What’s Happening: January 2013

Health in Community

Many East Winders (about half of us) spent some time this January sick in bed with the flu virus.  Natural and conventional medicine and treatments were readily available, and most East Winders recovered quickly.  Echinacea, elderberry, elecampane, eucalyptus, ginger, peppermint, lemongrass, and licorice root are some herbal favorites for their immunostimulant, antiviral, decongestant, and demulcent properties.  East Winders suffered symptoms such as fatigue, muscle soreness, congestion, sore throat, fever, and stomach upset before overcoming this highly contagious virus.

Community is still struggling to rid ourselves of scabies, microscopic parasites that first arrived at East Wind over six months ago.  Approximately ten East Winders have been afflicted, and most have overcome these parasites with diligent treatment and hygiene.  Most have opted for prescription permethrin treatment, and some have treated themselves naturally with sulfur, neem, tea tree, rosemary, turmeric, etc.  We hope to rid ourselves of these pests in the near future.

East Winders have been conducting another series of medical trainings this winter.  The emergency medical care workshops are between one and two hours long and take place after brunch on Sundays.  The first workshop included information on what to do in emergency situations, when to call 911, symptoms and treatment for heart attack, shock, stroke, and sudden cardiac arrest, how to perform CPR, and how to use an AED.  Over a dozen people attended the first workshop, and are hopefully now more prepared to provide confident and competent care in case of an emergency.

New Year’s Eve & Time Capsule

East Winders greeted the New Year in style with a classy dance party extravaganza in our HMX shop.  We also sealed an East Wind time capsule that we be enclosed in one of the concrete pillars underneath RB, our central building.  The time capsule includes photos, a notebook with messages to the future, and other memorabilia from our time.  It will be sealed indefinitely… until someone decides to open it.

Waiting List Still in Effect

There is still a waiting list in effect for space at East Wind.  There are over seventy people living in community right now, and all rooms and personal shelters are currently occupied.  Five individuals who visited in the fall are still on the waiting list for rooms at East Wind.  Space may open up this spring and summer, but we may continue to have a waiting list well into the foreseeable future.

Fig Cuttings

Three years ago, East Wind received a fig sapling as a gift from Short Mountain Sanctuary after their annual Beltane celebration.  That tree has now reached about eight feet in height and has provided us with plump, delicious figs for the last two summers.  This fall we took cuttings from this fig tree, and some of them have sprouted roots and will be the start of our new fig orchard this spring.