Living with Nature - School on Blog
Lesson Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid with Ms Melly Tenorio
738 DZRB AM, 8 to 9 evening Mon to Fri
1. The term "voluntary simplicity" is one path to simple living, it emanates from oneself – self discipline.
2. Simple living as a concept is distinguished from those living in forced poverty, as it is a voluntary lifestyle choice.
3. Buddha, Francis of Assisi, John the Baptist, did not only live simply, they were early ascetics, and asceticism to them is a way of life.
4. The best way to save money is to set aside immediately a part of your salary, say 20 percent, and budget strictly the 80 percent. This is more effective than setting 20 percent after having budgeted and spent 80 percent of your salary.
5. You participate in the informal economy just like the farmer’s wife who goes to market to sell farm products and comes back with various household supplies. This is contemporary barter system. This is entrepreneurship on the grassroots.
6. Food supplementation reduces our dependence on conventional food; discovery of new food sources like seaweeds, wild food plants, as well as the discovery of new ways to prepare food comes at the heels of austere living. Hamburger from banana flower (puso), Ipil-ipil for coffee DON’T – use roasted rice instead or roasted corn, papait vegetable, sea cucumber, kuhol, the many uses of gabi, substitution of wheat flour with rice flour. Substitution of staple food with root crops (camote, cassava) to save on precious rice.7. Postharvest losses reduces our supply, in fact to one-half, that by saving even only 10 percent of what is wasted, would be sufficient to fill up our annual deficit in rice and corn. Austerity is reducing our waste on all levels – production, postproduction, food preparation.
Prefer fresh over processed food.
8. You would rather buy things in bulk (paint, cooking oil, rice), or by the dozens (eggs, softdrinks) for ready supply at home, particularly these days when prices are increasing and supply is unpredictable.9. You keep these tools and materials which you personally use now and then in various handiworks such as house repairs and gardening: a pair of pliers, hammer, set of screw driver, nails and screws, GI wires, electrical tester, and the like.
10. As a general policy of any state, the government should pursue a self sufficiency program in food, particularly staple (rice and corn) as the best way to insure food security, even if there is adequate supply in the world market.
11. You would rather have your laundry and ironing once a week rather than daily or every other day, scheduling it usually on a weekend, thus saving precious water and electricity, and getting more helping hands from the family.
12. Family planning refers to limiting the number as well as proper spacing of your children. If there is a sin of commission or omission, there is also a sin of neglect – and if that neglect is within the knowledge of the sinner, and the consequence is the ruin of the lives of those under his care as parent, atonement is almost unthinkable.
13. It is easier to meet our needs than our wants to most people although to many, affluence is pursue even before needs are met.
Eating at home saves you a lot of money
14. Youth today are torn between choices of white collar jobs and blue collar jobs. They are lured to easy education – diploma mill, and on the modern method of leaning on the computer which actually does not offer an “end course” that makes one a professional like a doctor, lawyer, agriculturist, and the like. Austerity calls for a re-definition of courses that are functional in nature and p[practical in application, and relevant to the changing times.15. Corn as a whole tops all rice substitutes, other than the fact that 20 percent (14 million) of our population depends on corn as staple.
16. In urban areas the most popular rice substitutes are noodle products, followed by pandesal and other wheat products. In rural areas, sweet potato (Ipomea batatas) and cassava (Manihot esculenta) top the list of rootcrops.
17. Among the legumes, mungo (Phaseolus radiatus) is best known. Generally, consumers of these products are unaware that they are doing a favor to the rice industry, particular during the lean months.
18. Food management at home was subject required in the elementary a generation ago which was then called Home Economics.
19. Save on food if you have less pets. This is a policy of China even to the present to save on food.
20. There are more and more good schools in the provinces and chartered cities. We would rather send our children in these schools for practical reasons.
21. Grains would rather be used directly as food and lessen the amount of using them in producing animal protein by feeding the grains to poultry and animals. By doing this we maximize the value of food and make them available to ordinary people.
22. Tragedy of the Commons means that common people who do not wake up to the realities of modern living will be left behind by progress. (False. The term refers to free-for-all competition for a resource that will soon run out. Examples: overgrazing of a community pasture, over fishing of a lake)
23. Revolutions start with hungry stomach as history can attest. French Revolution, Russian, Chinese to mention some. These support Marxist philosophy of justifying socialism over aristocracy and capitalism.
24. Simplification, ruralism, naturalism, philosophy of living in solitude – all point to simple living.
25. That "bigger is better" is true. (False. E F Schumacher argued against the notion in Small is Beautiful.)
Answers: All True except 22 and 25
Rating:
23-25 You are a model, a disciple of simple living, people look up to you.
19-22 Your are happy in your simple lifestyle.
15-18 You are moderate, adjusting to changing situations.
14 and below Learn more from to Paaralang Bayan
