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Dec 21, 2013 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Crash on Demand: David Holmgren Publishes New Simplicity Institute Report

David Holmgren, co-orginator of the permaculture concept, has just published a new Simplicity Institute Report, entitled ‘Crash on Demand: Welcome to the Brown Tech Future’. Fascinating, deep, and provocative, the introduction is posted below and the full report is available here. Crash On Demand Welcome to the Brown Tech Future ... read more

Nov 21, 2013 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Building with Mud: Workshop in February 2014

I wrote recently about the Earthship workshop that I’m organising and participating in this coming December, as part of the ecovillage project which I’ve written about here. I’m happy to say that I’ve also just locked in a 6-day mud building workshop in February next year, with the amazingly talented and creative Kate from the Mudmob Natural Building Collective. She’s just... 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

Aug 31, 2013 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Living without a fridge

I’ve been living without a fridge for the last three months – the winter months of Melbourne, Australia. Before you send me to the asylum, however, let me tell you about this experiment which produced several interesting, and I think important, surprises, related to energy consumption and lifestyle habits. My main conclusion, which I’ll unpack below, is that living without a fridge (at least in... 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

Jun 14, 2013 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Utopia of Sufficiency

The following excerpts from my new book, Entropia: Life Beyond Industrial Civilisation, have just been posted on the Permaculture Research Institute of Australia. Copies of the book and more information are available here. Below is an excerpt from Samuel Alexander’s new book, Entropia: Life Beyond Industrial Civilisation. This book is a ‘utopia of sufficiency’ that brings to life a simple living... 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

May 27, 2013 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Transition Coburg: A Year in Review

A little over a year ago I mentioned on this website that I had co-founded Transition Coburg (for an introduction to the Transition Town movement, see here). Below I have provided a snapshot of some of the things we have done since our birth. Most of these activities might seem small in isolation, but if we keep building on these types of things, and more people continue to get involved, then overtime it... 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 27, 2013 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Grow Your Own Oyster Mushrooms on Straw

I’ve been experimenting recently with growing my own oyster mushrooms, and as you can see from the photos, I’ve met with some success. I was motivated to explore mushroom cultivation partly because I’m a vegetarian and want to produce my own high-protein alternatives to meat; but I was also interested in using so-called ‘dead space’ to grow food (either inside or down the shady side of the... 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.