This is a photo of David the Painter and tim, the Team Leader, who
have now completed highly professional remodeling and repairs
on the house next to the Enchanted Garden Intentional Community,
four blocks from San Diego State University. Do you have work
for them? They can do almost every aspect of remodeling and home
repair at a fair price. They are honest and good natured men.
I want to see them get more work, and they are willing to do some
needed repairs for me here at home in trade for work I can'
get them. Please communicate through My Facebook Page
or the Email on my Curezone page (Under Your Enchanted Gardener).


3:32 AM-3:51 AM
April 28, 2010


I had a broken on my home office door the last five days.
The upper hinge pulled right out of the screws.
I did have time to get it fixed.
It happened while I was doing service night
and day for the 2010 Cultivating Food Justice Conference
at San Diego State Univeristy (SDSU).
The planning team was putting in hundreds of
volunteer hours on this conference dedicated
on the premise that all people deserve good food.
I let the broken hinge on my door slide.
There was nothing I could do about it.

Two days after my conference there was something
I could do about it.

There was a lot of repair going on next door.
My dearest of neighbors, a dad, mom, and two little kids
had recently moved out. They could not keep up with
the mortgage. This was a totally disheartening loss of
all of us next door here at the Enchanted Garden Intentional Community.
We were getting close. Whenever Nuni, the mom
had something going on at the school where she helped out,
be it some kind of fundraiser for this or that,
I would always pitch in.

It was getting to the point toward the end
where the kids, now walking and talking would felt
safe enough to come over. Toward the end, I had a knock
on my office door, a little banging sound. It was one of the
kids who wanted my attention. at Halloween, they would come by.
The first time I discovered a hummingbird next in the orange
tree that our properties share, it was Nuni who saw it first
and pointed it out.

Graig had a woodworking studio in the back and would make
custom furniture. He had an outstanding sense of design.
He also spent an entire year doing a remodel. He had
a whole third floor put on the house. He was hear to stay,
under the foreclosure.

From what I understand, the house may have sold for
somewhere around $60.000 to $100,000 by the bank.
It was picked up, I understand, by a group that plays
Monopoly with banks. They will go in with cash, buy up
whole streets of houses in foreclosure, sight unseen
sometimes, pay cash, do some repairs, and then do
a flip.

A house bought up for $60,000 can sometimes
sell for $450,000.

The teams that do the repairs are often underpaid,
I now understand. I got a lot of new knowledge today,
and made some friends.

PAINTING SERVICES FROM
DAVID, a LIKEABLE MAN

He does extra work on the side to make ends meet
in the broken world of construction.

We talked about trading David's fixing my broken Hinge
in trade for some promotion for his painting services.

It turns out that when the flippers hire a crew
they give so much to the for the job. With this
highly professional crew, it turned out that
when all the bills were paid for materials
it was difficult to give his team a fair wage,
but everyone was simple happy to have some work.

I looked over the job.
The work was outstanding.
A entire kitchen was put in in the studio
outback of the house. There was a lovely
master bedroom, a large closet, and
a good size living room.

David also did work on the deck,
and there was a lot of other improvements
on a home that was already in great shape
and had a sturdy foundation.

FRED DOES HAULING.
HE HAD HIS OWN BUSINESS.
HE ALSO IS A GREAT PHOTOGRAPHER.

Next, I met Fred Morrison. He was hauling
away a ton of concrete and other disgarded
building materials. Fred recognized me from
City College where he finished a degree program
that he loved in photography. We talked about
his wonderful concept--Time Photography.
He loves to work in black and white. He loves
to record a family history of the years.
I gave him some pointers. I suggested he
take on clients and be take time photos of the
family over a period of years. This would be
inspiring. Many people I imagine, do not have
a photography who organizes their photos for
them over a long term period. This could be
a great selling point. I could see in my head
a slideshow made of kids growing up over ten years.
What a hoot.

I am going to need a ton of hauling this summer.
Fred needs some promo. He was open to
trading. Wow! What a great trade.

WORKING WITH THE FLIPPER

I did not meet the flipper directly,
but met two of the team that hired this whole
crew. I have always had great neighbors.
This is an extraordinary property. Not only is
there a three bedroom home, a great deck outback,
a studio, but also a lot of land that would make
for great gardens and trees. In this time when
we are all returning to a lifestyle that will ask
we grow some of our own food, this property
is ideals for someone who would like to live
next door to us during a volatile time of
transition when many people will be coming
back to their natural senses.

THE HOUSE GOES UP ON THE MARKET TODAY.
I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE SOME GREAT NEW NEIGHBORS.

We live in a neighborhood that has some students,
and also an orthodox Jewish community that
surrounds Beth Jacob Synagogue, within short
walking distance. I would love to have a young
family of Jewish people living here. I would want
to get to know them and share some good times.
I want to help a family with kids. All kids these days
need nature experiences. We offen a lot of those
here on our 1/3 acre.

I am going to talking to the rabbi at the corner
tomorrow about this opportunity. The house goes
on the market likely today.


MEETING THE BUILDING TEAM

Later in the afternoon I stopped by a couple times.
I could see that David had a lot of work.
I was concerned that what I had in mind might not
happen. I wanted him to come over, as he said he
would, after work, to fix my broken hinge.
I was starting to get nervous that this great, great
opportunity to get my hinge fixed might not
happen.

When I went over toward the end of the day, the laborers,
four men of hispanic descent, were basically finished with their
work. I knew enough Spanish to ask their names and
communicate a few compliments on the excellent work
that they had done.

Then I met Kirk and Tim.

It turned out their were master builders.
They were old friends. They had both lives in Colorado,
a state I love with good people who live at a less speedy pace
that we do in San Diego. They both had skills to build homes
from the ground up. They both as a team, could do almost
all the basics from some plumbing, to electrical, to installations,
to workwork. They were also good team leaders. There was
a good relationship with the crew.

They were glad to have work, but they also expressed
the frustration that when they received work from the company
who did the flipping, there was never enough to pay the crew
what they deserved.

We talked more.
I began to see the bigger picture that was not all that pretty.
These were men in the field, in the construction industry.

I began to see a picture that reminded me of
some of the scenes in "Capitalism: A Love Story"
by Michael Moore. That film showed people being dispossessed
of their home as the banks and regulators made moves
that hurt many lives through mortgages. It was clear
that the same banks who were not selling and foreclosing
were the same banks who were in on the faulty mortgages.

Kirk and Tim described some of the uncomfortable feelings
they had. Sometimes, they came in to repair a home right
on the heels of people who were being evicted. This was
not a pretty picture.

I began to imagine a different kind of world.
I began to imagine what it might be like if TIm and Kirk
were the bosses of their own company. I knew
they would want to pay their laborers a fair wage.
I knew the work that they would be doing would be
exceptional.

Why not have these men get some of the stimulus
money to organize their own company?

It turned out what they needed was a little promo.
They needed business cards. They needed business.
They needed a team behind them, maybe a team
of students at the nearby SDSU who could do some
of the legwork for them of setting up a business,
or getting them clients.

Then, I began to recall a visit to The Habitat for Humanity
Store in our neighborhood where discarded materials can
be purchased at low cost. I began to put two and two together.

What would it be like if TIm and Kirk traded some needed
repairs on my house for help?

At the end of the day, Tim, Kirk and David came over.
They looked at my deck off the kitchen that was a near
disaster zone with some ailing old boards. They were
quick to make some suggestions. They volunteered
the idea of coming over tomorrow to do some repairs.

I am short of funds. I just came off of giving no less
that 150 volunteer hours to help bring some justice
to the issue that all people deserve good food, and right
now do not have it.

I feel I am open to a little good fortune right now.
The Enchanted Garden Intentional Community backyard
is in dire need of garden help. The weeds have been
having their day while I have been out saving the world,
so to speak.

First off David, Tim, and Kirk fixed my door.
I saw that tim, the father of two, was an excellent teacher.
Wow! This is a team that could train and help many
laborers learn construction skills. I quickly saw from
their willingness to help me, that they were both honest
and caring people, the kind of people I would be honored
to hire to repair my home at a fair price in a day when
there are many people who need repairs and remodels
and cannot pay the going high price.

What would it be like to have a business,
maybe even a Building Coop that took on jobs,
gave a bit of service from time to time, and received
some outstanding help with promo and internet marketing?

In the morning, I will propose to the great building team,
a new idea from Your Enchanted Gardener,
The Broken Hinge Building Cooperative.

What do you think of the idea?

Do you have work for a great good willed construction
team who fixed my broken hinge?

Let me know.
I will put you in touch with them.

Leslie
Your Enchanted Gardener









 

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