Planning for adventure this summer, so I’ll do a series of posts documenting the journey from planning stage to finish line. Then when I’m done I’ll write up a toolkit of lessons learnt for how to survive comfortably on the cheap whilst volunteering with activist groups, doing advocacy in communities and having fun along the way.
It should be useful regardless of how you travel and hopefully provoke ideas for projects in your own area.
If you have any suggestions feel free to comment below.
(Events & Locations are ordered by necessity to the trip, not necessarily the main meaningful activity involved in participating.)
.
Events
Eating:
- Free food distribution and political advocacy
- People’s Kitchen
- Foraging Group Walks
- Field greaning groups to politicize food waste
- Farm Work Days
- Allotment Club Work Days
Travel:
- Cycle Club Rides
- Free Bus Routes
Exploring:
- Hiking Group Meets
- Wild Swimming Group Swims
Activism:
- Animal rights advocacy with slaughterhouse footage
- Wildlife habitat restoration
- Sabotaging the blood-sport of running down foxes with dogs
- Baring witness to the animals soon to be killed outside slaughterhouses
Studying:
- Philosophy discussion groups
- Book Clubs
- Writing Groups
Entertainment:
- Festivals & Gatherings
- Open mic nights
- Music tours
Game playing:
- Kabaddi group meets
.
Locations
Eating:
- Dumpster Diving & Foraging
- Real Junk Food Projects
- Sikh Temples
Sleeping:
- Wild camping beauty spots
- Food & board for good work
- Couchsurfing
- Mountain huts
- Traveller sites
Washing:
- Wild swimming
- Public Showers
Organising:
- Public charging stations
- Free Wifi
Volunteering:
- Freecycling
- Pick your own gardens
- Foodbanks
- Animal Sanctuaries
- Mountain/Cave Rescue Training
Studying:
- Activist Centres
- Zine libraries
- Book libraries
- Museums
- Art galleries
- Radio Ranges
Exploring:
- Caves
- Urban Exploration
Game Playing:
- Ping-pong parlors
- Chess in the park
- Volleyball
- Petanque
- Basketball
.
Goals
- Collect food and tat to distribute through Food not Bombs, Real Junk Food Projects, Foodbanks & Freegle.
- Gather data – Map skipping, foraging & hitchhiking locations. Update information on campaign/communalist event calanders, location maps & tables. Take notes of resources and swap pdf libraries to update personal favorites on my hardrive and both community resource directories.
- Discuss/advocate total liberation philosophy.
- Help restore wildlife habitat and save some foxes
- Distribute, swap & collect movement leaflets & zines.
- Listen to tons of audiobooks and podcasts through boneshaker headphones & read back over sections on an e-book at night.
- Go wild swimming, caving & hiking.
- See live music and swap mp3 libraries.
- Participate in outdoor sports & games e.g. chess in the park, ping-pong parlors, cards with strangers, kabaddi & volleyball.
.
Hypotheses for creative writing
- #1: It will be easier on the road to get enjoyment from study, so long as I don’t reach a point where I only want to speed read volumes.
- #2: The expense of not being able to spend as much time organizing in one place and to a timeschedule will be made up for in the quantity of people I can gather grassroots knowledge from and establish connections with.
- #3: It would be worth sharing free food with strangers that contain animal products, but it wouldn’t be worth hunting/fishing to extend the length of the trip.
.
Baggage
- Touring bike, helmet, repair kit/materials/tools, lock & lights.
- Pannier racks, one wheel trailer & gadget holders.
- Bikepacking, pannier, trailer & roll-top dry bags.
- Water bladder, filter bottle, iodine & first aid kit.
- Wallet, sleeping bag, head torch, clothing, neck tube & toiletries
- Hammock-tent with spreader bar.
- Lighter, stove, stove repair kit, pan, spork, knife, tupperware & condiments.
- 128GB mp3 player with radio capability, phone, gps bike computer & hard drive
- Dynamo bike charger.
- Bone shaker headphones or helmet/handlebar speakers & e-book.
- Zip locks, passport, journal + pens, sunglasses, spare batteries, sunblock, moisturizer, lip balm, insect repellent, travel towel & earplugs.
- Playing cards, ping pong bats + balls & 3 in 1 travel chess set.
- Hardcopy leaflets, periodicals & books.
.
Hard drive
- Video
- Podcasts
- Radio
- Music
- Books
- Zines
- Periodicals
- Articles
- Leaflets
- Screenplays & Transcriptions
.
Related toolkits
- Mutual Aid In Sussex (MAIS) – Local co-ops & social enterprises
- UK campaign/communal event calanders, event location maps & tables
- Food not Bombs – UK Chapters
- Freeganism
- Animal Liberation’s Common & Contentious Allies
.
.
Activist Journeys 