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‘Rural Renaissance’ reminds young and old of benefits of rural life
by Mary Kay Nelson

Rural Renaissance by John Ivanko and Lisa Kivirist isn’t the first book about “going rural”, but it is an enjoyable, appealing account of one couple’s adventure in moving from a fast-paced, urban life style to a “simpler” (in their words) life in rural America. The book encompasses all aspects of their decision, dedication, and experiences of deliberately designing a new, healthier, safer, and happier lifestyle.

Not just their personal story, as engaging as that is, the book is also filled with well researched and current references that are helpful to anyone, rural or urban, wanting to search for information on conservation, sustainable and responsible living. As an example, in their chapter on “Growing and Gardening” they list three resources — two organizations and a book — on the topic of seeds.

Reading the book, I found myself tabbing the authors’ thoughts and opinions that expressed their philosophy and commitment as well as my own.

• “Our day-to-day operating decisions incorporate the adage: reduce, reuse, recycle. We add two more of our own – restore and redesign…”
• “We realized that community isn’t really a noun, it’s a verb.”
• “With freedom come responsibility. Planting roots in a community caused us to feel a greater civic responsibility as residents. Staying put is perhaps one of the more central requirements for sustainable living.”

Rural Renaissance is about young adults who are just starting their family and have many years ahead of them, yet it was also meaningful to me even though I am beginning my retirement years. My husband and I share many of their ideals but at a different time of life.

Unlike Lisa and John, we did not have many productive years ahead of us and we needed to evaluate all our choices with the idea of not going into debt at the beginning of our retirement. We knew we wanted to “downsize” from our big, old four bedroom house to a smaller, more energy efficient home. Although we always loved the old house its treasures of many years, we planned to recycle and reuse as much as we could and clean out the rest, giving it to charity for someone else to use.

Our decision to build a straw bale house in the country came after about four years of research and study. It took us about another five years to build the house. We used a great architect team and three construction men who had never built a straw house before but were game for a challenge. We did the interior plastering, wood finishing, painting, etc. ourselves to keep the costs down and make a personal investment in our home. Also, we found area artisans who contributed to the beauty and uniqueness of the finished house. We tried to keep the waste to a minimum, and use locally-produced products whenever possible.

Our choices are perhaps not quite as “green” or as sustainable as those in Rural Renaissance, but the choices we have made are a balance of our needs, budget, and lifestyle. The authors say, “Conservation means using less. Efficiency means using the energy we need as carefully and optimally as possible. Some folks have interpreted conservation to mean extreme measures like reading by oil lamps and giving up refrigeration. But we felt that for our approach to living to succeed, it should be one that most of the world’s population could embrace. That means indoor plumbing, electricity and ever some other kitchen conveniences, like refrigeration.” Amen to that.

Like the authors, John and Lisa, we find that each season brings us fresh projects and challenges. Living is always a journey. As George Elliot is quoted, “It is never too late to be what you might have been.”

Rural Renaissance is a book for anyone interested in investigating the more sustainable and simpler lifestyle that can be had in rural areas. It blends inspiration, personal experiences, and “how to” advice. John and Lisa — and my husband and I — are living our dreams. Which only proves that you can, too.

A long-time member of the Nebraska Library Commission, Mary Kay Nelson and her husband are in the process of retiring and moving from Holdrege, Nebraska to their straw bale house in the country.

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