What’s Happening: May 2013

East Wind’s 39^th Land Day

East Winders past and present celebrated East Wind’s 39^th Land Day on May 1^st.  Partiers enjoyed a beautiful sunny day at the creek with friends, food, and drink.  At sunset, East Winders and friends gathered around a beautiful old elm tree to take a group photo and wrap the tree with ribbons.  East Wind will celebrate its 40^th anniversary on May 1^st of next year, and we are anticipating an East Wind reunion that will be remembered for a long time.  Many past East Winders will be attending, and there is talk of organizing an East Wind renaissance fair.  You can find out more information here.

Construction in Community

East Winders have been motivated to create and build this spring, and a number of different projects have been undertaken and completed.  A new aquaculture greenhouse is being added onto the south side of our exercise room/recording studio.  Our ice machine has been moved outside of RB in a new shed built specifically for that purpose.  The outdoor shower at Fanshen has been renovated using timber framing and thatching techniques.  Sunnysiders built a nice new front porch for Sunnyside, one of the original residences built at East Wind. Natural building at the new gazebo in the Mulberry Garden is well underway, with a cob/stone table and three benches nearing completion.

Plans for the hopefully near future include renovations to the floor and foundation of Rock Bottom, our kitchen/dining hall.  A lot of work has been done on a substandard personal shelter, Barnabus, in hopes that it will soon be inhabitable.  There are plans to build a new wood shed next to the general shop in the near future. There is also talk of rebuilding part of the showerhouse that burnt down in December 2011.  Maintaining, improving, and expanding our infrastructure is a never-ending job at East Wind, and we are always grateful for people willing to take on these kinds of projects.  This certainly looks like a promising year for construction at East Wind so far.

Garden

Mother nature has been kind this spring, and ample rain, sunshine, and pleasant temperatures are being enjoyed by people and plants alike.  The landscape is lush, green, and growing rapidly. Tomatoes, cucumbers, hot peppers, zucchini, and figs were all planted out into our gardens during the first week of May.  Melons were planted later this May.  Lettuce, asparagus, and strawberries became harvestable in early May, and are now being enjoyed daily in abundance.  Strawberries are a garden favorite of many East Winders, and are being devoured by the bucketful raw and cooked into desserts.  Many of us are eagerly anticipating the mulberries, blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries that will come in during the next few months.  Garlic, cabbage, and broccoli will be ready to harvest soon as well.  Small peaches, apples, and figs have already begun to grow on our orchard trees.  Many East Winders have been putting a lot of love into our gardens this year, and we’re about to reap the benefits as we head towards the peak of summer garden harvests during the next few months.

Herbs

Hibiscus, basil, holy basil, sweet marjoram, borage, lemongrass, nasturtiums, and echinacea were planted in our herb gardens this May.  Our new copper alembic column still for essential oils is up and running, and herbs are being distilled fresh from the garden.  Lemongrass, peppermint, spearmint, wild rose, and catnip were the first hydrosols that we made this spring.  We’ve already started drying large quantities of herbs for next winter, including lemon balm, oregano, peppermint, spearmint, tarragon, sage, thyme, violet, chives, etc.  Chamomile, calendula, valerian, and sage have already begun to flower and enchant our herb gardens.  To support East Wind’s growing interest in natural medicine, we are growing and processing more medicinal herbs than ever before.

Elections

East Wind holds annual elections for the management of different branches, including garden, ranch, dairy, food processing, recreation, medical, utilities, grounds, forestry, house, kitchen, pets, finances, membership, auto shop, nut butters, etc.  All East Winders are able to sign-up to run for any of these positions during the month-long sign-up period.  The last week of May is reserved for voting, and new managers take their positions on June 1^st.  There was a lot of participation this year, with over 35 East Winders running for 40 positions (with some people running as teams and some people running for multiple positions). Eleven positions are being sought after by at least two opposing parties or individuals, allowing voting East Winders to choose their preferred candidate for the job.

East Wind is an egalitarian community that strives to offer a viable alternative to the hierarchical structure that dominates the workplace elsewhere.  Managers here aren’t bosses and don’t have employees working beneath them. Managers don’t make more money or enjoy other additional benefits (other than the satisfaction of helping to maintain and improve the quality of life in community). Instead, managers are self-motivated individuals who volunteer to be responsible for a particular aspect of community life.  This system has its drawbacks, but generally seems to work quite well for a community of this size.