Small House Society – News 200903 | 31 March 2009 | Tuesday
Dear Friend of Small, Simple, and Sustainable Living,
I’m about to share with you one of the most significant developments in the small house movement since the dawn of the 21st century.
I know that time is precious for everyone, so I’ll try to keep this update short. The approximate reading time is about 4 minutes. Feel free to reduce your reading time even more by skipping over topics that don’t interest you.
This newsletter contains some repeated news from last month for those who just recently joined our list or didn’t get a chance to read last month’s newsletter. The new content is at the top and repeated information is further down the page.
Small Living Presentation in Wisconsin. On 2 April 2009, at a conference on Temperance at Viterbo University, in La Crosse, Wisconsin, I’ll be delivering the keynote presentation on the topic of simple and small living. The event is open to the public.
Small Living Journal. There is now an online journal for the small house movement, and it’s called the Small Living Journal online at www.SmallLivingJournal.com. The journal was launched on 23 March 2009 with it’s first issue, and in the first few days of the launch, thousands of people visited the site and hundreds signed up for the RSS Feed. I believe the Small Living Journal is one of the most significant developments in the small house movement because it’s the first initiative that brings together the many voices of the movement in one unified and collaborative online publication. It represents a very necessary next step in the evolution of the movement. The Small Living Journal began as a simple idea put forth by Stephanie Reiley (of ComingUnmoored.com). Stephanie contacted many of the writers (and leading voices) within the small house movement; people who are regularly sharing their own small living experiences on blogs and websites. She brought these writers together, one by one, to join in a kind of collaborative writing project that would be the Small House Journal. Already admired and respected in the movement, it didn’t take Stephanie long to gather a significant base of support, and the dream became a reality. Please take a moment now to visit the Small Living Journal and subscribe to the RSS Feed.
New Online Community. In recent months, there has been incredible growth among the small living online communities and discussion forums. In addition to the Small House Society Online at Yahoo Groups, there is now a new Small House Society Online Community at ResourcesForLife.com with small living topics organized into sub-forums rather than a single discussion list. It’s advertising free and doesn’t require a Yahoo account. Visit the Community Information page for more information including a video tour. Other communities and discussion lists, independent of the Small House Society, include the Tiny House Yahoo Group, The Tiny House Forum by Michael Janzen, and the Tiny House Village Network. The combined membership of these groups represents thousands of people. The messages posted to the forums and lists exceed 10,000 messages. I believe this is a sign that the small house movement has reached critical mass and is about to experience rapid growth in the coming months. The Small House Society Online Community maintains an active listing of current discussion lists and online forums.
New Live Events and Workshops. As of this month, ResourcesForLife.com now offers online events, seminars, classes, workshops, presentations, and teleconferencing. Using this new technology, the Small House Society hopes to offer special live events as well as hosting collaborative meetings for the movement. More news will be in next month’s newsletter.
From previous newsletters…
Membership. Many thanks to all those who have already joined or renewed their membership this year at the $5 annual level. If you’ve not done so already, please visit the membership page. Your support helps us support simpler and smaller living initiatives. Thanks to all those who gave above and beyond the $5 suggested membership donation.
Media Coverage. There continues to be excellent media exposure for the movement toward smaller and simpler living. Just about every week we receive media inquires from print and television journalists around the world. Most recently the Small House Society was featured in the Financial Times of London and Shedworking (both with photos courtesy of my Fiancée, Makur). There was also a very nice article about the movement in the Economist.
Interviews. Please let me know if you would like to have your website and business featured in a video. The plan is to explore small living websites while interviewing the owner(s) about their work. The narrative can accompany a video tour of the website.
How a House is Built. The latest book from Dennis Fukai and Barbara Fukai offers a detailed and three-dimensional presentation of home construction. Learn more about How a House is Built on their website.
India Tour. In January I completed a second visit to India (from December 25 to January 15). This second trip offered an opportunity to learn more about housing and urban planning issues. I encourage you to read my full report if you didn’t yet get a chance to do so before. During this trip, I learned about a planned community called Lavasa.
Radio Interviews. Audio is now available for recent interviews with Gregory Johnson on ABC News Australia (includes Jay Shafer), National Radio in Ireland, Iowa Public Radio Book Reading/Interview, and Public Radio Interview with Ben Kieffer from February 2007. I hope to have more audio available in December.
Website Redesign. The Small House Society web pages have been significantly upgraded with new navigation links at the top of each page and the addition of a Facebook group.
Kiva Lending Team. Resources For Life now has a Kiva Funding Team. If you’ve not yet heard about Kiva, I encourage you to check it out.
Border to Border Tour. If you’ve not had an opportunity to visit the Border to Border Tour page, I encourage you to do so. The tour was an amazing success. Photos from the tour area now available. Many thanks to all those who attended the tour events and provided us with encouragement and support.
Thanks. I want to thank the global team of volunteers and contributors “behind the scenes” who help make all this possible. I’m very grateful to the many people who continue to uphold and advance the mission of the Small House Society. Thanks again for your support. Please let me know if there is any way that the Small House Society can serve you better.
Regards,
Gregory Johnson, Facilitator
Small House Society
Internet: http://www.smallhousesociety.org
E-Mail: shs @ resourcesforlife.com (without spaces)
Postal: c/o Resources for Life, PO Box 2717, Iowa City, IA 52244-2717
Phone: (319) 621-4911
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