350 in Craftsbury Common

The Sterling College community finds a way to roll back to 350…

Jake Oudheusden, ‘11, put together a beautiful 12 minute video of Sunday’s work party. Check it out here: Sterling College 350

Why go to college to become a farmer?

I've recently begun editing the Sterling College blog. One of my goals is to use the blog not just for campus news, but also as a community forum for questions like this one:

Why go to college to become a farmer?

Building a Local Food System

High Mowing Organic Seeds on "Dan Rather Reports" from High Mowing Organic Seeds on Vimeo.

The Middle of Somewhere

I stole the name of my favorite bar in Mondulkiri, Cambodia, for the title of a post just published on the Sterling College blog about the hum of activity up here in northern Vermont. Here's an excerpt, with a link:

Looking at a map of New England, Sterling College might seem as if it’s in the middle of nowhere. In recent years, however, this rural corner of Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom has become the center of an energetic movement focused on the nexus of sustainable agriculture and strong local community.

Local businesses are thriving, new non-profit organizations are opening their doors and the national media is paying attention to Craftsbury and surrounding towns. In the midst of national economic malaise, the new shoots of green growth in northern Vermont are big news...Read More

"A Generational Mission"

I've got two articles I hope you read today.

The first is by by Al Gore. Here's an excerpt:

"WE — the human species — have arrived at a moment of decision. It is unprecedented and even laughable for us to imagine that we could actually make a conscious choice as a species, but that is nevertheless the challenge that is before us.

On Sept. 21, 1987, President Ronald Reagan said, “In our obsession with antagonisms of the moment, we often forget how much unites all the members of humanity. Perhaps we need some outside, universal threat to recognize this common bond. I occasionally think how quickly our differences would vanish if we were facing an alien threat from outside this world.”

We — all of us — now face a universal threat. Though it is not from outside this world, it is nevertheless cosmic in scale."

The second article is by, ahem, me. I've got a new Secret Destination Guide up at MatadorTravel.com about a trio of educational communities in Northern Thailand where the quality of life is exceptional and the harmful impact of human activity is minimal.

If Al Gore's article inspires you to take action and confront the central moral question of our generation - and it should - my article will point you towards places where people are taking real steps to heal themselves and the planet.

Here's an excerpt from "Planting Seeds in Northern Thailand."

"Pun Pun and Panya are a response to the excesses of a particularly American economic paradigm. The ethic behind the communities is an implicit rejection of rush hour commutes, cramped cubicles and maxed out credit cards.

People come – they build and learn and laugh – and they return home inspired, muscles toned from lifting bricks, bodies aglow from eating healthy food, minds relaxed from sunrise yoga and sunset swims."




Here's a link to the full-text of Al Gore's article at NYTimes.com (free registration required).

"Moving Beyond Kyoto"


Here's a link to my new article at MatadorTravel.com.

"Planting Seeds in Northern Thailand".


(photos by Hadar Nestel)