I love this picture, and I love the color story in this. :)

Freegan Disestablishment

The beautiful pictures by Greg Halpern accompany article, NyTimes

Freegan is a term for a freewheeling, dumpster diving, abandoned-house adapting band of outsiders taking advantage of the numerous items scavenged for free where ever they reside. The article Freegan Establishment from the NyTimes highlights them beautifully. It also connects a constellation of interesting trends I have noticed emerging in America lately. While we all pursue our version of the American Dream, which is usually trying to buy a house, a car, etc, the Freegans spend time doing invariably the same thing with little or no money at all. By sourcing and making the things they need they acheive the same sorts of things, but without conventional jobs.
They live richly. These particular ones live in a mansion, and gorge on an unlimited supplies of food. They live more grandly than most, rent free. These people may not live like you and me, but they are not as far on the fringes as you may think. Their lack of wastefulness, and do it yourself, craft aesthetic ties in with many contemporary ideals of do-it-yourself sustainability. Home gardening ties in with Locavore sensibilities. Their craft room is a scrapbookers dream come true.
While barrel after barrel of oil currently pours into the gulf, hopefully causing many to question the ultimate sustainability of their lifestyles, the Freegans offer an alternative. These young kids are proving just how much you can do with what others waste, show how much is possible with out money, and give us more ways to lessen our eco-footprint. Whether their alternative is viable for others is questionable, but as many struggle in a weak economy many more may start to question what we really need to get by. These Freegans may be able to show us the way.