Recently, we shared how we’ve been embracing simplicity and sustainability at home, growing food, repairing rather than discarding, and valuing what we keep. Today, we want to reflect on another vital part of our journey: building and strengthening connections within our local and broader communities.
Finding Community on the Water
Learning to sail has opened up a wonderfully unexpected community for us. Initially, sailing was simply a means to an end, a sustainable way to travel across oceans. But it quickly became something more meaningful, connecting us to people with values surprisingly aligned with our own.
We’ve been racing at the local sailing club regularly, commuting there by bike and train to keep things low-impact. The sailing community has welcomed us warmly, generously sharing skills and friendship. People regularly go out of their way to find us spots on boats. If one skipper can’t fit us in, they’ll walk us through the marina to find another who can. It’s heartwarming and inspiring.
When reaching out to seek opportunities to gain more sailing experience we have received loads of advice and recently an eager response from some experienced sailors to join us on the journey in their own (full) boat. The idea of this potentailly becoming a community level project is quite exciting. We invite anyone else willing to get involved with any aspect of what we’re doing to get in touch.
Getting to Know Our Neighbours
Closer to home, we’ve been intentionally reaching out to connect with neighbours. This is something we hadn’t done intentionally since Adam was a baby. This time it started with knocking on doors and introducing ourselves. From these initial conversations, we’ve already shared dinners and formed new friendships. We offered a quick reflection on that experience here.
There’s a deep, subtle comfort that comes from simply knowing the people around us. It creates an unspoken sense of safety and belonging. We’ve realised how easy it is to overlook local connections when our lives become too busy. Now, even something as small as recognising neigbours as they pass by is comforting, a sign we’ve laid the groundwork for mutual support.
Exploring Local Support Networks
In addition to neighbourly connections, we’ve explored our local food bank, run by a dedicated community organisation. This gave us insight into the immense amount of food waste occurring locally, particularly bread, delivered in massive quantities daily, far exceeding demand. And that’s just the a fraction of the bread that is returned by the supermarkets so they can take fresh bread. It’s made us question how we might help better distribute this food, perhaps through local schools or community groups, but don’t have the time for more projects at the moment.
There’s an important conversation here about reducing stigma around accessing these resources. Just as with secondhand shopping, we believe it’s important for those who can afford to buy food at full price to sometimes use these services, at least when there is excess, normalising them and reducing any sense of shame for those who rely on them more regularly.
We also got involved with one of the local bushcare groups, planting out tubestock in the floodway adjacent to a local creek. This is a known platypus habitat that is threatened by industrialisation leading to pollution. While there we again met some of our neighbours we’ve seen around, but not spent much time with. Working side-by-side on a common goal feels like a nice way to strengthen those ties as well.
Repair Café Connections and Gaming Groups
Our local repair café continues to be a vibrant hub of community interaction. While I’ve inadvertently become the “knife-sharpening guy,” for now, the café remains a place rich with conversation and camaraderie. There’s a shared commitment to sustainability, reducing waste, and preserving items that still have plenty of life left. It’s a practical, enjoyable way to engage with community and support a more circular economy.
Emeli and I have also been taking the time out to participate in a long running role playing game, soon to be tied up, and monthly board games at a vegan cafe. I feel that playing games, a little like making art and music, are crucial platforms of expression, challenge and accomplishment, satisfying important human needs with minimal impact. They are also an excellent pathway for making new and reinforcing old friendships. Adam has also recently found common interest with some of his peers with Dungeons and Dragons, played in person. With the rich lore and strong scaffolding it provides an excellent platform for developing a wide range of important social and mental skills with minimal adult involvement. The best kind of learning!
Deep Adaptation and Action for Animals Forum
Community extends far beyond our immediate neighbourhood, and recently I’ve been connecting more intentionally with broader networks.
I participated in the Action for Animals Forum, where I was privileged to help record presentations from several inspiring speakers. These videos are now available on YouTube, offering practical and insightful perspectives on animal welfare and advocacy as well as the critical role changing diets has in maintaining liveable conditions on earth. Being involved in this process reminded me how vital and rewarding it is to connect with like-minded people working toward positive change.
Similarly, Emelie and I have been engaging with the Deep Adaptation community for about 18 months now. This group fosters discussions about how we might collectively prepare and respond to potential societal disruptions and ongoing change, focusing on resilience, empathy, and community-building. These conversations can feel heavy, but they’re also deeply nourishing, offering a space to face the future honestly and compassionately.
Reflection: Community as Resilience
All these interactions, whether at the sailing club, in our neighbourhood, the repair café, or online forums reinforce a simple but profound truth: community connections are the cornerstone of resilience. While we continue to learn, plan, and prepare for our family’s big journey, it’s clear that the relationships we cultivate along the way are equally, if not more, important.
If anything we have been doing or sharing has inspired you or you think could inspire others please share with your friends or on your own social channels, because the more people we can reach, the more lives we can hopefully change for the better. And if you haven’t already, please consider subscribing.
What about you? Have you experienced moments where community connections brought unexpected fulfillment, support, or insight? We’d love to hear your stories in the comments or get in touch.
In the third part of our winter update, we share our recent experiences learning to sail and what it means to slow down.