Intertribal Economies

We have begun to establish what is called an Intertribal Economy.The short version is this.Tribes are collectives dedicated to making a living together. Food shelter security, entertainment, health, etc. Invariably, a tribe is strong in some skills, weak in others and has a some skill sets that are non-existent. By using our strengths to create surpluses, we can trade those surpluses to those tribes that lack them, whether it be food, carpentry, or merely a couple of extra hands for a few days. We have been in contact with, and begun trading with various other collectives in our area, and it has gone far to supplement our needs. Our strengths are permaculture (food surplus), materials (we inherited roughly 3 tons of wood) and security (both lessons from resident martial artists and the formation of a neighborhood watch) . So far we have traded mostly food and labor for carpentry skills, bicycles, and a very good rifle scope.

As I wrote this, I was contacted by another group willing to trade time and labor for permaculture "lessons". The more the merrier, in my opinion. Plus, the more people we can get into an Intertribal Economy, the less severe the ensuing crises will be. 

More Members

In the 8 weeks since the crises began, we have picked up more members for our tribe. We started with 5, with 2 people ready to come in. Since then, we have picked 6 more people. The house is starting to get full, but we still have room for 4-6 other people. The recent arrivals are not much in the way of skills, but they are willing to learn and work for our mutual survival and comfort. They are 2 small families, each with one child. I am happy to have children around, especially ones so young (3 and 5). We can teach them "a new way", to better live in this new world of ours. I am also trying to bring in the soon to be ex-cop, his wife and their 6 month old that I met him last night (see below). Our total members are now 11, with room for 5-6 more. Our budding tribe grows stronger, and soon we will be almost self-sufficient.

Beginning of Food Riots

Last night, I went to the store for Ice Cream. Sounds silly, I know, what with everything that is going on , but I don’t have to buy much food and I "need" to spend my money before it becomes worthless. Besides, after the real shock ice cream will be a "hot" commodity here in South Louisiana.

Anyway, I was standing in line when I heard an argument on an aisle behind me. I moseyed over to see what was up, and two older ladies were arguing about the last few cans of green beans. I looked around, and sure enough the shelves were almost empty. The ladies became more and more agitated, arguing that they both had that can in their hand and that the other snatched it out. I tried to calm them, saying "It’s just green beans, I can give ya’ll some from my home a few blocks away". They looked at me like I was stupid, and one woman used the opportunity to run off. The first woman cursed me out and then chased her to the check out. She caught her at the line and beat her ass, going so far as to use the very can the were arguing about to beat her.

I rushed to pull them apart, and so did another guy, whom I found out later was an off-duty cop. But everything started at once. People started grabbing food off the shelves, shoving, punching and pummeling each other over items. I dropped my ice cream and headed for the door. The cop grabbed me, said "come on", and started towards the biggest brawl. I decided right then that I should help him, b/c he will remember me, and cops/soon to be ex-cops are good people to have around. We went to the doors and we blocked them with shopping carts. As soon as we started, people started pushing me trying to get out. He pulled his badge and gun, and they backed up real quick. People were cursing us, shoving carts and feinting at us, but no one tried anything. I felt so stupid for brandishing a glass ketchup bottle as a weapon, but it kept them away. We held the doors for about 15 minutes until the police arrived.

Brian, the off-duty cop, thanked me for my help and we talked for about twenty minutes. It was sad. He told me about how in Lafayette, the closest big city (about 6 miles), things are getting bad. People are starting to get desperate. There have been some robberies of gas stations and grocery stores. No substantial deaths yet, but he told me about a situation that scared the crap out of me. Apparently, the local gangs are forming an army. 15 armed people robbed a grocery store. Not only did they take the money, but they stole as much food as they could carry, and were extremely violent. They shot an older couple that dared to resist, and then holed up in the store when the police arrived. They shot it out, with 11 deaths of robbers and 4 police. The captured robbers are issuing threats of mass jail break, and dropped hints that "The Block Army" is going to take over Lafayette. Scary.

Brian told me that he wants to quit the police, but doesn’t know how he’ll provide for his wife and daughter. I invited them to come check out the place, and meet the tribe. Seems like a nice guy, and his skills would be very useful. Not only does he have his own weapons, but his hobby is carpentry, which we could sorely use. I hope he comes.

What we saw was the first incident in Carencro, but I know there will be more. There have been a lot of gas thefts, and home invasions have started up. So far they have only beat people, but as they get desperate they’ll get more violent. We are gonna post watches from now on. The future is starting to get frightening, but I know we've done and are doing everything we can to survive and prosper. I am also inviting as many neighbors as possible to come and see and help, and have started permaculturing the neighborhood, in hopes to avoid the desperation that is already infecting the area. It is working, and the neighborhood has begun to pull together. I'll do everything I can to ensure it gets tight.

http://forum-archive.ishcon.org/f/17/3204.html and here http://forum-archive.ishcon.org/f/26/3570.html .

For More Info on Intertribal Economies:check here