Freeganism is the concept of avoiding the use of money. The core reason behind this is that the financial economy allows us to ignore the production methods of the things we consume, and what happens behind the scenes is frequently just that... behind the scenes. I'll be the first to say that there are plenty of products which are produced ethically to some extent. However purchasing the overwhelming majority of our stuff, food, clothing etc. directly contributes to human and animal suffering and climate change. Furthermore, most industries are exceedingly wasteful - profit is paramount to responsibility.
In October 2014 I was studying in New Zealand and went on my first hitchhiking adventure. I had fun, I spent very little money and nobody wanted to hurt me. I also had my first taste of rough sleeping. A little while later, a friend of mine introduced me to the concept of dumpster diving for food. I was able to eat, very well I might point out - for free. More than that, I was struggling to consume the vast quantities of fruit and vegetables I would get from the bin before they went off. I figured out there was something quite wrong with the system. I kept doing these things, partly because they are fun and partly because I had some idea that it didn't make sense to purchase more food or transport when so much is being chucked out and someone is likely going that way anyway with four empty seats in their car. The financial cost of my life started to drop and my carbon footprint started to shrink. Around the same time I watched a documentary called Earthlings, and realised that I couldn't consume (or at least purchase) animal products any more. I was already a vegetarian at the time so that meant cutting out dairy and eggs, as well as double checking clothing for leather/wool and avoiding cosmetics and medication tested on animals. Veganism became sort of my moral baseline for financial use. If it wasn't vegan, I wouldn't purchase it. If it was... then give it some thought.
Fast forward about a year and my hitchhiking, dumpster diving self had been transported halfway across the world to Nottingham so I could finish my Chemistry degree. I began thinking far more actively about how I could further extend my avoidance of money. I'll be the first to admit that this isn't a purely ideological venture; students like myself don't tend to be wealthy and every little helps (TM). I had, by and large sorted out my food and transport so accommodation was the next obvious step. I was having doubts about whether I could do it completely for free and so had considered buying a van to live in. Another option would have been squatting, which went under enough consideration for me to start exploring abandoned buildings... however the legal and safety ramifications made it quite unlikely. Also the squat scene in Nottingham is more conducive to sticking needles in your arm then removing the IV of capitalism from your veins (Or so I've heard). In the end I made a post on couchsurfing.com's Nottingham page asking if anyone would let me camp in their back garden...
And funnily enough, a man named Peter replied and said yes! I'd actually met him a few weeks before at one of his fantastic parties. I was bouncing off the walls with excitement!
I get a fair amount of attention for what I had set out to do, including a TV interview which is featured below and translation of one of my posts into Chinese by a Taiwanese online magazine! If I'm totally honest the reason I'm still living in a tent is because I don't want to live in a house. Life is more fun and interesting this way as I'm forced to go out and make friends and learn things that I otherwise would not have done - I really believe that the time I've spent living in a tent has probably been the most exciting and enriching part of my life so far.
you're an inspiration! your justification for making decisions is deliberate and sound...you seem like a very cool human.
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