Solarpiracy - SolarPiracy

Homesteading survival knowledge

Growing Food:

The basics of Growing Food

Crops to grow for Maximum Production

Seed Starting Plan

Grow transplants for free

How to get Seeds for Free

How to find good soil for Free

Amending the Soil

How to Collect Seeds

Re-potting and care for tomato transplants

Growing dry beans

Growing Garlic

How to grow a lot of Leek

Plants going to Seed Explained

Food you can grow and eat in the Winter

Climate change and Food Security

Plant Lemon Trees from Seed

Why is rain much more effective than watering?

Stashing Food

Storing the Food from your Garden

Living in nature and food conservation

Making a Meal from foraged and Garden Food in Winter

Sun-drying Strawberries

Sun-drying Cherry Tomatoes

Citrus Tips

Canning

Blackberry Jam

Strawberry Jam

Salsa (tomatoes, peppers, onion, garlic)

Đuveđ (mixed vegetables preserve)

Ajvar (preserved peppers)

Preserved sugar Cherries

Foraging: 

Edible Mushrooms that grow on trees

Edible Wild Plants to Forage for in Spring

Make Honey out of Dandelions

How to cook with Nettle

Incredible value of Pine Needles

Herbalism

Rose Water

On herbal infusions and poison tea

Herbs to Collect for Tea

How to safely make Elderberry Syrup

Yarrow and Lemon Balm

Basic Medicinal Herbal Tea Uses

Tree Care:

How to grow trees

Where are the Tree Roots?

What is Root Flare

Tree Pruning Mistakes

Types of Pruning cuts

How to Prune Correctly

Other:

Building a Cob House

How to make Earthen Floors

Cooking with minimal use of heat

Processing Forest Clay

How to hand-work clay

How to make laundry detergent out of conkers

Creating baskets out of Newspapers

How to keep your space cool during heat waves

How trees create a living atmosphere

How to get rid of ants

Survival Recipes

What garden plants can be used as poison

the last set for this year’s (not) dinovember! this marks 3 years in a row done now, geez. If I do it next year I definitely will be changing things up a bit.

Didelphodon > Hatzegopteryx > Diplocaulus > Elasmosaurus > Lystrosaurus > Darwinopterus > Tylosaurus > Anurognathus > Nothosaurus > Tiktaalik

reference masterpost!

most things will be under the readmore

movies:

walt disney movies 

harry potter movies

a movie list

oscar movies

more movies

studio ghibli 

marvel movies

spooky movies

more spooky movies

not so scary Halloween movies

more movies

movies to watch when feeling down

so much movies

Read More

Squatting resources!

Because the state prioritizes landlords’ right to leech money off of the working class during a pandemic while contributing nothing of value to society over tenants’ right to not die of exposure, we’re about to face a global eviction crisis. That means people will be thrown out on the street to fend off a deadly virus while houses that nobody can afford sit empty. At the same time, countless small businesses and community centers are shutting down because they can’t afford rent

So here are a few guides to squatting, breaking into and living in or otherwise using (e.g. as a social center) abandoned property:

Opening Doors: A Primer

The 75 River Do It Yourself Occupation Guide

It’s Vacant, Take It! by Homes Not Jails

Bonus: How to occupy and collectivize your workplace

Bonus: The Autonomous Tenants Union Network, a North American collaborative of radical tenants unions

I hope you find these interesting!

A painting representing the surgical treatment of breast cancer - Richard Tennant Cooper

Homemaking, gardening, and self-sufficiency resources that won't radicalize you into a hate group

It seems like self-sufficiency and homemaking skills are blowing up right now. With the COVID-19 pandemic and the current economic crisis, a lot of folks, especially young people, are looking to develop skills that will help them be a little bit less dependent on our consumerist economy. And I think that's generally a good thing. I think more of us should know how to cook a meal from scratch, grow our own vegetables, and mend our own clothes. Those are good skills to have.

Unfortunately, these "self-sufficiency" skills are often used as a recruiting tactic by white supremacists, TERFs, and other hate groups. They become a way to reconnect to or relive the "good old days," a romanticized (false) past before modern society and civil rights. And for a lot of people, these skills are inseparably connected to their politics and may even be used as a tool to indoctrinate new people.

In the spirit of building safe communities, here's a complete list of the safe resources I've found for learning homemaking, gardening, and related skills. Safe for me means queer- and trans-friendly, inclusive of different races and cultures, does not contain Christian preaching, and does not contain white supremacist or TERF dog whistles.

Homemaking/Housekeeping/Caring for your home:

Making It by Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen [book] (The big crunchy household DIY book; includes every level of self-sufficiency from making your own toothpaste and laundry soap to setting up raised beds to butchering a chicken. Authors are explicitly left-leaning.)

Safe and Sound: A Renter-Friendly Guide to Home Repair by Mercury Stardust [book] (A guide to simple home repair tasks, written with rentals in mind; very compassionate and accessible language.)

How To Keep House While Drowning by KC Davis [book] (The book about cleaning and housework for people who get overwhelmed by cleaning and housework, based on the premise that messiness is not a moral failing; disability and neurodivergence friendly; genuinely changed how I approach cleaning tasks.)

Gardening

Rebel Gardening by Alessandro Vitale [book] (Really great introduction to urban gardening; explicitly discusses renter-friendly garden designs in small spaces; lots of DIY solutions using recycled materials; note that the author lives in England, so check if plants are invasive in your area before putting them in the ground.)

Country/Rural Living:

Woodsqueer by Gretchen Legler [book] (Memoir of a lesbian who lives and works on a rural farm in Maine with her wife; does a good job of showing what it's like to be queer in a rural space; CW for mentions of domestic violence, infidelity/cheating, and internalized homophobia)

"Debunking the Off-Grid Fantasy" by Maggie Mae Fish [video essay] (Deconstructs the off-grid lifestyle and the myth of self-reliance)

Sewing/Mending:

Annika Victoria [YouTube channel] (No longer active, but their videos are still a great resource for anyone learning to sew; check out the beginner project playlist to start. This is where I learned a lot of what I know about sewing.)

Make, Sew, and Mend by Bernadette Banner [book] (A very thorough written introduction to hand-sewing, written by a clothing historian; lots of fun garment history facts; explicitly inclusive of BIPOC, queer, and trans sewists.)

Sustainability/Land Stewardship

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer [book] (Most of you have probably already read this one or had it recommended to you, but it really is that good; excellent example of how traditional animist beliefs -- in this case, indigenous American beliefs -- can exist in healthy symbiosis with science; more philosophy than how-to, but a great foundational resource.)

Wild Witchcraft by Rebecca Beyer [book] (This one is for my fellow witches; one of my favorite witchcraft books, and an excellent example of a place-based practice deeply rooted in the land.)

Avoiding the "Crunchy to Alt Right Pipeline"

Note: the "crunchy to alt-right pipeline" is a term used to describe how white supremacists and other far right groups use "crunchy" spaces (i.e., spaces dedicated to farming, homemaking, alternative medicine, simple living/slow living, etc.) to recruit and indoctrinate people into their movements. Knowing how this recruitment works can help you recognize it when you do encounter it and avoid being influenced by it.

"The Crunchy-to-Alt-Right Pipeline" by Kathleen Belew [magazine article] (Good, short introduction to this issue and its history.)

Sisters in Hate by Seyward Darby (I feel like I need to give a content warning: this book contains explicit descriptions of racism, white supremacy, and Neo Nazis, and it's a very difficult read, but it really is a great, in-depth breakdown of the role women play in the alt-right; also explicitly addresses the crunchy to alt-right pipeline.)

These are just the resources I've personally found helpful, so if anyone else has any they want to add, please, please do!

So I decided to put one of these together to refer back to and also help minimize some of my tabs.  Happy blogging dear tumblrbugs! :)

Get Organized

Weekly meal planning worksheet

Weekly Food & Exercise Recorder

Ultimate Life Planning System Organizers

150+ Organizing Tips & Tricks

52 Life Tips

“My Library List” Book Organizer

By the Hour Time Planner

Daily Planner With To-Do List

Daily Planner Printable

Home Management Binder

Personal Files Organizing

College & Studying

When to go to sleep/wake up

College Packing List

Dorm Essentials Checklist

What can I do with this major?

Time Management Tips

Studying Tips, More Study Tips

SelfControl Siteblocker

Studying Music Collection

Studying Mix 2

Study skills, presentation techniques, etc.

SimplyNoise, SimplyRain, myNoise, rainymood, coffitivity, Naturesoundplayer, NatureSounds

Tutoring with KhanAcademy

Time Management: My Daily Schedule, My Weekly Schedule, Balancing Work and College

For the Party-goers: What to Do If You’ve Been Drugged, Dealing with a Hangover

Finding, Choosing, and Applying for Internships

Reviews about Professors- By other students 

Food to Keep in Your Dorm

Pros and Cons to Joining a Sorority or Fraternity

Money Saving Tips for Students

Help with Math: MathWay, WolframAlpha

Can’t Remember a Word

Stress Relief 

The Mountain- 3:09

The Quiet Place

The Quiet Place Thoughts Room

Seed Plant Breeder

Laugh with the Procatinator

Pick Up a New Hobby

Fly a Line (Vertigo Warning)

Paint a Nebula

Do Nothing for 2 Minutes

Stress Analyst

Paint a Picasso Face

Weave Silk

MoodGym

The Nicest Place On The Internet

Automatic Flatterer

Calming Manatee

Cute Overload

Self Help & Helping Others With Various Health Conditions

List of Hotlines

International Suicide Hotlines

International Rape Crisis Hotlines

Lifeline Crisis Chat

IMAlive-online crisis chat

List of Self-Help Channels

Self-Harm Alternatives

How to Talk to a Friend Having a Panic Attack

How to Talk to a Friend Who Self-Harms

How to Talk to a Friend With an Addiction

How to Talk to a Friend With an Eating Disorder

How to Talk to a Suicidal Friend

How to cope with depression (+)

Natural depression treatments

Ways to deal with depression/stress

Bipolar disorder and self-help

Living with bipolar disorder

Tips to beat insomnia (+) (+)

Understanding insomnia and how to cure it

First Aid for Seizures

First Aid for Heart Attacks

First Aid for Burns

First Aid for Allergic Reactions

First Aid for Heat Strokes

First Aid for Your Animal Companions

Dealing with gastritis

Rape escape (+)

How to break out of a zip-tie

Bored?

Read Any Book

Project Gutenberg -  free online books

Writing prompts and exercises

The Secret Door

Sandbox Maker

Learn a New Language

Hobbies Masterpost

Personality Tests

Simulation of Living on Minimum Wage

Boredome Masterpost

Color Matching

An Everything Post

Food

60 Great Vegan Recipes

Jamba Juice Smoothie Recipes

Maple Oat Smoothie

Vegan Blueberry PB Smoothie

Fiber & Protein Berry Smoothie

Plantation Tea

Top 5 Salad Recipes

List of Healthy Recipes

Kitchencraft Meta Masterpost

List of Awesome Healthy Food Blogs

Fitness

Workout Playlists

Online workout videos masterpost (not mine)

Blogilates Masterpost (not mine)

Youtube Workouts (not mine)

Full body cardio core 20 minute workout

Most effective 20 minute cardio workout-Tabata Style

High intensity Fat burn cardio training 

Full body circuit Boot Camp workout

Zuzana Light-ZWOD #1 

Fitness-How To Tror workout

POP Sculpt: Total Body workout

Sexy Body Exercise Video

Model workout episode 1

Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred: Level 1

Walking cardio shape up

The thanksgiving BIG BURN workout

Cardio Groove n’Burn Workout video by ExerciseTV

Pilates-Exercicios Alongamento

Bootcamp Calorie burn by ExerciseTV

Full body workout by eFit

Cardio Fat blast workout

Insanity 20 minute workout-fat burner

Total body workout 30 minutes

Fitness-suicie sweat workout

Victoria’s secret model workout

Food baby HIIT workout (POP cardio)

Bare Fitness-Girl fight

POP pilates: New body makeover

Bikini Blaster 1 HIIT it hard

15 minute total body boot camp

Fat blasting 10 minute workout

Pump it up

Killer abs workout

Tabata workout abs in 4 minutes

Sunkissed ABS workout

Hardcore ab workout with blogilates

6 minutes abs of steel ab workout

Core Rhythms Full workout

25 minutes abs and obliques workout

The Bikini abs workout

Reduce Tummy

Yummy abs workout

Lose bellyfat

Fitness-10 minute ab workout

Amazing abs workout

Best core workout ever

HIIT workout for abs and obliques

INSANE abs in 5 minutes

POP Pilates: Intense ab workout

Crazy slim abs 

Stomach exercises to lose belly fat

5 minute abs workout

Flat belly workout 

Standing abs workout routine

Flat stomach exercises

Abs of envy workout

Pumped up sexy abs workout

Bikini booty Thong workout 

MaliBooty workout

Hot booty firm up

POP Pilates: Butt blaster

Butt and Cleavage workout

How to get a perfect butt workout tutorial

10 minute booty shaking waist workout

Beach bum workout 

Best butt workout ever

What make you bootyful butt challenge

POP Pilates: Beyonce bootylicious Bum butt Badonkadonk

Bonanza 

Pilates butt burner 

3 weeks to an awesome butt

Butt like a Brazilian 

Quick butt workout

Butt lifting exercises 

Best exercises for buttocks

How to get skinny looking legs

Thinner thighs and legs workout

How to slim and tone those thighs 

Pumped up kicks workout

Squat challenge

Tone it up Thighs workout

Sexy legs workout 

10 minute Ballerina beauty, long legs, tight booty

Love your legs workout

Leg slimming exercises

FGF Ultimate Upper body workout

Awesomesauce arms

Lean, toned and strong arms workout

Best arm workout, slim arms

Upper body pulse workout

Killer sculpted arms workout

Upper back, arms and chest workout 

50 caliber arm workout

Toned triceps challenge 

20 minute Yoga class for complete beginners 

Yoga for weight loss-morning and evening routine 

Yoga for strong slim legs

20 minute weight loss & fatburning Yoga Workout

Hatha Yoga flow 55 minute class

Yoga for bedtime 

Jennifer Aniston’s Yoga ab workout

Yoga booty goddess booty

Yoga morning routine 

Hot Yoga challenge

Yoga Meltdown with Jillian Michaels

Basic Breathing-Beginner Yoga

Better Future Program’s 3,000 free resources have all been officially moved to Notion and not only are much easier to read on BOTH desktop and mobile, but have fully functional search and sorting options! Go check out our Liberation Library to support a Black-, queer-, and woman-owned nonprofit!

Excerpt from this story from The Wilderness Society:

Trees absorb carbon dioxide and give off oxygen. This makes them some of our greatest allies in the fight against the climate crisis.  

Big, dense, old-growth forests are especially good at absorbing and trapping (or “sequestering”) carbon, the leading greenhouse gas causing climate change. The Tongass National Forest in Alaska is often referred to as “America’s Climate Forest,” the nation’s “climate insurance policy” and “a national champion” of carbon sequestration.

But that only works if they’re left standing. Once cut down, these trees release their stored carbon and can exacerbate the climate crisis. That’s why we need to protect old-growth trees in places like the Tongass.  

The Trump administration got rid of protections for the wildest parts of the Tongass. The White House said it plans to review that decision. We encourage President Biden to follow through on that promise and ultimately restore protections to this ancient rainforest.

Tongass National Forest has been called a “key weapon“ for fighting climate change. The reason: big, old-growth trees are highly effective at trapping climate-warming greenhouse gas like carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing (or “sequestering”) it. Scientists have estimated that the Tongass accounts for about 8% of the carbon sequestered by all national forests.

Bottom line: if left standing, these trees are crucial to combating the climate crisis. But when old-growth trees are logged, they release carbon back into the atmosphere, exacerbating the climate crisis rather than helping it. Research has found that carbon density in unmanaged forests is 60% higher than in managed forests. In other words, forests like the Tongass are most effective in helping the climate crisis when left alone.

Scientists have known for quite some time that plants—especially trees—are big-time absorbers of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. A 2011 study tried to quantify the worldwide effect and reported a net global forest sink of as much as 1.1 petagrams—1.1 billion metric tons—of carbon per year. According to the EPA’s calculator, that means the world’s forests annually remove carbon from the atmosphere equivalent to that contained in nearly 54 million tanker trucks’ worth of gasoline.  

Here’s a thing I’ve had around in my head for a while!

Okay, so I’m pretty sure that by now everyone at least is aware of Steampunk, with it’s completely awesome Victorian sci-fi aesthetic. But what I want to see is Solarpunk – a plausible near-future sci-fi genre, which I like to imagine as based on updated Art Nouveau, Victorian, and Edwardian aesthetics, combined with a green and renewable energy movement to create a world in which children grow up being taught about building electronic tech as well as food gardening and other skills, and people have come back around to appreciating artisans and craftspeople, from stonemasons and smithies, to dress makers and jewelers, and everyone in between. A balance of sustainable energy-powered tech, environmental cities, and wicked cool aesthetics. 

A lot of people seem to share a vision of futuristic tech and architecture that looks a lot like an ipod – smooth and geometrical and white. Which imo is a little boring and sterile, which is why I picked out an Art Nouveau aesthetic for this.

With energy costs at a low, I like to imagine people being more inclined to focus their expendable income on the arts!

Aesthetically my vision of solarpunk is very similar to steampunk, but with electronic technology, and an Art Nouveau veneer.

So here are some buzz words~

Natural colors! Art Nouveau! Handcrafted wares! Tailors and dressmakers! Streetcars! Airships! Stained glass window solar panels!!! Education in tech and food growing! Less corporate capitalism, and more small businesses! Solar rooftops and roadways! Communal greenhouses on top of apartments! Electric cars with old-fashioned looks! No-cars-allowed walkways lined with independent shops! Renewable energy-powered Art Nouveau-styled tech life!

Can you imagine how pretty it would be to have stained glass windows everywhere that are actually solar panels? The tech is already headed in that direction!  Or how about wide-brim hats, or parasols that are topped with discreet solar panel tech incorporated into the design, with ports you can stick your phone charger in to?

(((Character art by me; click the cityscape pieces to see artist names)))