CURRENT MISSION

To shake up DC

ABOUT ME

Hola! I have been living now in DC for 3 months. As of early February, I am seeking couches to surf because the place where I've been staying (a peace activist house by Logan Circle) is suddenly crazy crowded, with more people than there is room and 6 cats! Also, I just experienced the long over-due extraction of 3 teeth, and while I'm feeling a lot better, I need to be in calmer space(s) where I can heal while I continue to carry out my all-volunteer activist work ... including my new position as a garden science teacher's assistant for the cutest 3rd grade class in DC!

In case you're interested in what else I'm doing, here are links to 3 of the latest projects I've been intensively working on. As you'll see, a few of the most important issues to me are world peace, sustainable food and indigenous rights! http://nptwalk2010.org ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://www.change.org/ideas/view/good_food_for_all_kids_a_garden_at_every_school_2 ((PLEASE VOTE FOR THE IDEA!!!)) ~~~ and http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=265905035119&ref=mf (( <=== copy & paste this link))

I moved to Washington, DC again after 2 years in Albuquerque, New Mexico and most of 2009 on the West Coast!! I am seeking PAID employment here in addition to the other things I'm doing. My central interests and skills are in the areas of grassroots environmental and international human rights & peace organizing, sustainable community food systems and farming, and journalism and English writing / editing / research / tutoring. If you know any non-profits or companies that may be hiring or if you have any ideas, please let me know!!!

At the age of 20, I spent a life-changing semester at the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies in Israel followed by a summer of travel around the Middle East, and I've been deeply involved with cross-cultural ecological and peace activism ever since ... now going on 10 years and leading to my passion for sustainable agriculture!! In 2008 I helped a Youth Empowerment organization establish a new 5 acre community farm in Albuquerque's beautiful South Valley ... growing corn, beans, berries, melons, garlic, tomatoes, carrots, jalapenoes and much more! Prior to that, I apprenticed with a biodynamic CSA farm, studied permaculture and herbal medicine, organized several East Coast conferences on sustainable food, and volunteered with my college student organic farm.

I have a couple blogs: http://nmyoungfarmers.wikidot.com & http://foodyfaith.wordpress.com

One of my greatest experiences ever was in December 2008, when I spent a month herding sheep for an indigenous family of Navajo elders in the Black Mesa area of northern Arizona. You can see pictures of the land & animals at http://flickr.com/ethanagri4 and learn WHY i was there at www.blackmesais.org

What else ... I am a political animal ~ earned BA (2004) from Rutgers College in NJ with majors in History, Political Science & Middle East Studies ~ play mean chess ~ joined the superbly successful 2008 White House Organic Farm Project's cross-country bus tour petitioning the next President for an organic garden on the White House lawn ~ AND I was in the DC streets marching in opposition to George W. Bush's 2001 inauguration! I am VERY excited to be in DC again and ... yes ... I look forward to meeting you, sharing & exchanging adventure stories from this wild life, and (drum roll please) surfing your merry couch!!

PHILOSOPHY

"We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect." -- Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac

"Human history becomes more a race between education and catastrophe." -- H. G. Wells, 1920

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I have surfed a few couches. Hopefully someday I'll have LAND somewhere to share with y'all.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Believe it or not, I haven't paid rent for 5 years! For much of that time, I've been on the road, surfin' couches hither & thither, and sometimes camping out under the open sky. California, Arizona, New Mexico, Appalachia, Florida, Mexico, Palestine ... Many amazing adventures and trillions of thanks to all kind people keepin' it real across the universe.

Interests

Hikes, bikes, animals, growing & cooking yummy food, fermentation, natural medicine & healing, peace work, reading, writing, traveling, music, spirituality, the Sun, the Moon, and this magical Game of Life.

• animals
• cats
• writing
• education
• human rights
• dining
• cooking
• gardening
• chess
• reading
• traveling
• music
• hiking
• camping
• surfing
• agriculture
• teaching
• environmental studies
• history
• journalism
• medicine
• political science
• science
• volunteering

Music, Movies, and Books

Recently I've been reading & learning a lot about the ancient Essene sect of Judaism and about Kabbalah, the modern "esoteric" & "mystical" dimension of Judaiasm. I became interested in this, in part, by meditating on the fact that my Hebrew birth name means "God Lives Eternal in a Garden of Light," and because I'm starting to plan to return to Palestine next year to do permaculture, peace & human rights work in the West Bank.) One excellent book that I highly recommend is "Spiritual Nutrition" by Gabriel Cousens, which you can find for free Google's online library. Also, you can check out my writing on the modern revival of the Essenes at http://foodyfaith.wordpress.com

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Once upon a time, I walked over 600 miles across the Southwest, from New Mexico through Arizona & Utah to Nevada, with a group advocating abolition of nuclear waste & weapons, & among many thrilling sights saw double rainbows over the desert on multiple occasions... Wow!

Teach, Learn, Share

I know a lot about sustainable agriculture, but I'm always hungry to learn more. There seems to be a fast growing movement everywhere for homegrown food, community gardens, edible schoolyards, and diverse ecologically sustainable forms of local agriculture ... Is it manifesting in your life too?