Back in the 60s and 70s young people migrated back to the countryside to make a go of farming. Novella Carpenter’s parents were part of that movement. But it didn’t last. People found that growing food is very hard and rural life can be extremely isolating. The motives of today’s generation of farmers are different, and more communitarian. They’re not trying to drop out. They’re trying to engage more fully with the world around them. —via Civil Eats » Is the Urban Farming Movement Here to Stay?
This reminds me of when my friend Johnny told his mom about my interest in communes, and she began telling me about her time in a 1970s commune full of sexual abstainers practicing yoga and alternative medicine. While I wouldn’t turn away a yogi or the asexual (give me your abstinent, your limber, your acupuncturists yearning for green tea…), the idea of a “lifestyle” commune like that now seems silly, like fighting about whether or not you supported the Vietnam war. For me, communal living (or my idealized version thereof) presents an opportunity to pool resources, engage in creative projects and, potentially, eventually navigate/renegotiate the nuclear-family model of Getting Older.
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Your idea of a modern commune is interesting. I must say when I heard you guys were looking to start one my mind did waft to the ‘old idea’ of what a commune is/was.
By your definition, communal living is akin to NY living in my experience. I was just telling a friend who lives in VA that after years in NY, the one thing that stands out to me is how much it is like (what I imagine to be) living in a village. There are people who I can walk down the street and see and greet – despite the bustle of N-number of ppl around us.
There are those who I know I can pick up the phone/text/email and collaborate with and or request the help of their services and likewise they can contact me and I give my expertise freely and willingly knowing that the favour will be returned.
Granted we are not living in as close a proximity as that of a traditional commune, but in this day of quick and easy communication it tends to feel like we are literal neighbours. Neighbours with similar beliefs, ideas and a willingness to contribute to the ‘community of ourselves’ to help one another and by extension the literal community around us.