Showerhouse Fire
In
the early morning hours on Friday, December 16, a fire broke out in our shower,
laundry, and community clothes building. We are extremely happy and lucky to be
able to report that no one was injured. One of our members, Yellow Sun, had
been living in the building, recuperating from a serious fall while doing some
forestry work. He was able to detect smoke and yell for help, and three of our
own worked to get him out through the window of his room.
While
the building isn't a total loss, the damage was severe. The northern side of
the building, where we kept our clothes, medical supplies, towels, bedding, and
sewing room, was destroyed. The southern side of the building, where our
laundry and shower facilities are, is intact but currently unusable. We don't
know at this point if the building is structurally sound, and if we will be
able to rebuild using any of what remains.
Over
the last few days we have been able to pull together to find enough clothes and
bedding to get everyone by, and a team of East Winders have worked hard and
fast to revamp our old showerhouse and make it usable again. We
are not currently accepting any cash donations, but we are accepting donations
of clothes, bedding, towels and medical supplies. We want to sincerely thank
everyone for all the generous donations we have already received.
Solar Panels
Over
the last few months we have been discussing and planning a project to reduce
our ecological footprint and take a step towards sustainability by installing a
solar array on the top of our nut butter facility. We completed installation
the last week in November. The array will provide 35% of the electricity needed
to run our industrial operations. Craig Wiles of Preferred
Energy in Mountain Grove, Missouri has been an enormous help in the
planning of the project and selection of components. Craig oversaw the
installation of the array, which was done by community members. By doing the
installation ourselves, East Wind saved close to $20,000 off the cost of the 22
panel system.
Dairy Barn
Six
months ago we began building the exterior of a brand new dairy barn. The
decision to reintroduce a dairy operation to East Wind was made in the Fall of
2009, after the purchase and breeding of dairy cattle. The foundation was
poured before the first frost of 2010. We were stalled by a spring of heavy
rains and flooding, but with the receding waters came a surge of work. The
exterior will be completed by the first of 2012. Plumbing and electrical will
take another couple of months. We are expecting to have the facility operational
by the spring of 2012. We are already able to provide goat milk and goat
cheese, and within 5 years we hope to supply all our dairy needs.
