Alternative Ways of Living

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Contents 1 Past threads 1.1 Alternative machines 1.2 Building & Eco-Construction 1.3 Clothing, Design & Fashion 1.4 Democracy & Politics 1.5 Communities 1.6 Controversy & Conspiration 1.7 Economy 1.8 Education 1.9 Energies 1.10 Food & Drinks 1.11 Gardening 1.12 Global Environmental Issues 1.13 Health & Hygiene 1.14 Hi-Tech 1.15 Ideas 1.16 Lifestyles 1.17 Medias 1.18 Meditation & Spirituality 1.19 Movements 1.20 Philosophy 1.21 Recent Events 1.22 Safety 1.23 Sharing 1.24 Sustainable Development 1.25 Transportation 1.26 Travel & Tourism 1.27 Waste 1.28 Water 2 Links 2.1 Unformatted 2.2 Way of life 2.3 Do It Yourself 2.4 Community Supported Agriculture 2.5 Free economy 2.6 Intentional Communities and Ecovillages

The Alternative Ways of Living & Consuming group is one of the oldest on CouchSurfing (created in August 2004), and the biggest in the Ideas category. It holds numerous sub-groups related to Alternative Lifestyles.

Past threads

We started indexing all major threads of interest in the end of 2008. Feel free to add relevant threads to this list or to quote them when answering questions in the group. If you work on the page, please tell us what time frame you covered (in the discussion page) so that we don't repeat the work! There is a wiki working group if you are looking for advice or just want to chat with the volunteers.

Alternative machines

• Pump up the water!
• New much more efficient aircraft engine may never fly

Building & Eco-Construction

• Foundations made of used tires
• The Vitruvian Building System - Green?
• Alternative homes: Bender tent
• Living in a bus
• Sustainable buildings and Air Quality
• Cargo container housing
• Converting a hostel in an eco-hostel
• Cordwood building
• Shared habitat
• Earthbags houses

Clothing, Design & Fashion

• Clothing in Voluntary simplicity
• Recycled furniture
• Alternative clothing on-line shops

Democracy & Politics

• Not voting in the US
• Patriotism

Communities

• Communities in Europe and the world
• Communities with a simpler lifestyle
• Ecovillages in Spain
• [ http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=24&post=5366752 Sailing collective]

Controversy & Conspiration

• The Story of Stuff: Propaganda?
• The true about swine flu vaccine
• Free Energy and another here (Pantone engine)
• Ranting against oil and for new energies
• We are Bringing Hell to Earth (rants and unspeciaized panic)

Economy

• Corporations experimenting with economic models other than 'growth'
• Recent Economic Crisis
• Is the Crisis good or bad?
• Goodwill Barter Tips & Living without money

Education

• Documentaries on sustainability Also here
• Education is not for sale
• How do you apply for Uni in your country ?
• Knowledge exchange Social Networks

Energies

• [http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=24&post=5290777 'free energy' 2.0 (optimizing)
• Fighting for oil or developing alternatives?
• Alternative Heating in Winter
• Fridge Alternatives
• Algae as biofuel
• Converting diesel trucks to run on veg. oil
• Human-powered house

Food & Drinks

• Where does Milk comes from?
• Cruelty-Free Milk
• Local vs Organic
• Dumpster Diving
• Vegetarian vs. Meat-eating and another one about "ethical" meat eaters...
• Veganism vs. the ‘150km rule’
• Skipping waste - Dumpster Diving
• Dandelion Coffee
• Cutting off the Wheat
• Alternatives to milk
• Wheat, Sugars, Proteins, Carbs
• A good reason not to eat animals
• 50 Ways not to waste food again
• Criticism of the 100-Mile Diet
• Soybeans
• Different food lifestyles and arguments
• Additives in food
• Substituting meat

Gardening

• Using Tires to grow Vegetables
• Permaculture
• Edible Forest Gardening
• Grow your own food in your apartment
• Soybeans

Global Environmental Issues

• Global Warming or Global Cooling?
• Carbon Footprint
• The belief of climate change causing more storms
• World Wide Views on Climate Change

Health & Hygiene

• Alternative (to) Toothpaste
• Dirty, Smelly Hippies
• Obsolete Immune Systems
• Natural Immune Boosters
• Shampoo & Conditionner
• Giving Up Shampoo (More)
• And wash your clothes now!
• Home remedies
• Colloidal Silver - Supercure?
• Natural Way to Prevent Mosquito Bites
• Uberman Sleep Cycles
• Losing weight and staying fit
• Natural cleaning products
• Contraception
• Malaria prophylaxis
• DIY dishwashing ideas
• Herbal medecine and laws - Petition

Hi-Tech

• Eco Media Player... wind-up technology is the future!
• TV-Alternative

Ideas

• 2010: Your "New Ways" Resolutions?
• Alternative Christmas gifts here too
• How do you combine your "alternate" ideas with your daily "reality"?
• Spread unconditionnal love
• 52 ideas for adventures in the normal life
• Good places to raise children

Lifestyles

• A year with a 1€/day
• Polyamory
• Abandoning Consumerism
• Spreading "green awareness"
• Sharing facilities - communal living
• Useful skills for nomads
• Some thoughts (living with less)
• Different lifestyle, does yours work?
• [http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=24&post=4840831 Why You Should Quit Your Job & Travel Round The World
• Eco-friendly living ideas / concepts / practices
• To work or not to work

Medias

• Alternative blogs
• Religion, politics and propaganda
• Great books

Meditation & Spirituality

• Binaural Beats
• Extra Sensorial Perception

Movements

• Zeitgeist Movement & Venus Project here tooyet another
• Project Venus
• Hugs for Peace

Philosophy

• radical anarchist/leftist community video project!

Recent Events

• Events in Greece
• Swine flu
• US law against organic food?
• The truth about Swine Flu Vaccine
• Australian town ‘world’s first’ to ban bottled water
• have you watched the movie "Home" ? & here too

Safety

• How safe are the products we consume

Sharing

• Help exchange

Sustainable Development

• Sustainable Development is any oxymoron

Transportation

• Cars and motos are a hell in a city
• What about planes ?

Travel & Tourism

• Freeloading / Tips & Tricks
• Travelling & ecology
• Alternative Travel Suggestions for Asia
• Cross an Ocean without an airplane
• Urban Camping
• The paradoxes of travelling vs ecology
• Couchsurfing & planes

Waste

• Technology for automated recycling sorting
• Scavengering
• Plastic here, plastic there, plastic everywhere!
• Should we be recycling?
• Energy and Waste
• Plastic Bag 1
• Plastic bags 2
• The Impact of Plastic
• Great Pacific Garbage Patch

Water

• Saving water

Links

(please format the list when you have some time)

Here are some of the links other members provided:

Unformatted

• http://idealist.org/
• http://charityvillage.com/
• http://www.katimavik.org/
• http://www.cwy-jcm.org/
• http://www.volunteersouthamerica.net/
• http://www.greenpeace.org/international/
• http://www.cat.org.uk/
• http://helpx.net/
• http://www.zeitgeistmovie.com/
• http://www.lowimpact.org/
• http://skippingwaste.trashwiki.org/
• http://greendrinks.org/
• http://www.kinsalefurthered.ie/

http://gaiaeducation.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=83&Itemid=65

Way of life

• http://squat.net/

Do It Yourself

• Instructables

Community Supported Agriculture

• Local Harvest
• International sites

Free economy

• Karmawish An Internet based LETS
• http://www.helpx.net/

Intentional Communities and Ecovillages

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intentional_community
• http://www.ic.org/
• http://www.eurotopia.de/english.html
• http://www.auroville.org/
• http://www.theartfarm.info/
• http://ecogarp.com/
• http://www.eurotopia.de
• http://www.gen-europe.org/
• http://www.onestepbeyond.org
• http://www.svanholm.dk
• http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%96kodorf_Sieben_Linden