RedHatty - Community Comes Together

Well, for the most part, I have dealt with my little neighborhood throughout this crisis.  But this weekend there was a get together of sorts at City Park - a 3 mile long, 1 mile wide park by the lake in New Orleans.  Well since Katrina, most of the park has been unkempt, but the more public areas have been kept up.

So a ton of people all got together there and you know what?  I learned this weekend why Native American tribes gave the elders so much respect.  It is something we have lost over the years in America, but let me tell you folks, your Elders are an untapped resource!  Also people who were part of a group called SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism) - another untapped resource!

There were impromptu classes on blacksmithing, weaving with a loom, spinning thread from cotton & flax, open hearth cooking, herbal medicine with love plants to learn the look of them from - did you know that Goat Weed brewed in a tea is great for chest colds?

Many of the area elders brought old tools that they used regularly when they were young, and the smiths were making drawings of them to make new ones.  They talked about growing cotton in an area of the park (lord knows there is plenty of unused land there) and hey, Louisiana was a huge cotton producer, why not go back to it.

We all sat around drinking some tea at a campfire & the elders told me about the days of the great depression, how here in Louisiana, basically no one knew there was a depression, this was an agricultural state for ever & people were always a bit on the poor side, providing for themselves & hopefully producing a little extra to barter with.

Will we see a resurgence of the plantations here?  In may ways i hope so, just without the slavery, but right now, I know many people who would gladly work fields in return for food every day & a roof over their heads.

We had quilting, crocheting, knitting, macrame and even lace making exhibitions in the park.  There were people sharing patterns for simple sun dresses we could make at home, even without a sewing machine.  There were kids on bikes & skates & running around with balls, dogs on leashes & it was an all together great time.

Many of our elders already have the skills we all need to manage with less.  From Candle & soap making to making cloth to raw woodcraft to cooking meals on an open fire.  They grew up learning these skills & we need to give them the honor and respect they deserve while we ask them to pass on their knowledge.  I know I have made plan to visit a few of the elders i met this weekend & help then with things they need done that they may not be physically able to do anymore, in return for the privilege of learning new skills from them.

Ask your local elders how things were when they were kids, what kind of chores they had & what kind of tools they used, yo may just have to sit down and have a nice learning session! - I wonder if we can get the elders to teach the children life skills at school...

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