The Dervaes family is Pasadena, CA have quite a following. At one time, I was a self-professed groupie. Not anymore. This family, who works their suburban plot of land to generate food for themselves and their community has gone way beyond my threshold of tolerance. They have professed to claim the right to the words: Urban Homesteading, Urban Homesteader. They hold the registered rights to the business name Pathways to Freedom, and Little Homestead in the City. These I do not contest. They are a trademark like any other business.
Here is a link to their open letter stating how they own the rights and everyone should cite them before using their owned words.
Here is a response from Gustavo Arellano.
Trademarking an entire environmental movement, and claiming it as your own sole creation is a bit much. Scott and Helen Nearing we advocates of the lifestyle long before the Dervaes were on the scene. Thoreau himself dabbled with the experience briefly. I can bet there have been many more who have been less likely to seek their five minutes of fave as vehemently as this family.
Homesteading is not a lifestyle you can expect to get rich off of. It is not something that can be owned and marketed, packaged and shrink wrapped. Homesteading is a way in which you can express yourself, your true beliefs on the world and how we all interconnect. Homesteading is a philosophy, a lifestyle, a reflective practice. It is not an invention like the light bulb or vacuum. It is the culmination and evolution of the journeys of many people. It can not be own by a single source or marketed for a single gain.
What the Dervaes are attempting to do is own a piece of the green movement because it is proving to be profitable and lucrative. And to me, that is just wrong. As far as I am concerned their website and all the information therein has been green washed and rendered useless.
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