Why does it seem like so many solarpunk forums and posts focus on hypotheticals, what governments and politicians should do, and wishing for big things, but dont include real world, small scale personal experiments?
There seems to be a huge opportunity for hacker like, actual DIY punkrock communities, but i dont see many.
why? is alot of this a LARP? where are the people taking action? sincere question…
I see lots of people working on small scale personal experiments here. We have artists working to research and envision a solarpunk future, writers doing the same thing but in a different medium, folks setting up personal websites and self-hosting internet servers to bolster the Small Web, people growing gardens wherever they’ll fit like in their backyards or on balconies attached to tiny apartments, people experimenting with different methods of gardening (such as hydroponics) to make them more accessible for everyone, folks helping each other research their purchases to ensure they’re making ethical choices with their money + buying something that will last as long as possible, people making zines, people making tapestries, people foraging and experimenting with food preservation methods…
The list goes on. My own personal projects include a small apartment balcony garden, monthly events with my close community, mending/repairing my family and community’s clothing, learning to sew and thrift the things I need, peakbusting on hot summer days, learning to sew clothes from unusual materials to prove that solarpunk fashion can include unique and cute modern styles, and teaching myself how coding and cybersecurity work so that I can set up my own personal website and local server,
I noticed you mocking the idea of someone who hasn’t physically touched a solar panel. Solar panels are extremely expensive to purchase and my income is less than 12k a year. I am also extremely disabled (hence the small income) and lack the kind of physical ability needed to climb up a ladder and install a solar panel… or study for an electrician’s license, given that there’s, y’know, some prerequisite knowledge necessary for this kind of project. Do these things apply to everyone? No, of course not… but the people to whom it doesn’t apply are definitely posting about it here.
I recommend you toss the slop AI image (there are few things less solarpunk than GenAI) and spend some time looking around and connecting with others. Please post your own projects freely! I want to see your DIY punk rock ideas c: we do have a lot of news articles posted around here rather than personal discussions, so why don’t we work together to share more with others?
I have the impression that you might find intersting the following link (you can also look for it, at the top of the front-page of slrpnk.net):
New to Solarpunk? Click here
Picture is AI and I can’t help but read the question as AI as well, it’s the repatition and paragraph structure of a simple question.
Edit: Account is 3 days old and this is their only post. Not evidence persay but it is a red flag to me.
have you actually ever touched a solar panel with your own hands?
is that a slop image? gen ai is p antithetical to solarpunk, we all need the environment to be in good condition to continue being alive. https://storyseedlibrary.org/ has a load of free images by real artists for people to use instead of ai, tho
essentially, it’s a small community, and most people lurk but don’t make posts or comments. we don’t know their situations either, so they may be protecting themselves by not posting about their local activism. if you want to, you could get involved with different solarpunk communities and start posting more about your own experiences:
the only response with any value. thanks for the links. will check them out.
i am curious… how many people in here have ever connected a BMS to a charge controller?
where i live, that’s currently the domain of registered electricians. plug-in solar etc is apparently going to be legislated for soon, but in the meantime, there’s quite a steep monetary barrier & people living in apartments without access to a roof are out of luck.
there’s more to solarpunk than literally just solar power, though. setting up a tool library with your neighbours is solarpunk; running a book swap or clothes swap or mask bloc is solarpunk; repairing and DIYing items & teaching others how to do the same is solarpunk.
being individualist & isolated in an off-grid cabin isn’t solarpunk, even if that cabin uses renewable energy sources. solarpunk is about divesting from all oppressive systems & building better ways of doing things, in your community.
where are the people taking action? sincere question…
Less connected, more IRL. Depending on your interests you will find them in farming coops, fablabs, citizens groups…
You could read the classic Hakim Bey’s essay on TAZ (temporary autonomous zones) to understand why real life experiments are not very advertised. Tl;dr: many are fragile and can be killed by success/attention. When you have to do a bit of effort to reach them, it creates a natural filter of motivation that guarantees that the people who come are those who will contribute, not just mere tourists.
There’s a small project I found recently that offers free milkweed seeds to people who can’t afford to buy them. I found out about it from a well-shared social media post. On their website, they say that they were inundated with tons and tons of requests for free seeds from people who probably could have afforded to toss a donation in there to keep the program running and now they have to charge for the seeds, which sounds like a great example of what you’re talking about - a project set up literally by a few people packing milkweed seeds at a table went viral online and turned into a free-for-all of people hoping to get free stuff.
AI slop picture.
As for the question, it depends on what do you mean by action. I want this world for everyone so just going and living in the forest is not a good solution. Organizing with a local group with similar values is.
so basically you mock people who walk the walk, so you can talk and talk, and create elitism with meaningless purity tests
Ai is not regarded well here, as its use and the destruction it causes to the environment are seen as antithetical to solarpunk ideals.
Others may have different opinions of what is effective action, there’s no need to become so defensive to someone trying to answer your question from their perspective. Please try to assume good intentions from others while reading their responses, and try to be empathetic in your answers (per the rules in the community’s sidebar).
What I don’t mock anybody. If you want to go live in the forest go for it. I have several friends that decided to give up on general organizing and just live their lives according to their principles best they can. I just still thing that wider change can be achieved only via mass organization.
One aspect of the movement is convincing others to join us. To do so, that means creating imagery (written too!) that shows what we are trying to achieve.
The people taking action are the ones working in your local communities to change laws, protest, volunteer, or barter with their neighbors. The news doesn’t often write about them.
