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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

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

Oct 21, 2014 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Free rent in an ecovillage for a year? (Documentary project)

Are you a passionate and knowledgeable permaculturalist? Would you like to live in a developing ecovillage for a year ‘rent free’ as part of a documentary project? Do you want to explore a life of frugal abundance? If so, read on! Over the last 12 months the Simplicity Institute has been involved in the development of an ecovillage permaculture farm in Gippsland, Victoria, Australia (about 1 hour 45... read more

Jul 8, 2014 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Earthbag Dome Building Workshop

In recent months I’ve posted a few times about the ‘simpler way’ demonstration site that I’m helping develop in Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. In time we hope this property will become an education centre and hopefully a small ecovillage. Last December, we ran our first workshop and we built this beautiful Earthship. In February this year we ran a second workshop and built this... read more

Jun 12, 2014 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Disruptive Social Innovation for a Low Carbon World

I’ve recently published a new paper called “Disruptive Social Innovation for a Low Carbon World’, which was published as part of the Visions and Pathways Project. This paper critically reviews the social movements or social innovations that have the most potential to change the world’s current trajectory acutely in the direction of a low carbon world. I’ve posted the... read more

May 1, 2014 Posted by Samuel Alexander

The Transition Movement: Questions of Diversity, Power, and Affluence

Esther Alloun and I have recently published a new Simplicity Institute Report, entitled ‘The Transition Movement: Questions of Diversity, Power, and Affluence’. This report presents an overview, literature review, and critical analysis of the Transition Movement. We’ve posted a section of the introduction below, and the full paper is freely available here. “A mood of defiant positivity is a... read more

Feb 25, 2014 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Our Beautiful Cob Cabin: Building with Mud

In recent months I’ve posted about the ‘simpler way’ demonstration project I’m helping develop out in Gippsland, Victoria. It continues to be an exciting, enriching, and evolving project. To complement the Earthship we built in December, we’ve just completed (almost) a beautiful new cob cabin – see pictures below. The foundations and walls of this natural building were... read more

Oct 25, 2013 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Want to help build an Earthship?

Earthship Workshop in December (Victoria, Australia) A couple of months ago I wrote about the ecovillage project that I am involved in, a project that is based on the vision of radical simplicity expressed in Entropia. I am uber excited to announce that our first build for the ecovillage is going to be an Earthship-inspired ‘mini-ship’, taking place this December in Victoria, Australia. Want to be... read more

Oct 4, 2013 Posted by Samuel Alexander

The Hour is Darkest just before Dawn: Crisis as Opportunity

The Festival of Ideas is on at the University of Melbourne at the moment, and I was invited to give a short talk, envisioning how Australia made the transition to a low-carbon society by the year 2033. Here is the transcript: As I look back from the year 2033, I would like to be able to tell you that the transition to our low-carbon society was smooth and rational. I would like to be able to tell you that,... read more

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

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.