As human beings, we are of one
family, regardless of race,
religion, sex, country of origin,
political belief or socio-economic
class. We require food, water,
shelter and a sense of belonging to
survive. At some point all of our
ancestors lived primitive
lifestyles. They hunted, gathered,
and observed all the intricacies of
nature. They become botanists,
trackers, naturalists, builders,
weather forecasters, doctors and
fire makers. These skills developed
their senses, thinking capabilities
and attitudes, making them
completely aware of their
surroundings. They were part of the
landscape.
Over time these skills were honed to
a point where their lives were made
easier, the standard of living was
raised, and they had plenty of time
on their hands to enjoy nature and
all that life has to offer. Even
today, those that live primitively
tend to “work” a mere 25 hours on
average to procure their food and
shelter requirements. And although
their lives are not trouble-free, it
can be argued that their lifestyle,
like those of our not too distant
ancestors, are in fact healthier and
more natural, regarding quality of
life, physical well being and
community relations, among other
things.
Today, modern cultures worldwide
have forgotten most of the knowledge
our ancestors had regarding living
with the land, and are apart from
the landscape. We have an inflated
standard of living having a far
greater detrimental impact on our
environment than more primitive
societies. And in this process we
are consuming 30 times more
resources than someone from a less
developed country! Additionally, a
modern person works 35 to 60 hours
or more to meet their food and
shelter requirements. Factor in the
costs of time, stress, and
environmental degradation, and it is
easy to see that our present way of
doing things cannot be sustained and
is not good for us. This includes
our economic, food production,
transportation, energy and sanitary
systems.
Sustainable systems use local
resources of labor and materials,
are innovative and flexible, and can
sustain themselves indefinitely by
working with the environment. From
top to bottom, we need to rethink
and redesign our existing habits. We
need to eat, drink, breathe and
sleep green and sustainable! KCAC
strives to adapt our own systems as
our awareness of better, more
efficient ways become known to us
and are practical to implement. We
are here to offer those choices that
we all can make in life, and to
transform our cultures’ current
non-sustainable systems into more
just and sustainable ones.
At Kawing Crow we also
understand the intrinsic
value in primitive & wilderness
skills, knowledge and living; and in
simpler, less sophisticated systems
in general. Being aware of all
things natural and knowing how to
utilize them as resources is to be
more human. What's more, it gives
one an immense amount of
satisfaction, contentment and
connection that just cannot be
bought. We also feel Nature
knowledge and Earth wisdom are a way
of life that is not separate from
any one thing that we do. KCAC
offers such opportunities and
experiences, designed to immerse
participants into the many realms of
our natural and cultural histories.
Vincent Walsh, Kawing Crow Awareness
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