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Dom and Shayna -- the pair of cross-country travellers filing reports from their road trip in search of community -- have posted a final batch of photos and an entry entitled "In Celebration of New Beginnings" over on the Alternate Routes blog. An exerpt:

"... the people with whom we choose to interact and exchange ideas have a substantial impact on our own thoughts. I feel like this journey has expanded the realm of possibilities that exists within my community of thoughts."

For a look back at the journey, check out the archive of Alternate Routes.

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August 22, 2007

Alternate Routes: Alternatives to Institutions

Posted by mason at 01:15 PM ET | Comments (0)

Dom and Shayna have reached Quebec as part of their summer-long road trip to explore the meaning of community in Canada, and this dispatch is part of their latest post on the Alternate Routes blog:

At Maison Emmanuel, people with disabilities are encouraged to focus on their abilities by working in a variety of areas: the garden, the woodworking shop, the bakery, the pottery workshop, or with the farm animals. Many of the products they create are sold, to cover some of the community's costs, but we were told that the biggest value in the work that they do is that personal sense of accomplishment that we all feel from creating something with our own two hands.

By creating a safe space for people with disabilities to share their lives with others, both l'Arche Saint John and Maison Emmanuel are effective and beneficial alternatives to institutionalization or total dependency on family forever. The sense of belonging that comes from being valued for their unique gifts is something that no institution can provide.

Check out the blog's front page for more.

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July 12, 2007

Alternate Routes: Small world

Posted by mason at 01:30 PM ET | Comments (0)

Shayna's first entry from the road appears below. From here on in, she and Dominique will be posting directly to the Alternate Routes blog. Enjoy!

We are somewhere in the middle of Quebec, on the Trans-Canada Highway. It's about 10 p.m. We've been on the road since 8 this morning. We are looking for a place to sleep.

My partner, Dominique, and I are on our way from Toronto to Halifax, about to begin a cross-country tour of intentional communities.

Why are we doing this, again? I ask myself.

I look at Mirinda and Phil, asleep in the back seat, and remember...

Mirinda and Phil came into our lives in a miraculously serendipitous moment walking down the street in Toronto's Kensington Market one day. The details are a bit long and convoluted, but it was one of those small world moments, where distant and separate social connections join together in one short but profound human interaction. They were looking for a room to rent for the summer, and a ride to Halifax. We were subletting our rooms and heading to the East Coast.

I feel like this trip is, in large part, about those small world moments. It's about manifesting more real relationships, and then relying on those relationships and embracing our inter-connectedness and inter-dependencey as human beings.

In preparing for this journey, we have relied heavily on our own social networks—for inspiration, for guidance, and for equipment. Almost everything we're bringing with us on this trip, including the car we're using for the first half, was borrowed or donated by friends and family, or else bought used.

In addition to environmental sustainability, and our limited financial resources, we were also thinking about this decision in terms of community-building. Since the idea for this trip was born, just a few months ago, we have received innumerable blessings, offers of support, and donations and loans of equipment. It all came from people we know, members of our various communities.

With a tent from our friend Lesa, travel mugs from Emily and Adam, a Coleman stove from Uncle Peter and Aunt Carolina, sleeping mats from Christine, a car from my parents, and a great deal of support from all of these people plus many more, we set off with a whole community of people behind us.

As we settle down in the parked car, all of our limbs intertwined with one another, finding pieces of sleep between suitcases and guitars and a steering wheel, I comfort myself with thoughts of this support network.

It's a wonderful feeling to have so many tangible expressions of love around us; and I have a feeling we'll be experiencing a lot more of it along the way.

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July 11, 2007

Alternate Routes: Meet Dom and Shayna

Posted by mason at 12:01 AM ET | Comments (0)

Throughout the summer, This Magazine is presenting a special blog chronicling the cross-Canada travels of Shayna and Dominique, a pair of wanderers who are setting out to discover what community is all about. Here, in their own words, is an introduction to the project:

We are thinkers, dreamers and poets, continuously questioning our place in this world. We both spend a lot of time watching and listening to the world around us. We love learning and have a deep passion for sharing what we learn with others through our respective arts -- Shayna through written word, and Dominique through photography.

We are traveling across Canada exploring the topic of community. Bartering our skills and labour for accommodation, food and transportation costs, we will make our way from coast to coast, community by community.

Specifically, we will be visiting various type of intentional communities (any group of people that has come together with community as a central uniting purpose). Many of these communities are seeking alternatives to the environmental destruction and social decay perpetuated by mainstream society; some seek to provide a community environment of love and support to people of diverse mental and physical abilities; others just want a place to share ideas and resources with people of a similar perspective -- religious, political or otherwise.

Along the way, we will record and share our experiences with This readers through a special blog, Alternate Routes.

You’ll find Dom and Shayna’s first road journal here on Blog This; expect the Alternate Routes blog to be launched shortly…

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THIS MAGAZINE. BECAUSE EVERYTHING IS POLITICAL

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THIS MAGAZINE: BECAUSE EVERTHING IS POLITICAL

October 21, 2007

Alternate Routes: Epilogue

August 22, 2007

Alternate Routes: Alternatives to Institutions

July 12, 2007

Alternate Routes: Small world

July 11, 2007

Alternate Routes: Meet Dom and Shayna