Parallel Economy

Confessions of a Steward — Honest Horse Keeping

Confessions of a Steward — Honest Horse Keeping

By Guest Post on December 8, 2023

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I don’t own a horse. I don’t keep a horse. That’s precisely why I’m qualified to address the issue—I don’t have preconceived notions about keeping horses. I have thought and yakked about it quite a bit, though, because one of the most common questions people ask me is about keeping a horse.

Whether for recreation or work, in my experience, some of the worst ecological abuse is in horse lots. Many of my friends keep horses, and I’ve been to many places that keep horses, from full-time equestrian outfits to the honeymoon-is-over-seldom-ridden situations.

The Healing Land — Apples

The Healing Land — Apples

By Guest Post on November 27, 2023

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by Shawn and Beth Dougherty, Plain Values

A PLENTIFUL HARVEST

The new apple trees in the orchard are bearing well this year, with russet and yellow-green fruit studding the young branches. In the convent orchard, some of the older trees are taking a sabbatical year. They will only produce a tiny crop, but enough mature trees will bear that there will be plenty of apples for the farm.

Roots + Wings — Mountain Time

Roots + Wings — Mountain Time

By Guest Post on November 10, 2023

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By Rory Feek, Plain Values

Most of the time when I’m writing this column, I’m in pretty much the same place. Sitting at the kitchen table in our farmhouse or at my desk in the milkhouse, with a view outside of the backfield and within earshot of Indy and the other kids playing on the playground at the schoolhouse. But this month, I’m parked in a chair at a much larger table in Paradise Valley, Montana, surrounded by big, beautiful mountains, with the gentle sound of the Yellowstone River flowing nearby. Each summer for the last five or six years, my little girl Indiana and I have packed our things, climbed behind the wheel, and driven 1,750 miles to spend a month out west together.

Confessions of a Steward — Chicken Familiarity

Confessions of a Steward — Chicken Familiarity

By Guest Post on November 3, 2023

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By Joel Salatin, Plain Values

Thinking like an animal is not always easy, especially if you’re trying to think like a chicken. In this article, I want to dive into one of the single biggest tensions in raising farmstead egg-laying chickens, and it all stems from chicken psychology.

Like all animals, chickens love routine. Temple Grandin, maven of animal psychology, points out that animals live only in the moment. Yes, they have memory, but they have no datebook. They never think about what they need to do tomorrow.

Why Parallel Economy Creatives Are Stronger Together

Why Parallel Economy Creatives Are Stronger Together

By Guest Post on October 24, 2023

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by Elijah Shoesmith

Jesus expected His students to become disciples. Messengers of His truth once He left to prepare our mansions. He didn’t want lifelong learners who refused to leave the classroom. And He still doesn’t.

Influenced by people we follow online, it’s time for us “regular joes” to step out. In faith, I’m taking that first action. My hope is that you’ll join me.

Biblically Based Fatherhood

Biblically Based Fatherhood

By Guest Post on October 19, 2023

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by Jacob Brown

Why does our Lord tell us to pray to God as Father? When asked by his disciples to teach them to pray, the Lord Jesus Christ taught them to pray by addressing the Almighty God of all creation as Father. He just as easily could have taught them to pray to God as the King of the universe, or as Almighty God, or as Yahweh, the covenant name of the God of the Bible. But he doesn’t teach us that way. Now rest assured it is perfectly biblical to address God by those titles and names, and we should give honor and praise to God for who he is. But there is something particular that the Lord Jesus is wanting us to understand about the nature of God, and that is God as Father.

The Healing Land — Community Inter-Dependence Day

The Healing Land — Community Inter-Dependence Day

By Guest Post on October 11, 2023

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by Shawn and Beth Dougherty, Plain Values

July Fourth is an important day in our village. We always say Hinton has the best fireworks display in the valley, and people come from all over to watch. The park is full of strangers as well as neighbors, and the lines in front of the two village ice cream stands are backed up for miles. It’s a big event.

Weaving through the crowds until we find a place among our friends on the already-crowded park benches, we can finally slow down and take a deep breath. What with all the holiday preparations, as well as the ordinary farm chores, it has been a busy day. And since community picnics wouldn’t be complete without our molasses ginger cake, we really had to prepare ahead.

Confessions of a Steward — Water Part 2

Confessions of a Steward — Water Part 2

By Guest Post on October 5, 2023

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by Joel Salatin, Plain Values

Last month I introduced two unorthodox concepts regarding water. The first is the difference between surface runoff and the inventory of the commons (like streams, springs, and aquifers). The second is the notion that we as caretakers can greatly enhance the commons by storing surface runoff rather than pumping from the commons.

We established that one-third of all rainfall globally becomes surface runoff, which means that even a one-acre watershed in a 30-inch rainfall area will generate 10 acre-inches of surface runoff per year, or 300,000 gallons. Another surface we generally don’t think about is our impervious shelter surfaces called roofs.

An Amazon Alternative For The Parallel Economy

An Amazon Alternative For The Parallel Economy

By Andrew Torba on September 22, 2023

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The concept of the Parallel Economy has gained significant traction in recent years largely thanks to Gab’s multi-year effort to mainstream the concept. A Parallel Economy is a network of businesses and consumers who prioritize values, ethics, and principles over sheer commercial interests. People are no longer content with merely boycotting brands that don’t align with their convictions; they seek to actively support businesses that champion their values and we seek to help them do so on Gab.

The Parallel Economy Goes Mainstream

The Parallel Economy Goes Mainstream

By Andrew Torba on September 15, 2023

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This week a comprehensive article in progressive magazine The New Republic delved into the emergence of the parallel economy with a particular emphasis on Gab’s role in spearheading it.

Water: Part 1 — Confessions of a Steward

Water: Part 1 — Confessions of a Steward

By Guest Post on September 5, 2023

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By Joel Salatin, Plain Values

Water is the prerequisite to life. Some living things don’t need sunlight, some don’t even need soil, but all living things need water. Certainly, when we think about water, the first source that comes to mind is rain. But rain is not consistent, and most plants need water routinely. Indeed, some plants need more water than others, but scarcity is often the limiting factor in farm and garden production.

Poisoned Youth

Poisoned Youth

By Guest Post on August 30, 2023

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by J. Pilgrim

I think of myself more as a late Gen-X kid, rather than a millennial, because that’s the movies and music I liked, but regardless, I’m an 80s kid. We’re the Nostalgia Generation. I had a Zoomer on Telegram ask me why—given the utter destruction that the digital revolution brought on society—we didn’t see it coming. The simplest answer I can give to that is that our lives were simply too exciting to realize that everything was being destroyed around us. We were being entertained to death.

Posts published in “Parallel Economy”

A PLENTIFUL HARVEST