Saegoah Pursuits: Wooden Computer

This is a series wherein I share a bit on the goings on in my personal quest for Ehoah (complete harmony within Nature). I plan to do this series as a periodical post. I also invite other Saegoahs to share their own adventures in their pursuits in comments below and/or as submissions to this blog (pathsthroughtheforests(at)gmail(dot)com).

So here is what I’ve been up to:

Saegoah Pursuits, Panthera -Lynx / 12014 H.E.
Wooden Computer

I’ve found that as things break, becoming unrepairable (go to iFixit to see if you can repair it yourself) and need replacing I take the extra time to make sure I make the most ethical, fixable and durable choice. So when my keyboard was malfunctioning with no easy fix, I decided it was time to get the bamboo keyboard and mouse I had saved on my pinterest board, ‘Saegoah Style EcoElectronics‘ for future reference. Pinterest, by the way, is something I’ve found to be useful in planning ahead for times such as these, and have probably planned a little excessively at that. Pinterest is my guilty pleasure.

Why wood? Well, wood can one day rot down into soil, plastic can’t, nor can it be 100% recycled indefinitely. Plastic can only downcycle into smaller and less durable things until it breaks down into tiny particulates that invade our ecosystem and watersheds – hence all the plastic in our oceans. Plastic also tends to have a lot of bioaccumulative toxins. On top of all that, the harvest and manufacture process of plastics is highly pollutive and unsustainable. So by going toward more wood and metal based electronic systems, we have a system that is regenerative in design instead of linear. That is to say that instead of some of those parts, if not all, that goes into making a product ending up as trash and doesn’t replenish the source – degrading the ecosystem,

All that goes into making a product can return to being remade into a new product – feeding back into the ecosystem and/or lessening demand for harvesting new material. If we become dedicated and efficient enough we could conceivably one day drop our mining operations by 90% of what we currently have.

So in other words whenever I purchase anything I try to make sure it is as regenerative as possible. If there are no such options I either prolong it with temporary repair until I can find the next best thing or make one myself that is regenerative.

My desktop computer for example is a 2006 Dell model with its original Windows XP. A few times I had to do a clean sweep by rebooting to factory settings and had upgraded its components twice so it could run more demanding programs. I’ve found that it works fine for what I do, especially since saving most of my memory clogging stuff on an external hard drive – otherwise I’m constantly trying to downsize what I’ve saved on my computer (again, Pinterest is an awesome external option for image lovers like me). I don’t own a smart phone. I instead have a landline and a pay as you go cellphone with a car charger that I only use for long distance travel. I find that not owning a smart phone helps keep me connected to the real world better, but I do acknowledge how it is a valuable item for those who are not settled down in one place and without one wouldn’t have any reliable long distance communication option. In those cases, and when it comes down to the eventual replacement of my desktop, I look at environmental rankings of the device (also check rankings here), its durability, repairability, and as local as possible. Fortunately, I’ve already lined that up for myself (once again, with the help of Pinterest) and would opt for a custom, modular, wooden framed monitor and tower that is made in my own province. Big investment that I’ll have to slowly set some money aside for, but I think its worth it.

Just as an FYI, where I ended up buying our keyboard and mouse was found to provide really bad service with no contact confirmation on purchase or shipping and had a sketchy purchasing set up. So I would recommend going direct to the makers, which in our case was Impecca. But there are other places that sell wooden computer sets that are worth checking out. You can find them just by keywording ‘Wood’ and ‘Computer’ if not your specific part, like the ‘keyboard’ or ‘mouse’ in my case, in your preferred search engine.

Also, for those who are curious on why my desktop is set up like it is – its a makeshift standing desk with my memory box under the monitor, my knotweaving box under the keyboard and my sewing kit under the mouse. I’ve been using it this way for over a month now have found that I no longer have a need to purchase a specialized desk ^_^