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    Avalon Member Ineffable Hitchhiker's Avatar
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    Default 3 honor system farm stands

    Loved this!
    I hope that this idea gains momentum.


    Quote The first honor system farm stand is at Inspiration Farm in Bellingham, Washington. Brian Kerkvliet gives us the tour. He's selling plant starts in the spring and the full array of produce as everything comes on. He says that the stand next to the road is, at the very least, generating curiosity. People are stopping just to check it out. He talks about the idea of potting up plants that he finds on his property that he doesn't want like stinging nettles or black locust trees.

    Brian says that he hasn't had any problems with vandalism or theft.

    Next I visit with Karen Biondo of la Biondo Farm and Kitchen on Vashon Island, Washington. She says that she used to keep all the money stuff in an open tackle box so people could make change. Twice in one year the money was stolen, but that still works out to be not a big deal. A neighbor made her an industrial strength cash box which has eliminated the theft problem.

    She has something called "pay it forward farm bucks" as an alternative to making change.

    She has garbage cans for keeping potatoes.

    I like the free basket. I think it would be neat to have a free shed where people can drop off free stuff and pick up free stuff. Maybe ask folks to put a buck in to haul off old free stuff.

    The final stop is at Langley Fine Gardens. Little Jamie has been peristant throughout the day about feeding tennis balls to the chicken. Jamie's mom, Anna Olive has been awesome at taking me around vashon island to see lots of cool things. The bottom line is that the tennis balls with the chicken is a brilliant way to build business - especially with any family with little kids that have seen the tennis ball chicken.

    Jamie puts the tennis ball in and we follow where it goes.

    Langley has lots of plants starts available when we stop by. Leda Menser-Langley tells me about how they used to have a money box, but had some tiny theft. And then came up with the chicken thing due to concerns about possible future theft. So customers put the money in the tennis ball and then send it down the tube. Leda explains that she feels discomfort at farm stands with messages like "please don't steal from us" - as if they are accusing her of being the thief.
    permies.com , Permies: goofballs that are nuts about permaculture.



    In our area, famers allow people onto their plots to pick strawberries, apples, even flowers and have a donation box somewhere.
    The heart knows a hundred thousand ways to speak.
    ~ rumi

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    Default Re: 3 honor system farm stands

    Is that unusual or novel in the US? It's a way of life around here, though I it's true I never encountered it until I came to Australia. Theft is pretty much unheard of, but it wouldn't matter.

    I enjoy the subtle way it invites people to engage their own integrity, however they choose to act it out. That's a 'mindfield' of discovery.

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    Avalon Member Ineffable Hitchhiker's Avatar
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    Default Re: 3 honor system farm stands

    Quote Posted by markpierre (here)
    Is that unusual or novel in the US? It's a way of life around here, though I it's true I never encountered it until I came to Australia. Theft is pretty much unheard of, but it wouldn't matter.

    I enjoy the subtle way it invites people to engage their own integrity, however they choose to act it out. That's a 'mindfield' of discovery.
    Indeed.
    Glad to hear that this is happening in your environment.

    btw. I donīt live in the US. I am in Europe.
    In the country where I was born (somewhere in Africa ), you wouldnīt dream of putting anything on the roadside, hoping for an "exchange".
    The poverty there is so high, that honour and integrity would definitely be a "mindfield of discovery".
    But, not wanting to brush every human being living there with negative traits, I am sure that there are similar situations too, where people take care of each other.
    The heart knows a hundred thousand ways to speak.
    ~ rumi

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    United States Avalon Member Dennis Leahy's Avatar
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    Default Re: 3 honor system farm stands

    I have friends that have a CSA (Community Sustained Agriculture) homestead, and they have an honor-system farm-stand as well. I asked the same question: are people generally honest? Their answer was "yes!" They had one case where a teenage boy stole the money, but when the kid's mom figured it out, she marched him right over with the money and an apology.

    Competition is the currently jammed-down-our throats paradigm; cooperation is the new (and really old) paradigm. I think the last few generations have been psychologically damaged by the forced competition paradigm, but even we have overcome that to yield mostly ethical people.

    The more successful the Global Rulers are are creating a scarcity paradigm, the more likely we humans will be corrupted into losing our innate ethics - our desire to share and cooperate. The more successful we humans are at nurturing our cooperative spirit, the less control the Global Rulers will have over us, and, the more connected we humans will be.

    Dennis


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    Avalon Member Ineffable Hitchhiker's Avatar
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    Default Re: 3 honor system farm stands

    Quote Posted by Dennis Leahy (here)
    I have friends that have a CSA (Community Sustained Agriculture) homestead, and they have an honor-system farm-stand as well. I asked the same question: are people generally honest? Their answer was "yes!" They had one case where a teenage boy stole the money, but when the kid's mom figured it out, she marched him right over with the money and an apology.

    Competition is the currently jammed-down-our throats paradigm; cooperation is the new (and really old) paradigm. I think the last few generations have been psychologically damaged by the forced competition paradigm, but even we have overcome that to yield mostly ethical people.

    The more successful the Global Rulers are are creating a scarcity paradigm, the more likely we humans will be corrupted into losing our innate ethics - our desire to share and cooperate. The more successful we humans are at nurturing our cooperative spirit, the less control the Global Rulers will have over us, and, the more connected we humans will be.

    Dennis
    Thanks so much for your uplifting post.
    I absolutely agree with you and hope that in this shift in paradigm we also become more compassionate to those in need.
    The heart knows a hundred thousand ways to speak.
    ~ rumi

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    Avalon Member Seikou-Kishi's Avatar
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    Default Re: 3 honor system farm stands

    Thanks so much for all this information Ineffable! This is amazing, you have my deepest thanks.


    Edit: that little kid is being brought up in a great way. Good for his mother! :D
    Last edited by Seikou-Kishi; 4th February 2012 at 00:18.

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    Default Re: 3 honor system farm stands

    Honesty stalls are common in New Zealand but possibly not as common as they used to be. I know what you mean about Africa and it's poverty. African immigrants to our area are delighted to be able to leave their gumboots (wellingtons)outside here in New Zealand and for them still to be there the next morning!

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    United States Avalon Member spiritguide's Avatar
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    Default Re: 3 honor system farm stands

    Community is the answer. Many of these honor farm stands are prevalent throughout rural areas of the US. Most I've stopped at have signs that say "pay what you can, thank you". Selfless to say the least.

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    Default Re: 3 honor system farm stands

    This is wonderful, thank you for posting.

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