We headed over to Durham, NC from Asheville and spent a couple days with Freddie's friend Jessica Lee (see Freddie's post below). We went to a pop up fair and rode on the swingy ride! I really enjoyed being there and getting to know Jessica Lee.
From there, we drove out to Efland, North Carolina where my friend's partner lives at what they call the "Homostead". (Pictures below) Home to 3-5 humans, many cats, a couple dogs, goats, ducks and a bazillion tiny tadpoles in the pond! It was gorgeous with lots of red bud's blossoming and spring coming alive. (Happy Spring Equinox!) I enjoyed being there in the deep peaceful quiet, cozy next to the fire, and walking through the woods. I also got to talk to my friend about their process of acquiring the land and hear some of their thoughts on rural living and queer land projects. I took lots of notes and have a lot to process from our conversations :-) So nice to meet someone who is really on the same page politically and is living a life of natural beauty, connection and community.
Then we went to Twin Oaks in Louisa, Virginia which was fascinating. They are one of the big names when it comes to "intentional communities" in the United States. They have been around since the 1960's and currently have about 100 members. They are a member of the Federation of Egalitarian Communities. The most interesting part about this community is their labor structure. They have 3 large businesses: Hammocks, Tofu, and Seeds (Hippie much?). They also have smaller businesses like book indexing and ornamental flowers along with the house labor (childcare, cleaning etc.) that is also counted toward their hours. The commitment to valuing domestic and reproductive labor and compensating people equally for this work was definitely my favorite part of this place. (Freddie's favorite part was the cows) Everyone is required to work a 42 hour work week (including domestic work, community facilitation, and other non-traditional forms of "work") and in exchange they are provided with all of their basic needs: food, housing, healthcare, transportation and a small monthly "allowance". The fact that people have this security and are able to trust that these needs will be met is amazing. One of the issues, financially, is that you do not build any equity so you are essentially stuck there since if you leave the community you don't have any capital...and most people don't leave at all while they live there. Seems claustrophobic. And it definitely shows because it kinda feels like you are walking into a commune that started in the 60's and hasn't changed much since. I'm sure this is reductionist, and I am still in the practice of holding contradictions and trying to learn from places even if I don't totally resonate. Aaaaannnd, Twin Oaks was just weird. Aside from our host, people were not very friendly or open. Several people in the kitchen were talking about "trans-racial", and one white woman was saying how she identified as transracial and was complaining about her transgendered friend who didn't think this was the same as their trans identity....These are the kind of racist, transphobic conversations I try to think don't exist, but here they are, happening in the communal kitchen at Twin Oaks. The cherry on top was when someone told us that the room we were staying in is usually empty not just because of the mold, but because several people have committed suicide in there. Sooo....we left. There is a lot more to say about this place, but that's about all the energy I have left to talk about it!
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| Freddie's Best Friend |
Now we are in Richmond, Virginia staying with my sister and lots more loving family updates to come soon!
Xo,
Eli
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