Dialogue, Writing, India, Gardening (written July 12th)

Chris and Marcia came over to chant this evening, and it was wonderful to hear from them about their dreams and ideas, particularly from Chris. They listened to me too. Although the phrase “make the impossible possible” didn’t come up so directly, much of the discussion was about how we actually go about doing that, about dividing huge dreams into smaller, connected goals that make the dream seem more possible, and therefore more exciting and tangible.
I’ve been doing some of this already. Through a book on How to Start a Nonprofit, I’ve been working through some important details and motivations. I’ve typed up a bunch of it, and perhaps I’ll post some of it too, with a little more editing.
I don’t know how much I’ve written about it here, but I’m working towards spending next semester studying in India. The program I’m in is called Sustainable Development and Social Change, through SIT, (The School for International Training, located in Vermont). The connection between this and the Sunflower Village Initiative is that I believe that my thinking and actions about SVI will be clarified through this program. By making a connection to Sustainable Development and Social Change in India, I will strengthen, from experience, the ability for intentional communities to positively impact interactions with impoverished countries, as well as making the village inclusive of multiple cultural experiences and non-white perspectives. So in my application for the program, I wrote a good deal about how I think that the program will do this. Something else I can add here.
My friend Mamta is gone for a few weeks, and she has offered me a great opportunity. I get to water and harvest her vegetables while she’s gone! I go the first time tomorrow. I’m going to bring home some basil, and hopefully a tomato or two will be ready! I’m sure some zucchini will be set, since they were coming ripe last week. It will be good to get out and do some garden work. I haven’t done much gardening in a long time, so this will feel wonderful, and save us some money too!

Satellite Experiment

Alright, after clearing up my thoughts yesterday, I really want to write what I originally meant to get down.

On Saturday, I while I was chanting, I was struggling a bit. I had some difficulties in organization last week, and I was feeling a bit frustrated with the fact that I hadn't done anything directly connected to the Sunflower Village Initiative for awhile. But I want to clarify, this was a joyful kind of struggling and it wasn't agonistic at all. I have felt at times that while I love the idea I have for the structures of the village, I am not sure how to bring that vision to fruition. Things came together rather suddenly. I realized that a great way to move my ideas forward is to take one aspect of what I am trying to do and attempt it on a slightly smaller, more feasible scale. So the thought is to take the Satellite model (see earlier posts) of organizing the village and test it out, over the course of at least one summer. I would organize a group of 10-20 people. I would like to see if a local farmer might be able to accommodate us. I have one in mind, but if he would rather not participate, I can imagine the "Happy Valley" providing someone who would. This group of people would come to the farm for the summer. A central area would be designated for cooking, socializing, and projects. Perhaps this area should have a wood platform to prevent mud. Tents would be used primarily for sleep and private time. The work day would be spent doing farmwork under the direction of the farmer. This would work well with the idea of having specialist directors of village labours. It would also serve to provide compensation to the farmer for the use of space. The main objective of the experiment would be as a preliminary test of the function of a satellite dwelling arrangement. Ideally, the experiment would be repeated in a consecutive season, ideally with most of the same people. One of the challenges involved is finding funding and other resources needed to allow people to participate. This is needed to counter the hindrance presented by peoples' need to continue to pay rent, bills, and to take hiatus from other activities. More research must be done on the exact costs for dwellings, impact for a potential farmer-participant, the kinds of support needed for participants, and how to keep the project cohesive.