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August 30, 2007

Creating a Place for Ourselves

[BONNIE'S CREATIVE LIVING SPACE AND GUEST SUITE IN PIC RIVER, ONTARIO]

What seems like lifetimes ago now, when we were staying with the Belzers in Nova Scotia, Ed Belzer said something that has stayed with me ever since.

"The best thing I can do for myself," he said, "is to surround myself by people who help me to be who I want to be." This was part of the motivation for starting a co-operative housing project on his land.

I was reminded of Ed's words again while visiting Bonnie, in Pic River, Ontario. When I asked her what it was about the small First Nations community that first appealed to her, Bonnie replied, "I think it makes me make more sense to myself." As a Native person who moved around a lot before settling in Pic River, she said it is the first place that has felt like home for her.

Since moving to Pic River 15 years ago, Bonnie has put a lot of effort into creating a physical space that helps her to be who she wants to be. The location, with nothing but vast wilderness across the narrow rolling river that runs behind the house, provides her with a certain tranquility that seems to nurture her soul.

Though she lives alone with her teenage daughter, Bonnie has made her space conducive to attracting the type of people that will cultivate the person she wants to be. A passionate musician, she designed her house with music in mind, with space for house concerts and a guest suite for traveling musicians. She organizes the concerts, feeds and accommodates the performers, and in return asks for a lesson, or for them to record something with her, or anything else they feel like bartering.

"It gives me access to the music that I love, without
having to leave home," explains Bonnie.

It is with memories of Bonnie's creative space, and Ed Belzer's words still in my mind, that I happened across a book titled Dwelling, just yesterday. River, the author, describes making a personal living space as "one of the highest and most profound creative experiences of life." Her words brought into perfect perspective this concept of creating a space for ourselves that nurtures the people we want to become:

"We have cheated ourselves too long of this experience, allowing professionals and experts, developers and businessmen, politicians and bureaucrats, to determine for us the very shape of our living space. At great personal cost (for huge corproate profits), we have given away one of our greatest potential gifts -- the creation and expression of ourselves in the form of our shelters."

I think it's easy in our society to blindly follow the path that has been laid out for us. Ed Belzer calls this "sleepwalking through life." The stories of these people have inspired me to be more creative with my own life -- to think more deeply about who I want to be, and how I can create an environment that will nurture that person.

Dom has already drawn up plans for an underground, dome-shaped, solar-powered, straw bale home, complete with built-in wall cubbies and woodstove for heating and cooking.

Posted by shayna at 06:01 PM | Comments (0)

August 27, 2007

Beyond Romance

[ED BELZER AND HIS GRANDSON JOE TILLING THE GARDEN]

We city-folk, myself included, tend to romanticize rural life. As we visit these communities, and see them for a brief moment through our outsiders’ eyes, it is easy to continue this tendency. We probably don’t see a lot of the trials and struggles, conflict, tension, and difficulties inevitably associated with sharing our lives with others.

Our last few postings have been quite optimistic, portraying the communities we have visited in a positive light. Our experiences have all been very encouraging, due to the simple fact that each one represents some kind of alternative to mainstream individualism. But I want to avoid leaving you with an overly idealistic sense of what it is like to live in community.

It was a hot sweaty day, and I was harvesting spinach on an organic farm in Portugal Cove. I was reminded of my travels, in other parts of the world, and how I have been awe-struck at the image of a woman with long, braided hair, the end of her deep purple sari floating in the breeze, surrounded by a broad field of green. Or how I marveled at a group of fisherfolk hauling in their nets in perfect rhythm. There is even a hint of magic in the image of a Canadian farmer pulling a plough behind a tractor or a team of horses, through a seemingly endless yellow field.

As I scanned the rows of spinach and wiped sweat from my brow, I realized the careless naivety couched in these moments of awe. While I had marveled at these images of beauty and attempted to capture them forever in a 4x6 to share with my friends, I had overlooked (and therefore ignorantly undermined) the essentiality of their work.

It is easy to lose sight of the functionality of these everyday acts, to forget that these people are doing this, not for our entertainment, or so we can decorate our living room walls with their image, but for their own survival.

Just like it is easy, when we are only with these communities for a brief moment in time, to see only the positive aspects of community life. It's easy to romanticize about living in an environment where love and sharing and mutual support abound, and conflict is rare or absent or easily resolved by sharing our feelings with others.

Common sense tells us that real life is never this rosy; and we must remember as we move through these communities that we will never get the full picture in just a few days.

Our intention throughout this journey is not to idolize these communities any more than it is to display their faults; rather, we hope merely to illuminate alternative possibilities to the individualistic society in which most of us live.

Posted by shayna at 04:42 PM | Comments (0)

Beyond Romance

[ED BELZER AND HIS GRANDSON JOE TILLING THE GARDEN]

Common sense tells us that real life is never this rosy; and we must remember as we move through these communities that we will never get the full picture in just a few days.

Posted by shayna at 04:42 PM | Comments (0)

August 21, 2007

Alternatives to Institution

[ONE OF THE FIVE HOUSEHOLDS AT MAISON EMMANUEL, VAL MORIN, QUEBEC]

A lot of the people we are meeting talk about community as an alternative to institutionalization.

Nowhere has this been more tangible than with the communities of people with disabilities with whom we have spent time -- l'Arche Saint John (described in the previous posting) and Maison Emmanuel in Quebec.

Maison Emmanuel, about an hour north of Montreal, is one of many communities worldwide that follow the Camphill model, a movement of intentional therapeutic communities for people with disabilities. The aim is to create an environment of mutual respect, where people with special needs can live, learn, and work with others in healthy social relationships.

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.

Both the communities we visited make an effort to treat everyone's eccentricities as gifts, rather than problems, which creates an overwhelming sense of belonging.

We spoke with the mother of one of the members of l'Arche Saint John, who was amazed at the progress her daughter had made since moving out of the family home and into l'Arche, particularly in terms of vocabulary and social skills. One of the biggest benefits, she said, was for her daughter, to "have real friends."

After spending time at both these communities, we met Jennifer, my friend's neighbour in Sudbury, who is involved with the l'Arche communities there. Jennifer brought a lot of things into perspective.

She shared with us the story of her friend, Audrey, a 78-year-old woman who had lived in an institution for 50 years before moving into a l'Arche community. Audrey had never had a birthday party. Now, with l'Arche, Audrey's birthday is a big event every year, where she delights in writing the guest list, decorating, and of course opening gifts from her friends.

We had experienced the importance of celebration while visiting the l'Arche community in Saint John. Debbie, one of the core members, happened to have a birthday party the night we dropped in. With decorations, cake, gifts, music, and a very full house, it was a lot like any other birthday party I had experienced.

It had not occurred to me that this is not something these people would be able to enjoy, were they in an institution.

"We de-humanize people when we institutionalize them," Jennifer told us.

In community, people tend to be recognized and valued on a deeper, more personal level -- even if it's as simple as celebrating the day you were born.

For information about a current job opening at l'Arche Saint John, contact Daniel Kirkegaard at larchesaintjohn@nb.aibn.com. More information about the community itself can be found at http://www.larche.ca/en/communities/nb/saint_john/.

To learn more about Maison Emmanuel, and their ongoing opportunities to get involved, visit www.maisonemmanuel.org.

Posted by shayna at 02:53 PM | Comments (0)

August 17, 2007

Pieces of Ourselves

[DEBBIE, A CORE MEMBER OF THE L'ARCHE SAINT JOHN COMMUNITY, DELIGHTS AT THE NEW SHOES SHE RECEIVED FOR HER BIRTHDAY]

I am sitting at the kitchen table in a community called l'Arche Saint John, in Saint John New Brunswick.

L'Arche Saint John is part of a network of l'Arche communities worldwide that provide a community environment for people with developmental disabilities. Live-in assistants share their lives with the "core members" with a be with rather than do for mentality.

I am reading a book by Jean Vanier, the founder of l'Arche. Vanier starts off the book by describing some of the challenges of living in community. He describes community as a place where "our limitations and our egoism are revealed to us"

"When we begin to live full-time with others, we discover our poverty and our weaknesses, our inability to get on with people, our mental and emotional blocks... our frustrations and jealousies, our hatred and our wish to destroy."

I am reminded of Amy, a young woman who is thinking about starting a conscious living community in St. John's, Newfoundland. In our discussion about community, Amy expressed that, though she is very drawn to the idea of living in community, it is also one of the hardest things for her.

"It forces me to really go inside myself," she said, when I asked her why it is hard.

I think that the reason we don't get along with certain people, and the reason that prejudices exist, is that other people often illuminate pieces of ourselves that we do not like. When we come face-to-face with those qualities of ourselves that we normally try to hide from, and are forced to deal with them in another person, we get annoyed.

By learning to accept others, with all their limitations and weaknesses, we become more accepting of own limitations and weaknesses. In this way, I think working in a community like l'Arche is equally beneficial to the care givers as it is to the "core members" (which is the term that l'Arche gives to those members with disabilities)

Gray, one of the live-in assistants at l'Arche Saint John, told us a touching story about how she first got involved with the community. Finished with school and still unsure in which direction she wanted to take her life, she had been at an emotional low point in her life. She was doing some volunteer yard work for l'Arche Saint John, and feeling really sorry for herself. As she wearily shoved handfuls of leaves into a garbage bag, one of the core members looked her in the eye and said "come on, you can do it." She had felt her calling, and was soon hired as a live-in assistant.

"I’m happy just loving people," she told us.

As Vanier says, "If we are accepted with our limitations as well as our abilities, community gradually becomes a place of liberation." Spending time at l'Arche Saint John has shown me that the challenges often associated with sharing our lives so closely with other people can lead to personal liberation.

For more information on l'Arche Saint John, visit http://www.larche.ca/en/communities/nb/saint_john/.

The community is currently seeking another Live-in Assistant (preferably male). If you are interested, contact Dan Kirkegaard at larchesaintjohn@nb.aibn.com.

Posted by shayna at 09:32 AM | Comments (0)

August 14, 2007

Victoria-by-the-Sea

This place, a town on Prince Edward Island of 140-something in the summer (and half of that in the winter), reminds me of the growing need for people to be able to know where their energy is going, and to see its results. It is the spirit of entrepreneurship, and it runs deep in Victoria.

We are here visiting a friend, Emma, whose family owns a small chocolate factory. With Emma, her mom, her brother, and a close family friend working behind the counter, it is clear that customers keep coming here for more than just the chocolate.

The term 'people-sized' comes to mind. It is a term I had not heard before we began to talk to people about community in preparation for this journey, but that I have heard a couple of times since.

We have created a society run by organizations so large that it is impossible for an individual to relate. The values, morals, and ethics of these corporations (if they have any) are abstract and unknowable. It can be disillusioning for some people to expend so much time and energy towards an impersonal institution that knows you only by your number or position.

However, as we are discovering, there are pockets of people existing outside of all that, who are working hard to maintain small, family-owned businesses because of the deep sense of fulfillment that comes from being able to see and know where your energy is going.

One of these pockets is the small tourist town of Victoria-by-the-Sea. Part of the attraction for tourists is the spectacular location -- on a tiny piece of land perched somewhat precariously on the Southern shore of Prince Edward Island.

But, undoubtedly, a large part of the attraction is also the family-owned businesses that predominate in Victoria: tea rooms, craft shops, bed and breakfasts, restaurants, and a community playhouse.

It is the only place I have been where all the young people, even after leaving for school, return each and every summer to help the family out with the business.

It is not a lucrative way of life, but it is rewarding in a way that no salary can ever be. The satisfaction of seeing the results of your work, when you know the people with whom you are working as family or friends, goes far beyond that of a bi-weekly pay check.

Since the tourist season coincides nicely with nature's seasons, this way of life also keeps people well in tune with their environment. Though their busy summers force them to squeeze as much life and work as possible into each day, many Victoria residents spend a lot of time inside during the long cold winters, hibernating, relaxing, and preparing for the next season.

There is an incredible sense of community here—that intangible feeling of belonging, even as a visitor, that comes from the very tangible inter-connectedness of everyone around you. When the playhouse suffers, so does the restaurant across the street, and the Inn next door. And when the bed-and-breakfast on the corner does well, the chocolate factory and the craft shops share that success.

This beautiful sense of human inter-dependency surrounds me like a warm blanket that inspires dreams of staying here forever.

Dom feels it too. He seems to have given up on his dream of overalls and the farm land in Nova Scotia, and is now making plans to set up a shiatsu practice next door to Emma.

Posted by shayna at 11:28 AM | Comments (0)

August 06, 2007

(Re)Cycling Ideas into Action

[A TOUR OF THE WALDEGRAVE FARM, WITH OTESHA PROJECT PARTICIPANTS]

For me, this trip is largely about matching our behaviours to our words; about putting our philosophies and theories and complaints aside, and replacing them with tangible, authentic action.

One community we visited, a place called Waldegrave Farm, outside of Tatmagouche, Nova Scotia, fully embodies this spirit of action.

We had heard about this group of "young people" near Tatamagouche both from the Belzers, the first couple we stayed with, and from Julie and her family, whose farm we visited outside of Antigonish.

We arrived to a dance party in the kitchen of the large farm house. We happened to be visiting at the same time as an Otesha bike tour, an intentional (if temporary) community of its own. The Otesha Project consists of several 2-month-long bike tours in different regions of Canada. Participants perform skits throughout their journey to educate people about sustainable living, and demonstrate the power of our daily choices in determining the future of our planet.

As we circled through the dance party, and into the dining room, we ran into a couple familiar faces -- one woman we knew from Toronto, and a guy from my hometown, Sarnia -- reminding us of our profound interconnectedness.

The people at the Waldegrave farm have a special connection with the Otesha participants; it was during a similar bike tour that the seven of them met, and that the idea for the community was born.

In 2001, the seven adults who live at the Waldegrave farm now, as well as several others who supported the initial formation of the community, were part of a cross-country bike trip called the Climate Change Caravan. After four and a half months of cycling together, and bringing the issue of climate change to the attention of people across Canada, they decided to put some of their talk into action.

So, they bought a farm.

[PHOTO AT RIGHT: FARMER YUILL GIVES US A TOUR]

Now, all in their late 20s, they aim to live as environmentally sustainably as possible, in a community environment. With the help of chickens, pigs, cows, ducks, and 100 acres of land, they are able to produce a lot of their own food and animal feed. What they don’t produce themselves, they mainly buy locally, or in bulk from an organic food supplier. They share cooking and chores.

Signs in the bathrooms direct visitors to the barn if they have to poo, where there is a compostable toilet. They are also building two straw bale cabins on their land.

But the most exciting aspect of this community for me is an annual educational event that they host. "Free School" is just what its name implies, a series of seminars or workshops, offered for free. Anyone is free to offer a workshop on any topic, and the workshops are open to everyone

In the past they've had around 100 participants. Workshops cover such diverse subjects as straw bale building, swing dancing, passive solar design, parenting, politics, bookbinding, bike maintenance, etc. Participants usually camp out around the large barn where the event is hosted.

Spending time with all of these creative and inspired individuals –- both the Otesha participants, and the residents of Waldegrave farm –- reminds me of something someone told Dominique and me before our departure:

"It's just so great to see people doing something," Stewart, our neighbour in Kensington Market, told us.

It's true. It's one thing to recognize the problems around us, and to study, analyze, theorize, philosophize, and complain about them; but to put your words into action, to actually be a part of the solution to these problems by living the way you speak, is a whole different story.

It's not easy work, but as someone said over dinner one evening at the Waldegrave farm, "Work around here is equivalent to pleasure." (someone else then added, "Well, it depends on what type of work")

To learn more about Free School, visit http://freeschool.fairtrademedia.com/

Read about the Otesha Maritimes Tour's experience at the Waldegrave farm here: http://www.otesha.ca/journals/tours+2007/maritime.en.html

Posted by shayna at 01:20 PM | Comments (0)