My Year of Living Local

Why a Year of Living Local?

From childhood, one of my favorite books has been "Walden" by Henry David Thoreau. It a complex book with many layers, so many layers that I try to read it every ten years or so, and, without fail, I find new ideas and new perspectives on old ideas. It's one of those books. It's the ultimate exploration of living local, albeit 160 years ago.

I wanted to explore the concept of "living locally." By this I mean trying to source as much as I can from my immediate environment: mainly food, but also energy, entertainment and as many of my other needs as possible.

I imagine that I'll start with my home and property and then look to my city, my island, my state (Hawaii), my country (USA) and then to the world. All things being equal, I will be more "local" if I grow a papaya on my property than I will if I buy ones at the local Safeway store imported from Mexico. That's the idea, at least.

I start with the idea of not knowing what is better. I imagine my explorations of the value of my local living choices will be highly nuanced. At what point does a local-at-any-cost goal become too costly? Are there things that are should be imported? Will supporting local businesses be too detrimental to my personal economy?

These, and many more,  are the issues I want to explore. I start with an open mind and desire to learn and share what I have learned on this website.