We have a bit of a villager thing going on here at the moment. And I've got to say that it's not a bed of roses. In fact it's hard work. We have some family staying at the moment. 3 adults and 3 children under 5. They are living in our WWOOFer's accomodation. The lease on their rental finished and they have been unable to find another house to rent. So what do you do? They are family and they cannot be left out on the street!!!
They are wonderful people, but their lifestyle is very different from ours. We are miles apart in our ideas on just about everything. How do we find ways of resolving our differences without compromising our beliefs. Is this the sort of stuff wars are fought about?
And then there is a minor emergency and the baby needs to be left with pop.......
How lucky are we? We hope to build an intentional community next door. It is a testing time for us all, with everyones different personalities, ethics and intentions.But the idea of building a safe place for children, a supportive place for parents and a secure place for the elderly, as well as provide sustainable low cost housing in a peri urban location is very appealing!
Hi Kate
ReplyDeleteI nominated you for the Versatile Blogger award. I really enjoy your blog and want to share it with those that follow me. You can read it here:
http://ecofootprintsa.blogspot.com/2012/02/versatile-blogger.html
Dani :)
Oh Kate, how hard for all of you. I am so glad the baby has someone. I don't think I could handle village life too well, I am very content with my privacy here in my little corner.
ReplyDeletei can imagine it would be a mix of joy and trial. that baby is so so precious. take good care.
ReplyDeleteI remember reading an article that was an appendix in a Jeffrey Hodges book (that I've since lost) from someone who lived in a self sufficient community, saying that the self sufficiency skills were easy. It was the social skills of maintaining a community with enough critical mass for self sufficiency that were hard. I've lived in an intentional community for nearly 30 years now, and I think that is true. Good functional communities have people who are easy going and not ideologues, who appreciate people with very different ideas, and at the same time, who value developing those skills, who see it as a worthwhile personal development even when it is challenging. I'm watching the development of your community with my fingers crossed for you. From my perspective, it's a wonderful life.
ReplyDeleteIt is lovely what you are doing for this family. Many of my friends do not have the same 'self suffiency ' ideals as me ...but as long as they respect my views, it is okay with me.I think maybe the people who teach us to bend are the greatest teachers of all.
ReplyDeleteWith people like you and Mark around ...this new community you are trying to build has 'positive thinking' written all over it. I see a new future and a new way of life for communities with developments like these.Keep up the wonderful work.
I can sympathise with the hard work part at the moment. There are so many little issues happpening at our place. It's very hard to live so closely with people. Silly problems like not being able to get to my computer or heading to the kitchen to cook a meal, to discover others are using it. Only small issues but very wearing when you are busy. But there are upsides that can't be ignored. As I've been typing this comment I have just been reminded that I've forgotten about the bread which has already risen.
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