Philosophy of the Project

As a whole, our species is reaching a threshold. Our way of life cannot be sustained. We use too much of our resources, land, and people without giving back. We are not sustainable, and no society can survive unless it is sustainable. So it is necessary for us to reshape our society and to embrace sustainability, or we will become extinct. It is not a simple thing. This is not something that can be tacked on ad hoc to our current way of living. Changing from how we currently live to a sustainable way of life is not a matter of simply recycling or turning off lights. It is not a matter of being a vegetarian or buying organic. It is not about buying energy saving light bulbs, shopping at Whole Foods or not shopping at Wal-Mart. Becoming truly sustainable is not a hobby – it is a revolution.

Building a sustainable society is not about giving things up. We have no intention of giving up baths, beds, hot food, music, art, literature, or talking. Indeed, we are even examining sustainable methods of building computers. No technology is inherently unsustainable. Unsustainability is an artifact of the method of manufacture and usage. Making a technology sustainable requires knowledge, cleverness, and desire. For some technologies, becoming sustainable might take more knowledge than we currently possess, but this does not make it impossible.

At the core of our new livelihood are the primitive skills that provided a sustainable livelihood to our ancestors. These are the tried and proven skills, knowledge, and techniques that provided a sustainable way of life for thousands of years. We have no intention of discarding such a useful knowledge base. By the same token, we have no intention of being limited by that resource. Just because most indigenous peoples did not use metal tools is no reason for us not to use them, so long as we use them sustainably.

Eventual Goal of the Project

The Project is to create a model of luxurious sustainability that demonstrates a viable and preferable alternative to what modern civilization offers. The ultimate outcome of this Project is a network of interrelated, self-sufficient, and sustainable communities who engage in a vibrant trade in luxury goods, knowledge, and other useful services. This trade network of luxuries does not make the communities self-insufficient, so long as each community is wholly responsible for their own necessities. Meanwhile, the trade in luxuries will provide a higher quality of life than any single community could provide on its own.

Generations hence, each community will have a unique culture, as well as being a part of the unique culture of the network of communities as a whole. And while it will take some time for us to redevelop our technology to make it sustainable, we will not lose our knowledge if we choose not to. If we choose to put forth the effort, our new sustainable technology will still allow us to explore further and learn more than we know today. If we want it, there is no inherent reason that our sustainability should deny us even the stars themselves.

In the more immediate future, the results of the Project will give those of us who are a part of it security. Regardless of what happens, if you control the source of your needs you control your own destiny. We will also have greater control over the education of our children. If we do not wish it, no succeeding generation will ever be taught a lie, or denied the right to think critically about history, or told their parent’s beliefs are wrong.

Mountain Top Skills School’s Role in Development

But, that is the future. The most important part of this project is how we get from here to there. The Mountain Top Skills School is an integral part of this project. It will give us a means to provide a living for our membership until we can provide for ourselves completely, while also giving us the means to train each other in various necessary skills, and providing a means for us to recruit new potential members.

The techniques we will teach may include primitive skills such as flint knapping, tracking, hide tanning, and so on. We may also teach preindustrial skills, such as forging and machining. Also, building with cob, adobe, or other such materials can be taught along with permaculture. Finally, we will teach organizational skills, such as consensus and mediation. By teaching we will cement our own skills, as well as be better able to make connections with people who might be valuable recruits. Eventually, we will be able to focus on teaching the post-industrial technologies we will be using every day.

Teaching is the first step. With the profit we make from teaching these skills we will purchase land, probably in the Appalachians, that is suited to our purposes. With this land we will begin to use the skills we have been teaching to create sustainable communities for ourselves. We will undoubtedly continue to teach, but now we will be able to teach with a living, breathing example of how people can live sustainably.

A Few Long-Term Development Notes

First and foremost, we have to go about this with caution and good sense. Idealism has its place, but there are pragmatic concerns which must be dealt with. We can not assume that because we all share a common goal we will become spontaneously a better variety of person than commonly found. To be blunt about it, we will be jerks, annoying, greedy, selfish, heroic, competent, foolish, wise, clowns, and stoic at different times, and occasionally at the same time. So we must proceed first with the knowledge that real people are doing this, not angels and not demons.

There are a number of problems we will encounter. Some of these we can anticipate, such as people changing their minds and wanting to back out. Others we will not be able predict. It would be foolish not to have an established way of dealing with the ones we can predict in advance. By discussing and determining how we want to deal with such situations before they happen, the damage done by them can be minimized. As for the ones we cannot predict, we will have to remember to stay clam and focused on our goal.

I would submit two rules of thumb we should all keep in mind as we continue trying to build a future. First, never grant a power you would not trust to your worst enemy, because sooner or later he will have it. Second, examine the consequences of your actions to the seventh generation; we will be setting precedents here whether we like it or not.

Where We Stand Now

To put it simply, we are at the beginning. We know generally where we want to end up, and we know where we are. We have a way to get from here to there, but the details are still fluid and undecided. What we need first are sincerely interested people. These people have to be not only interested, but also skilled. We will not have the ability to accommodate the unskilled until we are better established. Once we are well established, we will be able to take the enthusiastic unskilled and teach them until they are skilled. But for our initial, core group we need people with a variety of skills. Some of these skills are the actual practical skills we will be teaching. Others are the administrative skills any venture requires. We need it all, and considering how much we have left to do, we needed it thirty years ago.

How to Get Involved

First, read this proposal. Next, assuming you are not laughing hysterically at the prospect of people actually trying to do this, take stock. Consider where you are in your life, and what skills you have to offer. Then consider: is this something I am willing to commit to? The Project is not something for weekend warriors. It is a serious long-term, hopefully life long, commitment, and should not be entered into lightly. While you are considering if this is for you, read through more of the website and visit the forums. Talking to other people who are trying to make the same decision you are can be very helpful.

But, ultimately, whether this is the revolution we want to devote ourselves to is an individual choice. Many people will want to join us who are not quite able to yet. If this describes you, feel free to hang around the forums and take classes. Be as much a part of it as you feel you can.

For those of us who hate what we are doing to our world day in and day out. For those of us who cannot fathom working forty hours a week at a job we hate… For those of us who can bear to work until we are so spent they finally let us live our lives… For those of us who are determined not damn our children to the same fate… For those of us who can see the writing on the wall and know beyond a doubt that changes are necessary or they will be inevitable… For those of us who feel like screaming because they cannot be heard… And for those of us who want a future on our own terms… Here is an opportunity.