Welcome back, and what a week its been! I am very happy to welcome on board three new passengers, who have so much to share with us on topics that we haven't seen on the ecoTrain for sometime. That is a part of the magic of the ecoTrain. So a very warm welcome to @sagescrub, @celestialcow and @zpedro.

We have also asked all our passengers to write a reintroduce yourself post, and you will find them with our highlights posts below. So please do have a good read, and don't forget to follow the people you like. That way you will see more of their posts in your feed.

@sagescrub

Who Is @sagescrub? A Journey in Pursuit of Homesteading, Freedom and Love

This is a re-introduce myself post for my fellow steemians to get to know me. I am re-introducing myself in response to a prompt from @eco-alex, the driver of the wonderful #ecoTrain publication and community.

I am really glad for this inspiration and the timing is coincidental for me as I am in the process of re-introducing myself to... myself! Over the past few years I have been pausing at and passing several crossroads in my life and along the way I made choices that lead me to where I am today.

My head is in a whirlwind from change, acceptance and letting go... all of which are taking place in new shapes and forms. All along the way I am regularly surprised that no matter how much I change, and through the great joy or pain I feel, I find myself there underneath it all - the me that I did not always accept, embrace, or respect. My good friend and soul.

Freedom Challenge #4: If you lived in a free world how would your life be different? (SBD to 4 Winners!)

Hello freedom seekers! Get ready for a new freedom challenge!

Spring is coming! I am busy planting a new garden and hoping for abundance this year. That is part of my own personal expression of freedom. I hope you are enjoying your time right now, whatever it is you may be doing in your life :)

If you haven't seen it already I highly recommend reading Freedom Challenge #3 winners and submissions. There is a lot of thought and energy that went into writing these beautiful posts.

Thank you to the participants who made a genuine effort to share deep thoughts and feelings on the subject.

Homemade Biochar to Sequester Carbon and Increase Soil Fertility

This was my second time making biochar and it turned out quite well! I am hoping to make a biochar fan out of you too!

Gardeners, homesteaders and farmers can benefit from biochar in the soil in garden beds, containers, field crops, and compost. If you don't want to or can't make biochar it's also available as a commercial product!

@trucklife-family

Who Is Trucklife-Family - A Reintroduction

I have been on Steemit for almost 6 months now and I have met some amazing people, read some very inspiring posts and learn so many new skills/ideas.
This platform has exceeded my expectations. I have never done any blogging before and I do not have a facebook account, so I did not really know what to expect.
I got introduced to steemit by @markwhittam, he was always so super excited about it when ever I met him and would encourage me to jump on board. I am very glad that I did.

I am writing this re introduction as it was something that was suggested by @eco-alex, who is the driver of the Great #ecotrain. I really feel honoured to be part of the ecotrain community, and to be on board with such amazing passengers. Who are always inspiring me and making me strive to do better. This train is all about finding ways to make the world a better place and for me that is what living is all about. So obviously I really wanted to jump on board. I am so grateful to @eco-alex for allowing me too. I am also really grateful for @likedeeler for always telling it like it is and making me smile very often, two great traits to have I believe. EcoTrain is now on discord, so please feel free to join us on here https://discord.gg/sxpEPJc

💎 Steemit Vision Quest - Week 7: "Lucky"

Does Birth Offend You? Instagram Bans Photos of Women Giving Birth

Recent posts from #igallowuncensoredbirth are currently hidden because the community has reported some content that may not meet Instagram's community guidelines.
This is what you read when you go to the igallowuncensoredbirth instagram page. When you go onto the empoweredbirthproject instagram account, you will see that some images have been removed and it states that this photo contents sensitive content that some people may find offensive or disturbing.

Instagram has removed photos from this account and the account of other users that show what they consider as graphic photos of women giving birth. However medical professionals are allowed to post graphic photos on instagram. Why is this happening?

@hopehuggs

I Might Be Behind the Times, But Have You Heard These Guys...

From the country that has brought us greats like @olegw and @awakentolife, brings us 2Cellos as well!

2Cellos are Luka Šulić and Stjepan Hauser and they are classically trained cellists and they are nothing short of awesome.

And they have been amazing audiences around the world since 2011! Where have I been the last 7 years, not to come across them before? The cello has always made me melt.

But if you didn't like the cello before listening to 2Cellos, you will after!

@sharoonyasir

Reinytroducing Myself...

'There is a voice that doesn't use words. Listen.'- Rumi

I have enjoyed reading meaningful quotes for quite sometime, but recently, my love for quotes just reignited and whenever I plan to write something or sit to work on a topic, I first research on some deep, meaningful quotes to go along with my writing. The quote above is one I found out just right now and fell in love with instantly. It describes my feelings about Steemit and something that I learned to do after joining the @ecotrain which is one of the most amazing communities on Steemit and today i'll be talking about myself, my journey here and my experience with the @ecotrain primarily.

A lot of the people who know me or have been following me are aware of my journey so far and how stumbled across Steemit. For those who don't know me or those who would like to refresh their knowledge about me, this post is for you :P

Just Be You for You..

I came across the following image and the statement that follows it as a post on Facebook by the The Artidote which I absolutely loved and became inspired by so I thought to share it with all of you here and also make a post based on it.

The status read:

"You don't have to be MORE attractive. you don't have to be attractive AT ALL. you don't have to attract anyone or anything. you are not a magnet, damn it. you should be you for you and only you. and yes I am talking about you and you and you." —internetcrisis

@stillgideon

UTOPIA .. An Adventure Story .. Part 2 .. 'Superheroes'

In every day life there are superheroes. Brave, intrepid souls, doing extraordinary things to help other people. If we're lucky we might get to know one or two in our lives.

A TWO HUNDRED YEAR OLD MAN

You wouldn't think to look at him that Old Saul is as old as he is. With his long brown hair and his beard flecked with white, you might put him somewhere in his fifties. Only there is something about his eyes, a distant, other worldly way of looking through people and things that might give you the sense that he's much older than he looks. Then again, he has the most wonderful teeth.

It had been at a fateful visit to the dentist, before the Great Meltdown (when there were still such people as dentists, for those who could afford them) that Old Saul (then not so old, he was in his thirties at the time) received an injection of virulent, modified stem cells to his upper left wisdom tooth. It was an experimental trial of a new medicine - aimed at regrowing cavities and reversing tooth decay - which had shown some success in clinical trials on non-human animals.

@mountainjewel

Vision & Dreams Behind @mountainjewel: A Center for Earth Connection | ReIntroduction & Invitiation To Ecotrain!

"Forgiveness is giving so give yourself this gift from time to time."
by Trevor Hall in Forgive

I'd like to start by expressing gratitude for all of the Steemians who have witnessed, uplifted, inspired, shared and connected with us. Our journey on Steemit has been a wonderful ride so far because of ALL OF YOU! So thanks to all of you for showing up and holding it down in all the ways you do.

A big part of this has been because of our involvement with @ecotrain, a group full of positive and uplifting folks creating Earth-centered and consciousness raising content. Wren had seen @eco-alex's (the driver of #ecotrain) posts and felt an immediate attraction and asked to join! Soon after we were accepted aboard and away we went. We are all stronger together and we are continually inspired by the passengers! This is such fantastic group of souls who continually write things that touch the heart, inspire, challenge, educate and edify!! Love you all!

Veggie Oil Nomads!! We just filtered a waste resource with the sun's power... Road Trip!

It's been a busy couple of years getting our homestead established, but we finally got back into filtering our fuel. Utilizing used vegetable oil to fuel our Jetta used to be the norm for us, but fell to the wayside.

We're happy to share that we just processed our first batch with solar power! In this post we will walk y'all through our process of turning waste into fuel.

@eco-alex

Learn the Qi Gong 8 Brocades in this 4 minute guided video - Part 1 of 8. Experience the incredible benefits of Qi Gong today.

This 800-year old exercise, which the ancients likened to a beautiful brocade, consists of eight sections, and is very popular among the Chinese people. Each section can be practiced on its own and each targets a specific organ or health need. The whole set of movements are fine and delicate with moderate intensity. It is like yoga, but is performed in a standing position and does not require much space or a yoga mat. The 8 brocades are also known as the silk brocades because of the very slow and flowing movements. I have been practicing the 8 brocades regularly for several years, and have found it to be one of my great pillars that keep me physically, mentally and emotionally in balance.

@solarsupermama

The Solarsupermama on the EcoTrain: A Reintroduction

I have now been on Steemit for more than six months. When I first came on here, my intention was to write about kids, parenthood, traveling, living as an immigrant, brewing beer, life in Belize, education, remote work, and how easy and awesome it is to switch to solar power. I always intended to write about permaculture and earthbag building after we get our land. I have written about all these things at least a little.

@kiaraantonoviche

"What's for Lunch?" Healthy Recipe Series #16 - Baked Salmon Meatballs with Creamy Avocado Sauce

I had no desire to cook and I didn't have many ingredients but I was starving. A can of salmon sat in the cupboard and since I wanted to continue avoiding red meat, I decided to make a "normal" meat recipe with fish instead!

Baked Salmon Meatballs with Creamy Avocado Sauce

@stillwatersart

Spring is near - gardening is on my mind 🌿🌱💐🍅🥒🥗

*The first supermarket supposedly appeared on the American landscape in 1946. That is not very long ago. Until then, where was all the food? Dear folks, the food was in homes, gardens, local fields, and forests. It was near kitchens, near tables, near bedsides. It was in the pantry, the cellar, the backyard.

— Joel Salatin*

Seed catalogs in the mail and seed displays at the store start to create an excitement in me. I just had to start a few seedlings a couple of weeks ago. Some of them may have been a little too early to start, like the cucumbers and squash, but the tomatoes and basil are looking pretty good and right on schedule. This is the first time that I have started tomato seedlings from saved seeds.

@ecoTrain

Supporting People Who Help
Make The World A Better Place

Discover previous ecoTrain magazines at @ecoTrain

DRIVER
@eco-alex

CONDUCTOR
@likedeeler

VIP'S WHO HAVE DELEGATED STEEM POWER
@omdemian
@kalima

PASSENGERS
@celestialcow
@clara-andriessen
@ecoinstant
@hopehuggs
@kiaraantonoviche
@misslasvegas
@mountainjewel
@sagescrub
@sashagenji
@schoonercreek
@sharoon-yasir
@solarsupermama
@stillgideon
@stillwatersar
@stortebeker
@trucklife-family
@zpedro

If you are new to Steemit, love to write, and would like to join the ecoTrain community as an official passenger please email me on steemit.eco.train@gmail.com

** Click Here For More Information on the ecoTrain **