Kihnu

You win the booby prize if you know about Kihnu.  Looking it up on the net does not count.  Actually, it is a small island in Estonia located about 25 miles from the mainland. 

The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared the Kihnu Cultural Space a masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in December 2003.  Meaning, the locals stay true to their roots spanning back 100s of years. They still make most of their clothes, stick with the religious beliefs, and maintain the traditions of their ancestors.  They do go to the mainland occasionally, but are mostly self-sufficient.  The main industries on the island are raising cattle and fishing.  The men fish and gone most of the year; therefore, the women of the island pretty much keep everything going.  In one part of the program, a woman’s motorcycle would not start.  She pulled out the tools, popped the spark plugs out, cleaned them up, and then fired up the bike.  There was no one to do it for her or someone to call to take it to the shop.  When you have to be self-sufficient, you learn how to be self-sufficient.

Can you imagine if we dropped a group of our baggy pants and sideways hats wearing generation on an island like Kihnu with no cell phone or video games and said, “There ya go, you figure it out.”  The best thing with can do for people sometimes is to show them how to do something rather than do it for them.  I firmly believe that if you are put in the position, you will figure it out.