Samuel Alexander | The Simplicity Collective

Jul 22, 2015 Posted by Samuel Alexander

My Interview with Nicole Foss

Earlier this year I interviewed Nicole Foss as part of the documentary I’m making with Jordan Osmond of Happen Films. The interview is quite long but it is well worth a watch: read more

Jul 14, 2015 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Low-Tech Living as a ‘Demand-Side’ Response to Climate Change and Peak Oil

I’ve just published a new Simplicity Institute Report, co-authored with Paul Yacoumis, entitled “Low-Tech Living as a “Demand-Side” Response to Climate Change and Peak Oil”. I’ve posted the abstract and the introduction below and the full essay is freely available here. LOW-TECH LIVING AS A ‘DEMAND-SIDE’ RESPONSE TO CLIMATE CHANGE AND PEAK OIL Simplicity is the... read more

Jul 9, 2015 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Tiny House on Wheels Workshop (Oct 17-22)

For those in Victoria, here are details of an upcoming “Tiny House on Wheels” workshop out at Wurruk’an. If you’re interested, don’t hesitate to apply as spots are limited and are likely to be filled quickly. I’ve been part of four of these workshops now – this will be my fifth – and each of them have been utterly fantastic. Come to Wurruk’an and learn the... read more

Jul 4, 2015 Posted by Samuel Alexander

‘One Planet Living’ Interview on Radio National

On Tuesday I was interviewed on Radio National about my recent Conversation article. You can listen to the radio interview at the link here: read more

Jun 28, 2015 Posted by Samuel Alexander

If everyone lived in an ecovillage, the Earth would still be in trouble

Here is my new article which was published in The Conversation on Friday: We are used to hearing that if everyone lived in the same way as North Americans or Australians, we would need four or five planet Earths to sustain us. This sort of analysis is known as the “ecological footprint” and shows that even the so-called “green” western European nations, with their more progressive approaches to... read more

Jun 6, 2015 Posted by Samuel Alexander

One Planet Living

Yesterday I was keynote speaker for World Environmental Day at the University of Melbourne. Below I have posted the transcript of my talk: Good afternoon everyone. Thank you for that introduction, Professor Kvan, and thank you all for being here to mark World Environment Day. It was Buckminster Fuller who once said: ‘You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a... read more

Jun 1, 2015 Posted by Samuel Alexander

World Environment Day (book launch)

I’m guest speaker for World Environment Day (a United Nations Environmental Program initiative) at the University of Melbourne this Friday, 5 June, from, 12.30-1.30pm. I’m taking this opportunity to launch my new book, Prosperous Descent: Crisis as Opportunity in an Age of Limits. Being a lunchtime gig I know it will be difficult for many people to attend, but if you’re in the area and... read more

May 31, 2015 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Wurruk’an: Seeding a New Earth Story

Over the last two years I’ve been helping develop a ‘simpler way’ demonstration project in Gippsland, Victoria (Australia), on a property which we have named Wurruk’an. Wurruk is the local indigenous term meaning both ‘Earth’ and ‘story’. K’an is the Mayan word for ‘seed’. We’ve invented the word Wurruk’an to signify our attempt... read more

May 20, 2015 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Introduction to ‘Prosperous Descent’

A paperback of my new book, Prosperous Descent: Crisis as Opportunity in an Age of Limits, is available here and a link to a free pdf copy of the book will be sent out to subscribers of the Simplicity Institute in a week. Please sign up to the Simplicity Institute here to receive the link. INTRODUCTION TO ‘PROSPEROUS DESCENT’ By Samuel Alexander I sometimes tell my students that I am an... read more

May 18, 2015 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Prosperous Descent: Crisis as Opportunity in an Age of Limits

I’ve just published a new book, Prosperous Descent: Crisis as Opportunity in an Age of Limits, which is the first volume of my collected essays to be published this year. The cover and endorsements are posted below. A second book of collected essays, Sufficiency Economy: Enough, for Everyone, Forever, will be published in a couple of months. The paperback of Prosperous Descent is available here.... read more

Invitation / Incitation

The Simplicity Collective is founded upon the idea that a 'simpler life' of reduced resource and energy consumption is a viable and desirable alternative to consumer culture.

Our position is that simple living will improve not only our own lives, but the lives of others, as well as help save our planet from the environmental catastrophe towards which we are so enthusiastically marching.

We must not just fall in line, then, and continue the march ‘business as usual.’ We must explore alternative ways to live. We must experiment creatively, like the artist. We must be the poets of our own lives and of a new generation.