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Aug 10, 2013 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Want to help create an Ecovillage?

“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” – Buckminster Fuller A week or so ago I received the most exciting email ever. It was from a reader of the Simplicity Collective who had just finished reading my book, Entropia. Inspired by the vision, he told me that he wanted to help develop an... read more

Aug 1, 2013 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Book Reviews of Entropia

Over the last few weeks some books reviews of Entropia: Life Beyond Industrial Civilisation have been posted in cyberspace, which I’ve linked to below. I’ve also linked to a Q&A about Entropia which appears on the website, Simple Lives. Entropia: Life Beyond Industrial Civilisation, Book Review posted on The Greening of Gavin Book Review: Entropia, by Samuel Alexander posted on Make... read more

Jul 24, 2013 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Simple, Quiet, Affordable: Up for a Tree Change?

It is with a mixture of pleasure and pain that I write this post. A couple of weeks ago a reader of this website sent me through a link of an amazing rural property 1 hour 40 mins out of Melbourne: 10 acres, beautifully designed eco-house, off-grid solar, 135,000 litres of water capacity, 25 fruit trees, grape vines, a huge shed and veggie patch, with a separate self-contained studio, etc. etc. It is... read more

Jun 11, 2013 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Entropia: Life Beyond Industrial Civilisation

I am very pleased to announce the publication of my new book, Entropia: Life Beyond Industrial Civilisation. This book is a creative work of fiction – a ‘utopia of sufficiency’ – in which I bring to life a simple living community that became isolated on a small island after the collapse of industrial civilisation. Looking back from the future, I describe the economy, culture, and politics of the... read more

Apr 26, 2013 Posted by Samuel Alexander

How to Build a Cheap Raised Garden Bed

I’ve been advancing my guerilla gardening efforts recently, with a significant new raised bed now beautifying my nature strip, as seen in the featured picture. I thought in this post I could provide a brief overview of how to build a cheap raised bed, either for use on your nature strip or in your front or backyards. This overview might seem a bit basic for the handy builders among you, so I direct... read more

Jan 29, 2013 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Has Civilization a Future? Simplicity Institute Report by Paul Ehrlich and Anne Ehrlich

Can a collapse of civilization be avoided? This is the bold question Paul and Anne Ehrlich, from Stanford University, confront in their challenging new essay, published today by the Simplicity Institute. Paul Ehrlich has been amongst the most prominent figures in the Environmental Movement ever since his 1968 publication of The Population Bomb. I’ve posted the introduction below and the full... read more

Nov 13, 2012 Posted by Samuel Alexander

The Sufficiency Economy: Envisioning a Prosperous Way Down

Below I’ve posted the introduction to my new essay, “The Sufficiency Economy: Envisioning a Prosperous Way Down.” This essay, which I feel is the clearest expression of my views, summarises the critique of growth economics and then describes in some detail what I consider to be the most promising alternative model – ‘a sufficiency economy.’ The full essay can be read... read more

Oct 20, 2012 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Simplicity and Economy

Continuing his prolific few months of writing (with several more essays still to come!), Mark A. Burch has published a new Simplicity Institute Report, this one entitled ‘Simplicity and Economy.’ As always, Mark presents an insightful and inspiring analysis, deserving of serious attention. I’ve posted a short section below and the full essay is available here. Since the humbler meaning of... read more

Sep 1, 2012 Posted by Samuel Alexander

The Simplicity Exercises: A Sourcebook for Simplicity Educators

On this first day of spring, which symbolises new life, it brings me great pleasure to announce the publication of Mark Burch’s The Simplicity Exercises: A Sourcebook for Simplicity Educators. This special issue from the Simplicity Institute takes us in a new direction, moving beyond the analytical stage of defending simplicity and criticising growth-based, consumer-orientated economies, toward the... read more

Aug 15, 2012 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Educating for Simple Living

Mark Burch has just written an important and timely essay on “Educating for Simple Living” which will be published through the Simplicity Institute in a few days. The full essay is available in advance here, and I’ve posted the introduction below. Educating for Simple Living by Mark Burch In the following pages I aim to explore education within a culture of simple living and some methods... 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.