We are Self Propel

The Self-Propel Movement started in the steamy, sweltering flatlands of northern Costa Rica where we served for two years in rural communities as Peace Corps volunteers.  “Self-Propel” arose out of boredom and a twisted sense of adventure and it started as exactly what it sounds like.  It was about getting where you need to go under your own power, be it walking, biking, kayaking, whatever.  For us, that mostly meant walking.  We frequently walked or biked the 16 miles to each other’s’ communities or to the nearby towns to run errands.  We hiked to other volunteer’s sites and to interesting locations around the country.  We quickly found that these hikes opened up a new side of Costa Rica to us.  We met people.  Sometimes it was someone yelling at us for stealing their fruit.  Others it was someone who became a friend.  The slow pace of walking gave us views of animals we wouldn’t even have noticed with our heads plastered to a book and zipping by in a bus.  This culminated for us in a two week hike from the Nicaraguan border into Panama.  An event which was, in many ways, one of the best times of our lives and one that seared a love of walking into our souls.

                Self-Propel has become about so much more than locomotion, though.  The “do-it-yourself” ethic of Self-Propel has seeped into all aspects of our lives.  It’s become about disconnecting from the mindless, endless consumption aspect of modern life.  We don’t need “things” to be happy or satisfied with life.  In fact, I’ve seen a direct correlation in my own life between eliminating things and an increase in life satisfaction.  So Self-Propel is cooking yourself dinner (and that doesn’t mean microwaving a Hungry Man).  It is making your own dog toy or hammock or chair or whatever you’re capable of.  Because, at the end of the day, you can look down and see your own handiwork and feel a sense of pride and accomplishment, regardless of the quality (and it will probably cost you about $20 less than buying it). 

                For us, the logical extension of all these changes in our lives has become an underlying concern for preparedness.  When you start allowing yourself to do things for yourself, you realize how much you’re capable of and you allow yourself to be more open to and prepared for unexpected situations.  If you start sewing your own clothes, growing your own food, making your own compost, building your own furniture, walking to a friend’s house, you gain a sense of control over your life that you never had before.  You’re not as reliant on others and you’re more prepared for the unforeseen situations that life drops on you.  In short, the Self-Propel Movement is about DIY, preparedness, minimalism, and minimizing non-self transportation.  This is our blog.  It’s a celebration of a Self-Propelled life.