James Carse makes an observation in Finite and Infinite games. "My parents could have wanted a child, but they could not have wanted me."
This brings me to a point that has been stuck in my craw about the phrase 'intentional community'. I can intend a community, but I can't know what community I am intending.
We only open up a space to be filled.
Showing posts with label Community. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Community. Show all posts
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Study and Practice.
This winter Matt is getting ready to settle into a project where he will get to do some really quality work making cob walls to retain heat. I can tell he is getting excited to be able to design and test some ideas on natural building, and I am excited to, in fact I hope to be able to join him for a while in January so I can keep up with him on practical knowledge, or at least stem the rate that his lead is growing.
Right now I am staying with my good friend Mathias a little outside of Philadelphia. We are going to work on some writing relevant to a larger cultural project that the farm is a part of, and hopefully condense some skills and resources relevant to the farm itself, but more on that later after more is settled.
So I am studying the farm project, and Matt is practicing it. Of course by the end of winter I am sure we will both get in plenty study and practice.
Right now I am staying with my good friend Mathias a little outside of Philadelphia. We are going to work on some writing relevant to a larger cultural project that the farm is a part of, and hopefully condense some skills and resources relevant to the farm itself, but more on that later after more is settled.
So I am studying the farm project, and Matt is practicing it. Of course by the end of winter I am sure we will both get in plenty study and practice.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Not knowing.
I know that Matt is going to be with me on the farm project. And I have several other friends that I hold in high hope. But even the ones that I feel generally confident about, other then Matt, I don't know which ones will actually be there. I think that for some people it is hard to commit to a project that doesn't actually have its land purchased, which I admit makes a lot of sense. And even if I knew who would be there, there would be no way to know who will be staying, that's fine though, I wouldn't want someone who didn't like it to stay. So I am always looking for more maybes.
I am on a train heading out of Chicago, I go to the observation car, not for the views of the halogen speckled darkness, for the company. I have meet many good people on this trip, and some people that even if they aren't good I still like 'em. Folks ask me where I am going, why I am going there, where I have been. And talking about the dream of the farm is tied to every aspect of my life, my trips doubly so. And people from all walks of life are very impressed, in fact sometimes more impressed then they have any right to be, I must be too good at spinning this yard. But there is more to it then that, folk are eager to hear that there can be an alternative to the way of life that surrounds us. Its a story that people want to hear, and they pull it out of me more then I give it to them.
Are these people the people I want to invite to the farm? If they want to wwoof for a few weeks or two they would be worthy as soon as we are able to support such visitors. And maybe by grace we will find a couple of people that would fit in for longer. More importantly it has shown me that there is a hunger for projects of this nature, it gives me cause for cautious optimism. The close friends who I have invited, I hope they come and at very least try the farm life for a while, because some of the cases I am thinking of are people I already know would be good for the farm, just if the farm can be good for them.
I am on a train heading out of Chicago, I go to the observation car, not for the views of the halogen speckled darkness, for the company. I have meet many good people on this trip, and some people that even if they aren't good I still like 'em. Folks ask me where I am going, why I am going there, where I have been. And talking about the dream of the farm is tied to every aspect of my life, my trips doubly so. And people from all walks of life are very impressed, in fact sometimes more impressed then they have any right to be, I must be too good at spinning this yard. But there is more to it then that, folk are eager to hear that there can be an alternative to the way of life that surrounds us. Its a story that people want to hear, and they pull it out of me more then I give it to them.
Are these people the people I want to invite to the farm? If they want to wwoof for a few weeks or two they would be worthy as soon as we are able to support such visitors. And maybe by grace we will find a couple of people that would fit in for longer. More importantly it has shown me that there is a hunger for projects of this nature, it gives me cause for cautious optimism. The close friends who I have invited, I hope they come and at very least try the farm life for a while, because some of the cases I am thinking of are people I already know would be good for the farm, just if the farm can be good for them.
Monday, November 28, 2011
Perma-culture and Tabbed browsing. But in the other order.
Anyone who has every borrowed my computer briefly to check their email, or something of the like, probably noticed that I leave a huge number of web pages loaded on my computer at a time. This post has an appendix which lists what I happen to have up at time of writing, to give a feel. At first glance this could appear to be simple ADHD, and there is that element I don't deny, but I want to suggest that the Internet does something more. It shapes the very way I perceive the world. Cross connecting many different co-sustained lines of thought, mixing different ideas on topics in terms from countless fields. Each tab a particular core of ideas, tied and considered in light of the others. But what does this have to do with the farm project? Well, this is the level of the individual.
The material level is represented in permaculture, instead of focusing on maximizing one crop, even in a given field, many different factors are considered at once. If a particular crop fails or under performs it only increases the space available for the others it is planted along side. Also there is less need to control the system from the top down (farmer working the field), as the management of the garden is actually part of the intrinsic relations of the organisms in the garden, plant and animal alike. Instead of having a leader (the farmer) controlling the whole system, the intelligence of how to grow well is programmed directly into the relationship of the plants and animals, the garden has a type of intelligence that is good at thriving. What could a farmer have to teach a plant about growing, anyway? might as well try to teach a fish to swim.
The social level is similar. Instead of one group project that must be over determined at the beginning there are countless individually operating projects, each an attempt to improve the farm, and there are certain relations (as opposed to individuals) that form checks on behaviors that oppose the group. Individuals are the worst choice for a watcher to prevent selfishness. A solitary self charged with protecting the group from selfs acting for their own interest is a fox guarding the chickens. So social interactions should be set up so that the interactions are the checks. There was a farm community where a small group damaged a valuable area of the commons, the operation had a consensus model, but it couldn't respond to the issue before the damage was done. Individuals waiting for consensus let the damage take place. Some people then suggest having a leader to bawl people out for such group harms, but that is a poor use of time: anyone with enough experience to be a good leader should have better things to do then play police man. So what about we decentralize the leadership position, make everyone leaders after their own level of experience? This done to people without knowledge of living in community could lead to chaos. So lets model it after the permaculture farm way of growing things.
Some plants aren't good for eating, but they may loosen the soil, block wind, fix nitrogen, pull up deep humidity to share, bring nutrients to the surface, distract wild animals from coveted crops, be good for growing up, provide bedding, or make good mulch or compost. Most plants can be usefully integrated into a permaculture system, but that doesn't mean they should all grow unchecked. Grass can become too thick, so geese or sheep can mow it back, or squash could shade it, or mulch fall can suppress it, or perennials can out compete it. Conifers shade out other plants and some even poison the soil, but humans can mill it (the benefit to the garden giving you two birds for one stone), and small conifers won't be able to out compete other trees often enough to form a fire climate forest. Goats could ruin huge stretches of garden, but they are also good for clearing stretches for the next planting. There isn't a need for a boss in charge of these individual elements, but by setting up the right relations the management become automated. Humans fill the role of top predator to keep the animals (domestic and wild) in a healthy balance, but need not resort to raising animals just for the sake of killing them. We can work for the garden responding to its needs by sowing seeds to set up beneficial plant relationships, eating crops at their peak so that young plants growing between them can have the room they need. It is important to remember that a farmer sculpting the land to their vision is not a permaculturalist, instead in permaculture we mind the land and respond to its needs by simply adjusting the relationships between elements.
So what of society? Instead of a master sculpting the community to their personal ideal, a group of teacher who offer their services to help people adjust social and physical relations as need arises. Including being ready and able to give healthy outlets to the human desire to control others, so instead of rejecting "type a" personalities as control freaks, help find situations where high degrees of control are desirable: herbalism, sanitation, crafting, animal slaughter, herding, dog training, orchestrating performances, teaching technically difficult material, and so on. Instead of rejecting the lazy or the unintelligent, recognize that 98% of the work that actually make human life possible doesn't require intelligence and smarts is likely as not to get in the way; that relatively little work is actually needed to live, and that even a lazy person can cover room and board just with good spirits in times of plenty, and that laziness is relative, even a person who prefers to spend there time relaxing can still be generous and happy to help with projects if asked from a true heart. If we actually need (I don't mean want) the help of a person prone to be lazy they will almost always be eager to assist its been my observation. And a person who won't respond to the need of another, most likely has a much deeper issue then laziness, but even these issues can be worked on with proper wisdom (seeking persons with proper wisdom). But there is no need to adjust relationships until someone needs help, and then the teachers, the real masters, the authority (authority of the author, not the king) can offer whatever help they are able to. And everyone can be an authority, because there is a wisdom to begging, ask not pennies from the penniless, nor for wisdom from fools. But if you know what to ask for, everyone has some authority they can offer you.
What about the damage to the commons caused by a small group of people run amok? Occasional damage is natural and to be expected, but large damage takes time. Once a healthy system of relations has evolved there are people who have accepted the responsibility of minding for the wellbeing of each aspect of the commons. Wisdom dictates that we must care for each other, yet there are certain people (our closest friends, our family, and so on) where we have a special connection, not just to respond to a cry of help or an appearance of need, but to actively check in on, make sure they are ok, just in case they do need help but no one was in the right place. Similarly with the commons, we should all be mindful of the commons, care for it in part and whole, but there are certain parts that each person can be the advocate for the trees, the defender of the ducks, the friend of the orchards, the guardian of the tools, the provider of the firewood. I don't suggest or rule out such titles, but any part of the commons that is especially close to us could use a watcher. Who watches the watchers? Since what is good for the ducks depends on what is good for the trees and so on, we all do. This prevents people without understanding from wrecking things, to deal with conflict of interests between people who do posses a degree of understanding thats where the need to care for each other comes in, conflict resolution skills from people able to give appropriate guidance.
There is no top, just interconnections that modify over time to be more responsive to need. Even we are put a part of the lands "commons" for the road goes both ways, and we trust that the good earth will provide, so long as we know how to work with it, and not rule over it. Waiting for those interconnections to grow, and helping them along is as much a part of permaculture as knowing plant species is. Permaculture is a type of culture as much as a type of gardening.
Glossary of Terms:
Permaculture: Gardening that gradually improves the soil without need of external inputs by growing plants, animals, and fungus that support each others needs in a way similar to how a healthy natural ecosystem works at its peak. Humans being, of course, one of the animals in the permaculture ecosystem.
Human: The most dangerous and unpredictable animal raised in permaculture, but if handled with love, respect, and care they can be a very fun, useful, and rewarding part of a functional environment. Do not over feed or expose to television. Do not to startle them, most humans were raised indoors and in partial isolation, they ofter have a difficult time adjusting to the wild, especially at first. Many were raised in ways that cause them to prefer isolation and distance, respect their need for distance as you would respect the needs of any animal that was maltreated.
Authority: 1. A jerk who thinks that what they say actually has something to do with how others should act. 2. Someone who actually has useful experiences that they are willing and able to share when asked, but doesn't think that their experience is the be all end all which must be minded.
Rhizome: A really useful word that you are ready to learn. It both refers to a plant with many shoots that share energy, nutrients, and information but such that each shoot can operate independently of the others, and to and system where various interconnection parts operate together with out a center leader to control the whole, a multiplicity.
Fractal: A pattern made of self similar parts, each of which contain elements that resemble the whole pattern. The Thinkery is a fractal, the same patters that appear in the garden appear in the social system, this is a benefit to learning because understanding of the garden system is useful to understand the philosophy and culture both of the farm, and vice versa. Traditional societies are also fractal in weird ways, which is a big part of the reason why they treat people who are different in cities the same way they treat plants which are different in fields.
Appendix of current tabs, because I might as well just show you how crazy I am, and this is a disturbingly accurate way to photograph whats in my mind at a given time.
The material level is represented in permaculture, instead of focusing on maximizing one crop, even in a given field, many different factors are considered at once. If a particular crop fails or under performs it only increases the space available for the others it is planted along side. Also there is less need to control the system from the top down (farmer working the field), as the management of the garden is actually part of the intrinsic relations of the organisms in the garden, plant and animal alike. Instead of having a leader (the farmer) controlling the whole system, the intelligence of how to grow well is programmed directly into the relationship of the plants and animals, the garden has a type of intelligence that is good at thriving. What could a farmer have to teach a plant about growing, anyway? might as well try to teach a fish to swim.
The social level is similar. Instead of one group project that must be over determined at the beginning there are countless individually operating projects, each an attempt to improve the farm, and there are certain relations (as opposed to individuals) that form checks on behaviors that oppose the group. Individuals are the worst choice for a watcher to prevent selfishness. A solitary self charged with protecting the group from selfs acting for their own interest is a fox guarding the chickens. So social interactions should be set up so that the interactions are the checks. There was a farm community where a small group damaged a valuable area of the commons, the operation had a consensus model, but it couldn't respond to the issue before the damage was done. Individuals waiting for consensus let the damage take place. Some people then suggest having a leader to bawl people out for such group harms, but that is a poor use of time: anyone with enough experience to be a good leader should have better things to do then play police man. So what about we decentralize the leadership position, make everyone leaders after their own level of experience? This done to people without knowledge of living in community could lead to chaos. So lets model it after the permaculture farm way of growing things.
Some plants aren't good for eating, but they may loosen the soil, block wind, fix nitrogen, pull up deep humidity to share, bring nutrients to the surface, distract wild animals from coveted crops, be good for growing up, provide bedding, or make good mulch or compost. Most plants can be usefully integrated into a permaculture system, but that doesn't mean they should all grow unchecked. Grass can become too thick, so geese or sheep can mow it back, or squash could shade it, or mulch fall can suppress it, or perennials can out compete it. Conifers shade out other plants and some even poison the soil, but humans can mill it (the benefit to the garden giving you two birds for one stone), and small conifers won't be able to out compete other trees often enough to form a fire climate forest. Goats could ruin huge stretches of garden, but they are also good for clearing stretches for the next planting. There isn't a need for a boss in charge of these individual elements, but by setting up the right relations the management become automated. Humans fill the role of top predator to keep the animals (domestic and wild) in a healthy balance, but need not resort to raising animals just for the sake of killing them. We can work for the garden responding to its needs by sowing seeds to set up beneficial plant relationships, eating crops at their peak so that young plants growing between them can have the room they need. It is important to remember that a farmer sculpting the land to their vision is not a permaculturalist, instead in permaculture we mind the land and respond to its needs by simply adjusting the relationships between elements.
So what of society? Instead of a master sculpting the community to their personal ideal, a group of teacher who offer their services to help people adjust social and physical relations as need arises. Including being ready and able to give healthy outlets to the human desire to control others, so instead of rejecting "type a" personalities as control freaks, help find situations where high degrees of control are desirable: herbalism, sanitation, crafting, animal slaughter, herding, dog training, orchestrating performances, teaching technically difficult material, and so on. Instead of rejecting the lazy or the unintelligent, recognize that 98% of the work that actually make human life possible doesn't require intelligence and smarts is likely as not to get in the way; that relatively little work is actually needed to live, and that even a lazy person can cover room and board just with good spirits in times of plenty, and that laziness is relative, even a person who prefers to spend there time relaxing can still be generous and happy to help with projects if asked from a true heart. If we actually need (I don't mean want) the help of a person prone to be lazy they will almost always be eager to assist its been my observation. And a person who won't respond to the need of another, most likely has a much deeper issue then laziness, but even these issues can be worked on with proper wisdom (seeking persons with proper wisdom). But there is no need to adjust relationships until someone needs help, and then the teachers, the real masters, the authority (authority of the author, not the king) can offer whatever help they are able to. And everyone can be an authority, because there is a wisdom to begging, ask not pennies from the penniless, nor for wisdom from fools. But if you know what to ask for, everyone has some authority they can offer you.
What about the damage to the commons caused by a small group of people run amok? Occasional damage is natural and to be expected, but large damage takes time. Once a healthy system of relations has evolved there are people who have accepted the responsibility of minding for the wellbeing of each aspect of the commons. Wisdom dictates that we must care for each other, yet there are certain people (our closest friends, our family, and so on) where we have a special connection, not just to respond to a cry of help or an appearance of need, but to actively check in on, make sure they are ok, just in case they do need help but no one was in the right place. Similarly with the commons, we should all be mindful of the commons, care for it in part and whole, but there are certain parts that each person can be the advocate for the trees, the defender of the ducks, the friend of the orchards, the guardian of the tools, the provider of the firewood. I don't suggest or rule out such titles, but any part of the commons that is especially close to us could use a watcher. Who watches the watchers? Since what is good for the ducks depends on what is good for the trees and so on, we all do. This prevents people without understanding from wrecking things, to deal with conflict of interests between people who do posses a degree of understanding thats where the need to care for each other comes in, conflict resolution skills from people able to give appropriate guidance.
There is no top, just interconnections that modify over time to be more responsive to need. Even we are put a part of the lands "commons" for the road goes both ways, and we trust that the good earth will provide, so long as we know how to work with it, and not rule over it. Waiting for those interconnections to grow, and helping them along is as much a part of permaculture as knowing plant species is. Permaculture is a type of culture as much as a type of gardening.
Glossary of Terms:
Permaculture: Gardening that gradually improves the soil without need of external inputs by growing plants, animals, and fungus that support each others needs in a way similar to how a healthy natural ecosystem works at its peak. Humans being, of course, one of the animals in the permaculture ecosystem.
Human: The most dangerous and unpredictable animal raised in permaculture, but if handled with love, respect, and care they can be a very fun, useful, and rewarding part of a functional environment. Do not over feed or expose to television. Do not to startle them, most humans were raised indoors and in partial isolation, they ofter have a difficult time adjusting to the wild, especially at first. Many were raised in ways that cause them to prefer isolation and distance, respect their need for distance as you would respect the needs of any animal that was maltreated.
Authority: 1. A jerk who thinks that what they say actually has something to do with how others should act. 2. Someone who actually has useful experiences that they are willing and able to share when asked, but doesn't think that their experience is the be all end all which must be minded.
Rhizome: A really useful word that you are ready to learn. It both refers to a plant with many shoots that share energy, nutrients, and information but such that each shoot can operate independently of the others, and to and system where various interconnection parts operate together with out a center leader to control the whole, a multiplicity.
Fractal: A pattern made of self similar parts, each of which contain elements that resemble the whole pattern. The Thinkery is a fractal, the same patters that appear in the garden appear in the social system, this is a benefit to learning because understanding of the garden system is useful to understand the philosophy and culture both of the farm, and vice versa. Traditional societies are also fractal in weird ways, which is a big part of the reason why they treat people who are different in cities the same way they treat plants which are different in fields.
Appendix of current tabs, because I might as well just show you how crazy I am, and this is a disturbingly accurate way to photograph whats in my mind at a given time.
- Rightwing website with good ideas on going with out electricity.
- Study about cooperation in birdsongs. What might this imply about human cooperation?
- Product to waterproof fabrics.
- Website about cob building. "A team of a few men, working together one day a week, could complete a house in one season."
- website about living of the land in the PNW
- The uathor of Dresden Codak's art blog. One of the few remains from my earlier interest in techno-transhumanism.
- The SolarArk talks about living with a Raven.Been thinking about this alot, if you can live with a raven, how hard can human community be?
- Permaculture Credit Union
- Best vegitable seed companies, Mother Earth News
- Archdruid report where he introduces the "Green Wizard" Idea, an inspiration for my own "Rhizomancer" concept.
- A critique of the "green wizard" idea
- Archdruid report where he defends the green Wizard idea from a critique.
- The search for the perfect Kilogram
- LeavingBabylon's Ludda page
- Earth Movers of The Amazon A look at what could have been one of the greatest civilizations in history
- The Three Ecologies An essay that influences the meaning of permaculture for me.
- Leaving Babylon I finally caught up on these archives.
- Amazon page for "Debt Virus: A compelling solution to the worlds debt problems" Looks interesting, was recommended by LeavingBabylon blog.
- Blue eyes logic puzzle on xkcd (Still working on this one)
- "The Hardest Logic Puzzle Ever" on wikipedia (false!)
- Google Voice
- Christianaction.org's review of "The Last Temptation of Christ" (they didn't care for it)
- 100 Best Permaculture & Homesteading Books: The Ultimate Reading List for Sustainable Living
- The song 'Welcome Home' by Radical Face
- What is is like to be a bat?
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Not Past or Future, but Present.
I have touched on the history of the project, and said a few things about the plan for what will be. But I want to discuss where we are.
The funds to start the farm are tantalizingly close, with in a few thousand dollars of buying the land. And we have much of the equipment needed for the initial encampment, with a plan for the first few seasons that is quite minimalistic, to save costs. Matt and I are both completely committed to the project, with all the appropriate bridges burning. Our mutual friends Will and Vernon are both interested, and will certainly be important allies, and perhaps residents as well. Mathias, another friend made through the philosophy department, is dreaming his own life on the east coast, a kindred project, yet offering to spend a season or so helping us get founded; a favor that will surely be repaid when his project takes concrete form. Through his work in the forests of America Matt has found several good people that have shown some degree of interest, or at least curiosity in the project. Since beginning work as a wwoofer I have filled my contract book with good people, some of whom have shown interest in helping break ground on the homestead. One even showed interest in seeing if his dreams of homesteading are compatible with the type of community, as a resident or close neighbor. Its wonderful to have found some people who are already acquainted with community life to help us get of to the right start.
Its a bit nerve racking watching the economic brinkmanship games being played across the globe, hoping they won't damage the economy too badly before we are ready to support ourselves. Trying to simply conserve funds and wait for the time to be right is sometimes the best we can do. But there is alot of reading, alot of writing that needs to be done, alot of details to work out.
The funds to start the farm are tantalizingly close, with in a few thousand dollars of buying the land. And we have much of the equipment needed for the initial encampment, with a plan for the first few seasons that is quite minimalistic, to save costs. Matt and I are both completely committed to the project, with all the appropriate bridges burning. Our mutual friends Will and Vernon are both interested, and will certainly be important allies, and perhaps residents as well. Mathias, another friend made through the philosophy department, is dreaming his own life on the east coast, a kindred project, yet offering to spend a season or so helping us get founded; a favor that will surely be repaid when his project takes concrete form. Through his work in the forests of America Matt has found several good people that have shown some degree of interest, or at least curiosity in the project. Since beginning work as a wwoofer I have filled my contract book with good people, some of whom have shown interest in helping break ground on the homestead. One even showed interest in seeing if his dreams of homesteading are compatible with the type of community, as a resident or close neighbor. Its wonderful to have found some people who are already acquainted with community life to help us get of to the right start.
Its a bit nerve racking watching the economic brinkmanship games being played across the globe, hoping they won't damage the economy too badly before we are ready to support ourselves. Trying to simply conserve funds and wait for the time to be right is sometimes the best we can do. But there is alot of reading, alot of writing that needs to be done, alot of details to work out.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
A taste of the history of an idea.
In today's post I have to contend with one of my recurring sins, being verbose.
I want to share with you the first part of the story of The Thinkery. But its a story that has been occupying my mind for three years, and its difficult to prune all the branches to something that fits in one blog post.
Once upon a time, my friend Vernon went to Graduate school. He looked at it from the inside and said "this place is not good for people to live."
Hearing this, and being dedicated to a life of philosophy I asked "is there a good way for people to live, and practice the 'life of the mind'?"
We debated all evening, discussed all week, and thought all month. Finally we had an image that seemed plausible. A self sufficient community of thinkers, teachers, craftfolk, and artisans. But it was just an idea.
A couple months later though, things changed. Matt, a friend of Vernon and myself, showed up in Greeley and said "Start looking for farming internships to learn from, someday we will actually create the philosophy farm." He had heard the idea from Vernon, and had the vision to recognize that it was a true possibility.
Since then I have learned a lot about farming, permaculture, and community. And the vision for the farm has transformed. Its goals have changed, more focused on the pure issue of community. Philosophy was once the purpose of the farm, now it is only an aspect of the higher purpose of human community.
My next post will be about finding the people that are ready for community and one of the great difficulties for the farm. Specifically we will have to look at how the modern idea of family is a major challenge to overcome.
I want to share with you the first part of the story of The Thinkery. But its a story that has been occupying my mind for three years, and its difficult to prune all the branches to something that fits in one blog post.
Once upon a time, my friend Vernon went to Graduate school. He looked at it from the inside and said "this place is not good for people to live."
Hearing this, and being dedicated to a life of philosophy I asked "is there a good way for people to live, and practice the 'life of the mind'?"
We debated all evening, discussed all week, and thought all month. Finally we had an image that seemed plausible. A self sufficient community of thinkers, teachers, craftfolk, and artisans. But it was just an idea.
A couple months later though, things changed. Matt, a friend of Vernon and myself, showed up in Greeley and said "Start looking for farming internships to learn from, someday we will actually create the philosophy farm." He had heard the idea from Vernon, and had the vision to recognize that it was a true possibility.
Since then I have learned a lot about farming, permaculture, and community. And the vision for the farm has transformed. Its goals have changed, more focused on the pure issue of community. Philosophy was once the purpose of the farm, now it is only an aspect of the higher purpose of human community.
My next post will be about finding the people that are ready for community and one of the great difficulties for the farm. Specifically we will have to look at how the modern idea of family is a major challenge to overcome.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Welcome to the Thinkery.
It is a place where people come to think about the most important questions. Where most of our living comes directly from the land we dwell upon. Where music and celebration accompany conversation and meditation.
Come here to teach or study on any topic with interest enough to generate conversation. Physics, maths, music, dance, philosophy, etymology, linguistics, poetry, farming, culinary arts, wood working, smithing, carpentry, lime plaster, anthropology, psychology, chemistry, community building, economics, politics. Any interest can be shared, skill learned.
Or at least someday it will be. Matt Holzapfel and I (Ray Wharton) have been working toward the foundation of a farm, home stead, eco village, school. A community of people interested in a simple life of conversation, celebration, family, and friendship. Also developing Permaculture knowledge to increase the general understanding of this exciting new way of life.
I can't predict what parts of that vision we will be able to realize, but this blog with follow our work to try realizing that vision, and search for other visions.
[Edit: The long term goals of the Thinkery eventually supporting and being supported by self sufficient learning communities, inspired in large part by monastic traditions and intentional communities remains true, but our current starting point is the formation of skill sharing lessons, tool co-ops, community out reach, and pragmatic services for the local community while we build the broader community which the Thinkery has come to be synonymous with in our hearts. We are still shopping for just the right piece of land, still building our skills, and still finding new friends who can offer increasingly divergent approaches to how a community of learners can subsidize their educational efforts during hard time while helping to add resilience to the local community. 23 November 2012]
Come here to teach or study on any topic with interest enough to generate conversation. Physics, maths, music, dance, philosophy, etymology, linguistics, poetry, farming, culinary arts, wood working, smithing, carpentry, lime plaster, anthropology, psychology, chemistry, community building, economics, politics. Any interest can be shared, skill learned.
Or at least someday it will be. Matt Holzapfel and I (Ray Wharton) have been working toward the foundation of a farm, home stead, eco village, school. A community of people interested in a simple life of conversation, celebration, family, and friendship. Also developing Permaculture knowledge to increase the general understanding of this exciting new way of life.
I can't predict what parts of that vision we will be able to realize, but this blog with follow our work to try realizing that vision, and search for other visions.
[Edit: The long term goals of the Thinkery eventually supporting and being supported by self sufficient learning communities, inspired in large part by monastic traditions and intentional communities remains true, but our current starting point is the formation of skill sharing lessons, tool co-ops, community out reach, and pragmatic services for the local community while we build the broader community which the Thinkery has come to be synonymous with in our hearts. We are still shopping for just the right piece of land, still building our skills, and still finding new friends who can offer increasingly divergent approaches to how a community of learners can subsidize their educational efforts during hard time while helping to add resilience to the local community. 23 November 2012]
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