Digger Street, Cairns, Queensland

Hidden away in the outer precincts of, lets face it, the rather conservative Cairns is a vibrant Arts Community called Digger Street on …. Digger Street! The big colourful home-made sign on the roadside happened to catch my eye one day, and I thought, “Wow that looks like a community garden or something!”. With there being a distinct lack of alternative community activity in Cairns city (with the exceptions being Neils Organics and Community Foods), I excitedly thought about popping in sometime. Turns out I didn’t need to wonder much longer as a flyer for their Thursday night community cafe was dropped onto my home-made music stand while busking by the lagoon one day.

We dropped in and joined a laid-back creative bunch of individuals, artists and musicians for dinner one Thursday night. The atmosphere of the place is bright, fun and relaxed. They grow some of their own vegetables, and maintain an awesome mini-jungle in their garden. But there is a slight cliquey feel to the place, with only one or two members seeming keen to greet us as you enter. This is probably because the community is quite transient, and the core residents stick together to weather the tide of crowds flowing through the place. I can relate to that from my time living at Sadhana Forest (see previous post).

There are three Queenslanders (houses raised up higher for better airflow in the hot climate) which are privately owned by one family, with whom the Digger Street community have an arrangement with. Accommodation and studio space is available for artists to rent at cheap rates to cover living costs, and all residents pay into a kitty for food which is bought in bulk.  There are also rooms for backpackers to stay at cheaper rates than hostels and for WWOOFers too. Thursday nights are pretty vibrant with a big shared meal, musicians, a bonfire and fire poi.

The website provides a great explanation of the community and their principles. It opens with:

Digger Street is a Cairns based experiential project based around the concept of a post consumerist Arts Community.  Currently its large area contains three large Queenslander’s houses that accommodate around 20 people from a variety of backgrounds.

It aims to create a supportive community where people are able immerse themselves in their pursuits. Situated in the tropics where balmy winter days make way for the tempest of the wet. It is a participatory project where one learns about community development through doing and should not be regarded as long term accommodation. Community members self fund Digger Street on an equal dollar basis and expects also an effort equity from its participants.

You’ll find it at http://diggerstreet.com/.

Rebecca

Twelve Tribes Community, Katoomba, NSW

Intentional communities are groups of people living together united by a willingness to share and co-operate, often sharing a belief or philosophy. While in the Blue Mountains recently I happened upon a community united by their religious belief. This was the Twelve Tribes, a ‘ Massianic’ community, which has spread from the US into many countries around the world. Now there are thousands of members, living in numerous smaller local communities. I found this description of their idea of community on their website:

‘ “Community” as we use the term means those who love one another so greatly that they are of one heart and mind, holding all things as common property, living together, taking their meals together, devoted to one another because they’re devoted to the One who saved them from death and misery.’

I found a their description in the WWOOF book as they accept volunteers, and went to drink a cup of mate in their cafe in Katoomba to have a chat. I talked with a vibrant, happy young woman called Simcha, which means ‘giver of joy’. This is not her original name but when she joined the community with her mother at the age of 5, she was given a Hebrew name, as all members are. Our conversation gave me a fascinating insight into their lives.

The Twelve Tribes is a fairly new religion, based on ancient beliefs and culture. They believe in God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the Creator of all things. They say theirs is the original religion and they worship Yahshua, or Jesus.  The Twelve Tribes started having their meetings in 1975. Those who attended were Christians, deeply unhappy with the modern day practice of their religion, and they decided instead to practice in a ‘traditional and pure’ way that they believed God would have truly wanted. This soon grew into huge movement, and has now spread to Canada, Brazil, Argentina, UK, Germany and Australia with thousands of members. They believe in unity, in co-operation, in sharing, in forgiveness and caring for one another with love and compassion. Their way of life may seem quite old fashioned to us. They dress moderately and make their own clothing, they strongly believe in marriage, they often have traditional gender roles (although not as a rule), they home school their children and they live communally together.

So what is their community life like? Well, there are around 25 living in the Katoomba community right now and around 50 in their closest community on a 22 acre farm in Picton, NSW. They all live in a large house with many rooms. Families often have a room for the parents and a room for the children, and singles sometimes share in dormitories. The communal space and kitchen is shared, as are house keeping duties and cooking. They do not have a TV, and instead fill their time with more wholesome activities. Each morning they gather at 7am for a ritual of singing and dancing, sharing and reading. Simcha called the “heartbeat of our life”. The children are home schooled with a curriculum of both intellectual, creative and religious content. The teachers are members of the community, often parents.

Decision making does not seem to have any formal structure, but small-scale specific decisions are taken by those it is immediately relevant to, for e.g. the cafe team, or the household team. Larger decisions are taken by the whole group, but those who are deemed to possess higher wisdom i.e. the elders or those with more experience tend to have the final say. The others in the group put their trust in this wisdom. If any conflicts arise, they try to to deal with each scenario in a natural way as possible. They believe in solving issues, not leaving them. There are no rules as such, but general standards and a common knowledge of ‘what is right’. Talking with Simcha, I generally got a sense that this seemed to work well for them. She admitted that of course their community is not perfect, and there are often conflicts that arise, but that their deeper spiritual connection reminds them of their common purpose, and their need to seek a resolution. But I can’t help feeling a little uncomfortable with the apparent traditional patriarchal system of the hierarchy of the elders, particularly men. I feel we have moved beyond this, and this community seem to be stepping back in time.

Each community has an industry to support themselves, and this is usually a cafe. This not only supports the community financially but also acts as a meeting place for them to spread their message of God and love. This might sound a little contrived, but Common Ground cafe in Katoomba is hugely popular, and a mere 10 minutes after opening we were already being shuffled into the overflow section! Their food is delicious, wholesome and healthy and people really enjoy the warm, welcoming feel of the place. The profit made goes into paying for the upkeep of the community and the buildings, and other expenses. They are still paying mortgages on both the cafe and the residential buildings. No member earns a wage, but is expected to serve within the community, for example by working in the cafe or teaching the children. The community supports all their needs in exchange for this service. This is the most extreme case of communal living I have come across yet. The members do not receive a stipend or have their own spending money. They do not believe in idle consumerism, so if there is something they need, for example shoes or clothes, they ask the community to provide it. Simcha seemed very happy with this arrangement, and it seems as though those in charge of the finances are pretty reasonable should a member request something. This really is a step away from modern individualistic lifestyles where we all feel we need to earn our own money so we can buy our own stuff. They must truly put their full trust in the community.

I never imagined I would be so interested to write about a religious community but I really am. Even though I am not religious, in fact I have been positively anti-religion my whole life, it seems as though there is something here that many other communities have been lacking. They tick a lot of my boxes, to mention two: They have a strong community glue binding them all together which is their religious /spiritual belief, and they are self sufficient in supporting themselves with their own small industry. Not only this but they practice a simple, non-consumeristic lifestyle where love and compassion are at the forefront of everything they do. Our host Simcha positively glowed with love, and the others who greeted us were warm, pleased to stop and chat and welcoming. It is not often I have been welcomed in this way into a community.

The glue. The key to community is the glue. The stuff that binds us together! And the glue doesn’t need to be a religion, it just needs to be a common belief, a common goal which we all share. Many communities I have visited seem to be lacking this binding factor. Yes we all want to live together. Yes we want to reduce our environmental impact. Yes we want our kids to grow up with other children and with support from other families. But is this enough? When the kids get older, the families drift apart. When a dispute arises, the community splits. When house prices in the area rise, many sell up to make a tidy profit. I’ve seen all this. I’m not saying that this is the case across the board, I’m only saying it can happen. Now if a community were to set out its very specific common beliefs, what really lies at the heart of them all, they would have something to live together FOR. The people in Twelve Tribes don’t live together for the sake of living together, their living together is only a side product of their religious beliefs. In Victoria, the members of Common Ground Community Co-operative are together because they believe in working towards social change. This is their glue. A farm. A co-operative. A not-for-profit. A specific spiritual practice. An environmental issue. These can all be ways in which communities bind themselves together. This way when conflicts do arise, there is a good incentive for sorting them out! There is more at stake, more to risk. Now there is plenty of press about Twelves Tribes. There are many stories out there about the negative side of the community; they are even called a cult and accused of putting pressure on vulnerable people and attempting to brainwash potential members into joining. But I don’t want to explore these issues, nor am I ignoring them. I simply want to share what it is I found so fascinating about them.

Rebecca

Murundaka Cohousing Co-operative, Melbourne

A serendipitous meeting of a lovely lady named Dora at Fryers Forest, near Castlemaine, led me to Murundaka Cohousing Co-operative in Melbourne. We excitedly talked of ideas of community as she herself is in the process of setting up an intentional community with friends. I had heard of Murundaka before but she told that I simply had to visit it, and that she would put her friend Delphine who lives there in touch with me. Sure enough, within a couple of days Delphine had contacted me and I arranged to go around one morning for a cup of tea and a nose around, or a squiz as they say over here.

On first impressions, Murundaka does appear quite imposing nestled in the quiet residential area of Heidelberg Heights in North East Melbourne. There is a lot of metal, a lot of grey, and a very modern utilitarian style of architecture. But a chalk board scribbled with the words ‘Welcome to Murundaka Cohousing’  put me at ease and as I glanced through the window of the communal house I could see soft furnishings, children’s toys and drawings, plants and signs of colourful life!

Delphine came to greet me warmly and seemed very pleased to show me around. We shared green tea in her apartment and she told me the story of Murundaka. They only moved in 6 months ago so the project is still teething. The founder of the project decided she wanted to start a cohousing project in Melbourne and so had her house demolished in order to build this development in its place. The project was supported and funded partly by Common Equity Housing Ltd. (CEHL: the umbrella group for all co-ops in Victoria) and partly by the federal government stimulus package during the GFC (Great Financial Crisis) here in Australia. There are 18 self-contained apartments in two of the buildings and a common house. The buildings are all joined by adjoining doorways and covered walkway.

The CEHL took over most of the control of the building design and so hence the steel, concrete and dark colours. It is not as founders had imagined and it is not as ecologically sound as they would have liked either. The three buildings that comprise Murundaka have all been designed solar passive; all the apartments face North with large windows and balconies, and have excellent insulation. The common house has solar hot water too but all of the apartments are on mains water and mains electricity. However with the apartments being very compact, and the use of the communal space, the cohousing model has a far lower ecological impact than the average neighbourhood of this many residents elsewhere. The residents have plans to ‘naturalise’ the site, i.e. plant creepers over some of the steel work and buildings.

There are currently 38 residents living in Murundaka. Each resident has to be earning below a certain threshold as this project is offering affordable housing for those who need it. The rent is 25% of each residents’ income, as per CEHL and the Department of Housing’s regulations. Bills, maintenance and the common house upkeep are paid for by a compulsory amenity fee from each resident. Each shared meal is $5 and laundry is $2. Many members seem to be able to make a saving on living costs with this arrangement.

There is a real mix of ages, full and part-time workers, families, single parents and individuals. The community share two meals a week and this is arranged by the Food Group, a rotating team of 3-4 residents. In fact they have many working groups to help them create a cohesive community; the Garden Group has established a few veggie patches both on and off site, the Resource Utilisation Group deals with the community waste and recycling, the Finance Group works on the budgets, financial planning and calculating and managing rent and amenity fee, the Building and Environment Review Group meet to discuss the ins and outs of the building maintenance and upkeep, as well as ways to improve it. Decisions are made by consensus amongst those who are present at each meeting and a majority if consensus can not be reached. A member of each working group reports back at the community meetings. This seems to be working really well for them so far and the residents are visibly excited about living here. Regular parties, events and shared meals keep the spirit of community alive. Not only this but they share resources and look out for one another. Delphine shared with me a story of when she fell unconscious one evening; the other residents were close at hand to support her and her son.

The beauty of the cohousing model is that each resident has the freedom to choose how much or how little they wish to be involved in community life. They can come to the common room frequently to meet others, organise events, get involved in the garden or committees, but also have their own apartment to retire to which is their own space. This differs from the classic commune model. Perhaps this is the modern day commune! Modern society demands individuality and a lot of private space so communities that have established themselves on the model of communally living in close quarters have failed to attract great numbers. This is why I find the cohousing model so exciting. The movement was started in Denmark in the 60’s and there are now hundreds of cohousing projects all over the world. Each person lives in their own self contained unit with kitchen but there are shared resources, and a communal space. One has created a community without living on top of one another! It is an affordable model for those with low income, and there is no individual ownership of any property. The onus is on stewardship, co-operation, sharing, support and low environmental impact.

See the Cohousing Australia page here for more information on Murundaka.

Rebecca

Fryers Forest, near Castlemaine, Victoria, Australia

We stayed at Fryers Forest for roughly one week and although it wasn’t long enough to get to know the place properly, we had a wonderful time working with our hosts Jinari and Curt in their garden and also helping other members with preparing their firewood for the winter. We were made to feel incredibly welcome, with some residents even chasing after us to introduce themselves and have a chat! It seems that a lot of them genuinely love to have wwoofers and visitors here.

Fryers Forest was purchased as disused mining land from the days of the gold rush and was founded by two couples, including permaculturalist David Holmgren and his wife.  Other families contributed funds early on towards the development of lots too, even before the purchase of the property. Their vision was to turn the land into a permaculture demonstration property with 12 families living on it as a community, sharing the responsibilities of the upkeep, with solar passive housing and responsible regeneration of the native bush. Some of the permaculture principles used are the integration of domestic forestry with selective thinning for fire-safety (the harvested wood provides fuel for domestic wood stoves), and the Keyline Design system of water storage and transfer. Each family has bought a lot and owns the free-hold title of the plot. The sale of the lots then covers the cost of buying the land for the original family.

Some of the plots at Fryers Forest have not yet been built on and some are for sale. Each plot can sell for as much as $125 – 195,000 these days, and that is without a house on it. With it being extremely difficult to get a bank loan to buy a plot on a multiple occupancy community, this might exclude many people who don’t have capital readily available. However, some people are renting inside Fryers Forest now which may be a more affordable way to access the community. The annual Owners corporation fee of $850 is paid by each lot for maintenance and to purchase community assets. A percentage is also donated to social and environmental charities.

Most of the residents of Fryers Forest are keen to maintain the community glue so there is a weekly craft morning and a weekly coffee morning. A sweat lodge was held on the day we arrived and it is evident that events and rituals like these bring the community together. Many members hope that this can be repeated on other occasions more frequently.

One of the problems of the body corporate model was highlighted for us whilst staying here: if each member owns their plot of land it is technically theirs to do with as they wish. Although meetings are held and rules exist there is the feeling that the group cannot actually appear too hardline because in reality there is nothing to stop a member ignoring the body corporate. Those who want to and are committed attend meetings and work hard to establish rules that will preserve the community and also at its social community however those who do not want to do this or abide by regulations can likewise avoid meetings and decisions. This seems to be the sacrifice you make when you want both communal living and private ownership. The monthly body corporate meetings are for all members and decisions are made based on consensus of all who are present.

There are environmental regulations that need to be adhered to should one want to build a house at Fryers Forest, and the houses that already exist vary greatly from Austrian chalet-style, to converted barn-style, and even octagonal designs. Some are rammed earth, and many have composting toilets. Some residents grow their own vegetables but the emphasis on permaculture and the maintenance of the common land and common orchard seems to have gone a little to the wayside. Some residents admit this is due to there being only half the number of families present that the property needs for its upkeep. As each plot has a free-hold title, the family that owns the plot can build whenever they are ready, even if this is not for 10 years! Empty plots are a problem and it leaves the community in limbo. Other families who live at Fryers Forest work full-time in the city, and have seemingly removed themselves from community life. This is a real shame as those members that we met have a real enthusiasm and passion for living together as a community; they pop into its others houses, they offer each other help and support, they organise events and coffee mornings, they take turns to drive their specially bought school bus each morning. There are also working bees each month, which despite non participation of some, there are always a core group attending. Most recent efforts have been focused on fire clearing, maintaining fire fighting equipment and pruning the orchard. If all plots were full and all members were joining in, the place would be thriving. But things are looking up. New members are coming in, with renewed enthusiasm to breathe new life into the community at Fryers Forest.

Rebecca, Tom and Helen

Aldinga Arts Ecovillage, Aldinga, South Australia

Unfortunately we did not have the chance to spend any time at the Aldinga Arts Ecovillage but we took a walk around and here are some of our photos. Click here for their webpage.

The Village Community Co-operative, Kuitpo, South Australia

The Village Community Co-operative was set up in the late 1970s by a group of social and environmental activists who had been involved in the movements against the Vietname War and local uranium mining. This particular group were also involved with renewable energy and consequently set up one of Australia’s first solar panel shops in Adelaide. When the co-operative was first established the group lived in a shared house in the city while searching for land to purchase.

The original members created the community as an alternative to consumer-driven modern life, and the place became a hub for conferences, gatherings, meetings, vision quests, festivals and general activities of movement for social and environmental change. School groups came to visit and enjoyed theatrical and creative antics in the bush, workshops were held in various aspects of community living and the latest sustainable technology. They wanted to create something different not just for themselves, but something they could share with others too.

Over time, the community has evolved and many people have come and gone, some dedicating years of their life to the place, and others for a few months. Although none of the original members live there anymore (although many remain members), the longest standing member has been there for the best part of 25 years, and others for 10 years or more. It seems that those who commit to The Village, seem to take that commitment very seriously and remain for many years.

The years of high activity were followed by some tragic events as happens in any family’s life. These events brought the community together in their sorrow, although the group has not yet returned to the level of activity they once had. The current residents are now ready to bring back some of that progressive energy to The Village by encouraging and supporting the new generation of young people with fresh ideas!

We were welcomed with open arms into The Village and found some of the warmest people we have encountered on our travels yet. They exude an air of quiet peace, and compassion. Our hosts , Susan and Iain were extremely keen to meet people who have a genuine interest in community life and every effort was made to accommodate us. Apart from the weeding and digging here and there for a few hours, most of our time has been spent deep in interesting conversation!

The Village currently has 8 full time residents, and 22 members of the co-operative. The living arrangements are fairly communal with shared bathrooms, and many of the bedrooms under the same roof. However, all members usually have a lot of time to themself and meals are rarely shared. One member lives in her decomissioned bus and others in a tipi. The buildings have been made mostly from reclaimed materials and mud bricks and rammed earth from the site itself. Whenever an extra room has been needed, the buildings have expanded organically! This is because the local authority only allows a single residential dwelling on the rural property. In terms of power, some solar power is harvested for hot water and power in all of the buildings. Most materials, tools and resources are shared, as well as skills, for example mechanics, plumbing and carpentry with the youngest member of the co-op being very much in demand!

The Village installed the first composting toilet and also the first grey-water reed-bed system in South Australia. They were granted permission by the local authority but only if they would monitor the water quality coming from the final stage of the reed-bed system. The Village is situated in a water catchment area, with a creek running through it that flows into one of the only un-dammed rivers in the state. This means the water quality is of high concern. The Village became experts on the reed-bed system, and the local authority frequently consulted them for advice, which has since been incorporated into many new systems since.

The co-operative does not have its own income as such, but each resident pays a low service fee to pay for things like building maintenance, materials, phone land-line and fuel for communal vehicles. Each member tends to make a little income from outside work, but this seems to be fairly low and all members are living very frugally. One couple is growing vegetables for the local farmers market and restaurants. Others are involved in local bush regeneration and another is a mechanic. They hve embraced a simple life and the place is peaceful, beautiful.

A share in the co-operative costs $3000, which new members can take up to six years to pay. Many people who don’t actually live in The Village, feel a close affiliation with it, and will travel for miles around for the monthly members’ meeting. Our hosts tell us that if someone is interested in living in community, they would generally like to see that they have had a strong commitment to the place previously. A 6-month trial period is standard, although some feel this should be increased to one year, as some conflict has arisen with certain members recently. Accommodation for new members is unfortunately limited by the council’s one-dwelling policy, so no new buildings can legally be built.

An interesting situation has arisen in the last 5 years here, which has brought up many important questions for community co-operatives. When a conflict between one member and the rest of the community occurred, The Village looked to The Co-opertives Act for support. But the Act actually only refers to industrial matters, not civil ones. They have since sought legal advice, and tried turning to all possible avenues but there appears to be no legal framework in place to help a co-operative solve a civil matter. They are attempting to bring the matter to tribunal, and the whole affair has been very stressful for those involved. But what does this mean for communities? As co-operatives, it seems all civil matters must be resolved from within, which would be the ideal situation for any community. However when an internal resolution can’t be found, where can they turn for support?

Although life at The Village may seem fairly simple, there is a very high concentration of extremely practical people here doing very impressive things! One member has developed his own composting system where the heap is kept in a semi-circle, feeding the compost material into one end, and mixing and drawing out the fresh compost from the other end. The result is fantastic compost, and a very practical working system. Another member has created on his lathe some of the most beautiful woooden bowls we have ever seen. The skill and precision with which they have been made is impressive, though he never took them to market and has only made them as gifts. Another member has been fine-tuning a ram pump system which doesn’t use any external energy source, only the power of the flow of the water itself. The same member also regenerated the wetland system that has been disrupted by years of agriculture. It is now a fully functioning seasonal wetland, planted with native plants and frequently visited by local fauna. Oh, and did we forget to mention this member also built a complex series of swales across the land for optimum water conservation! And the community is also growing trees for the Trees for Life scheme among many others, the government’s campaign to encourage tree planting in rural areas.

The site has changed a lot over the years, as great effort has been made to conserve water in the two dams, and to replant the indigenous plant species here. Many trees and shrubs have returned and recent aerial photo shows just how much greener the site is now. The future looks very bright for The Village.

Moora Moora Community Co-operative

Moora Moora has been a tricky community for us to describe, as our experience of the community was as a wwoofer (volunteer worker), and this meant we were very separate from the community itself. This left us with little contact with members of the community so our experience was not as easy to understand. We lived in a separate lodge and when working for the co-operative we would cook for and entertain ourselves. When we worked for a community member, helping them in their home or garden, it was their responsibility to provide us with a meal in their home in exchange. In reality this was our only real chance for interaction with the residents (but thanks so much to the lovely Melissa for inviting us down to the dam for the fire on Friday evening!). We were also asked upon arriving not to walk around the community without an escort, which only added to our feeling of isolation.

However there are opportunities to learn and grow in every experience and we reminded ourselves that the week ahead would be an interesting one for us! Luckily for us, we found a copy of Australian Communities by Peter Cock; one of the founding members of Moora Moora. This fascinating account of his research into the beginnings of the intentional community movement in Australia, with all of its strengths and weaknesses, and also the creation of Moora Moora, helped us to understand this community and its place in the movement.

Moora Moora was purchased in 1974 by 12 individuals who shared a common interest in creating an intentional community. Their manifesto emphasised the opportunity for members to make a radical break whilst still providing for those who didn’t desire such a big change. They were clearly not a hippy commune. This has meant that the community has maintained a wide appeal and enabled people in the mainstream to be introduced to more radical ideas in a gradual and lasting manner. This has now expanded to almost 50 adults and 20 children. The original members have, all but two, left the community to be replaced by new faces. The members do not see this as a failing of the community, but rather a reflection of the transitional and constantly changing nature of communities. Moora Moora is made up 6 clusters of 5 houses on the top of the stunning 700m Mount Toolebewong above Healesville. All the building plots but one have been built on and we imagine the energy of the community will evolve now that members have more time to spend on the co-op rather than building their houses. Potential new members are encouraged to get as involved as possible in community meetings and work days to get a feeling for the community and then if they wish, apply for a non-member residence status and start looking for a house in the community to rent. There is a 2-year maximum stay as a non member resident and after that a person is expected to buy a house or leave the community. An individual share costs $18 000 and after being granted a member resident status each new member or family waits for a house that suits them to come up for sale. The standards and costs of houses in the community vary widely. Many outgoing members put a higher price on their owner built homes than an outsider may be willing to pay even though this is understandable. Once a new member has found a house they like, it is up to the other members of that particular cluster to decide if the new member can buy that house. The cluster identity is quite strong, facilities are shared amongst members and the environmental impact of the houses is lower.

Over the next week, our work varied between helping residents cleaning windows, chopping firewood, clearing up after rendering strawbales, and even resurfacing the tennis court. It was great to get out and about in the community. We met some very kind, interesting and wonderful people and marvelled at some very interesting designs of straw bale and mud brick houses.

However, there was often miscommunication about when and with whom we would be working, and so this meant that quite a lot of our time was spent waiting around to find out who we would be working with and what we would be doing.

Moora Moora is the longest standing intentional community in Australia and evidently still holds a strong appeal for a lot of people. Most of the residents we spoke to had joined the community to give their young children a free and social childhood in a beautiful, wild environment. From what we could see they had gained exactly this. Throughout our stay children freely moved about the community; playing and riding their bicycles, safely without the direct supervision of their parents. Adults of the community were never far away, and yet the children were able to develop their own independence. One great thing that we observed was young groups of children resolving their conflicts by themselves without an adult intervening and creating an imposed solution. Another pull of this community was clearly the stunning mountain-top location which looked out over the plains toward the city of Melbourne. We heard on many occasions people talking about the mountain keeping them in Moora Moora when conflict or other matters may have forced them to otherwise leave. The co-operative has succeeded in preserving 275 hectares of bush on top of the mountain, showing fantastic dedication to conservation. There is also an impressive CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) with a large veggie patch providing an impressive range of vegetables for members from inside the community and the surrounding area.

The majority of the members are still working part and full time in Melbourne or the local area and still need to commute on a regular basis. The car actually seemed to have an even bigger role in Moora Moora than it would have in a town or city. In fact, although most houses were within a 10 minute walk volunteers were often picked up in a car by those they would be working with that day. However this allows members to maintain social and working lives outside of the community.

Nearing the end of our stay we were invited to join a panel discussion with members of Moora Moora led by Peter Cock who was hosting a course entitled ‘Entering the Ecological Domain.’ This was a fascinating insight for us into the main pulls and drawbacks of communal living. The issue of aging in the community was brought up by two of Peter’s students who were of African and Indian origin. The astonishment these two people felt when they found out that elder members generally move down the mountain when they became less physically able struck a chord with us. It has become apparent that this is an issue that comes up time and time again when we talk about or with intentional communities. Watch this space for a discussion post about aging in community!

Had we visited this community, earlier in our journey, Moora Moora would have been a very exciting place for us to visit. However, further down the line, we realise that this is not a model of intentional community for us. In Peter Cock’s book, Australian Communities he describes how earlier in the Moora Moora’s history, the more radical members themselves left, as the group formed its identity. Now it appears the community has firmly established its identity, and is comfortable with it. It is clearly not trying to be a radical ‘back-to-nature’ community, or to live off the land. It is a self-proclaimed ‘bourgeois community’ for those looking for an alternative lifestyle away from the isolation of suburbia. A lifestyle where their children can grow up freely amongst other children. Where parents and single parents are supported. Where the air is clean and fresh. Where all energy is harvested by solar panels. Where your vegetables can be provided by the local CSA. Where a participatory style of governance based on community needs is encouraged. It is a great alternative and this they have achieved.
Rebecca, Tom and Helen

Community Land Trusts – a model for community

Community Land Trusts are a phenomenon taking off fairly recently in Australia and New Zealand, one part of the growing grassroots movement to regain some public control over the availability and prices of housing. Many Community Land Trusts have been well established in North America and the UK for a number of years. These are essentially non-profit corporations accountable to a community-based membership that elects community members and other affected locals onto their board. It is a very exciting idea and provides a model where housing is provided at affordable rates, and also meets other social needs of the local community. The philosophy of the movement is based on communist ideals and has been greatly inspired by Henry George, an American writer, politician and political economist,  who’s idea was that poverty stems from elitist land ownership. The drive for the hundreds of CLTs that have already been established in the US has been in order to address the need for low-cost housing. I was lucky enough to be in Melbourne for a workshop on Community Land Trusts by Bob Corker of Kotare Ecovillage in New Zealand.

Bob outlined the key features of CLTs as the following:

• Not-For-Profits – some also looking into charitable status
• Trustees are from the community itself
• Permanent – offers residents security
• Expansionist – can be added to
• No ownership personally – only lease tenure
• Affordability
• Avoids ‘capture’ i.e. by the market in price, or things against the values of the community.
• Restores commons.

I suppose the two most exciting aspects about CLTs for me is the affordability and the onus being on stewardship, not ownership. In modern times we have become very caught up with the idea of owning stuff; land, things, and of autonomy and individualism. The need to have our own property, our own things; to be independent of everyone else, an individual or individual family unit. This has led us into a culture of extreme consumerism and wastefulness, of isolation, loneliness and mental illness. Something is missing from this life! And many people are seeking now, what was once missing. Community, a feeling of belonging. Sharing resources, sharing daily tasks, even meals. And with housing becoming increasingly out of reach of poorer households, first time home-owners, and even of would-be eco-village dwellers, CLTs provide a model which keeps housing at affordable rates, not at fluctuating market rate.

So how does it work? CLTs have been described as a type of “shared equity homeownership” where the rights, responsibilities, risks and rewards of ownership are shared between the households and the organisational stewards. This can be for a new development, say an ‘ecovillage’ or cohousing co-operative setup, and also for a cluster of existing properties. After the initial subsidy is put down, allowing the home to be ‘bought’ for a below-market price, the new owners need to agree to limits to how much the house can be sold for at a later date. This allows the affordability to prevail. The value of the plot may rise slightly according to the CPI index but not the local land market. The residents do not own any one title, but are a lessee of the Trust. The Trust as a whole owns the property collectively. There is even the opportunity to rent inside this model, which is an option for those who cannot afford even to be a lessee in the CLT. Usually new property is built by CLTs, but often existing homes can be brought into the Land Trust. The initial costs for setting up a CLT are high! So many have sought start-up funding from foundations or philanthropists. Sometimes the local government has stepped in to provide some funds and grants for community development.

Bob Corker has set up the Kotare Land Trust after trying pretty much every other model of community or eco-village. The hippy commune, sharing income and work which all fell apart when tense relationships broke down. The business model with individual businesses functioning from common land. The eco-village, which Bob and his wife left when they realised people did not truly share their ideals and huge profits were being made from the on-selling of free-hold titles, even when the original onus was on affordability. They has finally set up a Community Land Trust and this model suits them and their family best.

Bob pointed out that CLTs can be applied to various situations which involve people in rural situations for example farms and eco-communities. The Scottish Isle of Eigg is a famous one, whose residents set up a CLT on the island to buy out their absent feudal landlord and to establish collective governance of their isle. But this can also be extended into urban settings too, as I found out reading an article in YES! Magazine from Summer 2012. The predominantly Latino suburb of Sawmill in Albuqueque in New Mexico, USA, found that soaring house prices were pushing land and housing out of the reach of most families who had lived there for decades. A community action group formed a local CLT and persuaded the local government to purchase 27 acres of vacant land, and eventually the titles to this land was handed over to the CLT. Different CLTs are set up with different missions. Some are groups of residents looking to improve their neighbourhood. Sometimes they are created as a response to market pressure that threatens to displace vulnerable residents. Some are led by Non-profit organisations like Habitat for Humanity in the US. Some are even government projects. But in all cases they are grassroots projects, championed by people passionate about creating affordable housing.

CLTs can have a lesser environmental foot print than your average neighbourhood too, and many enter into them with strong environmental ideals. For example at Kotare Land Trust in New Zealand, there are strict regulations in place regarding the specifications of new buildings; they must be single storey, modest in floor space, and made with as many natural materials as possible i.e. earth, and no toxic substances. They have composting toilets, no septic tank, rocket stoves, and biofuel.

The organisational set-up may seem a little bewildering in the beginning, it did to me! But it is essentially quite simple and can vary from project to project. One way that Bob Corker described is as follows: Initially the group starting the CLT will need to set up a Private Development Corporation if they plan on doing new developments. Once this development of the property is complete, this corporation can then dissolve to form the Community Land Trust, and the board of Trustees is established with members from the community itself (majority) and members of the local area or local businesses. This board is elected and make all the over-arching decisions regarding the running and development of the CLT. These act as the “elders”, offering wisdom from experience and they protect the community with culture, not law. An Incorporated Society Committee, made up of all the residents, acts as the democratic arm of the community, managing common areas, makes certain decisions, deals with maintenance, and is the voice of the people referring back to the Board of Trustees. Bob suggests an educational institute and co-operative businesses can be established within each CLT to provide an income and employment to members. For example, Bob runs his permaculture education and seed saving centre, the Koanga Institute from within Kotare. A diagram of the organisational setup of Kotare can be seen below:

Community Land Trusts offer an exciting alternative model, particularly for marginalised populations who find themselves increasingly pushed out of the housing market. The rates to be a lessee may still be out of reach for some, but then there is the option to still be a part of it, by renting. It is less about banks and borrowing and more about community. It excites me because it brings custodianship and stewardship back into our way of thinking, and control of our housing and resources back to the people!

Have a look at the link below to read about Kotare on the Permaculture Research Institute of Australia’s website:

http://permaculture.org.au/2012/05/20/letters-from-new-zealand-villages-for-the-future-a-look-at-bob-corker-and-the-kotare-ecovillage/

Sawmill CLT’s website: www.sawmillclt.org/

Rebecca

CERES Community Environment Park, Melbourne

CERES is an inspiring project, a bustling green oasis nestled snugly in residential Brunswick, Melbourne. We first heard of CERES while in Sadhana Forest, in South India. We were given a talk by the charismatic Malaika about CERES and the Seed Savers. I instantly knew I wanted to visit as soon as I was in Melbourne.

CERES, Centre for Education and Research in Environmental Strategies, is an impressive not-for-profit urban farm and education centre. Their mission is to:

Address the causes of climate change,
Promote social wellbeing and connectedness,
Build local and global equity, and
Embrace and facilitate rapid change.

CERES has won numerous awards for its work and claims to be the largest deliverer of environmental education in Australia, with school programmes and countless courses and workshops. Local groups can hire the conference centre and venue spaces and it also boasts numerous social enterprises: CERES’ Organic Market, Café, Permaculture Nursery and Fair Food organics delivery. Community groups such as the Bike Shed, Community Gardens and Chook Group that call CERES home are also part of CERES’ culture. The project is also working towards making the site carbon neutral.

CERES was established in 1981 by a group of pro-active local residents who wanted to create a community garden dedicated to social and environmental awareness, and community involvement. They secured a lease from the local government of the 4.5 acre plot which was previously a rubbish tip. The project opened in 1982 after the landscaping was completed and it has grown ever since!

CERES also received some unfortunate bad press this last year due to The Age reporting that the soil beneath CERES contained unsafe levels of lead. Further tests found this to be untrue and the soil safe, but the damage had already been done to CERES’ reputation. The Age printed a retraction of their earlier report as the soil is in fact completely safe but CERES’ had already been forced to relocate the site of their market garden for their commercial organic vegetables to a different location further up the Merri Creek.

Although my experience with CERES was a little disorganised and disappointing, I have not been put off and it is still a project to me which is clearly achieving incredible things! They are undergoing a reshuffle in their management and so some areas have been a little chaotic, for example their volunteer co-ordination, but I believe that this is back on track now.

As you walk into CERES, it certainly has the feeling of being a very exciting place. The beautiful mosaics that adorn the front gate are welcoming, the huge rows of solar panels near the entrance are impressive, and instead of hoards of parked cars in the car park there are bicycle racks and electric vehicle charge points. There are always plenty of people around and it is is clear that this is THE hub for environmental initiative and learning in the city.

Check out their website for all their incredible activities, courses, ways you can get involved and of course their lovely organic market at the weekends here.

Rebecca

The Ugly Duck Out, Swansea, Tasmania

In my search for a second job for the duration of my stay in Swansea, Tasmania, I had the pleasure to happen upon a gem of a place, run by a gorgeous family. The place is a restaurant called The Ugly Duck Out (an intriguing name indeed) and is run by an inspiring, driven woman called Robyn Koblusiak with a huge amount of help from her wonderful son TJ. The restaurant itself is an incredible example of sustainability in action, but it is more than that, it is a hub for raising human consciousness in social, ethical and environmental awareness. I was instantly struck by Robyn’s determination and sincerity; she has carefully thought out ways in which her business can be as ethical and sustainable as possible, without removing any comforts or conveniences from her customers, or raising prices. Her positivity is infectious! “The future is going to be great!” she says, “To be sustainable can be easy!”. I couldn’t deny she was right. With some small simple changes, her restaurant is making a difference.

Here are some examples. T.U.D.O.’s (The Ugly Duck Out’s) water saving measures mean that the restaurant along with Robyn and TJ’s home above it is using less water each day than the average Australian household. Lights and equipment are only turned on as and when needed but remain off when not. Recycling is carried out with a passion! And all food scraps are taken to compost for the garden. Packaging is kept to a minimum, and all waste paper is cut up neatly for waiter’s pads. All take-away containers and straws are compostable. Even the paper towels and toilet roll are made from wheat paper to encourage thoughts on sources of pulp outside of forestry.

The food Robyn provides really is top quality. The herbs and salads are grown in the garden as far as possible, as well as numerous vegetablesh. The produce that does not come from the garden comes from local sources, and the ice cream served is from an organic, small-scale, artisan ice-cream maker in Tasmania. The meat on the menu is from sustainable sources, for example organic farms and sustainable local fishing practices. She encourages consuming local bycatch (the fish we don’t want to keep when other more desirable/expensive fish are caught) for example trevally and black-back (Australian salmon). The menu is extensive and full of healthy, whole food options. It is also catered to those with special dietary requirements, for e.g. vegetarians, vegans, gluten-free, dairy-free. I have seen gluten-intolerant customers’ eyes boggle at the range of items on the menu they can choose from! And families come back time and time again for meals during their holidays in Swansea, sometimes even for all 3 meals (though I only witnessed this once!)! Despite the high quality fresh food, and lack of pre-processed ingredients, the prices remain very reasonable indeed!

So the food is great, what about the drink? TUDO stocks a large range of wines, beers and ciders, supporting the local vineyards and breweries. There are also a variety of natural cordials and soft drinks from local and organic sources. The coffee served, Jasper Coffee, is not only single blends of rich, flavoursome coffees, but it is also fair-trade, organic and grown in the shade of the rainforest. By supporting Jasper Coffee you are supporting numerous social projects around the world with coffee growers and women’s groups.

Robyn and TJ are also keen conservationists and have planted numerous indigenous and endangered plant species in their gardens. I bumped into some members of Tassie’s Green Party at the Jackie Marsh’s Forest Festival and they said “Oh yes we know Robyn! We go to The Ugly Duck Out whenever we’re in town. She’s the only restaurant in Tasmania growing the only patch of the endemic Lasiopetalum micranthum (Tasmanium velvet bush) that I know of in a public place; in the front garden!”.

I enjoyed my time working at TUDO very much. I was inspired to see that even on the rural East Coast of Tasmania, exciting changes are happening and awareness is raising! The  sheer number of awards on the wall demonstrate their recognition for this (the prestigious ‘Banksia’ and ‘I Love Food’ awards to name but two!). I saw so many customers walking away with new ideas and thoughts in their minds of simple changes they can make themselves. Making conscious changes can be easy, and fun even! This is the ripple effect. This is how it starts. Social change on a large scale begins inside, with ourselves. Congratulations Robyn and TJ on the difference you are making!
Rebecca