From time to time, Cathy will post a new issue of Earth & Us to share her recent experiences and insights.

Previous issues may be found here.

Earth & Us - VII

A VISIT TO EARTHAVEN

In mid-May, I visited Earthaven, an Eco-village community near Asheville, North Carolina. Founded in 1994, as a homeowner's association, it consists of 325 acres of third-growth forest, at around 2000 feet elevation, with three creeks flowing through it and at least six springs. According to local legend, it was the site of a native (probably Cherokee) village. Based on Permaculture principles, residential neighborhoods, orchard areas, market gardens, and wetlands have been laid out. Some fifty people are members, including four children, and they wish to grow to at least 120 members.

It was a Council weekend, which included a tour for visitors on Saturday morning. The main road into the Eco-village is tellingly named "Another Way." The current center of the village is known as the "Hut Hamlet," consisting of a central kitchen and showers and composting toilet, with around 12 temporary dwellings nearby. A graywater pond and constructed wetlands handle all the water generated by kitchen and attached shower area. Cat-tails and irises above gravel beds help purify the pond, in which several goldfish were visible. Next to the kitchen is the "Mud Hut," a cob structure which holds a small library and phone. Up the hill are a variety of temporary dwellings (most of which lack kitchens or plumbing), including the 3-unit "Tribal Condo", several woodframe abodes, a straw bale home, and a yurt, many sporting solar panels. Scattered among the dwellings are garden plots, with lettuces, arugula, tomatoes, basil, comfrey, onions, parsley, kale, and flowers. In front of the kitchen is a grassy field, on which a few goats will soon be grazing. Next to that is a kids' area where the community's four children and visiting kids can often be seen playing. The "House of Oneness" is a round structure of cob being built next to the field, for ceremonies, meditation, and the like. The visitors' campground is well-appointed, with a covered picnic area complete with sink and stove. Many charming footbridges have been built over the shallow streams which wind their way through the village.

The Council Hall is a 13-sided post-and-beam structure made of cob and straw bale, with a beautiful hardwood floor, radiantly heated with pipes underneath. There is a vestibule around the north side where a wood burning stove and several desks and computers are located. Next to it will be a community kitchen and dining area, and a school. Nearby is one of several varieties of composting toilets I was to encounter; this one had a divided seat so that urine went into a barrel and could be used to add to compost piles. However, everyone is asked to pee on the ground anywhere.

Nearly completed is the "Night Owl Cafe and Bakery," a post-and-beam construction with clay plaster. An ornamental serpent graces one wall. Next to it is the Trading Post, where snacks and sundries can be purchased.

A team of young men are clearing parts of the land, milling the local timber, and building many of the new homes. At the Forestry Co-operative's lumberyard nothing is wasted: the sawdust is used for the composting toilets, and woodchips for some of the pathways.

Our tour guide is clearly proud of the 4-inch pipe micro-hydroelectric power station located on one of the creeks, which provides 600 watts continuously for the community. It runs a freezer nearby, and also charges a portable power station for power tools. All electrical lines have been placed underground. A waterwheel-driven workshop is planned as well.

Several homes in neighborhoods slightly away from the Hut Hamlet are under construction, including some multi-unit structures. One couple is building an "Earthship" from discarded tires packed with earth, aluminum cans, and one full wall bermed into the hillside. A huge cistern catches rainwater from the roof. For practice, they built a food storage unit, in which grains and other foods are kept; it is decorated with a beautiful mural. There is also a root cellar next to the Hut Hamlet kitchen which serves as a walk-in refrigerator.

I was impressed to learn that an extended family lives here: two sisters (Patricia and Mary), Mary's husband Lynn, and Patricia's son live here now, and Patricia and Mary's mother Fran, who is in her eighties, plans to move here soon. Under construction is a large building which the sisters plan to run as a "Bed & Breakfast" --primarily as temporary residence for both visitors and Provisional Members who do not yet have more permanent housing. It will have 8 rooms to let, showers and 2 kitchens. Mary and I had several breakfasts together, discussing the issue of bridges for the creek crossings over eggs and grits.

At the Council meeting, I witnessed the consensus decision making process at work; the noise made by roosters and the complexities of setting up a co-housing neighborhood were discussed (at length!) Afterwards there was a "coffee house" with musicians jamming on the fiddle, flute, guitar and drums, and Val (who runs the Trading Post) strolling around marketing goodies. Children played on a heap of cushions, while residents and visitors enjoyed conversation and card games.

On the following weekend, I attended a workshop on Consensus Decision-Making (through Culture's Edge, an association of Permaculture teachers). This is a required workshop for people who want to become members. The fun part was on the second day, where we role-played everything from creating an agenda to facilitating a meeting full of unruly emotional folks (role-played by our mischievous teacher, Patricia).

To get to know the residents and their daily lives, I offered a helping hand here and there. At Imani Farm, I helped Ivy prepare beds, forking up the weeds and raking compost in. She gathered eggs from her chickens, and four of us women took a delightful skinny-dip in the human-made pond, where we saw tadpoles by the dozen. In other gardens, I helped plant lettuce, tomatoes, basil, garlic, and pansies, fertilizing them with a potent compost-tea of comfrey. One morning I walked up to Red Moon Herbs, a cottage industry which does a brisk mail-order business, and helped bottle some of their "Strong Bones Vinegar", fortified with herbs.

My curiosity was great about how people earned their living. Besides the Forestry Co-op, Imani Farm and Red Moon Herbs, there are many other possibilities. Two men (a couple) produce a magazine called "The Permaculture Activist", as well as teaching Permaculture. Two artists support themselves with their paintings, which they sell at several art fairs. A retired hospital chaplain is starting a candle-lantern making business. Some men do construction work in town. A young woman teaches at the school for "wayward boys" at the edge of the property. One woman goes to Washington D.C. for 3 or 4 months and earns enough to support herself for the rest of the year. However, a holistic physician with a practice in Asheville decided that the commute was too much, and no longer lives in the home he built in Earthaven. A variety of young people work as interns, such as helping on the Earthship construction. There is a local currency called "Leaps," used for some of the on-site work such as growing vegetables for the Hut Hamlet kitchen.

As a Supporting Member, I had the privilege of attending committee meetings, and I sat in on Buildings Committee, Promotions, and Culture's Edge. The construction of auto bridges over the three creeks is an issue which the Building Committee has discussed for a long time, and appears to be quite complex and costly.

Temperatures in mid-May ranged from the 80's mid-day to freezing at night. When the weather was warm, fireflies provided enchantment with their tiny lights; one of them got into my tent with me, glowing at close range, until I let it out. When the temperatures dropped, we had to cover up the warm-weather plants.

Mealtimes are fun, with circles and blessings before people dig into the delicious, mostly vegetarian fare. There is always work to do around the kitchen, whether gathering and rinsing greens for a salad, or dishwashing.

A highlight of my visit was the "Theater of the Oppressed," led by Arjuna da Silva. It is a form of activist theater from Brazil which helps a community to open up a key problem issue. Once an issue has been chosen, a group of non-actors dramatize it and then the audience is invited to jump in, yelling "Freeze!" when they have a better way to resolve a problem than the protagonist. The theme chosen: the plight of Earthaven parents with young children trying to arrange childcare. It was made more poignant by the fact that one young mother was about to leave the hall when her child began making noise; several single women jumped to offer childcare!

Another highlight: a Women's Circle was held in Kim's lovely apartment in Tribal Condo, with wonderful sharing of personal stories, and then progressed to a fire circle outdoors with drumming, dancing, singing, and general wildness!

Sounds of Earthaven: clang-clang of the dinner gong splash of creek over rocks roosters crowing at dawn sawmill and power tools buzzing deep croak of a bullfrog click-click of Lynn's oxygen apparatus squeals as sauna-takers hit the swimming hole Arjuna's guitar and Vedanta's jazz flute Tom's forest garden "bells."

It was a very rich and memorable two weeks. Truly, Earthaven provides opportunities to learn and grow for all who visit. I'm applying for Provisional Membership! It isn't Utopia, but the dream of helping co-create a sustainable way of life is strong in me.

To learn more about this remarkable place, visit their website: http://www.Earthaven.org.

Of special interest:

Cathy Holt
The Circle of Healing: Deepening Our Connections with Self, Others, and Nature
Talking Birds Press.

To order: (800) 404-9492

Peace with all our relations