The problem with the "self-sufficiency" movement is, as I said, a fascination with high tech gadgetry that is not cost effective, and IS cost prohibitive, rather than lower tech stuff that is cost effective and works. Once more, things as simple as passive solar hot water pre heaters, home construction using cob methods, things like this add up when practiced on a large scale. There is nothing wrong with the eco-village other than the cost.
I have seen a Cob house with the passive solar hot water. Cob houses are more energy efficient than most traditional building methods, have less environmental impact, and the building cost per square foot is a fraction of frame housing. If you think they are not durable, there are plenty of them in Northern Europe that are 250 and 300 years old.
I digress. The house I am familiar with was heated and cooled at a fraction of the cost of a traditional house. Most of the backyard was devoted to raised bed organic garden, companion planting, the whole nine yards. They raised a lot of food in a small area. This is what I am talking about. Things that are doable, within reach of the average homeowner. Every little bit helps, and the eco-village concept has a long way to go.
You have to start somewhere. Why not with the easily doable?

I agree with you 100%. Though I don't see these communities as a movement but in a sense maybe it is, a "movement" to go forward. If you will consider the possibility of these communities being built as simply an example of what can be achieved when an organized community bans together in a group effort. It is also much more effective and pliable to work in a small organized town. I think these are the small steps they are offering as an example. I would imagine it could work quite successfully is some small country towns across the US. I like the cob house, I would prefer to see them verses trailers, I would imagine they are also much more Eco-friendly.

This is one reason I am so adamant about the legalization of industrial grade hemp. It is an excellent building material, and a natural insulator. In Europe, right now, there is an industry growing up around hempcrete. Besides being cheap and plentiful, it is a natural insulator. For that matter, clothing made from hemp is more durable than cotton, and MUCH cheaper to produce. Paper made from hemp is good, and hemp grows back in months, rather than decades, like trees.
Let us not forget that hemp oil has numerous health benefits. It is chock full of Omega acids of fish oil fame, and is also a complete protein.

That never made any sense to me, to pay farmers subsidies not to grow something, usually supply and demand will seek it's own level, if they don't get enough return why grow it. Many of the paid farmers are under the ownership of a silent investor, just collecting more government revenue. I realize this was created after the dust bowl, but by now farmers know how to prevent this from happening, and really shouldn't it be their responsibility to tend to proper rotation?

Yes let's put the money to grow something like hemp. I am familiar with towns from the textile industry in NC which have all had just about died, places like Lenoir that were full of empty homes, a shame too it as a quaint little town.

These houses were dirt cheap and I recall thinking what an opportunity for some seniors who were retiring and on a fixed income to buy them and fix them up, it really wouldn't have taken much, it would keep the town not only from going down the tubes but could start it growing again. This was before the recession and as you say solely on the manufacturers moving out.

Believe it or not sometimes I wish... if we could just close our doors and simply depend completely on ourselves, our own currency, rate of pay, in house trading and working. It seems to me trying to compete with this cheap foreign labor is what is really killing us. I suppose eventually they will catch up, but that would also include us continuing our slide down this economic chute. Sometimes I do think what if... What if Walmart had seeked American vendors to supply his stores and made deals with them instead, where would we be today. I recall Reagan's campaign to buy American, what happened, why didn't we keep that ball rolling? We should have.

The problem with the "self-sufficiency" movement is, as I said, a fascination with high tech gadgetry that is not cost effective, and IS cost prohibitive, rather than lower tech stuff that is cost effective and works. Once more, things as simple as passive solar hot water pre heaters, home construction using cob methods, things like this add up when practiced on a large scale. There is nothing wrong with the eco-village other than the cost.
I have seen a Cob house with the passive solar hot water. Cob houses are more energy efficient than most traditional building methods, have less environmental impact, and the building cost per square foot is a fraction of frame housing. If you think they are not durable, there are plenty of them in Northern Europe that are 250 and 300 years old.
I digress. The house I am familiar with was heated and cooled at a fraction of the cost of a traditional house. Most of the backyard was devoted to raised bed organic garden, companion planting, the whole nine yards. They raised a lot of food in a small area. This is what I am talking about. Things that are doable, within reach of the average homeowner. Every little bit helps, and the eco-village concept has a long way to go.
You have to start somewhere. Why not with the easily doable?

Sam Walton used American made products whenever possible. He has passed away and his children who inherited the business use almost exclusively foreign made products.
Since most products are foreign made now, what do you expect?
It's not just textiles in the South and steel in the East and Auto manufacturing in Detroit. America has hemmorhaging manufacturing jobs for a long time. You have neocon RINO Republipukes in bed with big corporations and the US Chamber of Commerce facilitating this, and lately, Democrats are receiving more money from these sources than Republipukes.
I do not see this ending anytime, given the stupidity of the average US voter. It is no accident that requirements for voting are become less and less stringent. I personally will not vote for any incumbent, good, bad or indifferent, more than once. I get a lot of crap about "throwing the baby out with the bathwater," to which I respond "There's a hell of a lot more bathwater than there are babies. I'll take the risk."