Community Building

You got it.  While they "document the moment" they miss it utterly.  (And somebody's always got their eyes shut or a funny look on their face anyway, right?  )

I was glad we were far enough out in the boondocks that we didn't have to worry about cell phones ringing during the ceremony.  No doubt there would've been some of that, no matter if we had asked everyone to shut off their phones...

Good luck in Philly!

Viva -- Sager

 My friends D&B (the homesteaders) found out a week ago that they have to be out of their living situation (caretaking a small estate) by 9/1 -- the previous understanding was more like November 1st.  Which means the barn/house has to be ready for them in a few short weeks.  I put in an extra day (worked last Friday & Monday) since my August schedule at the studio is a wee bit sparse (as usual for this time of year -- everybody's away for vacay).

A short list of what needs to happen between now and 9/1:

1.  Windows (some already in, but many not)

2.  Doors (ditto)

3.  Complete work on the wood floor (mainly stuff around edges, trapdoor to crawlspace)

4.  Finish wiring for lights/outlets/etc. (this is what I've spent a lot of time doing...I hope it's as straightforward as it seems or...bad things could...happen )

5.  'Leventy-six other minor things which have to do mainly with comfort and finished appearances (lots of drywall and so forth) and not keeping-out-the-elements-and-beasties-wee-and-otherwise.

So D&B are redoubling their efforts, holding a work party both days this coming weekend.  Here's hoping they get a great turnout (I'll be away).  I reckon they'll make it, it'll just be a couple of hectic months living in the space they're still working on...  The do have an Airstream trailer on the land they can "camp" in for awhile if need be, although running a family of 4 out that for more than a month will no doubt fray nerves.

On the how-to-organize-the-community front, their hunch is it'll be an LLC, in which one buys shares as one's portion of the investment/risk, plus monthly or annual assessment to cover ongoing infrastructure work and property taxes etc.  Then one has the right to build on a given footprint of land and apart from certain profile/energy efficiency standards, one can build as simply or lavishly as one wants.  Methinks most folks will stay simple/local materials/handmade.  I can't imagine many homesteady-type folks springing for granite countertops (unless they could scavenge some from a McMansion demolition ) and the like.  

There's also likely to be:

1.  Probationary period -- 6 to 12 months.

2.  Work requirement.  I think 500 hours is probably about right (more or less 1 day/week for a year)?

I also reckon a criminal record check and a credit check are not bad ideas.  No need for surprises.  ("Hey, Phil -- you never told me you were convicted of check kiting/embezzlement/spousal battery back in '02!")  I don't think a spotty past is a surefire disqualifier, but I'd want to know.

As Diana Leafe Christian details in her book "Finding Community" it's much better for a community-in-the-making to set its bar high, even if it means staying small for a while.  I concur.

As for the ongoing work, I've become familiar with electrical wiring, refinishing reclaimed wood, pulling comm cable 300' (and around 2 bends in the buried conduit) from the building to the pole where it hooks up, and caulkingcaulkingcaulking (not my fave) in the last 2-1/2 weeks.  Not bad for a rank amateur.

If anybody has thoughts on how you legally structure the kind of community I'm envisioning (not-for-profit?  [501(c)3 I think?]...LP?) other than an LLC, I'm all ears.

Viva -- Sager

nb:  bad syntax corrected

Sager - I am so intrigued by this idea. I have been so hungry for men's fellowship and this idea really struck me as a good one. I have some questions, though - Is this forum an appropriate place to ask/discuss the fire circle, or should I ask via PM?

Sure.  Fire away.

Just briefly, though -- most men's activities these days are centered around sports or leisure time activities -- which is fine and therapeutic vis-a-vis "dude time" / setting aside the concerns of the day-to-day.  But actually striking an inviolable spot in your sked for "serious talkin' " with guys who are of a similar mind-frame is a fine, fine thing.  Don't get me wrong -- the first half-hour/hour of the fire can often be simply "so...uh...whut's up, man?" but eventually somebody among the participants (or several of the fellahs) have plenty of chewy stuff to discuss. 

Being (usually) outside is also key.  Something about an open fire and the moon and stars.  Works wonders.

Thanks for askin', man.  I'll be happy to answer any of your questions.

Viva -- Sager

Hey gang --

So here we are, 'nother Summer 'officially' ending, and time for a check-in on the community building front...

1.  Homestead:  D&B did not, as it turns out, have to vacate their current domicile by Sept. 1...  The deal to rent the property they caretake (in lieu of rent) fell through, so they are still living there and working on the Homestead.  I'd guess they'll be in the current living sitch through next Memorial Day (unlikely to rent such a high-end property as the one they caretake in the middle of the school year, IMO).  Which means when I'm up there volunteering on Fridays (I'm up to about 50 hours in the Community Work Bank!) we're tending to do outdoorsy stuff (building stone retaining walls, fr'instance) since we can do finish work indoors once the weather turns.  Working side-by-side w/somebody IS indeed a fine way to get to really know them, as every week I come to understand D better and have a better understanding of what he & B are really envisioning.  My wife still thinks I'm nuts vis-a-vis a homesteady life, but she's come a long way since last Spring and lord knows I have my persuasive wiles.  And at any rate we can't roll forward with The Plan until late Winter so I've got time to work on her.  

2.  Men's Circle:  The circle continues to mature and come into focus as a vehicle for action (as opposed to its founding purpose, which was process-oriented, i.e., a place to be seen and heard and discuss How Is It With One's Life).  We continue our regular 2nd-Sunday-Night gatherings for the original purpose, but we are also adding at least 2 Weds night circles-around-the-fire a month to discuss The Mission, which encompasses a few projects specifically but generally is "How Do We As A Group of Smart Dudes Foster Awareness, Energy & Action Around 'What To Do' In The Face of the Swift & Vast Changes Coming Our Way?".  We've had a false start or two while we sorted out that mission statement (and a few guys left the circle and -- wonder of wonders -- were replaced shortly by other guys who dug the mission) and figured out what everybody's level of commitment, etc., was.  But now it feels like things are percolating and that the complement of personalities/energy in the circle is powerful and harmonious:  y'know the old saying:  It's amazing what you can accomplish when nobody cares who gets the credit.

3.  The Larger World of Community in the New Paltz/Kingston/Woodstock Area:  This is the largest job because it's the largest web of connections, and because to be most useful in the World of Tomorrow it has to morph from being simply a social net to a social/economic/political/spiritual net.  I guess my wife & I have been consciously working on this one since February 2005, and at this point we're hooked in to quite the extensive grapevine-type network.  My work with the men's circle is going to tend to call on the grapevine network and turn it from a social thing into the 4-dimensional network I mentioned in this paragraph.  My wife is the social butterfly in our relationship.  It's almost impossible for us to go out somewhere and not have her bump into someone she knows from somewhere, but I believe I'm starting to make a dent, too, through my action-oriented work out there in the world -- i.e., I was at the multiplex w/my little brother (Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Ulster County) and the guy tearing tickets said, "Dude, you're the DJ from the Frolic!  Yer set rocked, man!"  This stopped me in my tracks and I actually shook  my head to clear it, as that'd never happened before.  (My Little Bro thought I was the coolest thing since X-Box, which by the standards of his generation is pretty cool.  )  So apart from the enjoyment I get personally out of djjing, I've become something of a Known Quantity.  Which is potentially useful later when I approach somebody about a different project they'll at least hear me out because they know me from X.  And the number of social connections I'm making through people I meet/work with out at the Homestead is really starting to add up.  Maybe this is all "well, duh!  Get out there and people will recognize you!" to most of you but I've always tended to be a Sit At the Periphery And Observe type of person so all this Getting Stuck In In The Middle Of Things is new to me.  

I was actually doing some carpentry up at the Homestead a few weeks ago and met a guy who looked reaaally familiar but couldn't place.  He & I finally figured out that about 6 years ago, my wife & I (on one of our first-ever dates) went to a party in Brooklyn at the apartment of him & his girlfriend.  It was actually a farewell party as they were moving up to the Woodstock area the next week.  Well, here it is 2009 and lo and behold, he and I have a friend (D) and purpose in common.    That felt really nice.  

Right, gotta go.  Time for the Sunday Trip To Town w/the Wife.  Have a great holiday, everybody!

VIVA, ya'lls! -- Sager

P.S.  edited for content/clarity

Hey gang --

Well, it's been a couple months, and I wanted to update the Community Building thread with the goings-on since last I posted.

1.  Up at the homestead, I continue to volunteer my time and help D do this'n'that.  D spent some time with a backhoe grading the ground uphill of the home/barn they're building so rainwater will shed to either side.  We put in a bunch of windows, and I've helped him move things from one place to another in preparation for other work.  (When you're building w/reclaimed materials, and building in general, the amount of *stuff* you need to do just to get the equipment in the right place, clear space for the next phase, prep old materials for re-use and so forth, can be quite a lot of sweat.)  He's also been doing some contract work with that backhoe on somebody else's property to recharge their bank account, so I'd say I've only been up there 2 Fridays a month.

2.  In our l'il community here in the New Paltz area, things over the Summer and into early Fall were really coming together from the "Wow, what a fine, worthy, interesting bunch of people we have here!" point of view.  I think the news here is that people have really started to understand and value the extraordinary bond they're forming with some or all of the individuals in the group.  Which is both a magnificent thing, and ever-so-gratifying to watch (and experience for myself).  [editors note:  aw dang, the rednecks down the road are doing target practice again!  {technically illegal since they're too close to other folks' homes}]  I'm even starting to make some headway in terms of people opening their minds to cohabitational-type community (e.g., 30 acres, 10 families, common buildings, mucho garden, common vehicles/expenditures, etc.), if not to a Crash Course state of mind in particular.  Seems like people are grokking that What Was Amiss Still Is in spite of the cheerleading from the MSM.  And so without strictly thinking in terms of collapse/major change, they're starting to consider (and appreciate) the benefits (economic & otherwise) of sharing the Life Load with like-minded people they already love (or at least trust and enjoy).  If you've read my (I believe) original post in this thread, you'll know my wife & I have a 'First Friday' gathering each month -- come as you are, bring a friend, light food & drink, bring a dish or bottle if you want, just hang'n'talk'n'dance'n'catchup with cool people.  Well I finally got D&B the homesteaders to come to this months' gathering and they spent a lot of time talking to people about what they're doing, and people were piqued.  At least a few are going to join me on my Friday volunteer gig sometime soon.  (Our resident loveable curmudgeon was annoyed that I wasn't going up today -- he's rarin' to go!)  So that's progress, and obviously a sign of people's thoughts on the subject of serious dedicated sustainable community.  NICE.

3.  Another catalyzing event vis-a-vis our growing community is the event upcoming a week from Tuesday:  my wife is getting a hip replacement.  It's been bothering her for a long time now and she's taking the plunge.  She should recover quickly (due to her youth and fitness level) but it's still going to be a wild December for me (covering her shifts at our biz, caretaking, etc.).  But when our community learned this was going to happen, people volunteered their help all over the place -- and even more mind-bogglingly awesome, they're organizing it on their own:  casserole committee, walking-the-dog-midday-while-Sager's-at-work committee, keeping-the-wife-company-during-the-day committee, random errand committee (picking up DVDs for the wife, shopping help, etc.).  Holy guacamole!  Better than I'd have dreamed.  Sort of a pinch me moment, but one in retrospect that shouldn't be so surprising, I spose.  I'm certain there's a whole 'nother thread we could start about how Big Moments Will Bring Out The Best in People (as antidote to the "Post-Crash-It's-Gonna-Be-Mad-Max!!" meme) (naturally, the truth lies in the middle somewhere) and (a) that'll help ease the transition from Now to Whatever's Coming, and (b) this makes me believe that when the tipping point in consciousness around the CC ideas happens, people will act cooperatively/collaboratively -- and more quickly -- than perhaps what I (and many others around here?) had previously thought.  Not to say we shouldn't be laying groundwork like mo-fos, but I'm coming to believe it's not gonna be 100% "red in tooth and claw" either.

SO:  to sum up a long rambling post:  things here continue apace --

1.  We may be reaching a tipping point with our local community vis-a-vis Let's All Put On a Show Together! (and get busy on a cohousing/village community solution).

2.  D&B's Homestead is coming along slow but sure (and might become a Put On a Show! venue).

3.  When people put it together in community, the results can be a source of joy and satisfaction.

4.  There's another little nugget a-coming, but I'll post about that when it's all nailed down and official (soon).  My men's circle (now with the addition of one kick-tushie woman) have been cooking something up for a couple months now. 

As always, I crave other folk's stories about their experiences/successes/frustrations/lessons learned WRT community building.  What's up in your neck of the woods?

Have a fandamtastic Thanksgiving, all!

Viva -- Sager

  In our Neck of the Woods we have for the last five years put on a free Community Thanksgiving meal .  We will feed over 500 people who have no other plans . Also the young adults will  carry meals to the shut ins .  It is a joyful Celebration .

Glad to hear it, FM!  And excellent use of italics!  

 Honestly Sager ,   I am still having trouble finding people that do not have faith that this will all right itself,  just like all the times before.  That it will just take the elected officials a little time to get things rolling again .  

   Our country has just had so many ups and downs  that they think this is just one more . 

  I am the nutty   one and  now just going to shut up until they come to me.  No one wants to listen to anything negative .  You can only cry wolf so many times before they do not listen at all. Just think of all the books ingrained in us from childhood .  Henny Penny  the Sky is falling  and such . 

   I am  so glad you found a little community .     Mine will come around when the lights are turned off .  Then  they will  kick it  in  and work together.  .

And if you're there, prepped, and ready to roll (and ready to lead?) -- your community will be that much better off.

Seriously, us Ready Folk *could* lay down such a case of "neener/told you so"...but I don't think that's...ehrm...constructive.  

Viva -- Sager