The Serviceberry: An Economy of Abundance – Robin Wall Kimmerer
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The Serviceberry: An Economy of Abundance – Robin Wall Kimmerer
The words “ecology” and “economy” come from the same root, the Greek oikos , meaning “home” or “household”: i.e., the systems of relationship, the goods and services that keep us alive. The system of market economies that we’re given as a default is hardly the only model out there. Anthropologists have observed and shared multiple cultural... See more
Robin Wall Kimmerer • The Serviceberry: An Economy of Abundance – Robin Wall Kimmerer
The words “ecology” and “economy” come from the same root, the Greek oikos, meaning “home” or “household”: i.e., the systems of relationship, the goods and services that keep us alive. The system of market economies that we’re given as a default is hardly the only model out there. Anthropologists have observed and shared multiple cultural frameworks colored by very different worldviews on “how we provide for ourselves,” including gift economies.
“Store my meat? I store my meat in the belly of my brother,” replied the hunter.
Robin Wall Kimmerer • The Serviceberry: An Economy of Abundance – Robin Wall Kimmerer
“Store my meat? I store my meat in the belly of my brother,” replied the hunter.
Robin Wall Kimmerer • The Serviceberry: An Economy of Abundance – Robin Wall Kimmerer
This abundance of berries feels like a pure gift from the land. I have not earned, paid for, nor labored for them. There is no mathematics of worthiness that reckons I deserve them in any way.
Robin Wall Kimmerer • The Serviceberry: An Economy of Abundance – Robin Wall Kimmerer
I have never felt such a kinship to my namesake, Robin, as in this moment when we are both stuffing our mouths with berries and chortling with happiness.
Robin Wall Kimmerer • The Serviceberry: An Economy of Abundance – Robin Wall Kimmerer
i want to name my children something that can feel the same to them as robins name does to her
It is manufactured scarcity that I cannot accept.
Robin Wall Kimmerer • The Serviceberry: An Economy of Abundance – Robin Wall Kimmerer
Conceiving of something as a gift changes your relationship to it in a profound way, even though the physical makeup of the “thing” has not changed. A woolly knit hat that you purchase at the store will keep you warm regardless of its origin, but if it was hand knit by your favorite auntie, then you are in relationship to that “thing” in a very... See more
Robin Wall Kimmerer • The Serviceberry: An Economy of Abundance – Robin Wall Kimmerer
Gift Economies
Intentional communities of mutual self-reliance and reciprocity are the wave of the future, and their currency is sharing. The move toward a local food economy is not just about freshness and food miles and carbon footprints and soil organic matter. It is all of those things, but it’s also about the deeply human desire for connection, to be in
... See moreRobin Wall Kimmerer • The Serviceberry: An Economy of Abundance – Robin Wall Kimmerer
Conceiving of something as a gift changes your relationship to it in a profound way, even though the physical makeup of the “thing” has not changed. A wooly knit hat that you purchase at the store will keep you warm regardless of its origin, but if it was hand knit by your favorite auntie, then you are in relationship to that “thing” in a very
... See more