Culture Shock continued

I suppose I should say a few more things about our little farm adventure. Sure, we did not mind to have our running water back at home, and internet. I think one would get used to cooking on the wood burner, heating water this way, and cooking and baking without electrical appliances (blender, coffee machine etc.).  The reason they don't need a fridge is that the first room when you enter the house lies a foot lower than the rest of the house and is tiled. So even with the wood burner going in the same room, the tiles stay cold and keep the food fresh. That's so simple. Compare that to our apartment desgined to keep all rooms equally hot and we need a fridge to cool our food. What a waste of energy.  

I was wondering why they have not hooked up the well, 15 m from the house, to the house, or why they put in a water toilet instead of a compost toilet, why they don't have a black water container outside to heat water, or a wind turbine for a bit of electricity. Maybe one day. They for example know about the Earthships and want to go see them to figure out what would fit into their farm. They also consider a "treadmill" that would pump the water and gently exercise the horses (http://www.treadmill-horsepower.com/ and http://www.alphaag.net/HorseTreadmills/tabid/127/language/en-US/Default.aspx. )

Actually, I thought every single person should live for a week in our friends' conditions. Imagine carrying all the water you need - those 300 something litres that a Canadian wastes - to where you need it e.g. toilet, shower, kitchen. I bet you every single person would very quickly use a lot less. Since both of our friends are teachers they started taking school classes on a once 12 day, now 8-day-trip to Southern Alberta. Each child is given a certain amount of money per day to shop for food and prepare it. They go visit places, hike, explore nature, camp, learn about history, animals, plants etc, and learn to look after themselves including that bit of financial literacy. It seems that most parents are not capable of doing that. I bet you this kids have all a great time. 


Really, human beings are flexible and capable of easily changing their behaviour. We are able to adapt but we also have stubborn minds that might be prevent us from doing exactly that, including adopting a more environmentally friendly life style.