Is the Detroit Urban Farm Revolution Over?

...David and Sky Brown’s house. It appears that a young couple, David and Sky Brown, who bought a $2,000 house in Detroit last May ran afoul of an Animal Control officer on Wednesday. The couple’s goats and chickens were seized over the tearful pleas of their owners. There’s more on the story here. The Browns have asked for help on their blog. If any Detroit area readers know more about this story please leave a comment. Update: there’s a petition....

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Adam Parfrey, RIP

Our first book, The Urban Homestead, was published by Process Media which was, at the time, a collaboration between Jodi Willie and Adam Parfrey (who founded Feral House). I was deeply saddened to hear of Adam’s passing yesterday at the age of 61. Jodi and Adam took a big chance on us as new authors when they commissioned our book back in 2006. Most publishers are unoriginal and afraid to take chances. Not Adam and Jodi. It was a great pleasure t...

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Homegrown REvolution

...d and creative Process Media, spotted us and asked us to write a book, The Urban Homestead, thus beginning an unexpected course, which has forced us to consider things such as branding and marketing. Like all children of the late 20th century we’re inescapably linked to a “mediated” culture, to a world of appearances defined by mass media in all its many forms. In the midst of having to figure out a new name for ourselves, along with the incredibl...

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Brunch at the End of the End of History

Our first book The Urban Homestead went to print just as the financial crisis of 2008 hit and its success I attribute, in part, to the well known fact that in times of economic stress people turn to subjects such as growing food, canning, mending, and preparedness. Enthusiasm for these subjects surged after the stock market crash of 1929 and the oil crisis of the 1970s. Catastrophic financial trauma usually results in a rightward turn: fascism in...

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Come see us at the fair!

...lion, on the San Vicente side of the park. 1:oo-2:00: We’ll be signing The Urban Homestead at the Feral House Booth/Sexy Groove Lounge with the Feral House Pixies. Other spectacular Feral House/Process authors will be signing throughout the day, too. Location: booths C8 & C9, in the “Imix” zone, which is sort of between the food court and the pool. 2:00-2:30: We’re doing a demo at the booth–making butter! Afterward we’ll just be hanging out for th...

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