Wigglet

HOT TIP: when boycotting, try dupe recipes at home to share with friends. Sometimes there isn't a local alternative brand available but there is always someone with a recipe blog on the internet. I can still have doublestuffed mint chocolate sandwich cookies without funding the capitalist machine crushing my American friends ☺️

This recipe I used 1 cup butter substitute (i used a canola spread) 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour ½ cup cocoa powder (i use trade aid or donovans) ½ cup golden syrup 1 teaspoon baking powder ¼ teaspoon salt 1 cup granulated sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix in a food processor then set in the fridge for 25 minutes

Filling: ½ cup vegetable shortening 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup powdered sugar 1/4 cup flour Mint extract to taste

Or just do a small spoonful of peanutbutter as a filling

Roll out the dough to about 5mm thickness. Stamp and cut.

My oven is a joke so not sure the temp but i turn it on and bake for about 8-10 minutes. It will be a low temperature, probably like 170c. They are still soft when i pull them out so I let them sit on the pan to cool before filling and stacking

Kia ora! I'm just another solarpunk in Aotearoa looking for other like-minded friends, inspiration, and advice on other ways I can green up my life.

I live in an off-grid tiny home I built with my partner in 2016 out of wood and second-hand windows/doors/appliances. We run off solar power, rain water, a composting toilet, and try to repair, mend, make, borrow, and buy 2nd hand or local. Our meat is all hunted, which here in Aotearoa is a huge help for our environment as our only native mammals are seals and bats. Everything else is a pest. We also grow a lot of our own fruit and veggies, but the garden is still a work in progress.

I'm looking at irrigating the garden and automating the process. I saw something about https://www.home-assistant.io/ online but would love any advice you might have. I'd like to automate and chart my watering as well as integrate moisture monitors and a weather monitoring system.

I have an electric bike and an old 1996 honda crv. I'd like to switch to an electric vehicle, something like a Pickman 4x4 or another small farm vehicle, as I only need to get to the village bus stop, neighbouring farms, and the occasional trip into town via back roads.

Clothes are me-made with 2nd hand materials, mostly from the dump shop. I've helped start a collection point for alternative recycling like bottle lids and tetrapaks, a library of things, and a community workshop. We are working towards a bike repair hub and time bank but it might be a couple years before they are operational.

Please share all your inspiration, book recommendations, and thoughts around other ways I can make an impact in my community 😊

Kia ora 😊 We are replacing the software for our community library of things are looking for options. We live in a village so it would be a max of 300 accounts and probably 2000-3000 items in the inventory. I'm having a hard time finding anything open source.

I know it's very niche so no worries if nobody knows of anything 😊

I saw a lot of interest in personal growth and betterment so this is the place to tell us what you're proud of and hype up other community members 💚

One of the things I'd like to include in thr community garden I'm working on establishing is a food pantry. I'd love to have a place with recycled containers to take home garden goodies, residents to leave extra dry goods, and things like care products/toiletries. I've seen pictures of them online and read articles about them but the closest thing we have here is honesty boxes.

Has anyone made one or used one? Do you have any tips? I'd love to hear some recommendations on practical designs work best or what products you wish yours had more/less of.

Now is a good time to think about a small way you can help, even it it's just making an effort to pick up some rubbish on a walk. For me, it's winter and I start to feel a bit down from the lack of sunlight hours so i like to give myself a very small and achievable goal that can give me a little boost of serotonin. Between winter bugs, storms, and work things, I haven't been getting outside enough. I want to make an effort to go walk the local reserves at least once next month and pick up rubbish. It's small but it leaves me room to do even more if I'm feeling up to it without feeling guilty if I only have one good day of energy.

What small things are you wanting to do?

After giving my first presentation at our local community council meeting I've come to the conclusion that the show is a real documentary. While my presentation went great (who doesn't love a conveniently located garden and free food?!?), there was heckling of other presenters for having the audacity to get university educations on the topics they were presenting and an attempted coup on the council board by a frighteningly large group of anti 5g truthers. Ironically, making and consuming videos over their 4g. My favourite part was the community theatre group rehearsing in the next room, giving the meeting a dramatic soundtrack. My partner has had to do meetings through work and said he has had similar experiences. It was all a lot funnier when I was watching it on a screen and not real people in my community but at least I can try to make some changes i guess 😅

Communities can only thrive when a representative group of it's members are pushing for change, don't let it just be fringe groups! In times with amplified hate, its crucial for those of us who have the time and energy to go to the monthly meetings to fight for the rights of those who can't. You don't need to be overly involved or start any projects, you just need to sign up, attend some meetings and vote!

Is it a favourite park or walking track? The library? Do you have a really fun festival that your community is known for? Tells us about it!

Every city should have a toy library. With limited space and limited income our toy library has been essential to my daughters playtime happiness. It's sustainable, teaches responsible toy care, allows her to try out new things and access the flash toys we wouldn't be able to otherwise. It also creates a sense of community from a young age. She sees her friends playing with the same truck she borrowed the week before and gets excited about taking home the castle toy she's seen. The anticipation of waiting for the next toy she's been eyeing brings Christmas-morning like joy all year round without adding to over consumption of new products that end up neglected.

Our toy library has things like dressups, large outdoor toys, play sets, baby activity centres, boardgames, and pretty much everything in between. It's been an equaliser for lower income families as their kids can have access to those motorised cars, the fancy pickler triangle/climbing sets, and name brand toys without actually having to buy them.

a quick intro on how to get started

It's such a neat concept that can make certain expensive services like lawyers or therapists more accessible. I could trade a few hours gardening, sewing, cleaning, or baking, for someone else to give me a hand building a larger project. It's a beautiful way to connect a community through acts of service 🥰