Tonight was our worldwide dinner party as part of the Feast on Good movement. We made our own pizza and had a nice dessert (thanks Claire!) The issue we chose to tackle was poverty in our area.
Here’s what we came up with.
Poverty is a real issue in our area. We want to help but we know that we can’t solve hunger by throwing cans of food at people. We can’t solve the homeless problem by sentencing vagrants to a life of unaffordable mortgage repayments. Getting kids into college or university is not the answer if interest on their student debt becomes a personal millstone and a national curse.
Empowerment is personal. It starts at home. It starts with people.
Why not empower people to make their own stuff, to build their own eco-houses, to cook their own food, to live well without luxuries, to grow vegetables and milk cows, to fix their own cars, to create blogs, to butcher meat, to see how life shared together can create a commonwealth that benefits everyone?
We will create a tent village experience on a farm that will empower young urban people on the fringe to take the reigns of their lives and start creating stuff that will sustain them.
Our next steps are to build camping facilities on our land, share the idea widely, and identify the skill base and resources.
We can do this with volunteer labor, free use of the farm, and with only $5000 which is needed to build some camping facilities, an outdoor kitchen and some scholarships for at-risk youth.
We will launch in December 2012 and run all through January.
Thank you Feast family for the encouragement to make this happen.
This is a beautiful idea, Andrew. My wife mentioned yesterday how conflicted she is when approached by homeless people. Should we ignore them? Give them everything? You’re right,though, I don’t think plugging them into the rat race is the answer, but I do wonder how far preaching the end of Acts 2 will get us in the local church.
Absolutely fantastic idea. I hope it all comes together for you. If I had any money to send your way to help I would.
That’s really amazing concept. I love you advocacy. I am willing to help in any other way.
I am willing to help you because I love your advocacy as well. In any way I want to help that out.
Yeah, without dinner, party can not be complete because heart is connect with abdomen. I like to taste different food.