I want to try to show that a completely decentralized, communal society is,not only' necessary, given the way we are screwing up the world with evergreater growth and ever-larger and more oppressive institutions, but possible as well; that in fact people can live on what I want to call a human scale (that's the title of the venture as well)-:that it is possible to devise cities of a small size based on community living, in which such techniques as solar heating, recycling, composting toilets, etc. can be used _to provide most of the elements of self-sufficiency; that it is possible to establish workers' self-management over offices and factories and shops, running the economy in small units sufficient for a high level of material satisfaction with individual equality and without exploitation, hierarchy, poilution, etc.; and that it' is possible to operate with direct, consensual democracy in small units, and that this is the only way to create the sense of participation necessary to end crime, anomie, loneliness, poverty and the like. In short, social, economic and political life on a human scale. To try to make this convincing, I am searching for hard practical examples of how different societies, and different groups within this society, have actually succeeded in small-scale operations of various kinds. This eventually led me to the Institute for Local Self-Reliance in Washington last spring, and it was there that, belatedly, I came across R-AIN. I'd be g~ateful if. you could kind of mention my project around, and see if anyone would be interested in adding to (GOOD THINGs) ' Practical Puffins: Cooking, Gardening, Carpentry, Bicycles, Strange Things (to do and make) and Body Tricks by McPhee Gribble Publishers, $1.50 each from: Penguin Books 62 5 Madison Ave. New York, NY 10022 These books are filled with project ideas and easy-to-follow instructions for practical and harmless deeds that kids will want to do. Carpentry shows the safest ways to use tools, how to make a pair of sandals and a chair, but also how to , build (yeah!) a Billy cart. Strange Things suggests that gardening and hatching chickens as well as water diving are fun things to do. And maybe best of all, Body Tricks has all kinds of funny and creepy things your little goblins can do to startle you just when you're fixing dinner! They're good fun and, of course, wise teaching tools for 7 ~ 12-year-olds. (Lauri deMoll) it, sending information, pushing me in new directions, suggesting books, mentioning projects and communities, and the like, for I have a lot to learn and I'll be taking a year or more to work on it. And if anyone wants more· clarification, I'd be happy to try that, too. '.Dear Tom, Kirk Sale 113W.11thSt. New York, NY 10011 What are we doing? I'll begin with my standard explanation. Since 195 5 the American Council of Voluntary Agencies for Foreign Service, Ipc. (ACVAFS) has been operating the Technical Assistance Information Clearing House (TAICH) und~r contract with the Agency for International Development (AID) for the purpose of maintaining an information service, primarily on U.S. nonprofit organizations and their overseas development assistance programs, but also on other organizations and matters that are related. TAICH publishes directories, reports and a quarterly n~wsletter and endeavors to answer queries of any interested organization or individuals on different aspects of overseas development assistance. By the inquiries we receive we tend ,to get an idea of development concerns, and if there is one thing that is capturing people's interest now it's appropriate technology (of course AID $20 million is no deterrent). This has been a personal interest of mine for some time, and, along with Mike Green January 1977 RAIN Page 19 (VITA), Byron Kennard, Hazel Henderson and Bob Swann, I was involved in an abortive attempt at an "International Appropriate Technology Fair" several years ago. I would say that the whole a.t. concept is only now, however, beginning to receive the attenti_on and coordinated efforts it deserves. When I receive an inquiry now about a.t. in general- of which there are a number- ! just despair. There is just too much to say to begin at the beginning.... As an unwilling inhabitant of New York City, my ;feelings that a.t. is the only solution for our society verge on the fanatic and lead me to gratuitous proselytizing on the slenderest of openings. Very sincerely, Jane M. Meskill TAICI-I 200 Park AvenueS., 11th Floor New York, NY 10003 Note: TAICH News contains a good bit of useful information on international organizations doing a.t. work. They've had issues on development of small industry and a.t. for agriculture. Free from TAICH. (TB) ~'~i cultural seasonal rites. Offers very swal- ~-'9 lowable lessons about birds, animals and V~ ~ plants and gives hundreds of intriguing ;-:.- _ 7~\~ J project suggestions for everything from , ~ ~ .t; f if: . . 1 -.,\ ~arm arms to body clocks. It's a book · · /"'_, (~~~~ that allows kids (and grown-ups) to '\t<f~~ / . learn by doing and thinking about ·' .-, ·\' ···\ , ·(? things _for ~hemselves and to ha~e a · , o ~ great ttme m the process. (Laun deMoll) J The Reasons for Se~sons, by Linda Allison, $3.95 from: Yolla Bolly Press Covelo, CA "Spring is when the hours of light begin to outnumber the hours of night. It's the time of great awakening. Plants spring to life with new green. The Seven Sisters appear in the sky in northeast Brazil, signaling the Turkano peo-· ple that it's time to plant. Insects appear. Fish spawn. Amphibians lay their eggs. It's a good time to be born." So begins the "Great Megagalactic Trip Without Moving from Your Chair," a delightful book fot 7-12-year-olds which traverses the four seasons with clear explanations of astronomy, navigation and some transCyclatera(Thinking, Douglas B. Smith, ed., 1975, $3 from: Urban Bikeway Design Collaborative W20-002 MIT Cambridge, MA 02139 This 'booklet has sections by different people on community planning, funding and bicycle education, as well as design problems and case histories of different bikeway systems. No definitive solutions but lots of examples a_nd ideas. The people at UBDC (who also did Sprocket Man- see RAIN, Oct. 1976) have obviously done a lot of research and have gained a lot of experience in bikeway design, but, more importantly, they are bikeriders themselves, and their love shows tryrough. (LdeM) '
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