Sumner recounts and reflects (in detail) on his time living at the East Wind Community.
Land
Valley, Corn, Persimmons, Eggs, Cabbage, and Puerto Rico
by Raven
It’s been a while. Since Commune Life was on break for December, there are still November Facebook posts that I haven’t posted here. So this is still a bunch of what the communes were up to in the fall, and since the fall is harvest time, it’s not surprising a lot of it has to do with food.
The first post, however, is about the land around Glomus Commune.
Beautiful land, beautiful morning; this post did well.
The comments were about the picture location.
At LEF, it was about shelling corn.
This also did well.
At Twin Oaks, it was about food from the land.
This post did very, very well on Facebook.
At Glomus, East Brook Community Farm, their business, posted this picture, hoping to attract folks to the farmer’s market.
This post did very, very, very well on Facebook.
And finally, folks from LEF and Serenity Solidarity went to Puerto Rico to see how they could help. We published a long piece on it, but before that, the Serenity folks posted this picture from the Fundacion Bucarabon and we reposted it from them with the Google translation.
This post did okay on Facebook, but not as well as some of the others have done.
Glomus, Moonseed, Twin Oaks, East Wind, and Acorn
by Raven
Lots of communities were posting stuff on their Facebook and Instagram pages, so I was able to post a variety of stuff on our Facebook page this week. Some of it did very well and some not so much. I was surprised at how well some pretty basic stuff did this week.
East Brook Farm, home to Glomus Commune where I used to live, was having a farm day/potluck/open mic/bonfire and dancing!
It sounded like a lot of fun, but it didn’t do very well at all.
Moonseed Collective is a new forming community.
The link to their website above won’t work, but this will.
This post did okay.
Twin Oaks posted a picture of someone cooking dinner so I reposted it with a remark that dinner was served every night.
It seemed pretty generic to me, but it really took off for some reason.
A similar thing happened with this repost of a picture of East Wind’s nutbutters.
Again, it seemed pretty generic to me, but…
Finally, some Acorn folks went to East Wind and posted some pictures.
This did okay.
Why did the Open Mic/Dancing notice from Glomus do so poorly and the announcement of a new Black focused community (with lots of pictures!) and Acorn’s visit to East Wind (with pictures of the hills) just do okay, while simple pictures of someone cooking at Twin Oaks and a bunch of East Wind nutbutters do really well? I’m still trying to figure out how Facebook works.
Rabbits, Shack, Shed, and Anniversary
Here’s the last catch up on what’s been happening with our Facebook posts before we go on break next week.
At East Wind, it was baby rabbits.
The East Wind Facebook page has a video of the rabbits squirming around.
Apparently there aren’t that many folks interested in baby bunnies.
At Acorn, it was all about the earth.
I guess this reminder was appreciated.
Acorn has also been doing remodeling.
Again, this is a still–the video of the work can be seen here.
Folks weren’t as interested in this.
However, at Glomus, it was a shed that was built from scratch.
This did very, very well–and I’m not surprised. It’s construction work with lots of pictures.
We also got a comment from Keenan.
Finally, Twin Oaks celebrated fabulous fifty-five.
I think it’s amazing that they have been around for fifty-five years now. Not a lot of folks were interested, though.
Guitar, Land, and Knives
Yes, it’s the week Commune Life has done on Facebook again.
Start with having a former Twin Oaker show up to serenade the community.
This did very well on Facebook.
Then I (Raven) posted pictures of the beauty at Glomus.
Given that this was a lot of pictures of nature, I wasn’t surprised that it did very well.
At Living Energy Farm, Alexis sharpened a knife.
This is a still picture. You can view the video here.
This did pretty good.
Glomus Water Journey
Theresa documents the flow of water across the land around Glomus Commune.
Communities Conference and Serenity Land
by Raven
I think that these are two of the most important things I’ve put on Facebook recently and I am very sad that so few people saw them.
The Twin Oaks Communities Conference is wonderful. I have gone multiple times and I have been sorry that they haven’t been able to hold it the last couple of years. So I was very excited to see this.
Here’s the link to the original Twin Oaks Conference announcement.
Unfortunately, not very many folks saw this. At least it got six likes and loves.
The Serenity Community is trying to buy land–but they need money to do it. I can’t think of a better cause to support.
Here’s the link to their Go Fund Me account.
And this did poorly as well.
I wish there were better ways to get the word out than Facebook, but that seems to be what everyone looks at these days, and if a post doesn’t have lots of pictures of cute animals or a very provocative question, Facebook often just doesn’t show it to a lot of people.
Brazil’s Landless Movement
by Raven
I’m back at Glomus and trying to catch up on a bunch of things, including this blog. I’ve decided, since I’ve put so much good stuff on Facebook in the last couple of weeks, I will post here for a few days straight–which is why this is a Thursday post.
Tangle from Serenity Community reposted this piece about the Landless Movement in Brazil.
Just as I see communities as laboratories for social change, there are movements that I also think make a difference. There’s a lot of important things going on in the world that folks in the US don’t hear much about. This is one of them.
Unfortunately, this post didn’t do that well on Facebook:
I wish more people had seen this, but I’m glad for the eighty-two who saw it and the three who liked or loved it.
More catch up tomorrow (I hope).
Glomulin
Glomus Commune is named after the glomus fungi. Here Theresa of Glomus Commune explains what makes this fungi special.
Magnolia Collective’s Vision
The Magnolia Collective is small but they have a great vision for their community.
Rachel from the Magnolia Collective wants to note “…that we are currently full/not actively seeking members at the moment, and that this is the grand vision we are working towards, but we definitely have a long ways to go.”
For more information about the Magnolia Collective, you can visit their website.
Earth Connection & Caretaking
Honoring those that lived on this land before us, learning from traditional ways this land was stewarded, and striving to support the healing of those displaced from and exploited on it. Some ways this may manifest: Learning more local history, collaborating with the Historical Society, and donating a portion of all proceeds from the land to the Monocan Nation and local BIPOC initiatives.
Offering opportunities for exploration, play, wonder, and connection with the natural world, as well as hands-on learning and joining in the labor of love of land care. Some ways this may manifest: Crafting, themed garden areas, natural/edible playgrounds, an Enchanted Forest festival, gardening and seed saving workshops, workparties and volunteer opportunities.
Caring for and co-creating with the land in a way that nourishes soil life and a thriving ecosystem. Recognizing, valuing, and designing for the needs of more than just the humans that reside here. Some ways this may manifest: Covercrops and mulching, crop rotation, seed saving, plantings for medicine and beneficial insects, composting, donating surplus, rechanneling local waste, rainwater catchment, mindfulness, and lots of mycelia!
Weaving Community United In Diversity
Creating an inclusive, accessible, and welcoming space and a range of offerings that bring together people from varied walks of life. Seeking common ground and cultivating respectful curiosity and openness towards our different beliefs, life experiences, needs and gifts. Some ways this may manifest: Access for individuals with special needs incorporated into the design of space and events as much as possible; sliding-scale donation based; building relationships with, and bridges between, the Louisa intentional communities and other neighbors and local organizations; intention setting around openness to difference at the start of events, and encouraging opportunities for conversation and connection throughout; continuing our own process of recognizing and working on our biases and blind spots.
Spiritual Nourishment & Heart Connection
Coming together to contemplate and celebrate, stretch our boundaries, explore deeper questions of purpose, and support each other on our unique journeys. Some ways this may manifest: Interfaith Shabbat, study groups, sharing circles, song circles, ceremonies, sweats, meditative dance…
Seeding Creative Change
Sharing (and offering space for others to share) technologies and systems, skills, and resources that empower folk to move toward the change they want to see in the world. Some ways this may manifest: Tours, workshops, and online material centered around off-grid systems and land care; seed swaps and skill shares; redirecting surplus; networking and collaborating with other communities and organizations in the area.
commune life 