Dear folks,
Thank you for being here. For many, the idea of creating a rural neighbourhood may not be your focus. But likely there will be a few for whom it may.
Perhaps the growing interest in a ‘Gift’ economy may be a plausible means to assist community founders in acquiring land to share. Sharing land has been the most basic element of our own community success. The gifting of land is the cornerstone of our neighbourhood.
Yes, being entirely and authentically welcoming to everyone who came to our door played a role, as well as creating a small community school, but access to land meant folks could begin to build a life here without opening their wallets.
Imagine the quilt of gardens and homes that have sprung up, with goodwill showing up naturally between neighbours, helping when requested…yes, we have had to weather the Covid debacle amongst ourselves, but our relationships have survived, even with our diverse views.
This neighbourhood is glued together by relationships and goodwill. Not by rules. Not by expectations. Not by leaders. Not by ideology. Not by theology.
We are thriving because we are wildflowers, diverse and resilient.
Some of you may be in a role of founder. It is not a special role, not better than any other role, but it is, like any job, a part of the structure of community building. In our case, it primarily was the job of welcoming everyone and offering them land. No questions asked. No judgement passed. No filtering of who gets in.
There is a recipe to neighbourhood building. We have not written the recipe down, but know we have got the ingredients right to a large degree. There’s not much more to share with you here with regards to our project. Happy to speak with anyone who wishes, about this effort, about this miracle unfolding in a forgotten corner of the world. Please contact us anytime.
Onwards,
Leland