Mastodawn

My Time as St. Francis of the Desert

I don’t pay rent. I’ve lived another way that’s more relational, and it works. There was a point when I left Long Beach as a burnt-out teacher and drove into the desert with one intention: stop spending. Rent, groceries, gas—money flowed faster than I could earn it. I could see the end coming. Instead of waiting for collapse, I stepped sideways.

Saint Francis of Assisi

For two years I lived without rent and without wages. Basically without using money. Joshua Tree first. Then Ojai. Both places were New Age-style intentional communities, and I contributed with time and effort. I repaired water pipes. Cleared brush. Fed animals. Protected homes from fire. My focus was community. At the same time, I did everything for myself. All those repairs and upgrades and creations, all those “favors,” were actually investments in relationships. So it wasn’t exactly free. There was always food in the refrigerator thanks to cooperative living and abundant gardens. I had my built tiny home that I build myself. I had people to share mornings with. People to work with. I wasn’t surviving. I was liberated. I never felt freer doing those two years.

If someone tried to give me money I’d refuse, or ask them to please fill my gas tank, or pay my car insurance. Someone once handed me $20 and I stuck it on the refrigerator with a magnet. It stayed there for weeks. It became a symbol of the my commitment. People thought that because I didn’t work for money, I worked for free. That was NOT the case. Many times I felt used, and it was usually because people don’t understand that kind of economy. Most people have transactional relationships. Maybe St. Francis felt used. I don’t know. Maybe he did it to set an example. Maybe he did it for the Creator. (Which is the very opposite of doing it by being a doormat). I think the key is to do things for others that also befit yourself. The key is finding that middle ground so that you and they don’t feel used.

Robin Greenfield Shows Me It’s Possible

After I made that leap to alternative living, I began following Robin Greenfield. He didn’t live off desperation—he lived off resourcefulness and conviction. He grew his food. Foraged abundance. Used what others overlooked. He chose alignment over consumption. His life was all about community. Robin is committed to staying below the government poverty line. Since taxes fund war he avoids that. Since cars rely on a huge earth damaging infrastructure, he avoids that. That is actually a step too far for me, because i value mobility. I feel trapped when i can’t travel. So for many years i used a motorcycle. But I know how to fix most things on my car. So I recycle cars.

Rent Is Not Neutral — Thanks, David Graeber

Anthropologist David Graeber made it clear that rent and debt are not natural facts of life. They are control systems. Debt is a leash. Rent is a monthly reminder of who is allowed to stay and who is allowed to own. It isn’t a service. It’s permission to remain. I don’t agree to those terms. When you buy land you don’t lose wealth, because your money became land. But if someone needs a piece of land (because every human needs a place) then they owe you? Crazy! People lose a great deal in this arrangement.

I know many people with land who think they are kings. Literally. The landowner here in Arizona has officially filed to make his land sovereign, with himself listed as “Lord.” The sovereignty movement is great in theory. God’s free earth, spiritual freedom — I get it. But how did he get that land? In this case, money came through inheritance. Very patriarchal setup.

Right now Lord Landowner believes anyone on his land should pay tribute through “hard work.” We’re having a slight disagreement because I came here, to the middle of an empty desert, to create a sanctuary and a church — his church, in fact. His idea completely. Since he hasn’t followed through on his own vision, he now wants me to work for him. That’s not what I signed up for.

The picture below says it all. Though I will say, Lord Landowner is an amiable person. I’m sure many plantation owners in the South were also “amiable” in their day.

Just look at that! A happy landlord clad in black hangin with benevolent young handler. The slaves are happily harvesting for the good of the community. How sweet. Times change but thinking doesn’t.

Ringing Cedars of Russia and the Concept of the Kins Domain

In Russia, there’s a movement called Ringing Cedars, and it treats land differently than we do. They believe every person should have a piece of Earth to care for — not as property, but as living lineage. Under their Federal Law No. 112-FZ “On Personal Subsidiary Farming,” families can receive one hectare of land to live on, plant on, and pass down. For free! Citizens plant trees for their children not yet born. They call it a Kin’s Domain. It’s not meant to be bought or sold. It’s a foundational birthright. Like our First Amendment (freedom of speech, religion, assembly, press, etc.) Ownership in this model is not superiority. It’s guardianship. You don’t extract from it. You grow into it.

This is the last book of a nine part series of Ringing Cedars of Russia, a movement that believes every soul deserves one hectare of peace.

Charles Eisenstein and the Return of Sacred Exchange

Charles Eisenstein writes about sacred economics — an economy based on trust rather than accounting. He says the real wealth between people is not in dollars but in gratitude, reciprocity, and memory. When someone gives you their time or effort, you don’t owe them a transaction. You owe them relationship. That’s how society used to work before everything was priced. His idea of a gift economy isn’t charity. It’s belonging. It’s the belief that value doesn’t disappear when it isn’t measured. I’ve experienced that firsthand in Time Banks—like the Long Beach Time Bank and Venice Beach Time Bank. In those spaces, one hour is one hour. A welder, a baker, a mechanic, a lawyer—they stand on level ground. I got documents translations into French, my hard drive recovered, fresh baked cookies, and massages. I gave rides to school, oil changes, gardening and appliance repair, all with complete strangers. Yup, I was compensated. Nope, it wasn’t money.

Flipping the Script: My Partner Gets Paid to Live in Nice Places

While most people pay rent to stay somewhere nice, my partner is paid to stay in beautiful homes! She travels as a house and pet sitter. Sometimes there’s money exchanged but sometimes it’s just care for shelter. She lives better than people who sign contracts and wire literally half their income to a landlord. So you can pay to stay, or you can be paid to stay. Personally I prefer to skip the money and make some friends in the process.

Beautiful house sitting gig in gorgeous Ojai, CS

What I Will Do

I will work with land, not for someone else’s land. I will be trusted, not managed. I refuse to organize my life around tribute to those who already have more than enough. Rent is not sacred. Ownership is not authority. And finally, Living should not be conditional.

I plan to leave this life with no money because I want to die rich.

#davidgraeber #robingreenfield #ringingcedars
#antiwork #ringingcedarsofrussia
#wearethe99percent
#degrowth
#gifteconomy #nokings

https://redecker.vivaldi.net/2025/10/21/why-i-dont-pay-rent/

#nokings #ringingcedars #ringingcedarsofrussia #RobinGreenfield

Grow Your Own Toilet Paper!