Ecotopia

 

EcoTopia

A Design Strategy For the New Millennium
in Santa Cruz, California
by Paul Lee
In November of l992, I was inspired by the example of the Homeless Garden Project, when I was informed of the success of the first year’s Community Supported Agriculture Program (C.S.A.). I had been under the mistaken impression that the hundred or so participants, who had paid somewhat over $300 in advance for a share in the coming harvest had subvented the program, paying in more than they received in produce. I thought members received half or three-quarters in value in terms of the weekly boxes of organic produce supplied by the garden. In fact, the members received twice what they paid for at market value. I suddenly understood the meaning of an “economy of gift”, based on, of all things, homeless labor. Participants risked their share, paid in advance, based on their faith in the project, and received twice what they paid for. It was a wonder to behold.