INDUSTRY PROVINCES
Industry Provinces are those where people establish a particular industry as their primary vision.
Farm and Cottage Industry Provinces
One of the most promising uses for Creative Provinces is to help create, re-establish, protect, and strengthen, small and independent farms and cottage industries.
A Three Little Pigs Province
In this example, people form a Three Little Pigs Province, a province of homesteads with sizeable yards or small pastures, each of which houses either three pigs; or, those with five pigs, have “This Little Piggy” small pastures. In the Three Little Pigs cottage farms you’ll find pig homes made of straw, sticks, and bricks.
The Province vision is to produce and help market the all-natural pastured pork products of their provincial micro-producers. Traditional meat curing processes are used—in other words, no carcinogenic additives are allowed.
In addition to meat products, provincials also make pastured pork leaf lard—the wonderful fat for making the best piecrusts; and some provincials have a small industry making the piecrusts for the market.
The Three Little Pigs Province cottage industries grow to a sizeable number of producers, and their Three Little Pigs and This Little Piggy labels are highly prized for their clean and natural products from healthy and happy pastured pigs.
Open Range, and Wild Fish, Game, and Gatherings Provinces
Open Range, and Wild Fish, Game, and Gathering Provinces can be created for all manner of herding, fishing, hunting, and gathering operations, such as sheep herding, cattle grazing, wild game hunting, falconry, and berry gathering.
Any number of province rules can be adopted to facilitate the sharing of these open-range province areas. For example, certain limitations might be placed on fencing in provinces of open-range sheep and cattle herding, requiring in their stead, sheep dogs and shepherds, or cowboys. Motorized traffic might be limited or replaced altogether by horses.
A Rawhide Province
But early in the twentieth century the herd law that said ranchers must fence in their animals closed the open range, and the confined cattle trampled the grassy verges as they congregated to drink. The banks of the Beaver began to erode and sand washed down into the bed. Within the decade the Beaver was dying and finally stopped flowing except in heavy rains…
Annie Proulx, That Old Ace in the Hole
In this example, a Rawhide Open Range Province is formed with the Vision of reviving traditional open-range cattle herding, cattle drives, and the culture of the cowboy on horseback. One of the Province’s Supporting Visions is to develop local abattoirs in key locations to where the Province cattle can be herded on their cattle drives.
The Province membership also includes ecologists who assist with bringing back the native grasses, living streams, and wildlife, and who advise on the best locations for cattle pathways, the timing for cattle drives, and the size of herds.
A viable provincial meat industry develops, together with a revitalization of the traditional cowboy culture.
Working Animal Provinces:
Giving Animals Back Their Jobs
Every job on Earth has a creature made to do that very thing! Why should we use poisons to keep aphids off our plants when we can use Ladybugs? Why should we use traps and poisons to control rodent populations when cats and dogs would love to do the job for us, and catch their own dinner besides? And why should we spray poison in our communities for mosquitoes (or worse, release genetically modified poisoned mosquitos), when frogs, fish, bats, and countless other creatures are starving for a few billion of them?
Working Animal Provinces are provinces where animals are featured to do any of these particular jobs, and countless more.
Laos Working Elephant Province
In this example, a Laos (Land of a Million Elephants) Working Elephant Province is created with the Vision of maintaining elephants in their traditional working roles. The Province encourages the training of elephants and their handlers, and facilitates their hiring for various jobs, such as heavy work in construction and demolition, and for heritage pageants.
One of the Supporting Visions of the Province is to provide places where working elephants can be returned for respite and for retirement, reuniting them with their families. Another Supporting Vision of this province is to maintain habitats that can sustainably support elephants, and the Province has in its membership ecologists who assist with this.
Manufacturing Provinces
Manufacturing Provinces are those created by people with similar manufacturing visions and complimentary skills.
Some creative provinces will have a manufacturing Primary Vision. For example, a Province of the North Pole might form with the Primary Vision of toymaking.
Other Provinces will often have manufacturing Supporting Visions, such as a Medieval Province that features period cobblers, costumers, swordsmiths, and candlewrights.
A swordsmith in a Medieval Heritage Province
Portrait of forger studying handmade sword in workshop near furnace, Alfa27, Adobe Stock
Education and Research Provinces
Education and Research Provinces are those created by people with similar teaching, learning, and investigative visions and complimentary skills.
Some creative provinces will have education or research as their primary vision, focusing on a certain subject or field, such as music education or astronomical research. Others might be created as an alternative to state-controlled schools.
Still others might form around a particular investigative project, such as an archeological site. In that case, a provincial industry might form around a college or archeological dig, in order to expand that endeavor’s sphere by adding residences, businesses, corollary research projects, and the like.
Down the Lane Schoolhouse Province
State-controlled education is one of the best examples of using government for far too many tasks. People can rectify this situation by creating provinces to educate their children as they see fit.
In this example, a group of home-school parents form a Down-the-Lane Schoolhouse Province, with the vision of directing the course of their children’s education, in a small, neighborhood school. The one-room schoolhouse is located nearby where the children can walk to school, and either walk home for lunch, or take their lunch with them. The teachers are skilled in all levels of primary and secondary education, and older children help the younger ones with many tasks.
There is no connection to any government-mandated curriculum at Down the Lane; rather, the parents meet regularly to work on the students’ curriculum. The result is a specialized education suited to the vision of the parents.
Health Provinces
Health Provinces are those that have a particular health industry or health outlook as their Primary Vision.
Such creative provinces might focus on such things as learning healthy lifestyles, a particular healing protocol, or a care-giving service. Or they may be restful enclaves for healing and convalescence, or places where people with similar illnesses get mutual support, healthful dietary and exercise regimens, and easy access to health specialists.
While there are many health centers today that specialize in these things, they are often not accessible to many would-be patrons because they are either too expensive, too far away, or are not covered under the patron’s insurance plan.
Health specialists would be drawn to such provinces, and would be able to learn from each other and the provincial patients.
Restore Health Cleansing Province
Cleansing has been very neglected in modern cultures, contributing greatly to all manner of bodily corruption and disease. But awareness of its critical role is reemerging.
In this example, cleansing professionals form a Restore Health Cleansing Province, with the Vision of teaching and practicing the many methods of eradicating all kinds of bodily corruption.
Thus, in the Restore Health Cleansing Province, provincials provide guidance and hands-on assistance to people for such cleansing protocols as full-body parasite cleansing, liver flushing, herbal dissolving of kidney stones, sinus cleansing, heavy metal removal, chelation, toxic chemical avoidance, radiation avoidance, and the many kinds of fasting.
Thus, in the provincial setting, these powerful healing techniques become more available to the average person.