I am going to start offering writers the opportunity to learn skills that connect us to nature. But this offering is more than just another course; it’s an opportunity to understand what it means to receive a teaching that isn’t sold as a product. It is a teaching that is given, and if you find it useful and it inspires your Cli-fi/ Thrutopian writing, then I ask that you make a donation in return.
How can I afford to do this? I have a well-paid job and work a 3-out-of-4-week rotation, so I can offer this on that basis.
The philosophy behind this offering is simple. Climate action is not about selling a product dressed up as anti-capitalism; Cli-fi should be inspirational, and readers should be able to see an alternative paradigm based on the non-commercialization model.
The concept of Dana (Buddhist giving) is central to organizations like Vipassana Trust. Except I won’t be teaching meditation, though there will be an element of mindfulness. I will be teaching a form of Bushcraft therapy that is accessible and easy to learn. What I will be teaching is evidence-based and has been proven to be a necessary part of adaptation and resilience skills for climate-driven disasters. Preparedness might not necessarily be what inspires authors to write Cli-fi, but it might be something they want to include in their stories.
I AM NOT TEACHING A FREE SURVIVAL COURSE; THIS IS AIMED AT AUTHORS WRITING INSPIRATIONAL FICTION BASED ON FACTUAL INFORMATION
Preparedness Skills Are A Proven Asset To Response During and in the Aftermath of Climate-Driven Catastrophe
The devastation caused by Hurricane Helene left entire communities cut off from services for weeks. Local preparedness and survival practitioners, through mutual aid, were able to mount Search and Rescue operations independent of government organizations. People with experience in wood processing, water purification, and medical and first-aid skills were included in the mutual aid Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC). Starlink and Meshtastic Networks were used to ensure survivors could inform relatives that they were okay via email or SMS.
“Interoperability, Communications, and Data: A complete communications blackout revealed significant vulnerabilities in backup systems and highlighted insufficient integration of satellite-based alternatives. System interoperability challenges and unprecedented levels of disinformation further complicated response efforts.
Logistics and Resource Allocation: Fragmented tracking systems and technology failures hindered efficient resource management, while inadequate pre-positioning of supplies and limited vendor agreements impacted timely resource deployment, particularly in the western region. https://www.ncdps.gov/division/emergency-management/ts-helene-after-action-review/open
Hurricane Katrina seems like a long time ago. Yet another grassroots organization, the Cajun Navy, began as an informal network of private boat owners, fishermen, and volunteers in Louisiana who mobilized their own vessels to rescue residents trapped by floodwaters. It consisted of sport fishermen who used their boats to coordinate rescues and distribute food and water.
Readiness For Any Future
Readiness for any future is based on mutual aid and community solidarity.
Breaking the capitalist model of climate education: “The story of the Children’s Fire was passed to our Founder Mac Macartney by his indigenous mentors on a moonlit night in the winter of 1984 and is a central principle of Embercombe’s work in the world. The story goes that the elders of a long-gone people came to understand that human institutions needed to reflect the balance and wisdom observable in nature. They made a pledge to the young of all species: No law, no decision, no action of any kind shall be taken that will harm the children, now or ever.” Embercombe https://www.embercombe.org/founding-principles
Courses at Embercombe are extremely expensive, and this reinforces the commercialization of indigenous wisdom, apparently given freely by Indigenous Elders. It’s irrelevant that the project is a Charity. I am not suggesting a donation amount; I am simply offering a learning process that I hope will inspire future Cl-fi authors to view preparedness realistically rather than ritualizing it as pseudo-spirituality, and to see it applied in real-life scenarios and climate-driven disasters, such as the examples given. I have Search and Rescue (SAR), First Aid, and Mental Health First Aid Training and have been directly involved in SAR operations in the UK.
Decommercialisation Breaks the Capitalist Model
Nature Connection can’t be sold as a product because its benefits aren’t immediately evident to the learner. Following the example of the Vipassana Trust. The Dana model is meant to decommercialize the basic learning process; instead of the learner being fixated on whether this is value for money, they are free of that preconception, allowing them to open themselves to nature and learn in a prosocial environment. Prosocial, cooperative learning in nature has been shown to trigger the release of oxytocin, the hormone associated with creating community and social bonding. In nature, the brain naturally produces serotonin, and learning practical, hands-on skills in nature produces dopamine.
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