Adventures In The Gift Economy- Part 1 of Many!

It's important that we all begin sharing our experiences of the Gift Economy.

For me, and my project, it has been quite the adventure from opulence to the most humbling.

One thing is certain.. we are committed to being the change we want to experience in the world.

Today, looking back with a laugh and some kind of nostalgia, I thought I would share about living in the basement of a bakery for 2 months!

My friend in Rotterdam owns a bakery while working to change the world through his passion of a Resource Based Economy. He also 'acquires' buildings where people can co-create and build community. So, we started in an old college, huge building in Rotterdam.. for 3 months a community of techno-mystic-hacktavists lived there working on our projects together. Eventually, the neighbors began to complain, spread rumors and we were forced to leave one evening. The building was zoned for business so technically we weren't allowed to live there! Now, without much funds between us, and me from the US, others from the UK, etc -- we sort of had nowhere to go!

So, four of us took the offer to live in the basement of the bakery!

Good News/Bad News ~ Free coffee and cappuccinos at night ~ Free cake that was left over every night.

The basement had no windows but we did make it quite comfy, we had nice comfortable beds, and a couch, and access to the bakery after hours where we could work, drink coffee and generally get on with our work. In our travels, and in our lives, living the gift often means emergence, uncertainty, and more -- it usually means generosity, adventure and seeing the brilliance of the human spirit!!

I'll share some more about the mansions we have lived in and the countries we have visited as part of our journey-- all in the gift economy supplemented (we haven't mastered it yet) by some commercial work and credit card debt.. but.. for 5 years and multiple countries, etc-- I think we are great examples of what's possible when you follow your bliss and examples in how individuals and communities love to support each other.