Photo by Tim Patterson

These links will knock your socks off.

The Harris family’s quest to quit consumerism cold turkey, rid themselves of stuff and settle down in an organic farming community in Vermont was just featured in the New York Times.

The Times describes the Harris family as “partisans of a movement some call voluntary simplicity.”

All I’ve got to say is, Welcome Neighbors!

On the theme of healthy, local community in Vermont, I was just privileged to listen to one of Vermont’s finest writers – Tom Slayton – deliver a commencement speech at a college graduation. Mr. Slayton ended his speech with a poem by my favorite poet, Gary Snyder.

The poem is called: For the Children

Although BNT knows it’s possible to travel without leaving home, for all the good and necessary focus on local community, there’s still a mighty big world out here.

Two sites that all socially conscious travelers should know about are The Common Language Project, dedicated to citizen powered global journalism, and Stay Another Day, a great tool for connecting with grassroots organizations that are working for a better world in the former war-zones of South East Asia.

“It’s better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness.”

I’m off to the bonfire. Have a great weekend everybody.