“Before we get covered in mildew, I suggest we go get pancakes. All in favor?”
Kayte and I raised our hands quickly.
“Settled!” Rayne announced, and we bounded away from the tofu factory for fresh pancakes.
Thanksgiving started out golden, with vegan pancakes stuffed with chocolate and banana. After breakfast, we returned to the tofu hut, suited up, and attacked the strange molds that feast on soy.
While I’m happy that Twin Oaks has a tofu factory, working there is not my favorite task. When tofu is being processed, the factory is loud and muggy, with a hint of okara in the air. On my first tofu shift, I had a low level panic attack for 2 hours. Being around large garbage buckets of very, very hot water makes me very uncomfortable. Having to reach into the buckets is similarly troubling, even though the green elbow-length gloves we wear are incredibly sturdy.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Friday, November 12, 2010
Visiting Twin Oaks
"Are you new in town?”
“I’m visiting Twin Oaks, out by Louisa.”
“Twin Oaks? What’s that?”
[I don’t say: “Ah, it’s an egalitarian income-sharing intentional community based in principles of non-violence, sustainability, cooperation, and equality.”]
I generally say: “It’s a community where people live and work together.”
“Huh. Are you moving here?”
“Nope,” I say. “I’m just here to learn.”
And I’m learning a huge amount, every day.
Describing Twin Oaks is difficult, much like trying to describe an entire country.
Try to do it. Say, with Belgium.
Personally, I would be flummoxed, and start screaming, “Waffles! European Union! Diamonds! Problematic imperialistic past! Dutch, Flemish, French, Walloons! Lovely buildings! Ardennes! The Congo! Tintin, Magritte, and Rubens! Brave little Belgium! Chocolate!”
It's hard to sum up a whole county.
The rules at Twin Oaks (called “norms”) are different from real-world conventions. There is a consciousness here, a mindfulness, that subtly spices every conversation: like a thin hint of cilantro, or a splash of lime. Twin Oaks has more flavor than the bread of the real world.
In many ways, Twin Oaks reminds me of communities in science fiction novels – the Fremen in Dune, their eye-whites turned blue under the influence of the spice, or the polyglot families in Ursula K. Le Guin novels. The effect is unsurprising: Twin Oaks was inspired from Walden 2.0, a novel by BF Skinner that mimics a recipe for the ideal Utopian community.
“Is it Utopia yet?”
“Nah, but you can see it from here.”
There are 92 people at Twin Oaks right now, with 12 children and 2 on the way. They are all different, but very kind. Very, very kind. Many are passionate about a specific cause – peak oil, gay rights, egalitarian consciousness, literature, print-making. Some are more devoted to just living simply without the annoyances of the “normal” world, free from taxes to traffic. Some are delighted to raise their children in a safe community, to make friends with all around them. Some enjoy living in community, without loneliness or isolation. Some want to practice what they preach – to be as truly sustainable as they can, to live an austere life, and to raise the food that they eat.
It smells so good here, with just that splash of lime.
For the past few days, I’ve been working very hard. As a visitor, I don’t really have the time here to learn the more complex skills -- cheese making, automotive repair, or animal husbandry -- but I’ve got the strong back to get any shoveling job done. I can rake and dig and clean. I can raise flowerbeds, plant garlic and daffodils, and saw wood apart. The members give us orientations on everything from Membership to Child-care. I can learn how the community works.
But the biggest type of learning is meeting all these people, hearing their passions, and learning how they all live together.
In DC, the city of networking, I felt as if my random conversations were always closed, as if I was trying to tease open the drawers of a very tightly-clenched bureau. Inside were fascinating clothes, but all shut up. Here, each conversation is a huge hallway of doors, all leading to different communities, different lifestyles, different countries. To Utah, to Germany, to England. Each day, there are more welcome mats in front of the doors.
I’m going to start opening doors soon. And soon, I’ll start making my own.
PS: (I love it here.)
“I’m visiting Twin Oaks, out by Louisa.”
“Twin Oaks? What’s that?”
[I don’t say: “Ah, it’s an egalitarian income-sharing intentional community based in principles of non-violence, sustainability, cooperation, and equality.”]
I generally say: “It’s a community where people live and work together.”
“Huh. Are you moving here?”
“Nope,” I say. “I’m just here to learn.”
And I’m learning a huge amount, every day.
Describing Twin Oaks is difficult, much like trying to describe an entire country.
Try to do it. Say, with Belgium.
Personally, I would be flummoxed, and start screaming, “Waffles! European Union! Diamonds! Problematic imperialistic past! Dutch, Flemish, French, Walloons! Lovely buildings! Ardennes! The Congo! Tintin, Magritte, and Rubens! Brave little Belgium! Chocolate!”
It's hard to sum up a whole county.
The rules at Twin Oaks (called “norms”) are different from real-world conventions. There is a consciousness here, a mindfulness, that subtly spices every conversation: like a thin hint of cilantro, or a splash of lime. Twin Oaks has more flavor than the bread of the real world.
In many ways, Twin Oaks reminds me of communities in science fiction novels – the Fremen in Dune, their eye-whites turned blue under the influence of the spice, or the polyglot families in Ursula K. Le Guin novels. The effect is unsurprising: Twin Oaks was inspired from Walden 2.0, a novel by BF Skinner that mimics a recipe for the ideal Utopian community.
“Is it Utopia yet?”
“Nah, but you can see it from here.”
There are 92 people at Twin Oaks right now, with 12 children and 2 on the way. They are all different, but very kind. Very, very kind. Many are passionate about a specific cause – peak oil, gay rights, egalitarian consciousness, literature, print-making. Some are more devoted to just living simply without the annoyances of the “normal” world, free from taxes to traffic. Some are delighted to raise their children in a safe community, to make friends with all around them. Some enjoy living in community, without loneliness or isolation. Some want to practice what they preach – to be as truly sustainable as they can, to live an austere life, and to raise the food that they eat.
It smells so good here, with just that splash of lime.
For the past few days, I’ve been working very hard. As a visitor, I don’t really have the time here to learn the more complex skills -- cheese making, automotive repair, or animal husbandry -- but I’ve got the strong back to get any shoveling job done. I can rake and dig and clean. I can raise flowerbeds, plant garlic and daffodils, and saw wood apart. The members give us orientations on everything from Membership to Child-care. I can learn how the community works.
But the biggest type of learning is meeting all these people, hearing their passions, and learning how they all live together.
In DC, the city of networking, I felt as if my random conversations were always closed, as if I was trying to tease open the drawers of a very tightly-clenched bureau. Inside were fascinating clothes, but all shut up. Here, each conversation is a huge hallway of doors, all leading to different communities, different lifestyles, different countries. To Utah, to Germany, to England. Each day, there are more welcome mats in front of the doors.
I’m going to start opening doors soon. And soon, I’ll start making my own.
PS: (I love it here.)
Thursday, November 4, 2010
In Contact
THE PLAN
In the process of becoming a Real Adult, I need to determine my priorities, needs, and goals. The basics of housing, employment, and community are key, but I’ll be searching out the answers to questions like:
- What field should I dedicate my attentions to?
- How does one live a sustainable life?
- Is writing a viable path?
- How can one live an adventurous life that involves community-building and intellectual growth?
- Should I go to graduate school?
As these questions require research, I won’t be very stationary for the next while. I’ll be on the move, trying to learn as much as possible.
To get in touch with me:
1. Text
2. Call
3. Email (aries.indenbaum@gmail.com)
4. Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/iAries)
5. Carrier pigeon / abnormally attentive rat (subway, window, alleyway)
To hear about my adventures:
1. Twitter (http://twitter.com/iAries)
2. Blogging
a. livejournal, mostly locked entries (http://soullessthinker.livejournal.com/)
b. facebook, friend-locked entries (http://www.facebook.com/iAries)
c. public blog (http://go-aries-go.blogspot.com/)
Here is my life-plan:
Until Wednesday Night: Oberlin, Ohio.
(John’s birthday is November 1st. And I am a romantic.)
Until Friday morning: Washington, DC
(I am back for a day! It will be déjà vu a l’høver agaîn.)
Until December: Twin Oaks, Virginia
(An intentional community that will teach me about sustainable communal living!)
December 3-5: Washington, DC
(Bambloozled, a blues dance conference! I will have spare time, though I may be in a constant state of dance-gasm.)
Until February: UNKNOWN
(Possibilities: New Orleans, Washington DC, Seattle, or parts unknown. I could visit you, if you like!)
February: Cleveland, Ohio
(Probably. I’d like to work for a socially just organization.)
In the process of becoming a Real Adult, I need to determine my priorities, needs, and goals. The basics of housing, employment, and community are key, but I’ll be searching out the answers to questions like:
- What field should I dedicate my attentions to?
- How does one live a sustainable life?
- Is writing a viable path?
- How can one live an adventurous life that involves community-building and intellectual growth?
- Should I go to graduate school?
As these questions require research, I won’t be very stationary for the next while. I’ll be on the move, trying to learn as much as possible.
To get in touch with me:
1. Text
2. Call
3. Email (aries.indenbaum@gmail.com)
4. Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/iAries)
5. Carrier pigeon / abnormally attentive rat (subway, window, alleyway)
To hear about my adventures:
1. Twitter (http://twitter.com/iAries)
2. Blogging
a. livejournal, mostly locked entries (http://soullessthinker.livejournal.com/)
b. facebook, friend-locked entries (http://www.facebook.com/iAries)
c. public blog (http://go-aries-go.blogspot.com/)
Here is my life-plan:
Until Wednesday Night: Oberlin, Ohio.
(John’s birthday is November 1st. And I am a romantic.)
Until Friday morning: Washington, DC
(I am back for a day! It will be déjà vu a l’høver agaîn.)
Until December: Twin Oaks, Virginia
(An intentional community that will teach me about sustainable communal living!)
December 3-5: Washington, DC
(Bambloozled, a blues dance conference! I will have spare time, though I may be in a constant state of dance-gasm.)
Until February: UNKNOWN
(Possibilities: New Orleans, Washington DC, Seattle, or parts unknown. I could visit you, if you like!)
February: Cleveland, Ohio
(Probably. I’d like to work for a socially just organization.)
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