"what zero waste means for Kamikatsu is that there is no such thing as waste—everything has to get recycled!" that just felt so insightful; need to shift the way i think about my own things now!
I love Japan and this is a great story. I wanted to pick up on the concept of gaijin. It is obvious when you are in a country like Japan, where a European looks foreign, stands head and shoulders above others on the train. In New Zealand where I live, we have so many ethnicities that the only difference other than our indigenous Maori, is when we immigrated. We are all foreigners, ergo none of us are foreigners. Damn, I'm going to have to right a post about that now!
I wish more Americans would remember that! The town I grew up in was a steel town--you didn't have to speak English to work in the steel mills. So our minorities were Czechs and Slovaks, Hungarians, the Irish, the Polish, the Italian, Bulgarians, immigrants from everywhere. Now in America it feels like there are just a handful of minorities, mostly racially identified. But we're ALL immigrants--recent or not. Somebody, just a few generations ago, went through a lot of trouble to get here. There's so much to celebrate about that!
I've fallen in love with Kamitkatsu already. I like the way Chan describes it. It feels so natural and pure, and the best things in life are natural and pure.
What a great way to live your life. It's so hard to get people to go along with you. I do compost, but I can do a lot more. Thanks for the inspiration, Lauren. It comes at a particularly tough time, I live in a semi-rural area of Houston, and my house is surrounded by woods. The lot next door was a pipeline pass through where they mowed a strip over the pipline once or twice a year so they could monitor it from the air. The rest was all overgrown.
They closed down the pipeline, but then somebody came in and cleared the lot! Huge loblolly pines and oaks and elms and laurel. It took them more than a week to clear it, and it was horrible to live through. All those little beings displaced! We heard coyote pups crying at night, the hawk that watched the neighborhood seems to have moved on, and our barn owl has left. It's awful.
I really appreciate a way to get my mind off that devastation and a way to focus on what I can DO! Thanks, Lauren!
Beth, I'm so sorry to hear about that huge loss near your home. That's truly heartbreaking. Do continue to focus on what you can do, I admire your fighting spirit!
"like a postcard, in a heaping stack of bills and junk mail." what a lovely idea. thanks for featuring this.
Thank you so much Sharif, I really appreciate it!
"what zero waste means for Kamikatsu is that there is no such thing as waste—everything has to get recycled!" that just felt so insightful; need to shift the way i think about my own things now!
Intruiging. Our future either looks like this or Mad Max. Hopefully this, but I dig Fury Road.
I love Japan and this is a great story. I wanted to pick up on the concept of gaijin. It is obvious when you are in a country like Japan, where a European looks foreign, stands head and shoulders above others on the train. In New Zealand where I live, we have so many ethnicities that the only difference other than our indigenous Maori, is when we immigrated. We are all foreigners, ergo none of us are foreigners. Damn, I'm going to have to right a post about that now!
I wish more Americans would remember that! The town I grew up in was a steel town--you didn't have to speak English to work in the steel mills. So our minorities were Czechs and Slovaks, Hungarians, the Irish, the Polish, the Italian, Bulgarians, immigrants from everywhere. Now in America it feels like there are just a handful of minorities, mostly racially identified. But we're ALL immigrants--recent or not. Somebody, just a few generations ago, went through a lot of trouble to get here. There's so much to celebrate about that!
It's not just the USA, we had the same sort of experience in New Zealand https://inmylife.substack.com/p/immigration-to-new-zealand-in-the?r=127bo2&s=w&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Yes, that's the point, as you say Beth, we are all immigrants.
I've fallen in love with Kamitkatsu already. I like the way Chan describes it. It feels so natural and pure, and the best things in life are natural and pure.
Thank you so much Adetokunbo, your comment means a lot!
How she described her newsletter is *exactly* how I want people to feel when they read mine as well, amazing!
Saw a documentary on this location a while back, very future forward.
What a great way to live your life. It's so hard to get people to go along with you. I do compost, but I can do a lot more. Thanks for the inspiration, Lauren. It comes at a particularly tough time, I live in a semi-rural area of Houston, and my house is surrounded by woods. The lot next door was a pipeline pass through where they mowed a strip over the pipline once or twice a year so they could monitor it from the air. The rest was all overgrown.
They closed down the pipeline, but then somebody came in and cleared the lot! Huge loblolly pines and oaks and elms and laurel. It took them more than a week to clear it, and it was horrible to live through. All those little beings displaced! We heard coyote pups crying at night, the hawk that watched the neighborhood seems to have moved on, and our barn owl has left. It's awful.
I really appreciate a way to get my mind off that devastation and a way to focus on what I can DO! Thanks, Lauren!
Beth
Beth, I'm so sorry to hear about that huge loss near your home. That's truly heartbreaking. Do continue to focus on what you can do, I admire your fighting spirit!
i love Japan . 💞
Everything recyclable " zero waste" in love with this place.
lovely
Love it
Enjoyed that! Thanks for sharing.
How very PC . Is Substack going to go all Twitter on us? Highlighting the Soros/Greta " Zero" meme?
You know we are carbon lifeforms so "zero" carbon means no more carbon life forms?
A few points.
This 30% plus is not " zero waste" .
If you use something its not "wasted".
They( multinational corps) should stop generating so much junk for such a small rural village.(haha)
Gardening, recycling and composting is good but its bigger than that, it starts with awareness and an inner recycling of waste( fear /anger).
Excellent
Coolio!
Thanks for informative blog
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