One of the undergirding suppositions of this whole adventure is that our living place effectively defines not simply our life but, very significantly, our self -- we are our environment. To design our place of living is to, in a strong way, design ourself. We can say something similar of our neighbors, colleagues, friends, and companions. Who we surround ourself with really matters. It fundamentally influences all the curves of normalcy that we walk around with, and against which we measure ourself and the world. The quote is, "We are the average of the five people we spend the most time with." So, who are we?
We are personally non-dogmatic, largely vegetarian, drug-free, good at heart, sane, and mostly inclined to the simple and the natural. We are committed to attempt a working presence and to work the muscle of the goodness of our heart.
We recognize that these inclusions are simultaneously exclusive, and that we hold them for the utility of the community and the prospect of synergy, not as a measure of any one's being. That is to say, some of the best people we have ever met might not meet these criteria, and we pause at both holding them out and not pulling them in, and also at the very nature of restriction; yet we do gatekeep because it permits the building of something beyond the least common denominator.
In zooming, we are:
Non-dogmatic : We are for a measured openness and flexibility in thought, being open-minded without letting our brains fall out. An inflexible and coercive intellectual framework does not allow for personal evolution, nor for friends.
Largely vegetarian : In this corner of the universe, we have life, and this life flows through itself in the most amazing ways, through kingdoms and species, and un-esoterically out of earth, air, fire, and water. There is nothing unnatural to this flow of life. There is nothing unnatural about the animal consumption of plant and animal. Life and death are bound to each other, inseparably; and the attempt to remove death from our life, by turns, greater and greater, comes to remove life itself from our living.
Yet, knowing this, while push does not come to shove, some of us would prefer to not kill other sentient animals. And so we won't. Whether it's a bug or a feature of the heart -- and not as an answer to what we feel for the world, but as a response -- we choose to live and let live. We do not judge anyone for what goes into their mouth, not even ourselves.
The uniquely vegetarian kitchen and farm is a utilitarian solution to a community small in size, perhaps a shared preference for the food at our table, and the attempt at synergy and the promise of coordination. But it cannot be -- and a true farm, and the lessons it gives do not permit it to be -- a dogma or neat line that one does not cross. It is a leaning. At times life will pull us into death, because, of course, that is as it is.
Drug-free : We choose for our own person and community to live without drugs or any mind-altering substances, including alcohol. We understand that our mind alters, whether it be from a moment in time, food, sleep, genetics, our own history, or the smell of pie in the air. Our mind alters, yet we choose for ourselves and our community to live free of the strength of the particular alteration of drugs.
Good at heart, and Working the muscle of the goodness of our heart : We are capable of doing and feeling anything a human can do or feel. We are lucky and blessed to do and feel good. May we always be so lucky ... because we and our lives have and will change. For the functioning of the community -- and for the individual heart of all of us -- it is just plain nicer to live with folks who are good to us and to themselves, who are good -- good -- at heart. Sometimes this goodness is light and fresh and young. Sometimes it is deep and earned, through whatever it is we had to go through to appreciate the nature of grace. In either case, good is good.
This is not to reject or create any kind of shadow self or other -- it is not to repress -- but merely to speak aloud a kind of preference and vow. We believe in being good. It is our work and commitment -- to ourselves and to each other -- to work the muscle of the goodness our heart. It is in our choices that we make the world, and how good a world, community, and life we could make if -- when it were truly a choice and not simply a reflex -- we choose to be good. We get lots of chances to fail that choice, which makes its sweetness that much sweeter.
Sane : We are likely too small a community to easily bear the starting inclusion of strong mental illness, despite its natural incidence in the human population. Sanity and insanity are not medically technical terms, but we take it that the solidity of community, at minimum, stands upon the solidity of its constituents, which, also at minimum, stands upon the solidity of mind. Quirky, "Okay!" Sometimes, cooky, "Hello!" Crazy? That's a hard, "No, Thank you."
Largely simple & natural : As a kind of tenet, we hold that our human being does best -- and likes it best -- in its natural setting. Natural air, water, heat, light, and food -- you know, nature -- is good for us. Often enough, the life that comes out of this connection to nature is called "simple". That's a tricky word, but here we just mean that living close to the land and seasons is its own kind of sufficiency, and leads to both a satisfaction with what comes naturally, and a simplification of what one has in one's life. We work to be spacious enough to take the outdoor bedroll and its stars in balance with the house and its walls. We also are ever wary of in extremis, and so do not push ourselves nor anyone else to a naked, empty-handed simplicity.
A working presence : We are not exactly a monastery, with our families and children and jobs and movies perceptually counter to the vespers or chanting of the nuns and monks. But perhaps a monastery is simply a cooperative group of folks with a certain kind of smile that comes from the practice of presence. That's where they begin, and so do we. And why practice presence? Because somewhere along the way we discovered that we weren't dead yet, that we were still alive, and we said it'd be nice to be there for that. It's a "working" presence because it's easier to conceive of and attempt the risen ape than the fallen angel.
As mentioned while defining "the commons", at base our aim is that we are fundamentally happy and in love with our work. We hope that our work makes the world more good and beautiful. And we -- or, most of us -- want to do this from a home studio, an atelier. We have up to 24 slots to fill -- assuming two working adults in each household -- though some of the work can be done seasonally, providing overlap between vocations. How are we filling those slots?
More Critical
Farming (5-8-10 total) : We are looking for some 5-10 co-owning managers and/or sole-proprietor folks to run : Vegetables (1), Small Fruits (1), Tree Fruits (1), Flowers (<=1) -- and/or the reincarnation of Monty Don for the middle-ground -- the Research Farm (1/4), Hay (<1), Sheep & Wool (1-2), Bees & Honey (<=1), Christmas Trees (<=1/4), and perhaps : Seeds & Trees (2-3), Staples (1), and Micro-micro-Dairy (<1). Conceivably, one person could handle haying, honey, sap, and the male "dairy" cows (while a proper dairy manages the females). Another could manage the middle-ground trials garden and flower farm, a la Monty Don.
A Note on Experience : I recognize that the entry cost is not in the cards for a large number of farmers, even those with partners with non-farm jobs. I also recognize that some folks with the funds have a strong desire to farm, but both no real work history AND a caution that keeps them from just doing it by themselves. To that end, I would be excited to help a non-farmer grow into the life. I would also be a little terrified, as the first year of farming is a nearly critical crucible in turning some into ash, OR into a glorious glowing friend. The thing is, you never know who someone's going to be until the end of that first year.
Cooking : Food Procurement, Preparation, and Preservation (<=1) : Community catering in an ayurvedic vein -- here recognizing the oxymoronic nature of "group" in the context of the instantaneously and individually specific ayurvedic lens. The weekly hours are dependent upon the decision we make on meals together outside of household rotation and potlucks.
Education (1-2-3) : If we have enough -- money, desire, children, age overlap, and pedagogical consensus -- then we can make a sort of home-school tutor-based educational cooperative that supplements the parental hours. See "the context" for other educational options that obviate this need.
Builder / General Contractor (1) : To oversee the details of construction, particularly if we attempt to largely self-build. Must be comfortable and experienced with the building code and all components of residential construction -- from foundation to roof, interior to exterior, electric to plumbing, etc. -- even if merely contracting a part out. Many of us -- farmers, builders, and whatnot -- may have a fair amount of construction experience, but swiftly navigating code and the best available option in a crux are not our forte. One way to afford this project is via sweat equity. We ought to have enough group competency to fill-in large to very large chunks of the necessary work.
Less Critical, But Strongly Desired
Human Transport (3-5-7 total) : as a worker or producer cooperative, or an umbrella curator, etc.
Wooden Bicycles (1-3) : Like Montauk Hardwood Bicycles, Connor Wood Bicycles, Sojourn Cyclery, or Materia Bikes.
Wooden Kayaks, Canoes, And Paddleboards (1-2) : Like Timber Boatworks, Guillemot Kayaks, and Clearwood Paddleboards.
Wooden Boats, otherwise (1-2) : Like Bear Mountain Boats.
Anything else regarding bikes, boats, pack animals, and people.
Ecological Community Design (0-3-6) : To facilitate a movement in cooperative, ecological living, including neighborhood in-fill and retrofit. This isn't required, but wouldn't it be rad? Plus, even at fair rates, the income is likely better than farming. In the vein of Caddis Collaborative, Village Habitat Design, Farmer D, and Studio CoHab.
Wilderness Rite-of-Passage, Vision Quest, and Guide, in the Adirondacks and on Lake Champlain, probably seasonal (1-2-3). Zoning likely limits the on-site options, but the area itself is rich in potential : Like Animas Valley Institute, Vermont Wilderness Rites, and The Center for the Great Turning.
The Drippy Bucket List / The Hyphenated-self
Letterpress-er
Two-seater ultralight pilot and/or and Hot air balloonist
Qi-gong expert
Accountant
Lawyer
You, who are not the above listed
The most critical component to success of this community and our life is the quality of the people we surround ourselves with -- the personnel. After farmer and cook, anyone, really, can fit in here. What matters is that we're good at heart and hopefully great at living. My idiosyncratic sense of goodness and beauty -- paddling on a Sunday morning Lake Champlain in a wooden kayak, and giving that to the world, for example -- does not have to be the narrow gate presented above. Expand my vision. But, while I'm dreaming here, let me throw my dreams out and see what comes back.