Forming, need founders

Mission: ~We are a diverse group of families, partners and individuals of all ages who are united in our commitment to live a more sustainable, self-sufficient and wholistic lifestyle. We apply this commitment to our environment, society, economy, and all other relationships.[1]

~We strive to reflect this in our bodies, minds and spirits by living together through Mutual Aid and employing permaculture principles[2] as we balance our shared communal land, amenities and facilities with our individually owned parcels.[3]

~While focusing on education, we endeavor to become a productive, successful example, of living in harmony with ourselves, our fellow humans and our Earth Mother.~

From www.ic.org/directory/forming-need-founders/:

**We're looking for a few one-of-a-kind, super founders, very specific folks. Someone with extreme drive, laser like focus, unstoppable determination, magical vision and awesome organizational skills. Folks with precise communication, intense skills, serious resources, and/or finances. I can't stress this enough...We are extremely picky right now (the very beginning) but later will be much more open and accepting once we have created the container to do so... If after you read through this material and you feel like you are the 1 in 1,000,000 who we need on our team right now at this stage, please write us telling us why you think you might be that person......

Our community is forming, although some of our information is written in present tense. Please keep in mind- there is no land and no infrastructure yet!

This is the original visioning document. It is simply a summary of what we hope and dream our community to look like in the nearest possible future. It's our goal. The actual details and systems are laid out in other documents.

Return of the Tribes-

Sometimes when I close my eyes, I'm taken to another place, another time. I'm writing this down once more as a map of my journey. This is a place of Peace and Joy, a time of Love and Happiness. Here there is an abundance of Life, fields of green and amber flourishing with grain, fruit and vegetables. Healthy, vibrant forests wrap around a beautiful, clean river valley. The scents of wildflowers and fragrant herbs bathe the senses. The sounds of children’s’ laughter and people singing and drumming as they tend the fields carry on the wind. As you come closer, as if drawn in by magnetic attraction, you see cabins, cottages, greenhouses and earthshelters dotting the countryside, encircling the fields and pastures. People smile warmly, welcoming you home. This is Tribe, this is Community, this is The Garden- our true home, where we belong.

As you wander down a small road, winding its way past family dwellings and farm buildings, there stand wind turbines, a wood gasifier and solar panels harnessing natural energy in a natural way. Everywhere can be seen people happily going about the day. You see the Building Crew, creating a new home for one of the families off to the East. Over there you notice a group of children leading their teacher on a class excursion tracing the edge of the forest, tracking animals and exploring plants. Ahead you see the Permaculture Crew planting seeds for the future and a group tending to the various farm animals. There are children everywhere as the road winds closer to the community's center. The children here attend a school taught by various community people for a few hours a day. Another lesson is spent visiting the different crews in their daily rounds, whether it be the Food prep.Crew, the Farm Animals Crew or another. This way each child gets real-life exposure and interaction with every part of life, as well as plenty of time to play and explore.

Continuing down the road following the smells of fresh-baked bread and cooking food, you approach a large dome shaped building, looking as if it is pulsing with Life; and it is. This is the Community Lodge, housing the Central Fire. Here, meals are served each day, prepared by the Food Prep Crew in the adjacent community kitchen. This is also a gathering place for meetings, ceremonies and entertainment. Elders tell stories, music is performed and children act out plays. By celebrating the many facets of Wholistic Tribal Living, the people hold this place dear to their hearts.

The people are truly happy here because they live the way humans were created and evolved to live. Conflicts are resolved peaceably by a dynamic communication the people here strive for. Everyone chooses their own type of service to the community, according to their skills and talents. Some are teachers, some are healers. Some work the fields or the kitchen. Some are builders, artists or craftsmen. All are needed integrally and equally. Many tools and crafts are produced in the community- boots and footwear, felt hats and gloves, rustic furniture, pottery, clothing, hand tools, the list goes on. These items are then distributed throughout the community to whoever has need of them. Any surplus is traded with the sister communities for things they produce-food items, tools or specialties.

Since each community is "self-sufficient"(but actually co-dependant upon sister tribes) they produce all the whole, natural foods necessary to support the community. Permaculture principles are employed to organically grow vegetables, sprouts, grains, nuts, fruit, meat, fish, eggs, milk, yogurt, cheese, honey, herbs, etc. The storehouses are full and excess is used to barter.

Walking down a small trail weaving through the woods, you come upon a serene lake. Nestled in on its shore is a beautifully landscaped building, blending naturally in harmony with the surroundings. This is the Healing Center. Many forms of healing are practiced here, from various types of massage and acupuncture to herbals and emergency medicine. Community people are treated freely by community people, since each contribute to the Whole Tribe. Each has their own skill or passion to offer the Whole. Everyone is fed good whole healthy food, everyone is educated well, everyone is healed, and everyone is both benefited and benefits others. We are one. Also, each Community Tribe specializes in certain areas of skill or knowledge, and therefore functions as a learning center, a living university of sorts. People are free to travel back and forth between sister Communities, seeking out new learning and teaching experiences.

You may wonder how order is maintained and who makes the decisions. The people themselves make the decisions through the respective councils. For example, the Permaculture/Aquaponic Crew decides when, where, and how to plant, tend and harvest the fields and greenhouses. The Education Council organizes the schooling of the children. The people who make up these councils and crews are composed of anyone who feels drawn to them. These and other crews work together closely with the Council of Elders, the main facilitating body. These elders are exemplary people in the community, noted for their wisdom and ability to put the good of the whole above their own. They guide the tribe to come to decisions on all pertinent issues. In this way order is maintained and each voice is respected and honored.

Because actual goods and services are produced here, money is (eventually becomes) meaningless in this barter system. An extensive trade network exists between the sister communities with outreach busses navigating back and forth, on a constant circuit, picking up and discharging people and trading goods while teaching classes and workshops across the country. There are many community outreach services provided to include the searching public in the nearby big cities- a community run natural cafe, community store offering the many crafts and products made by the tribe and a school offering many classes and workshops. At this community, there are provisions for guests and visitors to stay and a trial period for longer. Reaching out rather than isolation is our goal, living by example and lending a helping hand to the masses.

All the people here know that it is not enough to just have a "spiritual" community; brothers and sisters just a meditation or a phone call away. Rather, True Community, Wholistic Community must exist on all levels equally, INCLUDING THE PHYSICAL!!! The physical aspects of Wholistic Community are all about living cooperatively and in harmony with children, young people, adults and Elders. They also include taking part in and understanding all of the processes that support physical life and health! Some of the more critical examples are:
Planting, tending, harvesting and preparing living, growing plants.

Preparing, storing and cooking naturally organic, whole & healthy foods.

Building naturally energy efficient homes.

Harnessing Naturally pure energy in a natural way.

Birthing, raising, lovingly caring for food animals.

Caretaking the Earth while gathering and harvesting needed materials.

Hunting, fishing and wild crafting/gathering when necessary, in a balanced,sacred manner, as has sustained all natural tribal cultures close to the Earth Mother for eons.

The list goes on. Without these interactive processes, true community cannot exist in its fullest state of teaching life's most important lessons and passing them on to the next generation. True community is WHOLISTIC and has many integral support systems that are inextricably bound together, mimicking the balance of Nature. As in Nature, take one piece away, and the Whole eventually collapses. The people here know this, they live it, the people here remember what life is really about.

A service of the Data Commons Co-op. The project has been supported by Equal Exchange, the Cooperative Charitable Trust, the USDA, and many others - thank you! Tech volunteers over the years include: Benjamin Bradley with support from GAIA Host. Ben Mauer with support from Quilted. Paul Fitzpatrick. Ronin Tech Collective, Brattleboro Tech Collective, Sligo Computer Services. Jason Lemieux. Default map tiles courtesy of MapQuest. Default map data (c) OpenStreetMap contributors, CC-BY-SA.