What is the Village of Ordinary

Village of Ordinary

What if ... every child grew up feeling wanted, loved and completely supported by family and community? What if ... we could all do work that gave us joy? What if ... we were so full of love ourselves that we viewed all other beings with compass...

READ THE BLOG

     The Village of Ordinary is a vision of what life could be like if peaceful coexistence with each other and with Nature were the norm. No wars, no drive-by shootings, no road rage; no office backstabbing, petty jealousies, or greed; and no polluted oceans, rivers, or atmosphere.
     Told through the eyes of Rose, who has lived in Ordinary all her life, the story shows us what life could be like if:
--   Every child born was wanted and grew up feeling completely supported by family and community
--   We could all do work that gave us joy
--   We were so full of love that we viewed all other beings with compassion
--   We consciously lived in harmony with Nature and other animals
     Follow Rose's journal of everyday life in Ordinary.

Image courtesy Center for Sustainable Villages

Fetching RSS feed... please stand by

JOIN THE WORLD - TURN OUT THE LIGHTS ON MARCH 29 FOR ONE HOUR!

ComfortDoc says, "Earth Hour 2008 is a global event created to symbolize that each of us, working together, can make a positive impact on climate change." Every action we take matters. This is one way to become conscious just how much.

Earth Hour 2008 - Earth Day

On March 29, 2008 at 8:00 pm millions of people, businesses and governments around the world switched off the lights for one hour during Earth Hour. Did you join them and turn off the lights? Earth Hour 2008 was a global event created to symbolize...

Group eligibility

To be eligible for inclusion in this group, a lens must meet these minimum requirements:

1. A bio image and a lens image (Squidoo default does not count).
2. Four content modules (think Text/Write Modules). Content modules do not include the Intro module, any guestbooks, commerce modules, such as Amazon, EBay, or Cafe Press, or polls.
3. A "contact me" button. (Get the how-to on SquidU.)
4. A guestbook--be sure to give it a module title and some content rather than sticking with the defaults.
5. Content that clearly shows how to live more sustainably, and/or
6. How to build sustainably, and/or
7. How to live harmoniously.
8. Content that is safe for all eyeballs.

Spam and adult-content lenses will be reported.

Image: Bambusa textilis.
Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.

Visit our newest lenses and tell the lensmasters how you like them!

Earth Hour 2008 - Earth Day

On March 29, 2008 at 8:00 pm millions of people, businesses and governments around the world switched off the lights for one hour during Earth Hour. Did you join them and turn off the lights? Earth Hour 2008 was a global event created to symbolize...

Grasscycling--Easy way to a cleaner, greener lawn

How much time do you spend each week cutting your grass, stopping every few turns to remove the grass catcher, shake the clippings into a garbage sack, and reattach the bag?

Zero Foot Printing Starts Here

Did you know that by replacing 100% of your utility grid electricity with solar you can eliminate approximately one-third of your environmental impact? Solar electric technology is becoming more appealing to those who are concerned with decreasing an...

Green Computing - Cutting Your PC's Carbon Footprint

The standard 200W PC running for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, 50 weeks in a year, will use 400 kwh. Maybe not much considering the total energy usage of your household or business, but it's a great place to start cutting your carbon emissions and sa...

Inspirational Messages

Find inspirational thoughts here Life is a wonderful gift but it is also challenging and sometimes heart-wrenching. We can all use a little motivation and inspiration from time to time to help us navigate the small and large hurdles we encounter on...

Richland Recycling Center | Recycle Washington | Tri City Wa Waste Management | Paper Aluminum Computer and Plastic Recycling

Recycled issues and recycle news, and ways you can contribute positively to the environment in Richland Washington specifically, and a lens on recycling in general. Email This Page To A Friend Today! | Lensroll Add to del.icio.us | digg this | Stumbl...

Give a big welcome to the newest lensmasters to join our group

• 
  Becca_Sanz
• 
  rwoman
• 
  Comfortdoc
• 
  SemperFidelis
• 
  CherylK

Building sustainable communities

Learn about ecovillages and intentional communities through these lenses. Get a taste of village life and start building community in your life.

Crystal Waters Permaculture Village

Located an hour and a half north of Brisbane, Australia, Crystal Waters is a planned eco-village. It's a place where everyone, from kids to grannies and grandpas, get their hands dirty and have a lot of fun doing it. Join me in discovering the journe...

Earthaven Ecovillage

Earthaven is an aspiring ecovillage in a mountain forest setting near Asheville, North Carolina. We are dedicated to caring for people and the Earth by learning, living and demonstrating a holistic, sustainable culture. Earthaven EcoVillage Image: Ke...

Building Ordinary--Sustainable Community

  They're known as eco-villages, cohousing or intentional communities. This lens explores several of them and answers these questions:        What is cohousing?        What do we mean by sust...

Would you choose to live in an ecovillage if money were no object?

This story inspired Ordinary and set me on the path to my life work

Imagine working only a few months of the year and partying most of the rest. Imagine that you never wasted a thing. Imagine that everywhere you went, folks beamed happy faces at you. The people of Ladakh, or Little Tibet, have lived like this for thousands of years in one of the most inhospitable places in the world. Read their story. Be inspired.
 

^#1

Vote Up

Ancient Futures: Learning from Ladakh by Helena Norberg-Hodge

Everyone who cares about the future of this planet, about their children's future, and about the deterioration in the quality of life in our own society, should read [this book].
The Guardian (England)1 point

Making Peace - Choosing harmony

Only three lenses here so far. If you know of a well-made lens on building harmony and creating peace, please tell the lensmaster about this group.

Ten minute meditation

When you can't drop everything and take a walk in the woods, this exercise can give you instant relief. You can do it anywhere. Use it when tensions rise in a meeting. It will calm you and help you focus on the task at hand. Take ten after work befor...

One World For Peace Survey Projects

Can War Really Be The Answer For One World For Peace? From The Desk of Cris Delgado Sedona, AZ 2008 Dear International Community of Internet Friends, When I awake each morning I hold a very strong urge in my heart to bringing about one world for p...

Inspirational Messages

Find inspirational thoughts here Life is a wonderful gift but it is also challenging and sometimes heart-wrenching. We can all use a little motivation and inspiration from time to time to help us navigate the small and large hurdles we encounter on...

How to Grow Up Big and Strong for Small Towns and Organizations

I loved Robert Fulghum’s book, All I really need to know, I learned in Kindergarten.  It's a great reminder of the common playground rules that make life easier.  I’ve been working with organizations, towns and sm...

Five lensmasters building on the vision

Please visit their lenses and give a big welcome to:
 

• 
  imagineit
• 
  Barkely
• 
  Caseyfern
• 
  Classic
• 
  Rose0366

Nurturing and restoring the Earth

The Earth feeds us, clothes us, shelters us and provides the air we breathe. Lenses here show us how to give back and how folks all over the world are pushing back deserts, cleaning up waterways, and reclaiming forests, prairies, and wildlands.

Plan B 2.0: What's it all about?

That's what it's all about. Saving our planet and ourselves. Here's what Brown says about why he wrote the book. Plan A, business-as-usual, has the world on an environmental path that is leading toward economic decline and eventual collapse. If our go...

Tallgrass Prairie Restoration

Elsewhere the sky is the roof of the world; but here the earth was the floor of the sky. ~Willa Cather~ One of the most diverse ecosystems in North America, the tallgrass prairie is also one of its most endangered. Less than 1% of the original extent...

The Buffalo Commons

In the late 1980's two eastern geographers from Rutgers University named Frank and Deborah Popper had an idea. They had been examining population patterns in the Great Plains for years and had noticed some disturbing trends. The population of the rur...

Gardening organic and gardening with native plants

In these lenses, experienced gardeners teach us to garden sustainably, making and using compost, avoiding pesticides and herbicides, and falling in love with native plants.

Grasscycling--Easy way to a cleaner, greener lawn

How much time do you spend each week cutting your grass, stopping every few turns to remove the grass catcher, shake the clippings into a garbage sack, and reattach the bag?

The Virtual Garden

Do you get spring fever as soon as the seed catalogs arrive in early January? I do. Gardening is a very therapeutic and relaxing hobby. What a great feeling when you are connected to the earth. It is so calming to watch all the beautiful plants emerg...

The Organic Garden

Ever since I was a little girl I can remember being in my mom's garden helping her with the garden. It was lots of work, but I enjoyed it so much! To be able to plant a little seed and watch it grow into a full sized plant was so much fun! Then to be...

Renewable energy resources

Lenses in this module show us how to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and how to find renewable energy options that work for us as individuals, as companies, and as nations.
 

Zero Foot Printing Starts Here

Did you know that by replacing 100% of your utility grid electricity with solar you can eliminate approximately one-third of your environmental impact? Solar electric technology is becoming more appealing to those who are concerned with decreasing an...

Wind Turbines

Information on Wind Turbines and other alternative energy sources.  Build your own Wind Turbine and save money on your energy bills. Wind has been the world's fastest growing renewable energy source for the last seven years, and this trend is exp...

Five lensmasters contributing to the vision

• 
  jasmineann
• 
  Ms_Appleseed
• 
  Kiki_Blitz
• 
  The_Book_Garden
• 
  GHBlitch

Sustainable, fun, eco-friendly shopping

Every dollar we spend is a vote for sustainable practices--or a vote for high carbon emissions, disease-causing pesticides, unfair labor practices, and global warming. Lenses featured here point the way to voting sustainably with your dollars.

Hemp Clothing and Fashion

SativaBags.com bring you one of the best ranges of Hemp Products in the world. Bags, Purses, Clothes, Shoes, and Cosmetics are all available from One Store with worldwide delivery available. SativaBags are a UK based company, though to complement thei...

Why buy organic cotton

The scent of it, fresh from the dryer, the rich plush of thick Turkish towels in the bath. And who doesn't feel comforted the moment they crawl between freshly laundered cotton sheets? So what's all the buzz about organic cotton, and why should you c...

That's Bamboo? Wow!

Bamboo is the eco-wonder of the world. It pumps oxygen into the air faster than trees, feeds the hungry, clothes the body, soothes the ear, carries water, digs potatoes, shelters the homeless as well as the privileged, and in case all that is not eno...

Eco-trendy Shopaholic

Kiki Blitz scouts the coolest eco-products, fashion, and design, from the millions of products found on GoCarbonFree's shopping portal. A professional shopaholic and planet lover, she is helping her readers become greener consumers, one purchase at a...

Eating heathy, well and green

Healthy College Food

Ok, so you got the acceptance letter, you called your new roommate and now what? It's time to look into the food situation. Sure your parents paid for the room and board. That means that you won't starve but do you really want to eat that junk? Eati...

Rescue chickens free as a bird

The humble egg, a staple in many of our diets, but how did it get to your table?...free range,battery farmed,barn raised...? In what conditions do the hens live who produce our eggs? Why should we care ? This lens is about the sensible and considered...

Making sustainable choices

Earth Hour 2008 - Earth Day

On March 29, 2008 at 8:00 pm millions of people, businesses and governments around the world switched off the lights for one hour during Earth Hour. Did you join them and turn off the lights? Earth Hour 2008 was a global event created to symbolize...

Micro-Green - Small Steps to a Greener Existence

It happens too often. We read an ad or see an uplifting documentary about conservation, saving the environment, ecological responsibility, going green, and say "Hey! I can do all that stuff!" And that's great and encouraging but, like a good golf swi...

How to Offset Your Carbon Footprint...Locally!!

You are just one person...you aren't rich...don't run a global corporation...don't command an army of millions...and frankly can't even control your desire to finish off that bag of Lay's potato chips!!!  So how do you create change in...

My Quest For A Greener Life

The first thing I'd like to make clear is that I'm not, by any means, a poster child for the eco-movement. I love to travel but I don't like airplanes and I've had a couple of really, really disasterous train trips so travel by car is my first choic...

Making sustainable choices

Are Traditional Household Cleaners Making You Sick?

"If your Home or Office is typical, it already has dozens of Cleaning and Personal Care Products that contain Harmful Chemicals. These Chemicals have the potential to Greatly Harm or even Kill your Children, your Pets and You, should they accide...

Richland Recycling Center | Recycle Washington | Tri City Wa Waste Management | Paper Aluminum Computer and Plastic Recycling

Recycled issues and recycle news, and ways you can contribute positively to the environment in Richland Washington specifically, and a lens on recycling in general. Email This Page To A Friend Today! | Lensroll Add to del.icio.us | digg this | Stumbl...

Natural WAHM

Many people today are choosing to live a more natural or green lifestyle to ensure that their impact on the environment is as minimal as possible. WAHM is the abbreviation for Work at Home Mom, these Moms choose to work at home so they can spend more...

Eco-Gadgets

Every bit of coal-fired energy you don't use is a little bit of greenhouse gas that will never rise and burp. Be the first on your block to have the coolest eco-gadgets ever.

Clockwork and Wind-Up Gadgets

The range of modern clockwork and wind up gadgets is expanding to include MP3 players, Bike Lights, LED Torches and Cell Phone chargers. These are now being made by a number of companies globally to cope with the rapidly increasing demand.  Clock...

Green Computing - Cutting Your PC's Carbon Footprint

The standard 200W PC running for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, 50 weeks in a year, will use 400 kwh. Maybe not much considering the total energy usage of your household or business, but it's a great place to start cutting your carbon emissions and sa...

Me and my Solio: My Solar Powered Charger

Do you have a Solio charger yet?   If not, you're behind the times!  We're ALL charging our phones and BlackBerries and iPods using the sun now :-) Here is my Solio story...

The Greenest Mp3 Player In The World: The Wind Up Media Player

The revolutionary new Wind Up Media/MP3 Player - it does everything an ipod does and more! Though the most important feature is it's wind up, so no more chucking away batteries or sad faces when you can't get a charger plugged in. Other features are...

What are your favorite "green" books?

Add your own favorites to these three of mine on developing a sustainable lifestyle and a sustainable world. Don't forget to vote for the ones you've read!

^#1

Vote Up

Food Not Lawns: How to Turn Your Yard into a Garden And Your Neighborhood into a Community by Heather C. Flores

The single best way to gain control of your own life: grow your own food. As author Flores, says, growing your own food is a radical political act.2 points

^#2

Vote Up

Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Movement in the World Came into Being and Why No One Saw It Coming by Paul Hawken

Here's a book that gives you hope in the darkest hour, along with plenty of practical information.1 point

^#3

Vote Up

Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization, Third Edition by Lester R. Brown

This is the book that shows us all exactly what we need to do and how to do it. It includes a remarkably viable budget for getting it all done. Get this book.1 point

^#4

Vote Up

50 Simple Things Kids Can Do to Save the Earth by LLC Andrews McMeel Publishing, The EarthWorks Group

Although written for children ages 9 - 12, this is a great resource for anyone.1 point

Add to this list

Grab this list

Get the RSS feed: Keep an eye on this Plexo list. See who wins. And who's left in the dirt.

Get the widget: Add this Plexo list as a widget on your blog, site, forum, whatever. Be an influential. Show off your great find.

Get this on my lens: Attack of the clones! Grab this Plexo module for your own lens. Get YOUR readers to vote for their favorites.

• Add to Bloglines
• Add to My Yahoo
• Add to Google
• Add to Technorati
• Add to NewsGator
• Add to My MSN
• Grab the XML

Please pick your widget size and display. Then click "Make the Widget" to get the code that's just right for you.

Pick your widget size:

Small size: Best for blog sidebars, and areas 250 pixels or less
Standard size: Best for blog posts, and areas greater than 250 pixels wide

How many list items to show? 5 10 15 All

Make the Widget!

Voila: Just copy and paste this code into your own site. Have fun!

Oopsey! Please login to Squidoo in order to add this module to your lens.

Add more links    Submit

Type or paste links below (one per line):
Try adding the Amazon link here, or just the ASIN number. Help me find links

Done Adding

Cancel

People whose work contributes to the vision

... to help you build your own village, look to these heroes. Lester Brown is the first. Do you have a lens on an environmentalist, peacemaker, inventor of a new light bulb or electric vehicle? Submit it!

Lester R. Brown

From tomato farmer to "one of the world's most influential thinkers" (Washington Post) and "the guru of the environmental movement," (The Telegraph of Calcutta), Lester R. Brown's roots are deep, his vision wide-spreading. Learn m...

Five more lensmasters contributing to the vision

Here are the people building Ordinary, one lens, one action, one shovel of earth, one energy-saving lightbulb, one peacemaking gesture at a time. Woot!
 

• 
  watkins-lady
• 
  Graceonline
• 
  MrLewisSmile
• 
  kerryg
• 
  1SquidAddict

Protecting and making space for the wildlife with whom we share the planet

As the human population grows, we take more and more land from the wild creatures. The people of the Village of Ordinary are careful to keep their ecological footprint small. They respect and love all animals. Enjoy the beauty of these lenses.

Mouse Deer of Malaysia and Borneo

I wanted to write about this fascinating creature, the Mouse Deer, for a long time now. It is an animal barely larger than a rabbit, and it looks so funny with its large ears, pointed nose, mustache and slender long legs, supporting a rather chubby b...

Monarch Butterfly

Among all butterflies, orange ones fascinate me the most. Ever since I was a small child, I loved spending time in the meadows during summer, which were richly covered in wild flowers, and attracted various butterflies! Today, as a grown-up, this fas...

Hummingbird

This lens was born out of a desire to bring together some nice pictures and information about one of my all time favorite birds, the tiny but mighty Hummingbird. You'll find some important info here about the world's smallest bird, the Bee Hummingbir...

Snow Leopard

The life span of a Snow Leopard (Uncia uncia) is normally 15-18 years, but in captivity they may become up to 20 years old. The body weight of a fully grown Snow Leopard is approximately 75 lbs. Find out more about these majestic animals, of which on...

Hot off the squiddle right now

Richland Recycling Center | Recycle Washington | Tri City Wa Waste Management | Paper Aluminum Computer and Plastic Recycling, Rescue chickens free as a bird, The Greenest Mp3 Player In The World: The Wind Up Media Player, Inspirational Messages, Micro-Green - Small Steps to a Greener Existence

Suggestions for the group?

This space is for you if you want to make a comment about the group, make a suggestion for improvement, or show your support.

Graceonline You're welcome, Semper, and thanks for the blessings. Btw, Valerie is the copyright holder of the beautiful lotus image I use as an avatar, and I am not she, tho I understand how you might get that impression. I use the image with her permission. Posted April 08, 2008

SemperFidelis Thanks for accepting my lens Valerie. Keep up the good work on this group lens. Additionally, I given this lens a Squid Angel Blessing! ;) Posted April 06, 2008

Comfortdoc Thank you very much for helping to spread the word about Earth Hour 2008. I'd like to see as many SquidMasters as we can (along with others) get involved. Posted March 17, 2008

Barkely Welcome new lensmasters! This is a great group. Posted March 10, 2008

CherylK I am so impressed with this group and all of the lensmasters who share a vision. I've so much more to learn. I'm thrilled with all the resources here on Squidoo. Posted February 16, 2008

Ms_Appleseed What a great lens! Thank you for the invitation to join--I'm there. I have been interested in sustainable communities and eco-projects since I was in high school-a long time ago. Posted December 13, 2007

The_Book_Garden excellent group, great to find some like-minded individuals on squidoo! I must now complete and add a few 'green' lenses I've had in development now I know there is a home for them! Posted October 31, 2007

Barkely Thank you for adding me into this wonderful group, it is an excellent resource you're putting together. Posted June 24, 2007

watkins-lady This looks like a wonderful group, please visit Natural WAHM to see what I'm doing, thanks! Posted June 12, 2007

1SquidAddict Congratulations on an interesting group and thank-you for adding my Wind Turbines lens. Posted June 10, 2007

Members on the move

Look who's updating their profile and lenses

Graceonline, The_Book_Garden, Comfortdoc, Becca_Sanz, CherylK

GROUP DISCUSSION

How would the world look if we all gave more than we took?
    --  More love
    --  More energy
    --  More music-art-poetry-literature-science
    --  More food-water-oxygen
    --  More tending of the natural world

Graceonline I agree, BookGarden, but tell me, what do you think the world would be like if that were the case for everyone all the time? What do you magine it would be like to live on Earth in perfect harmony with one another and nature? How would we live? How would we earn our livings? Where would the money go if it didn't have to go for war? What type of governance would we need? Posted February 15, 2008

The_Book_Garden Hey, we can all work towards a better world to live in. Whether it's reducing your carbon footprint or just putting a little more love out there, it all helps to make this planet a better place to live on now and for future generations. Posted February 15, 2008

All Graceonline

All of my lenses have to do with building a better future--one where poverty, pollution, endangered species and environmental degradation are a thin memory. It can be done. It will take all of us doing our part. Join me.

Graceonline

My passion, my mission is to make sure my grandbabies, and theirs, get to run wild in fields of tall grass, get to lie down and make snow angels under a crisp blue sky, and get to stand in awe at the wide, wide ocean stretching far and tall above the...

What are you doing to make the world a better place?

Tell your story. Tell theirs. Share the vision and earn $5 on your first Squidoo payout when you use this link to build your first lens. It only takes a couple of minutes to start a lens, and Squidoo is free--all the time, all ways.

Image: Squidoo button

For inspiration, check out this blog

Then come back here and build your lens

Fetching RSS feed... please stand by

Grameen Foundation

This lens helps to support the Grameen Foundation

Grameen Foundation

We're a nonprofit organization that uses microfinance and innovative technology to fight global poverty and bring opportunities to the world's poorest people. With tiny loans (around US$100), financial services and technology, we help the poor, mostl...