What's Happening: July 2012

East Winders Visit Sister Communities
A group of East Winders spent two weeks living and working at two of our sister communities, Twin Oaks and Acorn.  Twin Oaks, Acorn, and East Wind Communities are all proud members of the Federation of Egalitarian Communities.  All FEC communities have the option to participate in a labor exchange program (called LEXing), which allows members from one community to temporarily live and work at another.  Members are able to report the hours they've worked at one of our sister communities and receive credit the same as they would for work done in their home community. 

A trip from East Wind to visit the east coast FEC communities is typically arranged once per year, and gives many East Winders the opportunity to explore other communities for the first time.  East Winders had a good stay during their LEX trip, and are thankful to Twin Oaks and Acorn for hosting them.  East Winders also arrange a LEX trip to Sandhill, another FEC community, every fall to help with their sorghum harvest.  Nearby Dancing Rabbit and Red Earth Farm are usually visited during this trip as well.  Many of us believe that a strong network of communities is essential to maintain and share our way of life, and we hope to see even more communities join us in the future.

Garden
Summer is well underway, and our walk-in fridge is full of fresh garden produce.  Our watermelons and cantaloupes are sweet and delicious, and available in abundance.  Thousands of tomatoes have been picked from our garden and processed into tomato sauce, salsa, tomato juice, tomato wine, and more (and they're still coming by the cartload everyday).  Peppers (hot and sweet), potatoes, okra, squash, cucumbers, chard, eggplant, and corn are some other garden veggies being enjoyed this summer.  Echinacea, sunflowers, roses, feverfew, skullcap, sage, tobacco, and st. john's wort are all in bloom, enchanting our herb gardens.

 

 

Drought
This summer has been hot and dry, with temperature rising above 100 degrees on most days and very little rainfall.  The leaves of mulberry and sassafras trees have begun to yellow and brown, and dead oak leaves coat the ground and blow in the wind as though it were autumn.  The lawns and pastures around community have turned brown and bare.  Fortunately, our gardens receive plenty of water and are still green and thriving.  Most of us are longing for rain, and the few small storms that have blown through have been welcomed with enthusiasm. 

Peanuts
East Wind Nutbutters is now once again producing our famous natural peanut butter.  We were unable to purchase any peanuts for our business due to massive droughts throughout the country, but received our first shipment of new peanuts this month. You can check out our nutbutters and other products on our website. 

 

What’s Happening: June 2012

National Rainbow Gathering
A dozen East Winders spent nearly two weeks in the Cherokee National Forest in northeastern Tennessee during the National Rainbow Gathering this year.  East Wind donated over 1,000 pounds of organic peanut butter, cashew butter, and almond butter to help feed thousands of people free of charge.  East Winders also set up a free kitchen in the woods, and cooked and served delicious free food to the masses day and night.  East Wind Community Kitchen offered a free 24-7 self-serve peanut butter & jelly bar and handed out sweet gooey nutbutter treats after dark, in addition to serving wholesome, tasty, mostly vegan meals throughout the day.  The East Winders in attendence already understood what communal living is about, and everyone lent a hand by helping to build our earthern kitchen, haul water and supplies, wash pots, tend to the fire, and cook food to share with our larger human family.  This year, East Wind teamed up with a neighboring kitchen, Green & Purple, to serve dinner at Main Circle, where hundreds to thousands of people gather to share a meal every evening.

The Rainbow Gathering is a completely free and nonviolent assembly of people from all across the country and the world.  There are international Gatherings across the globe as well as smaller regional gatherings, but the annual U.S. National Gathering of Living Light is by far the largest Family Gathering.  The Gathering aims to focus our collective consciousness on the goal of world peace, and a six hour silent mediation for peace is held every year on July 4th.  The silence is eventually broken by the sound of thousands oming and then cheering as we stand together and hold hands in unity. The Gathering promotes acceptence, love, and community, and encourages us to treat our brothers and sisters on this planet as family.  Native American prophecy reads, "When the earth is ravaged and the animals are dying, a new tribe of people shall come unto the earth from many colors, classes, creeds, and who by their actions and deeds shall make the earth green again. They will be known as the warriors of the Rainbow."  You can learn more about the Rainbow Gathering at welcomehere.org or welcomehome.org. 

Working Hard to Grow More & Buy Less
East Winders are making strides towards becoming more self-sufficient by growing, producing, and processing more of our own food than ever before.  Though we still purchase the bulk of our food, East Wind is currently producing all of our milk and the majority of our produce right at home.
 

Our gardens are bringing in an abundance of sweet and hot peppers, potatoes, tomatoes, garlic, onions, green beans, beets, carrots, greens, corn, melons, and more.  Our orchards are berry vines are providing us with fresh blackberries, raspberries, black raspberries, peaches, and a few plums.  Our three dairy cows and four dairy goats are able to provide us with a plentiful supply of fresh milk-- which is also being used to make cheese, yogurt, butter, cream, and ice cream.  Beginning in July, we will be able to provide organic homebrewed wine and beer for all of our monthly holidays.  Wines and meads made of blackberries, mulberries, and plums are fermenting speedily in the heat of the summer.  Fresh oregano, basil, thyme, sage, nasturtiums, dill, cilantro, parsley, and many more spices are readily available in our herb gardens.  The first sunflowers of the year bloomed this month and are already beginning to droop under their own weight.

East Winders are working hard everyday to keep our farm and community thriving.  At any given time, a walk about community may find East Winders hard at work harvesting or weeding in our gardens, caring for our animals or working on our new barn, cooking a meal or cleaning the kitchen, repairing a vehicle or a computer, working in the offices or factory, playing with the children, or any number of other valuable jobs.  Whatever is being done on a given day, there is the unmistakable sense being part of a growing, thriving, working farm.

 

The Idiocractic Life
Film maker/ photographer/ good friend of East Wind Kent Kessinger has completed “The Idiocratic Life”, a documentary on intentional communities in the United States.   The documentary is composed of dozens of interviews from people involved in communal living across the country. Kent spent time living and working at East Wind as well as Black Bear Ranch in California and Zuni Mountain Sanctuary in New Mexico.  East Winders gathered to enjoy the new documentary together as soon as we received our copy, and most of us responded with a lot of laughter and positive reviews.  The film is beautifully done and captures a wide range of perspectives on the advantages and obstacles of communal living. Check out Kent Kessinger’s work here.  

Summer Solstice
East Winders celebrated the longest day of the year on June 20th.  We honored the occasion by gathering at our creek to enjoy the sun, the land, and each other’s company.  Fun and music filled the shortest night of the year, and drums sounded until dawn.

T-Ball Season
The Gainesville Golden Eagles (also know as the Lil' 'Iggles) played their last game of the season this month.  Three East Wind children played ball on the local little league team this year, and two East Wind dads served as coaches for the team.  East Wind children and adults enjoyed participating in the local community, and many good games and practices were enjoyed by all.

What’s Happening: May 2012

Land Day

East Winders celebrated May and the 38^th anniversary of purchasing our land on the 1^st of this month.  Our Land Day celebration was complete with a maypole, bonfire, mud pit, drumming, and musical talent on our stage and around the fire.  Nature smiled on us by giving us a beautiful sunny day for our celebration, and a good time was had by all.

Garden

Tomatoes, sweet and hot peppers, and melons are soaking up the sun in our new Mulberry Garden.  Thousands of mulberries ripened on the mulberry tree in the center of our garden, and the first delicious blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries were harvested.  In our upper garden, strawberries were harvested daily during the first few weeks of the month.  Fresh broccoli, snap peas and snow peas, and greens and garden salads were greatly enjoyed in the kitchen, and the first of the summer garlic harvest is beautifully braided and proudly hung in the dining hall.  Caldendula, echinacea, chamomile, bee balm, hyssop, and milk thistles bloomed in our herb gardens, while the enchanting pink flowers of the mimosa trees continue to bloom into June.

  
Elections

May is the time for East Wind’s annual managerial elections.  Members of East Wind are able to run for year-long terms in positions such as Garden Manager, Ranch Manager, Membership Manager, Kitchen Manager, Recreation Manager, Food Processing Manager, etc.  The term ‘manager’ is used very differently at East Wind than in most places.  At East Wind, managers do not have the authority to hire or fire or give commands.  Managers are just East Winders who volunteer to see that a job gets done, and are given access to a budget agreed upon by the community as a whole.  Managers aren’t bosses here; they’re coworkers.  Some managerships are very big jobs and can become overwhelming, and managers often need a lot of help and teamwork to accomplish their goals. There was a lot of community participation this year with over forty members voting in the elections, and new managers take on their positions on the 1^st of June.

What’s Happening: April 2012

First Aid Training

This spring we began offering first aid training for East Winders interested in learning these important skills.  This month East Winders learned CPR, how to move injured or unconscious persons, choking care, as well as how to  react in various medical emergencies such as heart attack, stroke, shock, anaphylaxis, heat exhaustion, heat stroke, hypothermia, frostbite, poisoning, and diabetic emergencies.  We plan to continue these workshops and to include wilderness first aid, drowning care, and giving sutures, among other relevant topics. East Wind is located in a very rural setting (an ambulance can take thirty minutes or more to reach our community), so knowing how to properly respond to an emergency situation is of the utmost importance.  By learning this knowledge, we are more able to help ourselves, our loved ones, and anyone in need.

Garden

Garden is in full swing, with the last of the warm season crops being planted out over the next few weeks.  An abundance of delicious ripe strawberries are coming in everyday now, and greens and wheatgrass are readily available.  Blueberries and chokecherries are nearly ripe, while peaches and apples continue to grow larger still.  Our herb gardens are lovely as ever, with chamomile, echinacea, calendula, comfrey, and sage in flower.  We have just begun a small new culinary garden directly next to our main kitchen, which will offer cooks fresh basil, dill, peppermint, spearmint, fennel, cilantro, tarragon, sage, rosemary, marjoram, lemon balm, lemon grass, oregano, thyme, nasturtiums, and chinese chives, among others.

Ranch & Dairy

Baby animals are abound this month.  Our ranch and dairy programs are now caring for adorable baby goats, pigs, cows, ducks, and chickens.  Our dairy program has begun milking our first dairy cow, Marmalade.  Raw goat and cow milk are now readily available to community, fresh from the farm.  Our dairy barn is finally nearing completion, with East Winders finishing up on electrical and plumbing in the near future.  A new duck hutch located in our Mulberry Garden has been built, made completely from wood sustainably harvested on our land and milled on our sawmill. The ducks will be raised in the garden and used for pest control, eggs, and meat.  A new coop-on-wheels is also being built for our egg-laying chickens.

What’s Happening: March 2012

Spring!

It’s spring in the Ozarks, and all of us are loving it.  The days have been sunny and warm (warm enough to jump in the creek for many of us), and winter is far behind us. The Ozarks are vibrant and alive with plant and animal life.  Chickweed, toothwort, trout lily, plantain, wood sorrel, dandelion, cress, wild grape, and violet are just a few favorite wild edibles popping up in abundance this time of year.  Many trees and smaller plants have already begun to flower, with our many dogwoods and red buds putting on a brilliant show of spring color.

Garden

Our gardens are looking better every year, and this year’s gardens are definitely a sight to behold.  Our garden beds are planted with garlic, onions, potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, broccoli, rhubarb, cucumbers, strawberries, greens, and more. Tomatoes, melons, peppers, and other warm season plants are still cozy and warm in our greenhouse.  Seedlings of healing herbs such as chamomile, calendula, milk thistle, lemon balm, valerian, and echinacea are being lovingly cared for in our gardens and greenhouse.

Goats

Nine baby goats were born in our goat barn this month.  The births were assisted by dedicated East Winders, and the new babies and playing and running around already.  Our dairy program is able to provide more and more milk, and we hope to stop purchasing milk in the near future.

What’s Happening: February 2012

An Early Spring

A very mild winter transitioned into a very early spring as daffodils bloomed all over East Wind starting in the second week of February.  Later this February, elms and elderberries began to leaf out as an abundance of wild dandelions, chickweed, toothwort, and trout lilies began to flower along path sides and out from beneath the dead leaves that still carpet the forest floor.  We are just beginning to see the first sunburns and barefeet of the year, along with the first wild-harvested greens in our salads. 

Our greenhouse is up and running, filled with warm earthy smells and trays upon trays of veggies and herbs.  In our herb gardens, peppermint, tarragon, and other perennials are beginning to arise under the soft spring light.  We will soon be planting our spring potatoes, carrots, and onions in our vegetable gardens. The first signs of the spring and the start of the garden season have many East Winders in high spirits.

The Schwag Play RB

Locally renowned Grateful Dead coverband, The Schwag, played a free show at East Wind this February.  The Schwag are good friends of East Wind, and their visits are always welcomed with enthusiasm.  Many East Winders have attended Schwagstock, a local music festival run by The Schwag, to enjoy the music and good times, to vend our sandals, nutbutters, and crafts, or to help The Schwag by working the gate, stage, trash, or other odd jobs.  The Schwag played a great set in RB, our main kitchen/dining/hang-out area, and welcomed a few of our own to play and sing with them.  Many East Winders gathered to enjoy the good music and good vibes.

Validation Day

On February14th, East Winders celebrated Validation Day by sharing songs and poetry at a coffeehouse held in RB.  During the weeks beforehand, East Winders had fun making and decorating cards for each member and then writing positive, validating notes to each other to fill the cards.  East Wind celebrates Validation Day annually, and the holiday gives East Winders an extra opportunity to share their warm fuzzy feelings with those who they share their home.

Communal Art

Some East Winders have been spending their evenings working on beautiful collective murals to decorate our common spaces. The artists have already completed two beautiful works of art and begun a third even larger mural. Many East Winders enjoy creating and admiring art, and these newest communal works have brought beauty to their creators and to our community as a whole.