The Free Tea Bus Has Found Her Forever Home, But Needs Your Help.

Posted on August 7, 2026 by Guisepi

Yes, you heard right! Edna Lu has found her forever parking spot on Talking Horse Ranch on San Juan Island, WA, where we’ve been land stewards for the past 4 years.

And now we have the opportunity to purchase part of this magical 120-acre farm! 

                                                   

                                           

BUT the timeframe is tight. We have less than 2 months to raise $800,000. We have until the end of the year to reach the ultimate goal of $1.5 million.

The San Juan County Conservation Land Bank is purchasing all 120 acres, but don’t want the 40 acre parcel with all the infrastructure. They are requesting proposals for someone to purchase this parcel — WE WANT TO BE THAT SOMEONE! Especially since we are already farming and caretaking it, and have been preparing the land for its next iteration for the pst 4 years.

We are submitting a proposal to the Land Bank in order to preserve this farm in perpetuity. They are putting their 80 acres into conservation and allowing public access through trails and agricultural leases. Independently, Ally and I are forming a non-profit regenerative farming land trust to purchase the first 40-acre parcel, where all the farm infrastructure sits. This land trust will keep this parcel in agriculture forever. It will also allow us, and 3 more yet-to-come houses, to be privately owned and affordable through 99-year leases.  

We are creating CAMAS COMMONS, a regenerative faming land trust for making farming more affordable!

But we need your help. We are raising $1.5 million dollars to make the hardest part of this vision come alive — land acquisition. Because our vision aligns with the Land Bank’s mandate, they are likely to work with us on the price, but we need to be able to come to the table with a sizable amount. 

Will you help us make this vision a reality? 

We need angel donors.

All donations are welcome, from smaller dollar to larger legacy donations, and whatever unique skills and gifts that could help bring this dream into reality.

All donations are tax deductible!

IF ANYTHING, we have 50+ farm animals (a beloved dairy goat herd, and a laying hen flock) that will be displaced mid-winter if we do not reach our goal. This isn’t just any goat herd. Ally has been training her goats to be therapeutic, and it shows on the faces of all the people who have come so spend time with them.

Your donations will secure their permanent home with us.

Ally helping Frida learn how to be a mom.

The Backstory 

For more than a decade the Free Tea Bus traveled the country, offering free tea as a community building project, with a philosophy that considers The Gift as the primary way that humans create, maintain, and deepen bonds with one another (i.e. community building). 

Sharing with students at Carolina Friends’ School in NC.

This journey brought myself (Guisepi), Edna Lu the Tea Bus, and eventually my now wife Ally, across the country, to city streets, farms and homesteads, surf spots, trailheads, farmers markets, events, intentional communities, and more. Directly, we touched 10’s of thousands of people. Indirectly, through articles, blogs, documentaries, radio programs, and people being inspired to create their own money-free sharing projects, we touched more than a million. 

The Tea Zone along the Appalachian Trail near Stratton, ME – Mile 2001

“Wait, but doesn’t you traveling around defeat the purpose of building community for yourselves?” 

Yes, ironically I have had to give up some of my own community in order to be a messenger about community.

But that rambling chapter has come to an end. Nearly 8 years ago, Ally, Edna and I ended up where I grew up on San Juan Island, WA. For years, the conversations about intentional community, permaculture, and land connection had been ever present. I reflected deeply on what our journey had meant, where I stood in the world, how I wanted the next chapter to go, and how I might continue to be of service. And now, Ally and I truly felt in our heart of hearts that land connection is where our future lay. 

So we tried, but failed, to acquire land in a more traditional way. But something new is afoot that encompasses the magic of the Tea Bus.

Ally, Guisepi, and Edna Lu in Colorado Springs, CO (photo: Andres Romero)

Finding Home

Nearly 4 years ago, weary in our search for home, we arrived on Talking Horse Ranch, the place Ally lived when we first fell in love 14 years ago. We were happy to be on such magical land. It has 70 acres of forest, and 50 acres of pasture. The “mountain” hosts a lookout of Mount Baker and acts as a place of refuge. The seasonal creek feeds three ponds. Another pond is home to hundreds of bass. The Big Barn is 13,000 square feet of usable space, with animal stalls, a workshop slab, and more. Our house is pentagon, and most of the buildings have pyramids on the roofs — a holdover from the days when the farm was developed by a follower of the channeled energetic being and spiritual leader Ramtha and the alleged “talking horse”.

Talking Horse Ranch

The Octagon Barn has become the home of Ally’s animal midwifery practice — housing her animal apothecary, hay storage, milking parlor, and more. I have been able to transform a decrepit old shed into a wonderfully salvaged workshop, half powered by the sun, and half powered by a collection of vintage and antique human powered tools (think: hand crank drill press, treadle scroll saw, pedal powered lathe, etc.). Even though much of the infrastructure is past its prime, it’s a lovely place to be.

My Salvaged Workshop

A New Dream is Born… How I became an Accidental Farmer (and LOVE it)

During the past 4 years, we have learned the ins and outs of the farm, grown a flock of chickens, a herd of goats, and had a pig co-op last year. We’ve planted 16 fruit and nut trees, cleaned out a destroyed garden, helped clean up the land, managed an aging farmer, grown things, and picked up slack where we could. We’ve had live music, petting zoos, seasonal celebrations, weekly Family Dinners, and so much more.  Our food rescue program itself has saved over 40,000 pounds of “waste” produce from the landfill and turned it into animal food and rich compost. Three years ago, we hosted a weeklong wedding campout, where we got married with enormous support from our community. 

Getting Married on the Farm

We’ve also had deaths and sorrow, and managed to learn alongside the land what our place is in this ecological community. 

And Edna, sweet Edna, has found a nice spot to live — right in our front yard, near the stage and farm store we recently opened, where she can be honored and even open her doors on occasion for a free tea party. Currently, she houses my mentee, Jacksun. He’s treating her well, except for the occasional coffee making. (What sacrilege!). He opens her up for our events, and serves tea with his own flair — The teapot has been passed!

This Land is Meant to be Shared, and I want to see your vision of community come true...

…said the farm owner when he told us he was selling the farm

He had decided to sell the land to the Land Bank, and with their desire to not own any infrastructure, he was sure we would be able to buy the first 40-acres from them. It was a no-brainer. 

Live music on the Farm

And here we are — on the brink of making this vision a reality. Wow! 

We never accepted even $1 while serving 10’s of thousands of cups of tea, so now we are humbly asking if you can support the next dream, the legacy that we can leave to the generations that come after us, to help us take this land out of the speculative real estate market, and put it into something more.

We’ve begun the trail. Help us blaze it. 

Sincerely, 

Guisepi, Ally, and Edna. 

CAMASCOMMONS.ORG

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Two Years Off the Road – San Juan Island, WA

Posted on December 27, 2020 by Guisepi

Edna reflects on being back on San Juan Island, WA.                                            

Wow, has it really been that long? Ally says she’s surprised at how well I’ve adapted to a new life that has almost completely altered my identity. Although, it hasn’t been as smooth as she makes it out to be.

When I hung my clothes in the closet of the apartment above my mom’s garage, I kept the hangers pointing left. In Edna this is the best way to hang them so that I can see the shirts, vests, and jackets from the front. Maybe everyone isn’t as OCD about the direction of their hangers, but I am. This is why it is so weird of me to leave the hangers the same direction in my new abode, even though they should be pointed the opposite way to view my shirts “properly.” I guess it has been an exit strategy. Subconsciously I’ve kept my shirts hung this way so that I could grab them in a heartbeat, hang them in Edna’s closet, and hit the road.

Edna got her worst leak yet!

The problem with this is that it has become apparent that maintaining Edna isn’t as practical when I’m not living in her. I let her insurance expire, and when I wanted to renew, my old insurance company (who had been bought out by Sam’s Club) said no(or rather, never responded after I sent in photos they requested). When we tried to take her out to Sh’Bang Festival, one of her brake calipers had rusted stuck and her wheel almost caught on fire on the highway. The list of maintenance has stayed the same, and none gets done. I almost killed the solar batteries from letting them run dry. The amount of effort it takes to maintain a moving home makes less and less sense when I’m stationary. Especially when I’m working towards building a new, stationary home. And all of this makes me sad.

Using tea ink to draw for The Tea Bus Factory Service Manual

When I built Edna, I always had in mind that she would become a cabin in the woods when she was too tired for the road. While she still has some life left, and I plan to not let her go too far to shit, this may be her destiny sooner rather than later. As for now, she is a guesthouse, office, and retreat. Occasionally I have had the honor to give people tours who have interest in the Free Tea Bus. She is also kind of like a museum.

As a way to honor Edna Lu, I’ve been spending time in the winters working on The Tea Bus Factory Service Manual: A Guide for Small-Scale, Mobile, Off-Grid, Low-Cost, DIY, Earth-Friendly, and Reclaimed Living Systems. Every winter I say I’m going to finish. This winter is the same – but this time I mean it!

*     *     *

Ally is stoked to have a “real” kitchen.

Making home. This has been a theme of being on tour. Whether it was making our own little home on the bus, or helping other people make home, this is what Ally and I did. This is probably one of the reasons we were so welcomed many of the places we stayed – because we helped people realize some of their home-making aspirations, whether it was helping in the garden, building structures, getting systems in place to accomplish tasks, preserving and fermenting food, etc. While roam-steading in Edna, we were able to feel like we were doing this enoughfor ourselves, but not quite to the level that we ultimately wanted. This is where making a stationary home started to take hold in our minds.

I get to expand my tool collection and channel my creativity into making useful things.

And now this is our path. We’ve created a temporary home above my mom’s garage – remodeling the space our first summer here with a bigger kitchen, salvaged wood floors, and plenty of space for one of the things I missed the most on the road – books. But still we seek the right place to be for long term. We have the opportunity to purchase the cabin next door that I grew up in. It’s funky, and was already made from lots of salvaged materials (in the 1970s). But, that would require a mortgage, and the things that I have purposely kept out of my life in order to be a little more free. We want community, with whom we share our gifts, and vice versa. We’re still waiting to find the place that makes us say f*ck yeah. Got any ideas?

“The Cabin” — one option for a home.

Solar trailer (as found in a field)

In the meantime, we’ve been slowly building our infrastructure and resources that can be moved to our ultimate homestead. In Fall of 2019 we purchased a 20’ flatbed trailer with a 3000W solar array that hydraulically deploys. It was a prototype that sat in a field for a decade and was starting to rust and grow green stuff. It’s been an ultimate reclamation project that has been perfect for a pandemic. Plus, it’s fully mobile, and can be plopped down wherever we make home for instantaneous off-grid energy (it’s powerful enough to run my welder!).

Big Red

I was also gifted a Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins turbo diesel truck, which I added a utility bed to. This has been an indispensible resource for hauling, fixing, building, work, etc. A longtime island friend, Patty, gave this truck to me knowing that it would carry on the legacy of her husband who passed away a decade ago. In return, I’ve been able to help Patty with many projects around her property. It’s been a fabulous example of non-calculated reciprocity. Many thanks, Patty!

I’ve also been doing some work-trade with some other folks here. I’ve been helping several people with handyman tasks in exchange for tools, materials, and hardware.

Freshly built “Dust Shack”

One of my biggest feelings of lack on the road was not having a shop, more tools, and a way to store larger amounts of reclaimed materials. I had all of this creative energy, but didn’t have the means to work on projects as much as I had liked. This is where being stationary I have found contentment. I built a reclaimed material storage quonset hut and gathered lots of roofing panels to store larger materials like wood, metal, windows, etc. In the garage downstairs, my mom has given me some space to cultivate what I call the Discard-Ware Store – a series of drawers and boxes that house endless fasteners, plumbing and electrical parts, hinges, hooks, and other hardware. It’s been my dream to create something like this. As of now, it’s primarily for our family unit, but as it grows, it becomes a resource for my intimate community, and eventually could grow into something for the larger community. Outside the garage I built The Dust Shack – a quonset hut where I can cut wood, grind metal, weld, and more.

The Dust Shack

Honestly, my happy place these days is downstairs sorting hardware, cleaning up and restoring old tools, and preparing for the soon-to-come days of building a permanent home. Perhaps it was all the time I spent in public interacting with thousands of strangers that has led me to be perfectly content sitting at a workbench being a hermit for much of my time.

And boy am I glad to be off the road during a pandemic. This newfound hermit mode has fit nicely into the apocalypse.

My hometown paper.

Part of my hermitage has been to divorce myself almost completely from posting on social media. This was an integral part of the Free Tea Bus. I liked to post for people to join us if they were nearby, to provide a place for people to follow along vicariously, and to get the message of sharing out into the world. During the early years, I thought that some level of recognition for the Tea Bus would help my mission, and get the information out to a wider audience. While this became true to some extent, I also realized that the message was diluted by social media, mini-documentaries, and articles. The profundity of experience could not be contained in a 3-minute video. While an overwhelming majority of comments were positive, I felt dismayed at the serious lack of grasp of what the Tea Bus was about by many commenters. This was everything from a disturbing attachment by trolls to my unibrow needing to be plucked to being saddened by the brainwashing that Adam Smith has had on our understanding of human nature and economics. I’m too sensitive of a person to read all the comments and not be affected by them.

This is why the first-hand experience of the Free Tea Bus will always hold the most impact for everyone involved (including me). Experiencing it in person was magical, transformative, and deep. Experiencing it online just scratched the surface.

(Pre-Covid) Brunch at our place!

This brings me to life now. I’ve been working towards bringing more magic into my life now as a sedentary human. I’ve tried not to get too used to the monotony of waking up in the same place every day, going to the same places during my week, working more for money, interacting with the same people regularly. While I know these things are normal for most people, I didn’t live this life for 13 years. And while I chose to leave that on purpose, perhaps I forgot some of the ins-and-outs of it all. I’ve been thinking a lot of how to cultivate more sharing in my stationary life. Gifts of time, hand-made items, and homegrown and homemade food have been on top of the list. It’s been interesting realizing that I need to focus this energy on the people with whom I am trying to build intimacy with, and not with every stranger I meet as so much of my life has been.

Spending time with the nephews.

I’ve been spending more time over the past few years giving and sharing with people who I care about, or who I am looking to deepen relationships with. Of course, radical sharing like the Free Tea Bus is awesome, but it isn’t quite in line with traditional human economy and may not have been sustainable for me in the long run. Having reciprocal relationships with those I care about has been very rewarding. I’ve taken a couple trips to see friends, family, and elders. Along the way, I’ve helped them lay a wood floor, build a huge fence, paint a shop, finish siding a chicken coop, and so much more. These people – my community – they are the ones whom I want to give my time to. Giving freely to everyone who passed by my doorstep was a test in radical sharing. Now is my test for focused sharing.

Ally’s favorite place is the forrest.

Along the same line, we have been trying to broaden our sense of community to include the land we live on and the creatures that inhabit it. There are a series of walking trails throughout the woods here. We walk them often, checking on the creek level, finding the berries that are in season, spreading edible mushroom spores – all while Ally’s cat Jezebel follows along. We tapped the maple tree outside our apartment and made almost a quart of syrup last year (yum!).

*     *     *

Building Edna Lu was an exercise in exiting the mainstream – utilizing systems and relationships to replace money. It took money, routine, and bending of moral values to get to a place of living closer to my moral framework. I had to go backwards in some ways in order to go forwards. I feel like I am back to that stage. I am living with grid power (although it’s supplemented with solar), in a larger space, and driving on fossil fuels. But this is the creative space. I get to design a home, living systems, a solar greenhouse, an off-grid power system, a shop, and more. I get to collect reclaimed materials, build relationships with people on a long-term basis, and meditate on the direction I am heading. This allows me to move forward, and I am thankful for it.

Ring in teapot.

Speaking of moving forward, in Summer of 2019, Ally and I headed to Sh’Bang Festival outside Bellngham, WA, where we had sparked some romance 7 years earlier. While there, Ally found a ring in the teapot, and I asked her to marry me in a way of our choosing. She said f*ck yeah! Our weeklong wedding campout was supposed to occur in September 2020, but was postponed due to Covid, and will likely take place in Summer of 2022. I cannot think of a better person to make a home and spend my days with.

She said “f*ck yeah!”

*     *     *

Chicken mama.

When the pandemic hit, it gave us a good kick in the rear. What was most important if things were really going to shit? Food and energy seemed to be top of the list. It was almost as if the things we wanted to be pursuing in regards to sustainability were the same things that were needed if the world was ending. I ordered the remaining parts needed for the solar trailer, and we got going on building a garden. I don’t have a lot of experience growing food, but Ally moved to the island initially 10 years ago to do just that. I was thankful to have her and my mom around to help guide the process of getting the garden together. We built a fence where the garden was when I was a kid, hauled compost, planted seeds, and my step-dad and I timber-framed some gateways. I really liked the systems and construction part of it all, and Ally really nurtured the plants. Complimenting all this was filling the old chicken coop from my childhood with chickens. Ally has become the chicken mama, and all 14 of them have names.

Early garden shot.

Mom, step-dad, grandma, and I

Family has been an important and interesting aspect of making home here. When we first arrived back on the island, Ally and I took on the duty of spending our days with Grandma, who needed 24-hour care due to being in the final stages of Alzheimer’s. She couldn’t talk, walk, eat on her own, or really much of anything. We spent much of the day with her at a care facility, helping her on the toilet, feeding her, changing her diapers, talking to her, taking her on walks, etc. She is one of the reasons why I have been able to do what I do. Her and my grandfather were crucial at helping my family flourish. She passed in Spring of 2018.

My mentor Ric, standing in front of his shop we later painted.

Things with my father on the other hand have been odd. As a child, one of my father’s primary ways of communicating was to belittle and make fun of. “It’s just a joke,” he would often say. It took a lot of work in the form of academic achievement and being “good” to get him to approve or give me words of affirmation. One of the realizations I’ve had since being back home is that a part of my tea tour was to put salve on this wound. Much of my journey was traveling around and receiving praise. While piling this all on from many strangers was a great cushion for the pain, it stopped once I stopped serving tea. I’ve had to face my wound, and in doing so just the acknowledgement of it has helped me release the need for approval from my father. I have had no approval from him in regards what I dedicated my life to for the past decade. And in part because he is the archetype of the profit-maximizer, which deprioritizing in myself and others has been one of the major themes of my past decade.

But all of this is okay because I’ve sought out mentors and teachers and elders who have been more fatherly than my own father. And for this I am extremely grateful. They support my ongoing growth as a human in directions that my own father doesn’t. They would give their all for my success, and I for them

*     *     *

Mason rides the Free Tea Bike

Oh! And I almost forgot – Edna and I had a baby! In 2019, I took a trip to Portland where I built a Free Tea Bike for Mountain Rose Herbs. Some friends and I had rallied a tricycle around Burning Man a decade ago, making people laugh and having fun. At some point we decided that trike would make a great free tea mobile, so when Mountain Rose Herbs asked me to build one, I couldn’t say no! I painted it the same colors as Edna, though reversed the body and trim colors, and used a lot of materials left over from Edna’s construction. In addition, I installed an electric hub, and wired in lights to the ebike battery. It was a dream come true. Mason from MRH and I christened it at the Mushroom Festival in Eugene, OR. They will use the bike around Eugene and for events.

Serving tea at The Mushroom Festival.

*     *     *

Things that have changed since leaving the road:

  • I drink more alcohol
  • I put on 5 lbs
  • I have more regular bowel movements
  • I own way more books
  • I drink less tea
  • Dumpster diving isn’t for food anymore – mostly for building materials
  • I visit the ER once/year now (never on the road)
  • Edna is lonely

And finally, check out this documentary from Independent Lens (PBS) that was finished when we were on the island.

Thank you so much to our community for sharing and supporting us in our journey, and now in our desire to make a (stationary) home. Maybe you know the perfect spot for us?

Next to my mom’s pond — where we stayed during our remodel.

Serving tea at the 100 year anniversary of the Lime Kiln lighthouse.

Ally helps out under the solar trailer.

Our garden.

Edna still sees some action sometimes.

The Free Tea Bike details…

Hauling the solar trailer home from Oregon.

The Free Tea Bike concept.

Setting up to serve tea at the Friday Harbor Farmers’ Market.

Edna in one of our rarer snow storms.

Somewhere over the rainbow…

Ally helps clean the solar panels.

Well, it used to be a potato farm — maybe thats why they are growing so well!

Jezebel likes Edna.

Posted in News, Video | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

North American Tea Tour Ends – San Juan Island, WA

Posted on December 28, 2018 by Guisepi

It’s only the end of one road.

First, let me say this: This is not the end of the Free Tea Bus. 

Guisepi and Edna at Teapot Rock in Sedona, AZ (photo: Ally Rugge)

This is the moment when I take the time to reflect on a dream I once had – a dream that I worked towards, with the help of many people, for many years, and just this month completed. This dream was to travel the country, from coast to coast, serving free tea to anyone and everyone as a way to cultivate community and inspire sharing. Often when we accomplish an idea or dream, we quickly move to the next one without taking adequate time to consider the impact. That is what this winter is for: reflecting on accomplishing a personal goal – the North American Free Tea Tour. 

During this journey, we spent 6 years traveling 45,000 miles from coast to coast, served 20,000 cups of free tea, and visited 34 states. 

Texas Tea Festival in Austin, TX

Nearly 11 years ago, I purchased a little empty yellow short school bus and named her Edna Lu. Even back then, I knew I was going to build her out and take her on a North American Tour. I had found this special thing in serving free tea that made people smile, inspired generosity, and helped fulfill my basic human needs for community and genuine human interactions. And I wanted to share this with the country!

Original Craig’s List photo and NOW!

Edna’s going away party on San Juan Island – March 20th, 2013

I figured it would take 2 years to build Edna out, and another year to travel the country. Whelp, it ended up taking 5 years to build her out (while simultaneously traveling the west coast and serving tea), and nearly 6 years to go from coast to coast. One of the greatest lessons in this has been that quality takes time. It takes time to build something from mostly reclaimed materials, tangled in a web of systems like water, solar, and waste vegetable oil, while learning most of the skills necessary along the way. I had to build relationships with people, find mentors, collect materials, ask questions, and learn things. Also, when your pocketbook is thin, and you can’t simply purchase your every need, relationships become the highest form of value. Quality relationships take time – another reason why slowness has come at every step of the way – especially when we were out in parts of the country where we knew no one!

As the tour departure date drew nearer, I realized that I should also expect to take more time out there on the road, so I announced our 2+ Year North American Tour. This tour began on the 5-year anniversary of buying the bus: March 20th, 2013.

Feature in The Western Front

Blues Recess 2013 – Placerville, CA

When I left, my plan was to have no plans, but I found that somehow I actually had to have more plans with no plan. When I was open to all possibilities, I would envision heading down this highway to that event, which meant I could go here. But if I did it this way, then I could go here, and loop back around for this event. It began to get too confusing, so I altered the modus operandi to: Make a plan or commitment to something down the road, but give plenty of time to get there. This way I would have the flexibility to do things on a whim and say yes to invitations. In general, I began giving Edna and I a day for every hour of driving (a 7-hour drive takes about a week). Of course, this isn’t simply 1 hour of driving every day, it’s perhaps driving for 3 hours, finding a town to serve some tea, get invited to an event or school or radio show, meet people, dig in, get involved, find some vegetable oil, and then move on. It’s been a great strategy.

Pacific Crest Trail near The Sierra Buttes, CA

The hardest part for me was to leave the West Coast, where I had been traveling for 7 or 8 years serving free tea. I had community and resources. It was scary to leave! For that reason, I stayed on the West Coast for the first year-and-a-half of the North American Tour. Finally, in September of 2014, we headed east into the Southwest.

As I was preparing for tour I was dating Ally. It was romantic and genuine, but when I left for tour, we waved good-bye. But not one week into tour, she surprised me in Bellingham. This began a stretch of wonderful short-term meetups. We’d travel together, sometimes with her van too, and then part ways for weeks or months. On the West Coast and in the Southwest, this was easy, as coming and going were such short distances (she was based mostly in Nevada City, CA). Finally, as Edna and I were preparing to leave Austin for Boston, I asked her to come with me on the 30-hour (30-day) journey. At that point, Ally came aboard for a full year-and-a-half and our romance blossomed into partnership. From then on, Ally became an integral part of the journey for the 4 to 12 months of the year she spent aboard Edna. For her support, I cannot thank her enough.

Ally, Guisepi, and Edna Lu in Colorado Springs, CO
(photo: Andres Romero)

The more time we spent off the west coast, the more I realized that the main premise of the Free Tea Bus was true – that relationships are the highest form of value. On the West Coast I knew where to park, where to find waste vegetable oil, where there were good dumpsters to dive, where I had community, where to get towed if I broke down, where to fill up water, where to find work (paid or not), and so much more. As we ventured out into the unknown, it became much more effort to get basic needs met. We were spending more and more time sharing, gifting, and building relationships with people, as well as more and more time exploring dumpsters, finding springs, and looking for resources. It became a lot of work!

Edna getting towed outside Asheville, NC

I realized how much more effective money is in places where you haven’t built relationships. 

The apex of this was when Edna’s transmission went out in North Carolina. I am forever grateful that this happened just 20 miles from my stepsister’s house, where we could get towed to. But at this point in the journey, we were scraping by financially. I tried to find shops to let me work-trade or participate in the rebuilding of the transmission. No luck. At this point I didn’t know what to do.

A guest fills out a Share Card for the Gift & Take in Philadelphia, PA

One of my personal obstacles has been in receiving. And this is from the beginning of serving tea. Back on Hollywood Boulevard, where I first started serving tea and food from my tailgate, my then newfound friend Geraldine forced me to confront this obstacle. When I turned down $5 for all the food I’d fed her, she asked, “How can you be so selfish to think that everyone else needs, and you can get the satisfaction of giving, but won’t accept anything in return.” And of course, this is traditional human economy – to practice non-calculated reciprocity with those we are willing to build or maintain a bond with. Still, over the years I’ve always been hesitant to receive. I’ve never accepted monetary tips or donations while serving tea, and I always get choked up when someone asks what I need (though traveling through the South, and how often people ask there, made me aware that it’s a good idea to have an answer). I’ve turned down thousands of dollars over the years, usually directing people to put it in the Gift & Take, which acts as a community bank (it’s fun to think about the Robin Hood element of this – encouraging those in excess to share with those in lack).

Why do I only envision myself as a giver?

For these reasons, I was hesitant to ask for financial help with the transmission. But one day I posted a photo on social media asking for help. In 36 hours, people gifted $3600 and I had to ask them to STOP! Every notification of donation I received in my email made me cry. These were people I hadn’t seen in years, family members, people from around the world who I had never met, folks who I’d only ever served tea to once, and close friends. The value of this experience was not only in the money people donated, but also in the bonds reinforced and how valued I felt in this project. I can’t thank people enough for this!

Money is truly a useful tool when you don’t have relationships, when you need to transfer value to a stranger, or to get an item from far away. While this was handy when Edna’s transmission failed, it also makes for a certain amount of disconnect between ourselves and the resources we use and consume (think: purchasing something from halfway around the world). This was a balancing point for me. The condemnation of money as a tool wasn’t right, even though I had some of that surface for me sometimes. Instead, it reinforced that relationships are the highest form of value, and that those relationships can be reciprocated and reinforced with all kinds of resources, services, time, and yes, even money.

On a similar note, being out there in the world, and doing paid work for people who I consider friends, I learned one very valuable thing: that highly calculated modern exchange is fine to do with friends, but that gifting still needs to occur in order to maintain the bond. I am so thankful to people like Gwen, Justin, Evan, Gil and others for helping me come to this, as well as practice it. 

Building a straw bale house in Terlingua, TX

In order to keep the bus afloat Edna and I built relationships, both with people as well as the resources we used and consumed. This meant gathering water, finding waste vegetable oil for fuel, dumpster-diving/work-trading/wild-harvesting food, collecting firewood, and more. For the $6,000-$8,000/year that Edna and I need, I fixed and built things like: a straw bale house in West Texas; installed solar on a double-decker eco-education bus; did all sort of small-scale salvaged building; installed a few wood stoves in tiny spaces; helped build a pole barn in Maine; was the lead builder for a small-scale, solar-powered, natural grocery, wood-fired bakery and kitchen in a food desert of West Virginia; and did a couple house deconstructions to salvage the materials in Texas and North Carolina. 

* * *

Some of the places I fell in love with were the places that I simply showed up, didn’t know anyone, thought I was only going to be for a few days, and got so sucked in by the community that I didn’t leave for a week or months! Some of these places are: 

Edna looks at the Chisos Mountains in Terlingua, TX

In these places, I found respite and community. In West Texas, I met folks who are somewhere between rejecting society, and society rejecting them. They live, and build, and play in the ways they want, outside many of the constructs of rest of the hubbub of the world. I cherished being among them, helping build a straw-bale house, making tea at the farmers’ market, and hanging out on the porch listening to music as the sun went down. Thanksgiving there was a show of generosity, and from that point on I felt welcome. I realized that I was one of them – tired of the way things are in the world, seeking a way to make a change.

Edna on the Blue Ridge Parkway

In Floyd, I was treated like family amongst homesteaders, herbalists, and builders. I helped butcher a deer, ate a Thanksgiving like no other, and was gifted so many preserved foods to continue on down the road with. In Athens, I met a friend who I suspect will be lifelong. She offered a place to park and take a break from the road so I could do some maintenance on the bus. She taught me how to throw teacups on her potter’s wheel, and I built her a day bed for her studio from reclaimed materials.

Common Ground Fair in Unity, ME

Other places too, captured my heart. Maine, where my grandfather is from, held us dearly. We visited family, served tea on the Appalachian Trail, discovered Liberty Tool, were impressed by community around the Blue Hill Peninsula, fell in love with Chewonki, and cherished the all-organic Common Ground Fair. We built a salvaged apothecary in a teashop in Portland in exchange for some new solar batteries.

We arrived Crested Butte, Colorado for the eclipse, getting sucked into the community. We camped in town next to a remodel I was working on while bears dug through trash cans. Quality free piles were in abundance (due to there not being a thrift store). We had our compost collected by a local composting business, and served tea every weekend at the farmers market.

Ruby Sue and Edna Lu outside Crested Butte, CO

Spring to Kettle – Davis, WV

All along the way, we sought out free freshwater springs that come out of the ground. Often they were found via findaspring.com, but sometimes they were found through word of mouth. My favorite water in the country comes out of the ground in Hot Springs, AR. This 4,000 year old water is more refreshing than any I’ve tasted. Other notables are: the secret spring outside Thomas, WV; the Lee Vining Spring on the backside of the Sierra Mountains (my favorite on the west coast); the Sandwich, MA spring; Bitney Springs in Nevada City, CA; Cold Springs Ranch in Crested Butte, CO; and the Devine Spring in Oklahoma. Good water makes good tea (don’t worry, it all gets filtered before serving).

Devine Spring in Oklahoma

Serving tea in The Bowery, NYC

I also truly loved visiting all the places that people thought the Free Tea Bus wouldn’t do too well. “People in New York City are too time and money focused. They wont like you there.” In Manhattan, we found the opposite to be true. Because there is almost nothing that is free, there is almost no public indoor space to exist without money or a time limit, people LOVED the Free Tea Bus. It was a meeting place for those of every kind. There was the “known drug addict and thief” (told to us by a bouncer), who you could tell felt more at home than he had in years because of the genuine human interactions. Or the high-finance guy who knows that his well-paying job moving numbers around doesn’t do anything productive for the world, who was overjoyed to find something that was non-monetary. 

Serving my 30,000th cuppa free tea in Tuscaloosa, AL

“Be careful in The South,” said almost everyone. The South, and especially the Deep South taught us the meaning of hospitality. Everywhere Edna and I went people shared food, places to park, and genuine human interactions on a dime (making eye contact in the South is grounds for a 2-hour conversation). To illustrate this, I spent only $50 on food in 3 months while traveling across the South (and half of that was taking my stepsister out to dinner). People shared their homemade food and wine, took me out to eat, and invited me over for a meal. Plus there were great natural food store dumpsters. The rest of the country has something to learn from Southern hospitality (granted, there are some ugly parts of the South as well, and I probably only experienced a small portion of them due to my skin color and sex). 

Rangers try to find the law we’re breaking, while a pastor thanks me with a hug in Ohio

Of course, there were hard times too. There was the guy in Asheville who was off his rocker on drugs and alcohol and extremely threatening, and the Rangers in Ohio who accosted us for “conducting business” in a National Park, the jerk cops at the DNC, and the drugged up dude in Athens who was being inappropriate with women, and the teashop owner in Arizona who was so threatened by our existence that he called the county health department on us. 

There are many lessons from this journey. And as I sat down to write them out here, I decided that many deserve more reflection. There have been lessons in serendipity, taking the less traveled path, the connections of people that string out across the country, and the beautiful scenery we accidentally stumbled onto. I hope to write these out in more detail in the coming months as the winter retreat moves forward. 

10-year tea party in San Diego, CA

This year was a particularly hard one for me. I got back to the west coast in the Spring just in time to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of the Tea Bus, and felt a great pressure release. I had made it back home! Immediately people began offering me places to park, work, and showing me amazing hospitality. I was living in abundance again! All of these people who are my community were excited to see me, and I was excited to see them. With all the depth, however, came the real life hard stuff too. When these people in my community have needed me, I’ve tried my hardest to be there. A lot of family and personal issues came up, redirecting my travels to be with loved ones. I served less tea than I was hoping, and skipped whole communities of people I was aiming to see. 

While I am so glad to have done this journey, and the overall effect has been marvelous, it honestly has felt like the North American Tea Tour has left me drained, and now I’m playing catch up with the people I care about, as well as myself. It’s hard work building new relationships all the time!

Edna arrives back on the Island for the first time in almost 6 years.


It’s been absolutely wonderful to be back “home” on San Juan Island, where I grew up. I’ve been serving some tea around at the Farmers’ Market, a birthday celebration, a music event, and a solstice gathering. The relationships that I have here are very meaningful for me, and the longest ones of my life. I feel nurtured by them, and I look forward to being here as a place to reenergize and reflect on the past 13 years of free tea. 

Edna outside Jerome, AZ

What’s next for Guisepi and the Free Tea Bus? Ally and I have been pondering the value of making a home — a place where we can stretch out and then take off on journeys. Out in the country, I felt a giant lack when it came to shop space. I need more access to tools and workspace to feel fulfilled. For Ally, not having a proper kitchen all the time led her to reduce her kitchen witchin’ and baking. For those reasons we’re considering a home base somewhere. I’ve also been considering keeping it mobile, and staying on the road. My whole identity in this world is wrapped up in being a nomadic free tea server, so it’s been a mind warp thinking about change. 

A big thing to note here: The end of the North American Tour does not mean the end of the Free Tea Bus. I traveled the west coast for 7 years serving free tea before the big Tour, building my community. While I’m not sure whats next, I will continue to nurture those relationships. 

Making tea at Santa Elena Canyon in Big Bend National Park, TX

Also, as many of you are asking about, I will be working on finishing The Tea Bus Factory Service Manual this winter. 

Tea Jars with donated teas from Mountain Rose Herbs and others. (photo: Hank Gaskill)

Of course, I couldn’t have done this tour without your support! So many of you have sent messages of love, gifted tea and other resources, offered showers and places to park. You’ve shared our adventures on social media to help us get out the word on sharing. Without you, our journey does not exist. THANK YOU!

I’d especially like to thank Mountain Rose Herbs, Organic India, WishGarden Herbs, and Dr. Bronner’s for your continued support in the realms of herbs, tea, soaps, and tinctures. I also want to shout out people who have given so much to us: Randall and Lisa in NC, Courtney and Owen and fam in Maine, Owen and Whitney in OR, Joe in Arcata, Perry in Arcata, Edward in LA, The Grimsleys in VA, Justin and Trevor in WV and West TX, Marcus and the farm in Longmont, CO, Bridget and Tierro, The Farmer & The Larder folks in GA, Michelle and Ryan, Jimi Hollywood, Ude in LA, Evan and The Ecology Center, Jodi and Earthroots and fam, Shade in Austin, Dick and Cathy in Maine, Billy in CT, Jon Watts and Megan in Philly, Kristen and Nate and Kylie in VA, Hostel in the Forest in GA, Quill in NJ, Colin and Alexandra in Brooklyn, Uncle Mark and Fam in Rochester, Sarah the Tea Lady in Portland, Case in ME, Ed and Abby in South Portland, Chewonki in ME, Abigail and the fam in AZ, The Rays in West TX, Gil in Hot Springs, Cindy and The Cosmic Shed, Ed Hose in Brunswick, Cricket in Athens, Josh in Arcata, Will and Laura in Denver, Frank in Austin, Nathan in Round Rock, Perry in Eureka, Dave and Lauren in Albuquerque, Dara in Taos, Matthew and Steph, The Big House in Atlanta, Lorna from Herbalista, Andres in Colorado Springs, Maestra Stuart in C Springs, Mason in Eugene, Ric and Joan in Coos Bay, and seriously soooooo many more. 

Thank you, everyone!

Check out more photo highlights below. 

Alabama Hills, CA

Skooliepalooza 2018 in Quartzsite, AZ

The Woody Guthrie Center in Tulsa, OK

Cold Springs Ranch outside Crested Butte, CO

#FoodIsFree founder John with a hacked sticker at Mother Earth News Fair in Asheville, NC

Sharing with students at Carolina Friends’ School in NC.

Beautiful and gloomy Ithaca, NY.

The Cosmic Shed in Henderson, TX.

Devon, Guisepi, and James Norwood Pratt at the Texas Tea Festival in Austin, TX.

Edna sneaks into the Balloon Fiesta on my birthday 2014 in Albuquerque, NM

Herb Folk Gathering 2014 in Mormon Lake, AZ

Abbot Kinney in Venice Beach, CA

Terra Vita Herbal Symposium 2014 in Laguna Beach, CA

Free Herbalism Project in Eugene, OR.

Camp Woolman outside Grass Valley, CA

Collecting WVO in Coos Bay, OR

10 Year Anniversary Tea Party in San Diego, CA

Durham, NC

McCarren Park in Brooklyn NY (with NYTimes writer and photographer)

Manhattan tea party

Posted in Uncategorized | 9 Comments

Summer Update – Arcata, CA

Posted on July 5, 2018 by Guisepi

Edna hangs in Nevada City, CA.

Well, our West Coast Tour has been shaken up a bit. After receiving news of a family emergency, Edna and I cruised on up to Arcata to be with family. This means that we probably wont be making it to the Bay Area/Sonoma/Mendocino this time around (sorry folks! It makes us sad too.). But hey, that’s what community is about. When relationships are the highest form of value, we take the time to care for the ones in our circle who are in need.

Read more about our journeys from south to north in California below.

Edna in the Sierra Mountains.

The best drinking water around – spring near Lee Vining, CA.

On our way North along highway 395, Edna and I had some wonderful adventures, even though I was still recovering from being sick. We took some epic roads, with switchbacks, 3000-foot elevation gains, and amazing scenery. Also along the way were plenty of great free campsites (see freecampsites.net). I had planned to stop at several hot springs along the way, but still being sick, I decided that it might not be a good idea. Just outside of Lee Vining/Mono Lake there is one of the best fresh water springs I’ve been to in my journeys. It has some of the tastiest and cleanest water (30 ppm), and I highly recommend stopping there on your way through.

The location of the spring water near Lee Vining, CA.

A free campsite along HWY 395.

In Markleeville, CA, we stopped in and gathered some WVO from a local bar/restaurant, and loved the transition from desert to forested mountains. When I pulled into town, my transmission acted a little funny. Then, as I continued on, it was shifting really weird. I checked the transmission fluid, and it seemed a little full. Over-full transmissions can get frothy, so I figured this is probably what it was, exacerbated by all the steep hills. When I pulled into South Lake Tahoe, I was hoping to let the transmission cool, so I could drain a touch of fluid off. (I later replaced the tachometer sensor, and all is good!).

As I was sitting in the bus in front of the natural food store, a truck pulled up and a fellow got out while staring at my roof rack. He began walking towards the bus when the look on his face turned from curiosity to recognition. “Hey, I know this bus. I saw a video on YouTube about you. Your bus is my favorite of all buses I’ve seen.” Adam was building his own bus just a few blocks away with his girlfriend, Dallas. He invited me over, and I needed a place to hang, so I said sure. And I’m glad I did.

Adam and Dallas’ reclaimed bus counter.

I was truly blown away by his and Dallas’ projects (under the name Onus Art Projects). They are artists and makers, and use a ton of reclaimed materials. They had sewn the old vinyl school bus seat covers into bags. Adam built their entire counter from a mix-match variety of salvaged wood of all colors – an inspiration from all the salvaged-woodworked heriloom-quality surfboards he makes. “When we have to go to the hardware store, first we go to the ski resort dumpster… and half the time we find what we need there. Just today I needed some plywood, and found three full sheets in the dumpster.” They were a couple after my own heart.

Bear attack! The screen a bear tore off Edna.

They invited me to stay at their place, which I did. They were excellent hosts, feeding me a couple meals and offering a place to park. It was truly a blessing. In the morning, I found that a bear had tried to break into Edna that night, although I didn’t hear it because I’m such a heavy sleeper. The bear had torn down the window screen just inches from my head as I slept. I always imagined that bears were more likely to try and steal my vegetable oil…

 

Ally’s surprise tea party.

I arrived three days early to Nevada City to surprise Ally. Immediately, I set up a tea party in the woods behind her parents’ house. It was a wonderful reunion after months apart for the winter. Ally arranged for Edna and I to serve tea at the Foothills Fusion Friday Night Dance in Grass Valley. It was wonderful to be back in a community as such. They truly appreciate the service of the Free Tea Bus, and show it with all sorts of hugs, invitations, and gratitude. Thank you!

Justin and Tzoul chat at the Foothills Fusion Dance.

In Nevada City, I was able to do some fun projects on my friend Gregory’s vintage Airstream-like Avion trailer. It needed some aluminum work to repair some damaged aluminum paneling, as well as some help designing and building a solar system. I was happy to oblige, and we had an excellent time working on the project. It was my first solar project with lithium batteries. 

Aluminum repair on Gregory’s Avion

Edna turns 200,000!

A trip up to Oregon with Ally (but without Edna) for my mom’s wedding and some visits with friends turn into a detour when we caught wind of some serious family stuff that was going on. We rerouted to Arcata, where I’ve been mostly since the news. I went back to Nevada City briefly to get Edna, and will likely be here in Humboldt until mid-August when we head into Oregon.

In Redding, Edna’s odometer rolled over to 00,000.0 miles. I think it’s 200,000 miles, but one can never be certain with a 5-digit odometer. I purchased her with (probably) about 122,000 miles in 2008, and average about 7,500 miles/year (half than the average car in America).

Serving tea at the Fairy Festival on the Arcata Plaza. Photo: Daruka Das

I was stoked to serve some tea at the Friday Night Market in Eureka, CA this past weekend, as well as the Fairy Festival on the Arcata Plaza. It’s the first time I’ve been able to serve tea right there on the plaza, because the organizer let us in. We parked the wrong way on a one-way, and opened up the side door to the plaza. It was so wonderful to get to reconnect with people here in a place that was so involved in the making of the Free Tea Bus. I served tea every Tuesday for two winters at the Arcata Plaza about 8 and 9 years ago. I built a lot of Edna in Eureka, and I also served tea at Arts Alive in Eureka on many occasions. I am looking forward to heading to this event this weekend! Come join us!

Mostly, I am simply happy to be here in Arcata with my brother. He’s been wonderful support to Edna and I over the years, and I am honored to get to be here with him to repay the love. I’m helping with things he needs, offering support, as well doing some projects on Edna and working on finishing the rough draft of the Tea Bus Factory Service Manual.

I hope to see you soon, Humboldt!

Guisepi + Edna

Support this project here. 

Gregory’s charge controller, breaker panel, and 12V fuse panel.

Gregory’s battery bank and inverter, hidden under his bed.

Fixing one of Edna’s window latch with VHB tape and an angle brace.

New and old friends in Grass Valley and the Foothills Fusion Dance.

Rebuilding the window screen after the bear attack.

Gregory’s solar system design.

It’s been a long road.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Announcing West Coast Tour – Spring Update – Alabama Hills, CA

Posted on May 2, 2018 by Guisepi

Recuperation at free BLM camping in the Alabama Hills off HWY 395 in CA.

Yes, y’all, you hear correctly! Edna and I will be spending this year serving free tea from San Diego, CA to the San Juan Islands, WA. Our kick off was Edna’s 10-year anniversary in Ocean Beach on the first day of Spring, and thus far we’ve spent time in Orange County and Los Angeles. And today, we started the journey up highway 395 through the backside of the Sierra Mountains. Joy!

Our rough tour:
May/June – Nevada City
July – Bay Area/Sonoma/Mendocino
August – Humboldt
Sept/Oct – Coos Bay, Eugene, Portland
Oct/Nov – Olympia, Seattle, San Juan Islands

This west coast tour is a journey of gratitude. Edna and I are revisiting communities that helped shape the Free Tea Bus – the communities that shared in many cups of tea. For 8 years I traveled the west coast serving tea, 6 of those years with Edna. During that time, these places that you live became our home, our community. Y’all shared resources, good food, and wonderful moments with us. You coddled the tea bus, allowing it to grow, and pushed us out of the west coast nest when we were ready to cross the land. The past 4 years has seen us in other parts of the country, from Maine to Texas, Georgia to Colorado… And in those places the main message of the Free Tea Bus was reinforced – relationships are the highest form of value! It was a lot of work building relationships everywhere we went. And now, we’re back to say thank you, and to maintain many of our old relationships through free cups of tea.

Once we get “home” to the San Juans, I will be taking the winter to reflect, and recuperate from years on the road. Changes are on the horizon, and I’m hoping for some clarity.

West coast! We look forward to spending time and sharing hot cuppas. Reach out, will ya?

*                                  *                                  *

Saying good bye to William and CC.

Our wagon circle in William’s yard – Blythe, CA

Our winter was a success. Edna and I got to spend a good amount of time in the Sonoran Desert writing. We parked in Blythe, CA in the yard of William, a retired schoolteacher, hermit, and nomadic enthusiast. It was nice to be received so wonderfully by William. He was full of wisdom and spirit, saying things like, “There is no such thing as death… only continuance.” He opened his house, his shop, and his heart to myself, as well as a rag tag crew of vehicle-dwellers who came to stay. Andi and Dorothy came in their step van. As did Seven and his step van. Tara of Fermentation on Wheels showed up with her 40-foot bus, and a filmmaker came with his RV. It was a spectacular community of people sharing food and spending time doing projects. Of course, I spent a bit of time with each of these people helping with solar and other projects.

Edna arrives Skoolipalooza.

This winter, we also spent time popping in and out of Quartzsite, which was only 22 miles from Blythe. In January, we went to Skooliepalooza – a campout for school bus conversions. We had a blast meeting all sort of other skoolies and serving up some free tea. Just up the road we attended the Rubber Tramp Rendezvous. Because of the whole #vanlife thing, the RTR had grown from 1000 people last year to 4000 people this year. We camped with seven step vans, all parked in a row, with Edna in the middle, where I strung out a parachute and created a central space for our camp, and to serve tea. During this event, Seven Grey (of Seven Wanders the World) had the grand opening of his step van free teahouse and travel book exchange. Seven contacted me one day on the internet a year or two back, expressing interest in living in a large van and serving free tea. I’ve been mentoring him since, and it was great to see him in a place where he could open his van to the world. Leading up to the opening, Andi and I busted out a second bench for him, and did what we could to make sure his opening was stress-free. It was a blast.

Step Van Row – Rubber Tramp Rendezvous ’18

Edna and I were also featured in a NYTimes article about the RTR called The Real Burning Man.

It was really interesting going to these two events geared towards nomads. In this particular community, I felt very well respected and even revered as someone who has spent 12-years full times on the road. As many of these folks are in the build process of their vehicles, people were also very interested in Edna for the fact that she is pretty much complete, with some wonderful systems. I actually had to start closing my doors during the day and “nap” for a couple house at RTR because there were too many visitors.

Even with all this commotion, I still made time to do a bit of writing in Blythe. I left with my rough draft of The Tea Bus Factory Service Manual 90% done. Whew!

On our way we took a side trip to the Sahara.

 

“The Last Free Place” — Slab City, CA

I made a stop at Salvation Mountain and Slab City, serving tea in East Jesus. In San Diego, I had a great time staying with old friends and serving tea at Windansea, where we gave out free cookies baked by my friend Malia, as well as (dumpster-dived) roses. It was a fun evening perched atop a seaside cliff, watching surfers, and sharing good company. Also in San Diego, we celebrated the 10-year anniversary of the Free Tea Bus!

Edna fits in at Salvation Mountain.

Serving tea at Windansea. Photo: Hank Gaskell

Edna and Road Trip.

For a month I worked my butt off. I spent weekdays at The Ecology Center in San Juan Capistrano, where I designed and installed an 800W solar system on a double decker eco-education mobile called Road Trip. On the weekend I was working on Evan and Kristen’s Sprinter van, which I helped lay a floor, insulate, wire, panel with wood, and install a solar system. It was non-stop hard work, but it was nice to put some money in the pocket. I really love this kind of work – especially when it’s not hourly pay (I don’t believe time is money), and when it’s for good people and good causes. All this work led me to retreat for 5 days up in Silverado Canyon on a nice piece of property owned by Earthroots Field School – a nature connection non-profit that I work for occasionally. I took some time to centrifuge some WVO, read a ton, and spend a day writing. Ahhhhh, nature!

Truk serving pozole from his truck!

Serving tea and pozole in Oceanside, CA.

In Oceanside I met up with Truk (remember him?), and his partner Mari. Truk is a free tea server, but perhaps finds his highest calling in sharing good food with people. In fact, that’s how him and Mari met – making food day in and day out at Standing Rock. He loves wild, native, organic and heirloom foods, and is known to make stoves from large flat rocks out in nature. I had met Truk years ago in Nevada City, where he climbed aboard the bus one night during a tea party and said, “This is exactly what I’ve been wanting to do!” It had been a while since I had seen him, so we decided to make free tea and pozole at Buccaneer Beach Park. The native corn in the pozole was grown by Mari’s family in Mexico, and it was delicious! Several of Mari’s family members showed up, as well as some friends, strangers, and even a couple folks from the internet (via Instagram and Facebook).

The Magic Foam Experience crew at Dr. Bronner’s

I was lucky to get to spend part of a day at the Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap headquarters in Vista – or more specifically at the Magic Foam Experience (MFE) warehouse. Dr. Bronner’s has been donating soaps to the Tea Bus for probably 8 years, so it was great to be able to give a little back. The MFE is Bronner’s way to activate and excite people with their mobile foaming fire truck and foam trailers, as well as all the sculptures and infrastructure they bring to Burning Man. They are staffed with some of the friendliest folks, who took me in like kin, shared so much with me, and had a wonderful tea party in Edna. I was lucky to have David Bronner aboard and chat soap and biodegradability. Thank you so much, to everyone there, especially AB.

Evan shows off Road Trip.

On Earth Day, I spent the day at The Ecology Center. I had first arrived at this permaculture learning center 4 years ago for the same event. I fell in love, was asked to do some work for them, and ended up there for 4 month fixing and building things. It felt nice to be back, to see some familiar faces, and catch up with all the good happenings. The day was a madhouse, however, with a almost consistent line out the door, and I served over 200 cups of iced tea. The only reason I could keep up was because some old friends pitched in to wash dishes, pour tea, find more cups, and pass out tea. It was good, but I was beat!

A magical evening of tunes and good peeps on Hollywood Blvd. Egon and Jon.

Northward! A quick stop to serve tea at free Yoga on the Bluff in Long Beach, and then visit some friend and family in Harbor City, Palos Verdes, Santa Monica and The Brewery near downtown LA. In Hollywood, I stopped where it all started – right there on the Boulevard. I had a packed evening connecting with old-time tea-sippers, and a steady stream of new faces. It was nice to be serving tea on Hollywood again!

Then onwards to Monrovia, where I arrived just in time to serve tea for their weekly Friday Night Festival. I had made some good connections here 4 years back, and it was good to reconnect. I had friends from other places I hadn’t seen in years show up as well. All the go, go, go had taken it’s toll, however, and midway through the night I started to feel like I was coming down with a cold. I passed off tea serving duties to some guests and ate some food, but by that point I had lost half my voice. By the time I packed up, I was pretty sick. I rarely get sick, and I’ve never gotten sick that fast.

Jake and Aimee, tea guests from 4 years ago.

 

A new deck for Robin.

I spent the past few days trying to take it easy in order to recover. Thankfully, my friend/teacher Ed and his wife Robin were wonderful hosts in Monrovia. I did manage to help Ed build a deck for Robin’s studio, which I was hoping to do more of with him. Ed was an early teacher of mine when I first bought the bus. He taught me how to weld, and helped me build the roof rack. He taught me about wood-working, materials, methods, and more. I always hope I can give back as much as I can to those who have shared so much, but I left Ed again today feeling like he shared so much with me again. Thank you Ed and Robin!

Now I barrel down the road, fumes smelling like French fries, moving quickly towards my Love, Ally. We’ve been apart since Christmas, and I’m eager to see her.

I hope to see you somewhere on the west coast!!!

G

Insulation, wiring, and the beginning of paneling the Sprinter.

Half the solar array on Road Trip. Flexible panels.

Evan and I are excited that we got the solar panel mounted!

Inside the Sprinter.

Building out the Sprinter.

Akenaton, from WAAAAYYYY back in the day in Arcata.

My mom’s high school friend Valenta came out to Hollywood Blvd.

Wood paneling, lights, and a fan in the Sprinter.

Batteries, charge controller, and amplifier for Evan and Kristen’s van.

The whole center is a skylight, so the solar array  had to go on the ends.

The battery compartment in Road Trip.

 

Posted in Events, Journeys, News, On the Street | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

10 Years of the Free Tea Bus – San Diego, CA

Posted on March 27, 2018 by Guisepi

Celebrating 10 years of Edna Lu, the Free Tea Bus in Ocean Beach, CA! Photo: Hank Gaskell

Yes, you read right. 10 years ago on the first day of Spring, I purchased a little, empty, yellow short bus. As I drove out the driveway, I asked the woman whom I purchased her from what her name was. She said her partner had been calling it “Eddy” because it was a Special Ed. bus. As the bus purred down the block, she seemed more feminine to me (or perhaps I just wanted a female travel companion) so I called her Special Edna, and she eventually became Edna Lu, the Free Tea Bus.

Original Craig’s List photo and NOW!

I knew from day one that the purpose of Edna was not only to be my home, but also to be a mobile free teahouse. I had started serving free tea a little over two years earlier on Hollywood Blvd. My big city loneliness had been squashed by these accidental non-monetary interactions. I had discovered something that fulfilled my deepest social and emotional basic needs – and ironically it was radical sharing. The bus was to be both a literal and figurative vehicle for this newfound passion of creating a non-monetary experience in order to cultivate genuine human interactions and community.

Original Craig’s List photo and NOW!

Legos, graph paper, and building forts in the woods as a kid helped my mind begin to wrap itself around the idea of building a bus, but it would take years of living on the road, being mentored by elders, and having a whole community of support that would create Edna Lu to where she is today.

Edna is now a radical example of small-scale, off-grid, low-cost, DIY, earth-friendly, and reclaimed living systems! In the past 10 years, she’s sipped mostly waste vegetable oil and biodiesel (only 5% of her fuel has been petroleum-based). She has a robust solar electric system that runs the fridge, lights, computer, and even the hot water tank once the batteries are full. Her hot water is also heated by waste engine heat from driving, as well as a biodiesel blend if need be. 99% of her wood, and 75% of her hardware is reclaimed. She’s got a tiny wood stove for heat, and an engine to bring her north or up in elevation to keep her cool. She has warm and cool zones for keeping ferments alive, and keeping food and herbs cool. Edna also has a decent enough kitchen to support my strong love for food. I get to ferment all kinds of krauts and kombucha and kefir, as well as cook, pressure-can, and sprout.

Original Craig’s List photo and NOW!

“Did you build all this yourself?” people often ask.

“I had many mentors and teachers, friends with good ideas, people who shared resources and skills with me. And the trees. Trees did most of the work. You know, photosynthesizing, building beneficial relationships with mycorrhizae – the hard part. But yes, it was mostly my hands.”

Ed helps level the bus for building the roof rack.

It was Ed in Los Angeles who taught me how to MIG weld, so we could build the roof rack. He also helped me plane and lay donated reclaimed Douglas fir for the floor. It was Ric in Coos Bay, OR who taught me how to TIG weld and machine metal so I could build my vegetable oil tanks. It was Joe in Eureka, CA who not only who let me work trade for shop space and access to tools and salvaged materials, but who also taught me a great deal about woodworking. It was the friends who let me park on their property, who let me pilfer their stash of materials, and who fed me food. It was Califa and her family in Sonoma County who let me set up shop in an abandoned house on their land. It was my brother Josh who I housesat for, and the resources that family share with one another. It was Jim, who mentored me in Hollywood, and got me a good paying job within the first few weeks of getting Edna, so I could start investing in my home. It was Paul, who answered so many mechanical questions and gave Edna some maintenance love. It was my mother, whose land and nurturing character I could always retreat to. It was all the strangers who came aboard and shared in the vision. It was Kyle, who’s sailboat-rigging expertise helped me rig the bed that lowers from the ceiling. It was Jorgan, who helped weld the interior bed support frame. It was Matthew, who gave enthusiastic support of building tiny living spaces, and shared a shop with many of us. It was Owen, fellow-bus builder, who shared adventures, passion, shop space, and so much more.

It was you!

Writing the new specials on the menus. Photo: Hank Gaskell

It was you, who has come aboard Edna and shared your stories and visions; who has supported the Free Tea Bus in places to park, food to eat, resources to share; who has been inspired to pay-it-forward. It is you who has helped cultivate community resilience through sharing. Edna and I are resilient because of you!

It is because of you, my community, that the Free Tea Bus has been rolling for MORE THAN 10 YEARS! Your support has allowed me to support you! It allows me to focus on being of service to people, rather than being of service to money. And that’s the point, the help create a world where money is not the most valuable thing in the world – relationships are. This is both relationships with people (family, community, etc.), as well as the resources we use and consume (real skills, knowledge, etc.). This is why I like to spend my days being of service to you. I love fixing your plumbing, installing your solar, oiling the creaking door, and building your necessity from reclaimed materials. For me, that’s the life – spending my days keeping things from the trash by putting them to use to help fulfill your basic needs, so that you can focus on more valuable things than money – family and community, creativity and mindfulness, building resilience through real skills and connection to basic needs and resources, and so much more.

*                                  *                                  *

Edna finally made it back to the Pacific Ocean! Photo: Megan Wu

When I spotted the Pacific Ocean, I began to cry. I was driving west down a residential street in Ocean Beach scoping spots for a potential 10-year anniversary tea party. It had been almost 4 years since Edna and I had been back to the west coast together. We traveled the west coast for more than 6 years serving free tea before starting a 2 (or More) Year North American Tour. That tour became 5 years on the first day of Spring this year. Being gone from our main community for so long had been a wild ride with ups and downs. We made it from Texas to Maine, Georgia to Colorado, West Virginia to North Carolina, New York City to Atlanta. And for much of this journey, my partner Ally was aboard to share in the adventure.

In these past 5 years, we’ve discovered that we were right: relationships are the highest form of value. It was hard to be away from the places we knew we could park, the dumpsters we could dive, the communities we knew we could integrate with, the paid work from people who appreciated our skills, and the people who love the tea bus. Quality relationships take time. We had built that community and connection to places over the 8 years we traveled the west serving free tea. It was hard to build deep meaningful relationships every single place we went. This is not to say that didn’t happen, but it usually took time. Some of the places we dug in became like home. And these are places I would feel super comfortable going back to. These places are West Virginia, Maine, North Carolina, West Texas, Georgia, and Colorado. These places embraced us, absorbed us, drank a ton of free tea, and offered so much more in return.

Free tea and roses! Photo: Megan Wu

There were hard times, however. In North Carolina Edna’s transmission went out. Because we were in an area where we hadn’t spent much time cultivating relationships, the only way to fix her was to pay someone a ton of money. And for this same reason, we hadn’t been in places where the little money we needed was flowing in easily. It was you, our community that supported the tea bus. The relationships we’d built in other places jumped in to support us. In 36 hours, y’all shared $3600 in gifts with us. Edna’s transmission is tougher than ever!

And now, we set foot and tire back on the West Coast – our old stomping grounds. From Hollywood Blvd. to Arts Alive in Eureka, CA to the Sierra Mountains to the San Juan Islands, we are so excited to share in warm rounds of hot tea, story-telling, and re-invigorating bonds with people we’ve been away from for so long.

*                                  *                                  *

Selecting a tea for the 10 year tea party. Photo: Hank Gaskell

Last Tuesday, March 20th, the first day of Spring, we arrived on the street in Ocean Beach, CA to celebrate 10 years of the Free Tea Bus. It was 10 years to the day that I purchased Edna right here in San Diego. With ease, Edna and I found a parking space right next to green grass, palm trees, lots of walking traffic, and the sound of lapping waves.

Uncle Paul and Aunt Wynne making new friends. Photo: Hank Gaskell

Bonding over the slackline. Photo: Hank Gaskell

I was joined by Malia, who was an old friend from up north, her boyfriend Hank, who was a new bro-mance, and some of their house-mates. We had dumpster dove 5 dozen roses a few nights before, so we set them out in a large bucket of water for people to take. Chris and Emily (Shaggy and Goldilocks), baked cookies in their own short bus to share with folks. We met them when they stumbled upon hot chai and pancakes from the Tea Bus on the Appalachian Trail in Maine as they were in the process of falling in love. Not too long after, they purchased their own short bus, and have been traveling in it for more than a year and a half. My aunt and uncle, whose house I slept in front of the first night I purchased Edna, came and spent time catching up and meeting tea guests. Several folks who had been following the tea bus on social media arrived and shared some time. A fellow van dweller shared some tea from his girlfriend. A slack line was set up, people basked in the evening sun, and good cheer was in the air.

Some guests even dressed up! Photo: Hank Gaskell

Free Tea for all! Photo: Hank Gaskell

A homeless man with a tattooed face came to tell us that the world was ending in 7 years. Only the Native Americans and the government knew. But he knew because he was part Native. At some point he showed me a fresh gaping wound on his dirty hand. It was from a rape in progress that he stopped the night before where the guy had drawn a knife. I urged him to clean it and bandage it. He refused, but eventually let me bring him some hydrogen peroxide to clean it. I spent time with him, and several other homeless folks. We chatted, shared stories, and had a few special moments of recognizing each other.

I also enjoyed watching all the other interactions happening. My aunt and uncle were meeting new folks. People were engaging over the slack line. The roses brought smiles. The cookies satiated taste buds and conversation.

Free Tea and cookies. Photo: Hank Gaskell

Free tea, cookies, and roses anyone?

By the end of the evening, I packed up the rugs, chairs and cushions. I washed the cups and swept the floor. When I closed the doors, I took a moment to reflect on the past 10 years. And I couldn’t help but get sentimental.

I wouldn’t have done it any other way.

Happy 10th Re-Birthday, Edna!

*                                  *                                  *

If you appreciate this journey, please consider visiting our Share Page for both monetary and non-monetary ways of supporting the Free Tea Bus.

See also 10 Years of Free Tea. 

Ocean Beach tea party! Photo: Megan Wu

Posted in Events, News, On the Street | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Winter Update – Writing Retreat! – Blythe, CA

Posted on January 13, 2018 by Guisepi

Welcome to AZ, where even the rest stops are beautiful.

We made it! To our winter retreat, that is. Edna Lu and I rolled into Blythe, CA just a couple days ago in perfect time to start our winter writing (finishing the Tea Bus Factory Service Manual – hopefully!). We’re parked at a new friend’s place, where we shouldn’t have too many distractions.

He Who Sips a Lot and his witchy partner Artemesia Mugwort serve tea to families on the streets of Manitou Springs, CO for Halloween.

Colorado was swell this Fall. On Halloween, we dressed as a witch and a wizard and served tea to unsuspecting passersby in downtown Manitou Springs. In Colorado Springs, I stopped at my alma mater, Colorado College, to serve some tea and give a talk. The Tea Bus was well received, and many students stopped in for tea. The talk went well, and it was a wonderful opportunity to create an hour-long talk on the Free Tea Bus and Relationship-Based Economy. I’ve needed this practice, and I think it went fairly well. My favorite part of visiting CC was meeting Dan, who runs the woodshop at CC. If only I had been interested in such things in college, and had met Dan, I think I would’ve had a good friend and mentor. We spent hours chatting, walking around campus, and hanging in the shop. Thanks, Frances for introducing us!

Banner in Worner Center at Colorad College.

Homework about myself and Edna from Maestra Stuarts class. P. 1

Also in Colorado Springs, Ally, Edna and I were invited to spend the day at Horizon Middle School with six Spanish classes. Our arrival had been preceded by Maestra Stuart using the Tea Bus’ story as a way to teach vocabulary (words like free, travel, worth, etc.). Each student drew a storyboard of my journey. And finally Maestra Stuart showed them a YouTube video of the Free Tea Bus. They were blown away that such a thing really existed. When we arrived, I felt like a movie star. Students were coming up to me and shaking my hand, and knew my name. They all wanted to interact. Students were giggling in the hall, pointing and whispering my name. It was quite comical. 

P. 2

It was a long, but very rewarding day. Each period started with me telling the origins of the Free Tea Party story, from being lonely in a big city to finding community through non-monetary interactions on Hollywood Blvd. Then Ally and I would answer questions, and finally we would surprise the students by telling them that they got to come out and see the Free Tea Bus. Ally would take half the students inside the bus to let them explore, and I would take half the class outside to show them the systems, like solar, waste vegetable oil, and more. 

Spending our day talking to kids about the value of relationships at Horizon Middle School.

The main message for the day was: Despite what we’ve been taught, money is not the most valuable thing in the world – relationships are, both with people, as well as the resources we use and consume. Even the principle and superintendent enjoyed our presentation one period. What a rewarding day! Thanks, Maestra Stuart for having us! 

That evening we went into Old Colorado City for the monthly Artwalk. It was slow, but the interactions were superb. Even a student fram the middle school brought her family out. I loved interacting with her father who was a tinkerer and builder, and salvaged a lot of stuff from working on a nearby military base.           

The Walden tiny house at the Denver Int’l Film Fest.

In Denver, we met up with our friend Laura Goldhamer (an ex-WVO-short-bus-owner, and old friend). She asked Ally and I if we could tow one of her tiny houses across Denver to the Denver International Film Festival. This particular tiny house was a prop for a film she was very involved in called Walden. As I was hooking up the tiny house, I noticed that the axle was shaped like a smile – sketchy! Nevertheless, Edna towed her fine across Denver, where she had a parking spot waiting in front of the red carpet. It was fun having Edna in the mix. It was a sight to see! We also pulled around the corner to the after party and served tea with the tiny house attached all evening.

Will and Laura’s tiny house/bus-stead.

Laura’s place is a tiny house and bus haven. She has two tiny houses there, and Will, who owns the main house has his band Trout Steak Revival’s tour bus there as well. Will was the kindest host, and one of the sweetest most genuine people I have ever met. We shared in food, tea, and most precious of all, time. It was refreshing as always to land with people who are ready and willing to be in community.

Salvaged cedar fence paneling in Gwen’s bus.

Gwen’s shower I finished.

The skylight in Gwen’s shower.

 

Back in Longmont, I got to work finishing up Gwen’s bus. I finished the pop-up with salvaged cedar fencing, complete with laminated arched window trim and dimmable LEDs with wire cages. In the bathroom I installed corrugated metal and more cedar. All of this on top of the previous wood stove install, propane heater install, and other various projects.

Edna at the Beloved Community Tiny Home Village in Denver, CO

Laura sings a tune at the Beloved Community Tiny Home Village.

I dropped Ally at the train station in Denver in mid-November. Often our goodbyes are for months, but this one wasn’t the hardest since we knew we’d be seeing each other in a month for the holidays. I immediately drove on down to the Beloved Community Tiny Home Village to make some tea. Laura had connections there, so we got the gate opened and pulled right in to the community. I opened up the doors and spent much of the afternoon hanging with several (previously) homeless folks. The tiny house concept to house people in need seemed to work so well here (with the exception of the city making them move 100 feet across the alley). Laura brought her guitar and sang some tunes, and I got a tour of a tiny house.

In Denver, I also met up with alternative living space filmmaker Dylan Magaster, who shot a video tour of the Free Tea Bus. Watch it here:

Sunset on the road in Colorado. (no filter)

Centrifuging waste vegetable oil at the site of rate Ludlow Massacre on Thanksgiving.

I drove south into the unknown. I didn’t know where I’d be spending the winter. I only knew I needed to go south, as the nights were getting colder. I tried Colorado Springs, but after a short stint I kept moving. On Thanksgiving Day, I spent the day centrifuging vegetable oil at the site of the Ludlow Massacre, trying to give thanks the working people who stood up to poor working conditions. The oil I had received from a kind bar owner in Colorado Springs who not only gave me waste oil, but invited all his friends out to the bus, and baked me a pizza.

Serving tea at Meow Wolf.

In Santa Fe, I took the advice on visiting Meow Wolf – a fantastic creative endeavor that no words can describe. I was told to go setup out front by an artist and musician I’d met in Denver. I had a wonderful tea party out front the day after Thankgiving. But boy was it busy! The line to get in Meow Wolf was around the block. I had lots of out-of-towners, as well as locals and people who worked at Meow Wolf. The security guy loved the tea bus and even came over to give me two tickets to go in. Everything was swell until a woman came up and started complimenting the bus and me. “Wow, what a great rig. And a cool project… buuuuut, word has come down form the ‘higher-ups’ that we’re going to have to ask you to stop doing this.” I named dropped the artist/musician that told me setup there, but it wasn’t enough. Alas, the security guard brought me and a new friend to the front of the line and let us into Meow Wolf. And what a wonderful experience. To describe it in words would do it an injustice, but I’ll try. Imagine if you gave an old warehouse/bowling alley to a bunch of creative artists, funded them really well, and they created an interactive experience of mystery, art, carpentry, tricks, music, and so much more. Go check it out… trust me.

New Mexico sunrise.

In Albuquerque, I met up with a small-scale biodiesel producer. I’d been through about 3 years ago, and then he charged me full rate for bio, as well as a small sum for WVO (the only time I ever paid for WVO). This time, he had been following Edna’s journey, and he hooked us up with $1/gallon biodiesel and 50 gallons of WVO for free! Thanks, Nate!

Southward. Onward. To Truth or Consequences, NM. I awoke at Walmart and Edna wouldn’t start. She wouldn’t even turn over. Click. I’d been having this issue occasionally. Usually if I simply tried a few times, she’d turn over and fire up. This time, not so much. Finally, after 100 tries she started. I decided it was time to replace the starter. I drove around town, purchasing a starter, always afraid to turn off the engine.

As I was looking for an RV dump site to dump and fill my water, I pulled down the wrong street. Looking confused, I was approached by Punk, an ex-police officer and truck driver. He asked what I was looking for, and what I needed. I told him about the RV dump, and he gave me directions. Anything else? “Well, I’m looking for a place to replace my starter.” Punk invited me to park in front of his house to do the job, as well as took me out to some good local Mexican food. I stayed the night and lay under Edna for a couple hours the next day pulling out the starter. Ever once and a while Punk would come and lay on the ground in front of Edna in order to have a conversation with me. He was super kind and a great conversationalist. What I really liked about him was that you couldn’t tell his politics from anything he said. With so much weight surrounding political conversations these days, it was nice to just talk human things.

Centrifuging vegetable oil in Gila National Forest on the way to Silver City, NM.

Edna’s new starter!

Once the starter was installed, Edna turned over in a beautiful, quiet whizzing sound that was so satisfying. She’s never started so good since I bought her. I thanked Punk, and moved on down the road towards Silver City. In the forest, along a river, I spent a few hours centrifuging vegetable oil. The curvy mountain highway was a pleasure to drive, and Edna did fine. This was nothing compared to the mountain passes this summer in Colorado.

That day, I started to feel sick, as I explored City of Rocks – an amazing state park and campground, where you can camp amongst the pillars of rocks. I pulled into a rest stop just down the road to sleep and it really began to kick in. I think it was the musical mushrooms I was playing at Meow Wolf. I meant to wash my hands before I snacked on cheese and crackers, but I forgot until after eating a couple. I rarely get sick, maybe once every couple years. But when it does happen, it puts me out. Luckily I was near Faywood. Hot Springs, so I spent a whole day becoming the tea bag, steeping myself, and trying to sweat the cold out of me. I interspersed hot soaks with naps and movies. And finally I went back to the rest stop to sleep.

City of Rocks, NM.

The next week and a half was a whirlwind of feeling too sick to serve tea, and trying to recuperate. I wanted to interact with the community in Silver City, as they seemed like my kind of folks, but I kept moving. I stopped briefly in Benson to meet a friend of a friend, and kept on down the road to Tucson. I stayed at my dear friend Abigail’s place out in saguaro cactus lands. She took good care of me as I lounged and took it easy. It was nice to be able to land at a place where I could simply be and rest.

Accidentally driving through Saguaro National Park.

The welcome sign at Renee’s in Phoenix.

In Phoenix, I parked Edna for three weeks in order catch a train west to see Ally and the family for the holidays. It was a nice break from the road. Back in Phoenix, it was my pleasure to spend some time with Renee, who’s house Edna had been living at. She was a tea drinker, and loved the tea bus for the fact that it brings diverse people together to interact. The thing I loved most about her was the she was a Trump voter, and she blew the stereotypes out of the water. These kinds of interactions are some of my favorite. I was very thankful for the spot to park Edna so I offered to help tile her daughter’s bedroom. Luckily a step-van dweller, Andi, who I had been consulting with solar stuff had just showed up in town with his wife Dorothy. He had remodeled bathrooms for 10 years of his life, and I had never laid a tile. He stepped it up with me, and we busted out the room in a day. All the while, Renee fed us great homemade food and tea and desserts. It made me dream more about my fantasies of helping people fix and build and get their basic needs met with a traveling free/gifting handyman service.

Two vans meet just before the Phoenix First Friday Artwalk.

Selfie at the Phoenix First Friday Artwalk.

At First Friday Artwalk in Phoenix, I serve what may be a record amount of tea. Over the course of 8 hours, I served 15 gallons of tea (about 300 cups) and had a line for most of the evening. It was a wonderful welcome to this big city. Some local tea people showed up for fun, and eventually served some tea out front of Edna on the rug. I nearly ran out of the 60 or so mugs that I keep around for tea. Even though I was busy as a bee, I got some great conversations in, and many, many people were able to connect and interact. What a wonderful night!

Meeting up with Seven! Wagon circle with Andi and Dorothy’s step van too!

In Phoenix, along with meeting up with Andy and Dorothy, we met up with Seven, who also has a step van. Andy and Dorothy had been following Seven’s YouTube channel, so we all become good friends and a sort of caravan. In Quartzsite, we all met up at SkooliePalooza, and next we meet up again at the Rubber Tramp Rendezvous (blog entry on both to come).

Now, I sit in Edna in the yard of William in Blythe, CA. William has opened up his space for me to park, as well as use some of the facilities. He’s a generous old-timer and ex-teacher with a fascination of vehicle dwelling and bicycles. His open mind has made our interactions great, and I look forward to getting to know him better as I spend the next 2 months writing in this area. I may take some voyages out to the desert, as well as to Quartzsite, which is just 22 miles down the road. Quartzsite is the largest gathering of nomadic people in North America (1-2 million people over the winter months). Most of these people are retired RVers, but many are van and skoolie dwellers, hitchhikers, and more. There’s flea markets, gems and minerals, overstock food tents, RVs for sale, and gatherings for everything from retired RVer singles meetups to school bus conversions to nudist camping. It’s an amazing place to junk around, meet people from all over the country, and find your traveling tribe.

I look forward to being in this area in order to complete The Tea Bus Factory Service Manual: A Guide to Small-Scale, Mobile, Off-Grid, Low-Cost, DIY, Earth-Friendly, and Reclaimed (SMOLDER) Living Systems. This will be a free PDF download, so as to be accessible to all.

MANY THANKS TO: Zita, Niki, and Frances at Colorado College for helping me get on campus; Dan at the CC shop, Maestra Stuart, Andres and family in C Springs; Andres in C Springs; Laura Goldhamer for being one of my favorite people in the world; Will for his kindness and hospitality; Gwen, for excellent work and community; Marcus and fam at the farm; Beloved Tiny House Community; Dylan for the great video; all the WVO sharers; Heidi and Andre in Santa Fe; Michael Combs, Nate Dog in ABQ; Punk in T or C; Evin in Silver City; Abigail in Tucson; Daniel G. for good catching up and a meal in Phoenix; Greg in Phoenix; Renee and Emily for being EXCELLENT hosts and sharers; Ashley and all the Phoenix tea peeps; Andi and Dorothy; Seven; William in Blythe; and the two dozen other people I forgot! 

Posted in Events, Mechanical, News, On the Street | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Seeking Winter Writing Retreat – Southwest United States

Posted on October 29, 2017 by Guisepi

Edna needs some R&R time.

Edna needs some R&R time.

Hello, my community! Edna Lu (the Free Tea Bus) and I are looking for a place in the SW to hunker in for a few months this winter to finish writing The Tea Bus Factory Service Manual. As many of you know, I’ve been working on this book for a few years. I’m currently about 3/4th of the way done writing, and I need a place to finish it!

About a retreat space: So many places I go, I feel a great sense of wanting to reciprocate and help out (usually by fixing and building things). I need a place now to help my community in a different way: by finishing writing a free book that empowers people.

Necessities in a retreat space:

–       Space – I need to be able to hunker with little distraction. Mostly, I simply need a semi-level place to park Edna without lots of shade (need solar power to run my computer).
–       Nearby access to real food – Preferably 1 hour or less of a drive to a town that has real (organic/local) food.
–       WiFi and/or Verizon 4G data service. I need these things for research. I’d be open to not having these things onsite if it were easy to bike or walk to them.
–       Warmer nights (in the 40s+) or, if not, access to firewood (I’m pretty good at finding wood, whether in the forest, scrap, pallets, etc.).

Bonuses in a retreat space:
–       Access to a shower and toilet.
–       Access to water for filling my water tank.
–       Access to soil/plants to dump my greywater tank on.
–       Nearby town where I can serve up some free tea once every week or two.

Extreme bonuses:
–       Food provided.
–       Access to a workshop for a few small bus projects.

Time and location of retreat space:
I’m open to anywhere in the Southwest United States, and potentially even northern Mexico (Baja?). Sorry Texas, I can’t make it this time around. Currently, I’m in Colorado and plan on heading south in late November. Temperatures seem most welcoming in southern Arizona, and even southeast California (Slab City?). I’ve been looking at some free campsites about 45 minutes outside Phoenix, as well as some spots outside Tucson. I’d rather not be in the mountains due to cold, but I could be open to it with proper access to firewood.

About the book:
The Tea Bus Factory Service manual is a guide for small-scale, mobile, off-grid, low-cost, DIY, earth-friendly, and reclaimed living systems that uses Edna Lu, the Free Tea Bus as an example. Some of the systems and topics included are: water and plumbing, electricity and solar, WVO and biodiesel, coolant and utilizing waste engine heat, healthier options, reclaiming materials of all sorts and using them, and some of the philosophical ideas that guide these physical manifestations. One of the main aims of this book is to empower people with their own projects like tiny houses, vehicle conversions, off-grid cabins, and more. When people are able to live a more connected life to the things that make them live, they can focus less on “making a living” and more on things that are important to them. The book will be available to all for free as a PDF download, however I may eventually make a donation-based print version.

Thanks for taking the time to consider if you have a space, or know someone who does. Please share this post with people who you think may be able to help.

Thank you in advance!

Guisepi (and Edna Lu, the Free Tea Bus)

Posted in Uncategorized | 12 Comments

Autumn Update – Longmont, CO

Posted on October 26, 2017 by Guisepi

It seems like winter came and went already here in CO.

It seems like winter came and went already here in CO.

Edna at Gil's place in Hot Springs, AR

Edna at Gil’s place in Hot Springs, AR

Wow, it’s been quite a while, my friends! After a few months on the West Coast without Edna Lu the teabus, Ally and I got back on a train to Arkansas, where we hunkered in for more writing and bus projects. It was so so so nice to be hosted by Gil once again on his amazing property surrounded by Hot Springs National Park. We had our own little cabin and place to be. In exchange we shared food, stories, and did some work around the property. Gil said, “Rent is pages written.” It means a lot to both Ally and I to have someone like Gil to support our creative endeavors. This time allowed me to dig a little deeper in The Tea Bus Factory Service Manual (I’m about 3/4th of the way done writing), and Ally to work on finishing her novel. We also got to serve some tea at the Gallery Walk downtown Hot Springs a couple times, as well as at a café called Red Light Roastery, alongside live music. One of the simplest and best pleasures of being in Hot Springs, AR are all the wonderful city-maintained free springs. The water is SO good!

Geeky Stuff (scroll past italics, if needed):

Refinishing the floor and re-plumbing the fresh water outlet.

Refinishing the floor and re-plumbing the fresh water outlet.

In Arkansas, Edna’s floor got refinished, I un-mounted both WVO tanks for cleaning, and ended up having to replace the seals for the access panels (with Viton), I replaced the front brake lines, re-plumbed the fresh water outlet (in order to have the water draw from the curb side of the tank), and started making a new capacitance humidity probe for testing WVO for water content. I also worked on her back door and storage area, which I rebuilt with a fold down workspace in order to be more accommodating for my tools and working on small projects. I took the bed out and refinished it as well. I also put a new air pump on the dirty WVO tank for forcing moist air out of the tank when centrifuging. One of the last things I did was install an old heat exchanger on my clean WVO system right where it exits the tank. And thank goodness I did – it boosted my pressure and temps dramatically (both issues I had been fighting for the past year).

Refinishing the floor with Osmo Polyx Oil

Refinishing the floor with Osmo Polyx Oil

Dropping and cleaning the clean WVO tank.

Dropping and cleaning the clean WVO tank.

The new fold down tool storage unit.

The new fold down tool storage unit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leaving Arkansas was sad, and it felt like it might be a long, hot, humid drive to CO.  We were fortunate to leave in a cool spell, which kept us from being worn out. In Tulsa, OK, we spent time at the Woody Guthrie Center, did free yoga and showered on the splash pad on the Guthrie Green, attended a peace rally in response to Charlottesville, and had an all around swell time.

Woody

Edna at the Woody Guthrie Center in Tulsa, OK

DeVine Family free spring in Oklahoma.

DeVine Family free spring in Oklahoma.

In Waldron, KS, a town of 30 people, we visited our friends Sage and Aera (We Dream Dawn), shared in food (like their amazing grass-fed beef), and swam in a lake in Oklahoma. Sage let us pump 30 gallons of WVO from a nicely settled drum at his place. All this while surrounded by beautiful sunsets and old school buses. We left with a tenor banjo as a gift from Sage to Ally, in response to her inspiration from the Woody Guthrie Center. Nearby we gathered some fine spring water.

Sage and Aera's place in Waldron, KS. Busland!

Sage and Aera’s place in Waldron, KS. Busland!

IMG_7188

Welcome to Colorado!

We arrived Colorado almost two months after we were initially expecting. We immediately drove to Crestone to see Frank and Elena (and her kids). Frank is one of my mentors and teachers. I helped him build a straw bale house in Terlingua a couple winters ago. Recently, he bought 3 acres a couple blocks from downtown Crestone. We met up on his land for a wagon circle – his airstream and our bus – alongside a nice creek, under the shadow of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. What a magical place. Frank and Elena’s band, Paper Moonshiners, played while we were in town, as well as my old friend Laura Goldhamer. It was so nice to connect with old friends. We connected with one of the owners of the local grocery, café and music venue, named Benji. He started with a small teashop, and is all about cultivating community. Needless to say, he was extremely inviting, open, and was stoked to have the Free Tea Bus parked outside his place on a couple occasions, serving tea. Small towns like Crestone benefit so greatly from folks like Benji.

We also served tea at the Saturday Market right in downtown, where we met some great locals. I randomly met the brewmaster from Crestone Brewing Co. one day, who offered me 30 gallons of WVO without even asking. We were really enjoying being back in the land of the West where more people simply “get” the tea bus, where I began running into people I’ve served tea to before, where it was getting easier to simply be!

IMG_7198 (1)

Driving from Crestone to Crested Butte, CO.

IMG_7208

Mister Tinkerman’s Pinhole Beer Box Eclipse Viewer™

Down the road at Rainbow Park in Crested Butte, we arrived just in time for the eclipse. Because everyone else in the world had eclipse glasses, Ally and I became a hit with the head-mounted pinhole-camera style viewer I built from a beer box, along with our colander that projected dozens of eclipses. This sparked a fun run of interactions with strangers (even without serving tea – imagine that!), which led me across the street to a remodel, where I ended up getting hired.

The next week we camped in the mountains with friends Amanda and Colin from the PNW (home) and their VW Vanagon. Hiking, wild-harvesting, cooking on campfires, and more. One Friday we ventured into downtown Crested Butte and had an impromptu tea party on the street. It was bustling and fun, with college students from nearby Gunnison, locals, and tourists from around the country.

Wagon circle in the mountains with Ruby Sue

Ruby Sue and Edna Lu: Wagon circle in the mountains

Atop the mountains outside Crested Butte

Atop the mountains outside Crested Butte

The remodel in Crested Butte.

The remodel in Crested Butte.

For three weeks I labored away on the remodel across from Rainbow Park. It was an ideal situation. I was mostly making window trim with salvaged wood and installing recycled siding – all on a house that was being retrofitted for energy efficiency (with a layer of rock wool on the exterior), and solar panels on the roofs… not to mention the already amazing passive solar kitchen and living room. My co-workers were great guys, and we cruised steadily along ahead of schedule. Edna was parked along the street right next to the jobsite. Across the street was a bathroom at the park. Ally was able to be in our home, ride my bike around town, and hang out at the creek nearby. We were invited to serve tea at the Farmers’ Market for a couple weekends, where we also met a wonderful woman, Roxana, who, along with her family, opened their home to us for showering, just a half block from the jobsite. It was so great getting to know all of them.

Job site with a view of Mount Crested Butte and Rainbow Park.

Job site with a view of Mount Crested Butte and Rainbow Park.

Cash, Roxana, and Paloma picking in Edna.

Cash, Roxana, and Paloma picking in Edna.

Serving tea t the Crested Butte Farmers' Market

Serving tea at the Crested Butte Farmers’ Market

At the Farmers’ Market, I was able to share lots of free tea, right there amongst all the booths. Also, at Rainbow Park we had a tea party at a wedding/reception (“We didn’t crash the wedding… Your wedding crashed our tea party!”). It was an awesome experience, as many of the folks in attendance were excited to come aboard and have conversations. Good peeps!

Instagram Post: This is Colby and Buzz. They came aboard the Free Tea Bus last Sunday at the Crested Butte Farmers' Market. They were curious about free tea, and I told them, "Some of your teachers or parents may not like that I say this, but I'm here to say that despite what we've been taught, money is not the most valuable thing in the world - relationships are." Their basic human instincts for Reciprocal Altruism kicked in when they came back later with gifts of a peach and an apple. One of their moms, who was on the bus, later wrote in an email to me, "Who knew two eight year old boys would enjoy a cup of tea and conversation?" These are the kinds of genuine human interactions that I love about the tea bus. They inspire, bring out deep human instincts like sharing, and shift culture.

Instagram Post: This is Colby and Buzz. They came aboard the Free Tea Bus last Sunday at the Crested Butte Farmers’ Market. They were curious about free tea, and I told them, “Some of your teachers or parents may not like that I say this, but I’m here to say that despite what we’ve been taught, money is not the most valuable thing in the world – relationships are.”
Their basic human instincts for Reciprocal Altruism kicked in when they came back later with gifts of a peach and an apple.
One of their moms, who was on the bus, later wrote in an email to me, “Who knew two eight year old boys would enjoy a cup of tea and conversation?”
These are the kinds of genuine human interactions that I love about the tea bus. They inspire, bring out deep human instincts like sharing, and shift culture.

Joe from Permanent Roadtrip

Joe from Permanent Roadtrip

 

During our time near Rainbow Park, I stumbled out of the bathroom one morning to a double-sliding-door Sprinter van that I recognized. “Hey, I saw a video about you guys,” I said. It turns out that Emilie went to school with our dear friend, Lisa, who had sent me a video about her and her partner Joe. They had quit their jobs, downsized, and are traveling the country with their dog camping, riding mountain bikes, and adventuring. After spending 4 days with us, sharing meals, and pretty much in a generosity battle, they left telling us that this was the longest they had been in one place since they started their journey 8 months prior. It felt good to help them slow down. Join them at Permanent Roadtrip (Instagram, Facebook, website).

Spring water outside Crested Butte!

Spring water outside Crested Butte!

On our way out of Crested Butte, we stopped once again at a family owned natural spring at Cold Spring Ranch, which flowed with delicious water.

Set up at Festival of the Muses, next to the Kasbah Boutique wagon.

Set up at Festival of the Muses, next to the Kasbah Boutique wagon.

Back near Crestone at Joyful Journey Hot Springs we were invited to The Festival of the Muses: A Goddess Gathering. A festival designed for empowering the feminine, this was a perfect fit for Ally and I to both have things to share. While I was set up to serve tea, Ally opened up her relationship therapy, emotional health facilitation, and female cycle awareness to all attendees to sign up for, for free. So often we are fulfilling my passions, like serving tea, and fixing/building things, that it was awesome to come to a place where she could simply plug in and do the things she loves and is good at.

Some of my favorite powerful women: Katie, Bridget, Ally, Bonnie, and Enion.

Some of my favorite powerful women: Katie, Bridget, Ally, Bonnie, and Enion.

Leaving the mountains was an incredible drive, as the Autumn colors were beginning to show. We stopped at a river-side pull off where I got a chance to do some fishing and we refreshed from the festival.

After a brief stay in Lyons, we headed up to Loveland to set up the tea bus for the wedding of Tierro and Bridget (my ex-partner). At Sunrise Ranch (an eco-community, and site of Arise Festival), Ally and I spent a day and a half helping setup for the wedding, including creating a free tea zone at the ceremony site. I felt at home with the company of many of my western US peeps, like the Shook Twins and Nico, Elephant Revival folks, and more. It was a wonderfully beautiful wedding and party with delicious food and great live music. I think it was the first wedding I’ve served tea at. Lovely!

Bridget and Tierro's wedding site at Sunrise Ranch in Loveland, CO.

Bridget and Tierro’s wedding site at Sunrise Ranch in Loveland, CO.

Most recently, we’ve settled in at McCauley Family Farm outside Longmont, CO. It’s a sweet little farm that specializes in pastured meat, eggs, and delicious ferments. We were drawn here by Gwen, a fellow bus dweller. Ages ago, I spent quite a bit of time on her family land in Sonoma County, CA, where I built-out some of Edna. Years later, I helped guide her through purchasing her own full-sized bus. Now, three years later, she drove it out to CO in order to go to graduate school at Naropa. While she built out much of her bus in California over the past few years, there have still been some projects to do. She asked me to come help her, which has been one of my main focuses.

Wagon circle at McCauley Family Farm with Gwen's bus Marguerite, and the farm's tiny house where Zack and Luna live.

Wagon circle at McCauley Family Farm with Gwen’s bus Marguerite, and the farm’s tiny house where Zack and Luna live.

Edna through a porthole from Gwen's bus Marguerite.

Edna through a porthole from Gwen’s bus Marguerite.

My largest project on Gwen’s bus has been insulating, wiring, and woodworking a 6’ x 8’ x 2’ tall pop-up over her kitchen. I’ve been using salvaged cedar fence panels, and other salvaged wood for most of the project. ReSource, the salvaged building material store here in Boulder, is what these kinds of stores used to be: reasonably priced, great selection, and friendly folks. I also installed her wood stove, a propane heater, and am preparing to finish out her bathtub/shower. More photos to come.

Wonderful gifts from Organic India, my friend Ilya, and WishGarden Herbs.

Wonderful gifts from Organic India, my friend Ilya, and WishGarden Herbs.

 

 

 

 

 

Over a two-day period, I traveled to both WishGarden Herbs and Organic India in order to serve tea to these companies who have been so graciously donating to the Free Tea Bus for many years. At both companies, it was great to meet many of the employees and have them aboard for tea, to see the warehouses and facilities, and to have inspiring conversations. I was impressed by Organic India’s on site garden and meditation/yoga room. Sam, the CEO of WishGarden, invited me over to his place to stay the night. I had an excellent time getting to know him, his wife, and his kids. The kids pretty much wanted to move in to Edna.

Birthday tea party on Pearl St in Boulder, CO.

Birthday tea party on Pearl St in Boulder, CO.

For my birthday, we hosted a Free Tea Party in downtown Boulder at the Pearl St. Mall. It was a wonderful occasion, with a great parking spot facing out towards the mall and intersection. Many folks were in attendance – even my mom showed up to surprise me, all the way from Washington! Wow!

The best birthday present: a surprise visit from my mom.

The best birthday present: a surprise visit from my mom. Photo: Angie Barnes

Now, as I begin to think about heading south for the winter, we are looking to see a few more folks around CO. Next week, we head to Colorado Springs, where we’ll be serving tea and giving a talk at Colorado College, where I went to school. In Denver we’ll host some tea parties as well. Come mid-November, Ally will head west on the train, like she often does for the winter. I will head south, as I search out a retreat space to finish writing The Tea Bus Factory Service Manual.

Do you have any suggestions for places in the SW to retreat for a couple months?

I hope to see you down the road for a cuppa tea!

Cooking on a fire in the mountains of CO.

Cooking on a fire in the mountains of CO.

Filling up on WVO from a local restaurant in Crested Butte.

Filling up on WVO from a local restaurant in Crested Butte.

Plumbing in an old heat exchanger early in the clean WVO system (with looped return valve).

Plumbing in an old heat exchanger early in the clean WVO system (with looped return valve).

Soldering a new capacitance moisture probe for WVO.

Soldering a new capacitance moisture probe for WVO.

THANKS: Gil, for being an amazing friend in Hot Springs, AR and taking us out in Tulsa; Adam, Brianna, and Jen at Red Light Roastery; Tim and Jennifer Monnot, for being fellow inspiring skoolie folks; Sage and Aera in Waldron, KS for excellent hosting and a respite in the middle of nowhere; Frank and Elena; Benji; Alma in Crestone; Greg from Crestone Brewing Co.; Amanda and Colin; Rob, Rob, Chris and the other builders from End of the Road Construction; Julie from Guerilla Composting; The Crested Butte Farmers’ Market; Cherisse, for being an old friend in a new place; Emilie and Joe for being community for us fellow van dwellers; Roxana and the family for showers and good community; Mackenzie from The Festival of the Muses; Bonnie and Dan; Oracle for the AirBNFree in Lyons and letting us borrow the solar golf cart; Emily Yates for sharing good stories and kale; All the folks at Sunrise Ranch; Bridget and Tierro for making an excuse for a community gathering, and for hosting us so much for food, showers, internet and a bed; The Shooks and Nico for hand delivering letters to Thomas, WV; Marcus and the family at McCauley Family Farm for welcoming us in to stay with non-calculated sharing; Gwen, for inviting, sharing, and being lovely community in our little wagon circle; Sam, Anna and all the employees at WishGarden; Satya and all the folks at Organic India; Ilya, for taking me on a tour of the Celestial Seasoning Factory; My mom, Beth, for surprising me for my birthday;

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Spring Update – Headed to Colorado!

Posted on May 16, 2017 by Guisepi

Edna at the Farmers' Market in Boulder, Colorado in 2012.

Edna at the Farmers’ Market in Boulder, Colorado in 2012.

It’s been a while folks. I’ve been head down, writing the Tea Bus Factory Service Manual, as well as traveling without Edna for the past few months visiting friends and family out west for weddings, births, birthdays, and more. I reunited with my partner, Ally, in Nevada City, where I write to you from now. On Sunday, we get on a train back to Edna in Arkansas, where we prepare for a few-week journey from AR to OK, KS, and finally CO. We hope to see you along the way!

This summer’s plan: Head to Colorado! I’m looking forward to serving tea, seeing old friends, and making some new ones. And I’m looking for recommendations!

First of all, I want to know where we should visit, whom we should see, and where we should serve tea.

Second, I am looking for a place to call home base for the summer in Colorado. Where can Edna, myself, and Ally plug into that wants good company, a handy man, and a community organizer?

Thirdly, I am looking for a good project or two to plug into for a month or two. I would love to help fix or build anything, especially if it has to do with small-scale, mobile, off-grid, low-cost, DIY, eco-friendly, and reclaimed projects. While I am open to some alternative compensation (gifting, work-trade, pay-it-forward, etc.), I am ultimately hoping to find some paid work. To see what kind of work I do, check out my latest big project: http://freeteaparty.org/blog/front-street-grocers-thomas-wv/

For the right project, I would be willing to be anywhere in CO (and perhaps WY, UT, or NM).

Check out my Craig’s List ad for more details!

Contact me here to be in touch!

I hope to see you along the way!
Guisepi (and Edna Lu, the Free Tea Bus)

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment