Home – is it the place or the people?
Today we will look at the short text “Home — is it the place or the people?” and discuss what makes a home and how people’s ways of living change.
1. Early humans lived in small groups, often just an extended family. This community was their ‘home’ – they were dependent on each other for survival, working together to hunt for food and protect themselves. Much of the time they lived as nomads, hunting animals and gathering plants. They built shelters when necessary, or if they decided to settle in one place for a time.
2. Until relatively recently, many traditional societies around the world maintained a nomadic existence, from the Inuit of northern Canada to the San peoples of southern Africa, the Roma of Europe and the animal herders of Mongolia.
3. In modern Western terms, their standard of living seems low, with little money and few possessions. But living in a communal way, where resources are shared and individuals act as a support network for each other, has many benefits.
4. It may not appeal to everyone, but in the USA there is a growing community of modern nomads, living in camper vans and travelling the highways, working part-time. Social media allows them to stay connected and give each other advice and assistance. Although they do establish settlements, these tend to be temporary – the travellers gather together for a few days, then go their separate ways.
5. What motivates some people to wander, rather than live in a permanent home? Is it economic circumstances? Or an unwillingness to put down roots? For people who must move around to find work or escape danger, being a nomad is not a lifestyle choice, but a necessity. Some may even emigrate to a different country.
6. Whatever the reason, ‘home’ may be more about the community we are part of than the space we live in.
