The Farm. Summertown, Tennessee
We made a short stop at a place many know as one of the original "hippie communes" of the 1970's. It is really fascinating to learn about this history, and very clear it is a vision of a group of hippies from the 70's and not my vision for the kind of community I want to create or live in. The Farm is inspiring in its sheer magnitude and length of time it has been around. They originally purchased 1,000 acres for $70 an acre, and later purchased an additional 750 acres for $100 per acre and had up to 1600 people living on the land! Impressive. After about 10 years of working through the difficulties of communal living and different forms of income sharing they "decollectivized" and many people left due to disillusionment and not being able to support themselves. They now have 150 people living on the land, working at a book publishing press, eco-education center and other small industries on the farm. Learning more about the farm was definitely a practice of staying open and not letting my judgement shut down the entire experience. But I don't know. The more I learn about it the more unwilling I feel to compromise. How can I glean and learn from a community when their values are fundamentally different, when the core of their project is in direct contradiction to my politics?! For example, Ina May Gaskin is someone I looked to in my early years of being a doula. She inspired me, and many birth workers, to understand birth as a sacred and safe experience that all "women" deserve to have in the comfort of their own home. However, I recently learned that birth control and abortions were not allowed at the farm and instead they offered for every baby to be born with the support of free midwives and to find a family for that child. Wow. Not my vision of reproductive justice. Also, their founding agreements and beliefs such as: "We believe that vegetarianism is the most ecologically sound and humane lifestyle for the planet, but that what a person eats does not dictate their spirituality." or "We believe that inner peace is the foundation for world peace." There is so much I could say about these things but basically, I just don't jive with their dogma, or any dogma for that matter. I don't need to get on my soap box about the actual impacts of vegetarianism vs. omnivores on the planet, nor do I need to get into the limitations of seeing your own self-work as the end not just one of many means to social transformation...If you are reading this, or know me at all, you have probably already heard my shpiel ;) Last thing I'll say, is that when Freddie and I were talking to someone at the welcome center, she told us they have a total of 3 gay people on their land....okay, cool. Agh. I'm really not trying to hate on the Farm. I have been wanting to go there for years. I am just left with a lot of questions and a deep longing for more history and models of communal living and collective land projects that address and counter oppressive society rather than reproduce it. Idyll Dandy Arts. Dowelltown, Tennessee
It was a relief to arrive at IDA. We had been there in June before Idapalooza last year which was fun but this time we got to spend more quality time there and get to know the land and the people a bit better. I appreciate that the space exists as "a safer space for queer, trans, and gender non-conforming people with varying experiences, identities, and abilities". I really felt that intention being on the land and could see the many ways people were grappling with living into these commitments. IDA is in a time of transition after having a lot of their oldest members move off the land last year leaving leadership and general maintenance of the land and community to newer and younger folks. Another thing that is interesting about IDA, and several other places in this network, is that they are a 501(c)3 non-profit. There are so many advantages and disadvantages of structuring community this way, or any way for that matter. It seems like having a non-profit is one way of collectivizing and not having any single owners or bosses. However, there are limitations if you are trying to challenge capitalism within such an institution. Whether its searching for funding, or board politics, there are a lot of things about the non-profit industrial complex that can actually hinder the work we are trying to do and the impact we are trying to have. That said, IDA has been around for a while, and throughout their many changes they have remained an important space for queers all around the country.
Another awesome and somewhat unique thing about this area is that there are several different queer/radical communities within 30 miles as well as other neighbors who are part of the broader community.
Cultivating community in rural spaces can sometimes be difficult but it feels totally vital. Isolation and boredom are the biggest struggles I had when I was living rurally; and having people I love around not only helped me survive physically (i.e. helping with firewood, growing food etc.) but also emotionally through deep connections and intimacy. One of the things living on a farm/rurally reminds me is that we are interdependent with each other and with the planet in a tangible way. It is not some woo-woo spiritual philosophy. We need each other. And when we remember that, we restore our collective dignity and mutual relationships.
The Highlander Center. New Market, Tennessee
This is a another place I have been wanting to come for years. I got to sit down and talk with someone on staff and ask some questions about their history, structure and organizing. I am inspired and intrigued by their contributions to social movements over the past 70+ years. One of the things I like about their model is that they invite groups to have retreats/meetings at their center and either (a) fund them entirely (b) find donors to sponsor that specific group (c) request fees that subsidize other groups with less resources ability to access the center. Also, part of what they do there is bring together groups that are working on social and environmental issues that are connected. For example, a group of coal mine worker organizers with environmental justice groups fighting coal and mountain top removal. I love the idea that there is a space designated for cross-movement building and strengthening our struggles together. I have a lot more thinking, researching and writing to do. So for now, that's all.
Thanks for reading!
- Eli
