be engaged at the very front of this
movement. In the South-Central
region of our presbytery there is a growing movement to grow local food, to
teach permaculture principles (for a sustainable culture), to transition into a
low fossil fuel future, and to create intentional living communities that
create more community in people’s lives.
Yet, there is no overt witness from people of faith.
The Bible begins with God’s creation of heaven and earth,
through six stages (days) of creation, ending with God simply resting in joyful
relationship with all that God had created. Human beings are explicitly called to live in right relationship
with the planet, to get their food from it and to care for it (Genesis
2:15). Psalm 104 speaks of the
wonder of creation, and God’s providence for all creation—telling us that God
loves and cares for creation for its own sake and not just to benefit
humans. In the New Testament we
are told that all creation groans in suffering as it awaits the salvation of
our God (Romans 8:22). And Jesus
told us to love our neighbor, to alleviate suffering, and to pray and live for
the kingdom (that is, for God’s will on earth).
I believe it is time for a new Christian ministry based on
God’s call for right relationships.
It is time for a ministry based on creating a sustainable future. I currently am employed to work
part-time (80%) for the presbytery.
In my 20% personal time, I have been pursuing this idea of forming a
Christian witness to God’s call for sustainable living.
What, I am wondering, shall this Christian witness look
like? Right now I am simply
talking to folks to see where the Spirit is moving. Do you have thoughts on developing a specific Christian
Witness to God’s call for sustainability?
If so, here is what you can do:
- Contact
me, Curt Karns, at exec@pbyukon.org.
- Gather some folks from you church and schedule a time to come out to our house. We can show you what we are working on through the Learning Center. Maybe you can help us add more clay-straw to the house.
[1] As opposed
to many accepted construction methods.
For instance, cement manufacture releases greenhouse gasses (so much
cement is used worldwide in construction that this represents a major concern);
many paints and finishes give off VOC gasses that harm human health, etc.
[2] Lumber is an
Alaskan product and does not need to be shipped from some distant land. The clay we dug up from a source we
knew near Healy (though we have since learned of some clay deposits much
nearer). The straw we bought from
a farm in the Mat-Su Valley. The
windows were recycled from old buildings.
The clay wicks moisture and therefore maintains humidity, but it also
holds heat and radiates it back into the living space. The straw insulates the walls. Clay-straw together repels mice and
mold.
[3] http://permacultureprinciples.com/principles/
