What's Happening: September 2012

Population Capacity

East Wind reached population capacity this month, meaning that there are now more people who want to live here than the number of bedrooms available.  The September visitor period was an exceptionally large one, with ten visitors completing a three-week stay and eight of them wanting to continue living at East Wind. Unfortunately, there was only one available bedroom (out of seventy in all), so seven individuals are currently on a waiting list for rooms.  These seven individuals have chosen to stay regardless, and will either be camping or bunking up with friends.  East Wind has reached population capacity a good number of times in the past, but this is the longest waiting list that we have had in at least five years.  Another group of visitors will be arriving in October, though available housing space may not open up for a number of weeks. Some of our fellow FEC communities have recently reached population capacity as well.

Annual Plan

Many members of community attended a series of three meetings to work out our financial budgets for the year.  This type of meeting is held annually sometime after the beginning of the fiscal year to plan for the community’s financial needs for the coming year. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend the meetings, and everyone is allowed an equal chance to speak and share their opinions.  East Winders come up with an estimated yearly income from our businesses, and we then allot budgets to different areas of community accordingly.  Elected managers of branches of community (garden, house, medical, kitchen, ranch, auto, building maintenance, recreation, food processing, etc.) request the amount of finances that they think they will need for the year, and then community discusses the amount and compares it to the budgets for previous years.  If a budget seems too high or too low, the East Winders present at the meeting and the elected managers can change specific items during these meetings.  Ultimately, the annual financial plan is voted on by the whole community before it is finalized. We meet quarterly to review the plan and make adjustments if necessary.  This year, we have a projected annual plan of $646,152.  We budgeted $87,500 for food and kitchen expenses, $4,000  for our gardens and $18,500 for our ranch.  Some line items that we will vote on whether or not to fund this year include edible mushroom cultivation, circus tent repair, the purchase of a skidding wench, and funds to finish work on small wind turbines that we already own. 

Sandhill Sorghum Harvest

East Winders visit one of our fellow FEC communities, Sandhill, around this time every year.  A group of half a dozen to one dozen East Winders journey to Sandhill to help with their annual sorghum harvest and processing.  East Winders also take this opportunity to visit Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage, and Red Earth Farms.  All of our communities have ties through the Federation of Egalitarian Communities, and many East Winders enjoy the experience of being able meet, help out, and learn from other community-minded folks across the country.  This year, six East Winders spent a week at Sandhill, had a lovely stay, and brought home lot of sorghum.

Wild Harvested Wines

This month, we were able to harvest nearly 50 lbs of wild grapes and make over 20 gallons of wild grape wine.  We also harvested 30 lbs of wild persimmons and 25 lbs of autumn olives, and made 10 gallons of persimmon wine and 5 gallons of autumn olive wine.  We were able to make 15 gallons of organic apple wines and meads from our apple orchard this year.  These wines will be aged for enjoyment at future holidays and birthdays at East Wind.  Our current homebrew project has been brewing for just over a year now, with some of our oldest wines aged fourteen months. Some of our favorites so far include blackberry-mulberry mead, apple wine, sassafras wine, wild grape wine, and ginger wine.

Lice in Community

A few minor cases of head lice back in July is still posing somewhat of a problem for community three months later.  Over a dozen people have had run-ins with these pests during the past few months, and stopping the spread in a communal living situation isn’t easy.  Many options are available for those dealing with these parasites, including homemade and store-bought herbal and chemical remedies.  Shampoos, sprays, oils, salves, vinegar rinses, diatomaceous earth, and nit combs are readily available.  Individuals with lice are being asked to be conscientious about not spreading them, and some East Winders have cut their hair as a precaution or solution. East Winders are helping each other out by providing regular head checks and helping to remove nits. 

Hootin’ and Hollerin’

Many East Winders attended the annual Hootin’ and Hollerin’ craftshow and fair held in Gainesville, MO (the nearest town to East Wind).  East Winders set up a vending booth with nutbutters, hammocks, sandals, and a variety of homemade treats and crafts including cutting boards, polyhedrons, nature photography, herb bundles, knit work, cheesecake, cookies, muffins, and more.  East Winders had a good time working the booth, socializing with the local community, purchasing foods and crafts, enjoying the musical talent, and dancing throughout the three-day festival.

Autumn Equinox

East Winders celebrated the autumnal equinox deep in the woods on September 22^nd  this year. Many East Winders hiked or carpooled to our forested New Land to celebrate in a small clearing amongst the trees not far from our autumn olive grove.  Food and drink were plentiful, and East Winders gathered around the fire to drum, sing, and have a good time until late into the night.