Most people these days maintain their yard with a lawnmower and a string trimmer (or weed whacker, as we like to call it), but before the days of fossil fuel, the scythe was the preferred mowing tool. Virtually silent in comparison to its carbon emitting counterparts, the scythe is simply manufactured, durable, and long lived. Best of all, it requires no fossil fuel, only muscle power. And for that reason it’s also provides good exercise.
At Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage, where we are building a post fossil fuel culture and community, the scythe is the tool of choice for yard and farm maintenance. The renewable energy powered electric string trimmer also has a place in maintaining a space.