Do It Yourself or Don’t Do It Yourself

I’ve been thinking a lot about DIY projects and culture lately. It’s really starting to pull together into a big picture and make sense to me. As long as I have been involved in this “punk” culture, I’ve been inundated with the idea of DO IT YOURSELF. And it makes sense that fixing your own bike will save you money, but I couldn’t really see how these little things made that big of a difference. One of the things that frustrated me was that it is difficult to “do it yourself” when you don’t know how and there is no one to teach you. So I started a little DIY website which was quickly co-opted by MISTERRIDICULOUS.COM (ed. note- no longer around). Although I’m not a huge fan of the internet as a source of information (because it’s kind of exclusive to those who have computer access and often information is incomplete and incorrect) it was one way I could pass along what I know, and help others pass along what they know. Then I heard about the DIY skillshare in Bezerkely, CA and I was really inspired. I started reading “Taking Charge of Our Lives” by American Friends Service Committee, and there was a lot of talk about community. They talked about having community shops and tool sharing, and really just working with each other. All this other stuff I’ve been reading, like Luddite Tech Zine, Seedhead and How 2 Zine, have really started me thinking about how it can all be connected. Because the more we network, the more we can really step away from consumer culture. I figure the more that I can do for myself, the more I can do for someone else too. I can fix bikes, someone else can garden, or plumb or build stuff. Maybe I can can do all that stuff anyway, but this person is willing to help me out if I’ll help them out with their bike. I keep reading more about these communities that are becoming more self sufficient, and not having to rely upon grocery and department store chains, and that’s where I really see the benefits of DIY.

Reprinted from Making stuff & Doing Things : A Collection of DIY Guides to Doing Just About Everything (Edited by Kyle Bravo). Originally: Matte Resist from Resist #42.