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If this is your first time here…

Power Balls, New Year’s Eve, Exits, and a Question

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by Raven

February may be over on the calendar, but I’m just getting started on our February Facebook posts.

And I’ll start with a little treat made with East Wind peanut butter.

This one did fine on Facebook, with six likes and a love (and the love was actually from East Wind Nut Butters–I guess they appreciated the publicity), and a hundred and twelve views.

Twin Oaks reposted Paxus’s post on their New Year party, so I re-reposted it.

Maybe because it was more than a month out of date, but this didn’t do as well, with only one like, and a little less than a hundred views.

When I was visiting Acorn in January, I noticed something I thought readers might find amusing. I think they did.

Well, I guess folks did find it amusing, because it got thirty-one likes and loves and three ‘haha’s, not to mention almost three hundred and ninety views.

It also got a comment which I think is worth printing here, because it gives the origin of the slide.

Nearly four hundred views is a lot, but if you really want a lot of views, I found that posting the occasional question on Facebook gets an enormous number of views, not to mention some pretty interesting comments. Here’s what I posted that early February Monday morning:

And, yes, I got responses:

This did incredibly well, but I was surprised that in spite of the fifteen comments and over five hundred and fifty views, it only got six likes and a ‘care’.

Power Balls, New Year’s Eve, Exits, and a Question

East Wind’s Crops Photo Dump

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They grow a lot of food at the communes. East Wind posted this last summer saying: “#crops#photodump

1. lower garden’s middle patch: #potatoes#broccoli#cabbage#kale#sweetpotatoes#cucumbers#summersquash#watermelon#wintersquash#corn

2. mature #wheat

3. #kohlrabi

4. #broccoli

5. #garlic

6. #blackberries

7. #pawpaw

8. #canteloupe

9. #watermelon

10. #okra#flower

#ozarks#intentionalcommunity#organic#farmlife“

East Wind’s Crops Photo Dump

Agreements and Policies #9

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8: Policies around Violence and Abuse

by Raven

As I’ve said, these policies are getting trickier and less fun as we go into the harder and harder ones.  These are the policies you don’t want to ever have to use, but if the situation comes up, having them in place will make things a lot easier than not having them.  If you are in a really difficult situation, that’s definitely not the time you want to have to create a policy to deal with it.

Even talking about violence and abuse in your group may prove difficult.  Some folks are going to want to have a black and white blanket policy such as if someone uses violence or abuses another person, they will be immediately expelled.  Other folks may want something that looks at the context of the particular situation, or that gives someone a second chance.  It’s true that even when you have a blanket policy, if a situation occurs where everyone decides in this instance the person should be given another chance or this situation is different and merits doing something different, that can usually be worked out anyway.  However, if one person disagrees in the actual situation and you are using consensus, you may need to default to the blanket policy even if everyone else disagrees in this case.

And even the terms violence and abuse can be tricky.  I know of a case where a community’s agreement to nonviolence was invoked because of consensual BDSM that was occurring.  There were folks that argued that this was still violence.  And what constitutes abuse can be even vaguer.  A good place to start is to decide what your community means by the words ‘violence’ and ‘abuse’, and then move on to how you want to deal with these situations.

And, of course, you are not going to be able to write something that will cover every eventuality.  One suggestion is to come up with a basic agreed upon policy but also have an agreed upon procedure for exceptions. (For example, if two or more people disagree that the policy should be invoked, then the community will use another outlined procedure.)

I certainly hope that your community never has to use a policy like this, but if something does occur that someone reports or calls violence or abuse, it’s better to have a policy in place that you can say, “We agreed on this,” then to have to come up with something new under very, very difficult circumstances.

Next we’ll talk about policies that deal with what happens if a member is sick, disabled, or dies.

Agreements and Policies #9

Market, Snow, Food, Winnow Wizard

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by Raven

Here’s the last of the January Facebook posts.

Glomus’s East Brook Farm continues producing food for the market.

This post did pretty well on our Facebook feed, with three likes and a hundred and twelve views.

I had been down at Acorn earlier in January, and it snowed the day I was supposed to leave.

Apparently folks really like snow pictures. This got fifteen likes and six loves (yes, I’m aware that this adds up to more than twenty–apparently Facebook is lousy at math, sometimes) and an impressive three hundred and fourteen views.

Twin Oaks posted about food, and lots of it:

This got eight likes, five loves, and a hundred and fifty-one views, which was a pretty good haul itself.

Finally, while I was at Acorn, I saw this machine in the back and realized it was a nice example of communal sharing.

This did very well on Facebook, especial considering it was just two pictures of Winnow Wizard machine. Seven likes, five loves, and a big two hundred and forty-four views.

Market, Snow, Food, Winnow Wizard

Community with Friends

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by Raven

Last week the communes celebrated Validation Day.  That’s our alternative to Valentine’s Day.  Among other things, instead of only sending a card to one person, cards are made up for everyone in the community and most people write a lovely little line of appreciation for each person.  Thus everyone gets a card filled with affirmations.  As Paxus points out in his article on how the communities are “ReCrafting Holidays”, these cards are “non-chemical anti-depressants”.

My card from 2022 when I was visiting Acorn

Communes and communities happen for a lot of reasons and they are often about a lot of things, but at their core they are about relationships.  Relationships are important in any community, but they are essential to the survival of small communities.  Over time, friendships naturally occur in communities and some of these friendships last beyond even one or more of friends leaving the community.  I have often thought that I have a whole bunch of ideological reasons for living in community but my gut reason is that I want to live with my friends.

My card from 2021 when I was living at Glomus.

Loneliness is epidemic in this society.  The US Surgeon General wrote a report outlining how severe it is in the US and wrote about some of its consequences: “…a 29% increased risk of heart disease, a 32% increased risk of stroke, and a 50% increased risk of developing dementia for older adults. Additionally, lacking social connection increases risk of premature death by more than 60%.”

Friends are incredibly important for a number of reasons, but our health is certainly one of them.  Community is an amazing way to not only make friends, but to live with them, to see and interact with them daily, and to weave them into our lives.  Communes are all about sharing and I believe that the most important thing we can share is our lives.

I will finish by quoting Dorothy Day:  “The only answer in this life, to the loneliness we are all bound to feel, is community.”

From a Twin Oaks Validation Day poster

Community with Friends

Forest, Peanuts, Hoop House, Lettuce, and Concert

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by Raven

Once again, here is a catch up on our posts from last month on Facebook, most of which are re-posts from stuff on the various Facebook, Instagram, and website pages of the communes.

Twin Oaks posted about forest care.

This did pretty well on our Facebook feed, with ten Likes, two Loves, and a hundred and eighty views.

East Wind hadn’t been posting much on their Facebook feed so I went over to their business page and found this educational/sales piece on peanuts.

Here’s a link so you can read the original article.

This didn’t do great. It got three Likes, two Loves, but only eighty-five views.

They have a hoop house at Twin Oaks that keeps them supplied with winter produce.

This did okay, with five Likes, three Loves, and over a hundred and twenty views.

Then Glomus/East Brook Farm posted a lovely picture of Rachael by the lettuce.

This did pretty well on FB, with six Likes, four Loves, one Wow, and over a hundred and forty views.

Finally, Acorn posted this picture on their Instagram account with only a “happy new years” message on it. I am assuming it was a New Year’s concert pic.

This did okay, with four Likes, two Loves, and just over a hundred views.

Forest, Peanuts, Hoop House, Lettuce, and Concert

Leaves of Twin Oaks #131

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Winter 2023-4 newsletter header
News of the Oaks by Valerie
Movement Support by Ollie
Coldvember by JaneState of the Commune by Valerie
News of the Oaks by Valerie
We’re continuing to have a rise in membership. With around 75 members there’s a lot going on. 
Celebrations ● New member Ollie has been hosting “Gay Bar” parties, giving us all a chance to dance and show off our fabulous outfits ● We celebrated Steve’s 80th birthday—he is a huge Grateful Dead fan and we had our in-house Grateful Dead cover band play for the evening, and looked at photos of Steve’s long life ● We do not celebrate Thanksgiving here; instead we observe the National Day of Mourning with an afternoon of videos by and about Indigenous people, with discussion. We held our Gratitude Feast later in November and hosted many friends and ex-members for the dinner, which included the ever-popular “Ping-Pong Table of Desserts.” 
Gratitude feast dessert tableGratitude feast dessert tableRaen makes pestoRaen makes pestoDay of Mourning posterDay of Mourning poster
● We had our yearly “Art Walk”, in which members display various art they have been creating, and we have a walking tour through the community to admire peoples’ creations. 
Farm Life New member Raen has been making good use of our greens by making pestos using our home-grown basil, spinach, cress and tat soi (an Asian green similar to bok choy), and we have been enjoying this nutritious and delicious treat ● We’ve also had 2 new baby calves born, adding to the herd we keep for dairy/meat purposes. ‍‍‍
Movement We have been offering a multitude of movement classes lately. We’re currently having regular Capoeira, Aikido, and Yoga, as well as a Ballet class for some of the kids here ● And in a different type of movement, we recently instituted a Racial Justice Orientation session as part of our Visitor Program, as a way of moving ourselves along the path of becoming an anti-racist community. ‍Art Walk 2023One display for Art Walk 2023
‍ Movement Support: Political Activism by Ollie
New member Ollie has become manager of Movement Support which is one of the more unusual areas through which Twin Oakers can get labor credits. While most labor areas are for activities that benefit the community directly (garden, the Seed Racks business, etc.) Movement Support is designed to give labor credits and money to members who do work outside the community to support causes we believe in. Historically this has included many things ranging from protests and direct action to collecting acorns for the Virginia Department of Forestry Nursery to support future tree planting and much more. 
Recently, after a period with no manager of the area and not much being done, new member Ollie has become manager and several people have started doing more activities being funded by Movement Support. ‍
Food Not BombsFood Not Bombs in LouisaLocally, several Twin Oakers and folks from other communities in Louisa county have started a Louisa chapter of Food Not Bombs. This national organization is an all-volunteer movement that recovers food that would otherwise be discarded, and shares free vegan and vegetarian meals with the hungry in over 1,000 cities in 65 countries in protest to war, poverty, and destruction of the environment, and we have, for about two months, been distributing food for free in downtown Louisa every Sunday from 1-2pm. When Ollie mentioned this to long-term member Steve he mentioned that Oakers used to bring food to the Richmond Food not Bombs for several years decades ago.
A little further afield, in the past several months, Movement Support has provided labor credits and travel costs for Twin Oakers to travel to Washington, DC to attend protests in support of a cease-fire in Gaza. Just last week we filled up our 15 person van with Oakers attending the January 13th protest.
Further afield still, Oakers traveled recently to be part of the movement against the Mountain Valley Pipeline in West Virginia. 
Ollie is very excited to be the new manager of this cool area and is really looking forward to helping Oakers out of our little bubble to engage with the world beyond the farm in meaningful ways and to keep fighting oppression everywhere. We’re always looking for new ways for Oakers to participate in movements off the farm, so if you’re organizing in the area and need some friendly communards to help, feel free to contact us!
Coldvember by Jane
‍A few months ago, I was reminiscing on my travels abroad, and remembered one particularly adventurous morning, when I jumped into Galway Bay in Ireland. Dubbed “Coldvember” by the university students there, masses of them jump into the churning ocean waters. I joined in one day, and seeing the pictures made me want to recapture some of that joy and bravery. I put up a note up saying I would be jumping into the pond every morning in November, save Sundays. Most people thought I was crazy, but sure enough, 3 other brave souls joined me that chilly first morning! Overtime, our numbers grew, and on November 8th we had a whopping 9 people in the pond that day. We have shrunk a bit since then, to a core group of 4 or 5. 
The shock of entering the water is instant–some of us like to work our way in slowly, but I find the only way I’m getting in is by sprinting in screaming. I’ve been told we are audible from the courtyard, with one co thinking a chicken slaughter was underway! On the first few days we ran in and out, but recently we’ve stayed in as long as 6 minutes. After about 4 minutes I find my body starts to feel warm, and by the time I exit I’m actually quite comfortable. Getting dressed again is probably the hardest part- the teeth chattering and shaking hands makes it difficult to dry off quickly.
Jane & other brave swimmersAuthor, Jane, on left, and other brave swimmers
So, what’s the purpose of this craziness? Cold plunges have been shown to improve heart rate and circulation, as well as provide some benefit for mental health. It also helps your body acclimate to the cold—I have found I can now walk around easily with a thin winter coat and gloves, whereas I used to struggle to keep myself warm with tons of layers. Other co’s have noted feeling more awake afterwards, and needing less coffee or other substances throughout the day.  
As of writing this, we have three more plunges left. Part of me will miss it- the camaraderie of the group, the feeling of accomplishment every morning, and the clarity of mind that comes with it. Some of us are thinking of continuing the challenge and have dubbed it “Coldcember”. It’s turned into something of a Twin Oaks trend, with co’s who would never dare of jumping in following our progress. Regardless of whether we continue this challenge into December or not, it will certainly be remembered! 
There are definitely some people who would not benefit from cold plunges- the very young or very old, and folks with heart conditions. Check with your doctor and do research before trying it out!‍
State of the Commune by Valerie
Twin Oaks is always a reflection of the mainstream to some extent. What is happening “out there” also happens here. Right now, in the world and in this country, many long-term entities that are somewhat cooperation-based are struggling (eg. US postal service, western democracy) and we are no different. Polarization is more of a cultural force than it has been, creating greater divisiveness and demonization / othering in this country, the wider world, and also at Twin Oaks. Mainstream culture itself is undergoing many changes. We are definitely experiencing the effects of those cultural impacts. 
We’ve had a number of challenges in the community in the last several years, and we are continuing to feel the effects. When the covid pandemic hit, by coincidence we were at low-ish population, and we in ways became like a “medieval plague village” and had no visitors and limited contact with the outside world for some months. We are still recovering from that low population. Somewhat connected to that, as well as the above-mentioned cultural change reasons, our decison-making and organizational / administrative structures are not as robust as they have been (fewer experienced members to join administrative teams, our collective town trips happening less frequently, etc.) Each of our main community businesses are having their own particular challenges and that is affecting our financial situation. Our infrastructure is aging and we have found mold in many of our buildings. There is some tension around how we are moving forward dealing with that mold, partly related to difficulties in our various income areas and community businesses. 
The dynamic between newer, younger members and longer-term, older members has always existed to some extent, but related to the afore-mentioned greater polarization overall, this has become more pronounced here in the last couple of years. A number of other long-term, established communities are reporting similar challenges and changes, and unfortunately, some of them have ceased to function as they have been, and these beacons and models of alternative culture have been lost. 
The good news is we have a great group of current new members—there are a quite a few of them and they are bringing good energy and ideas to the community, so that is a strong support for us. We also have the steadiness and experience of our committed, long-term members. Our population is slowly rising again.  
Also, one potential advantage of this time of less solid structure is that we would like to change some aspects of our culture to become more anti-racist and inclusive. That is easier to do when there is already some “give”, rather than an iron-clad adherence to “how it’s always been”. Our focus during this era of our history is to find ways to maintain and strengthen the parts of Twin Oaks that make us a unique alternative cultural reality, while making changes and responding to cultural changes, current challenges and the needs/wants of current members. 
¡La lucha continua!‍
Leaves of Twin Oaks #131

Membership, Art, Water, and a Question

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by Raven

Here’s this weeks sample of stuff from our Facebook feed. As usual, there is a significant time delay. These are from the middle of January.

I’m sure some of our Commune Life readers are interested in how someone joins one of these communities. After Twin Oaks posted a link to their membership process, I republished the link on our Facebook feed.

Here’s the actual link to the Twin Oaks membership page.

This did pretty well on Facebook with eleven likes, two loves, and over a hundred and seventy views.

After this, looking for something I could post from East Wind, I found their membership process and published a link to it the next day.

Here’s the actual link to East Wind’s membership process.

This did a little better than Twin Oaks, with eight likes, three loves, and over a hundred and eighty views.

Acorn published a drawing from deceased member Curt (that I misspelled Kurt).

This also did well, with four likes, two loves, and five cares (and, yes, that doesn’t add up to twelve but that’s what Facebook keeps telling me), and over a hundred and thirty views. 

Glomus Commune/East Brook Community Farm is having some work done to increase their water supply and irrigation capacity.

This post did okay with three likes, a love, and a hundred and two views.

Finally, I have started putting questions on Facebook again. It’s a great way to engage viewers and it really drives up the number of views. I thought that I would start the year with this question:

Surprisingly, there were only eight comments, but I thought that they were good ones.

While there were only eight comments, it got nine likes, four loves, a share, and four hundred and forty-four views. As I said, these questions generate a lot of views.

Membership, Art, Water, and a Question