Greetings! Thanks for reading my profile. Here's a bit about me: While studying anthropology in university I became aware of how unsustainable and unfulfilling modern life can be, so I became fascinated with alternative ways of living in the 21st century. So for much of my 20's I travelled around the Americas and volunteered on many different farms and eco-projects, exploring ways of living that are more connected to the earth and the people around us. For the last couple years I've settled into life at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage in Missouri, USA. We are 50 people living in the country surrounded by rolling farm and pasture land. We are re-wilding 200 acres of Tallgrass Prairie and exploring ways of living in harmony to create a better future. In my daily life I raise cows and goats for milk and meat as part of a cooperative, help with natural building projects, engage in ecological conservation work, work for an environmental non-profit (helping with administrative tasks and making videos), cook twice a week for 10-15 people as part of a kitchen co-op, and take great pleasure in sipping coffee with a good book and a cat on my lap. I would love to continue exploring how people are living in many different contexts and share knowledge, experiences, perspectives, and good times. I have been interested in Japan for some time now (since I was 12 and saw Princess Mononoke). Recently, this was stirred considerably by reading "Just Enough: Lessons from Living Green in Traditional Japan" by Azby Brown. I'm very intrigued by traditional village life, onsen, rice cultivation, and the interplay of nature with spirituality and architecture. I actually have a dream of apprenticing with a roof thatching crew. I believe these materials and techniques have a lot to offer as a fully sustainable building material. I'm hoping that this first trip to Japan will lead to some connections which could allow that happen in the future.