Subject: Sustainable Retirement
From: [email-masked] (King Collins)
Date: Sat, 23 Jul 1994 23:03:21 GMT
Newsgroups: alt.sustainable.agriculture

Thoughts on an Sustainable Anti-retirement Community
                                 
Draft 1: July 23, l994

For the last 10 years, I have lived with my wife and kids. I have always
been self-employed. Although I am in my mid-fifties, I have been
self-employed most of that time and haven¹t made enough money to put away
anything for ³retirement.² My wife and I have no financial plans for how
to deal with our coming years. We expect to have about 20 or 30 more
productive working years. What will our life be like? How should we
prepare for ³old age?²

The traditional approach presumes a lifetime at regular employment and a
pension plan. We have none of that. My family¹s chances for a good life in
our later years will depend on something other than a retirement package.

Planning and Sharing with Others.

I think the way to start is to contact the people I would like to share my
life with, or to make a community with. If a certain number of us can
agree on a plan for a ³working anti-retirement community² perhaps we can
deal with our later years in a way that is better than any other model.

Pooling Resources

Some of us have substantial resources, inheritances, equity in houses we
own, etc. If we combine our resources, we should be able to create a
better life for ourselves. 

Some of us also have tools and skills which can be used to construct
buildings and to establish businesses.

Community Vision

We want:

A healthy, simple living and working environment based on standards of
self-reliance and sustainability. It is presumed that everyone in the
community will continue to work as long as they are able. The work will
include gardening, construction, health care, and a thousand other
community and self-sustaining activities.

In particular we want: 

€  attractive living units of varying size designed to accommodate
individuals, families, extended families and community life.

€  fertile ground, water and climate for extensive gardening.

€  buildings and tools for various kinds of work‹ including money making
activities‹for individual and community profit.

€  library and computer facilities with telecommunications links the world

€  work horses (Wendell Berry recommends them for farming chores because
they can run on farm-produced fuel, and provide free fertilizer),
chickens, sheep, and other farm animals for the meat eaters

€  common spaces for group dining, music, dancing, and theater. 

€  preventive health care: well equipped and trained natural/alternative
medical workers

€  recreation: biking, volleyball, swimming, hiking, running, gymnastics,
rope-climbing, bear wrestling, chess, Go, bridge, sewing, knitting,
creative arts, singing...

If these ideas sound relevant to you please drop a line. Here on this
newsgroup, or e-mail: 

Sincerely,

King Collins
[email-masked]