not a commune

I love where I live. It is a beautiful property, and having moved so much as a child, I feel really lucky to be able to see this land through the seasons and to have this place for my children to call home. And we could never own this place if it we not for the other folks we share the land with. Yes, we share this land. And no, we are not a commune.

We share some tasks (like care of chickens, mowing lawns, etc) and some items (laundry facilities, lawnmower, gardening tools.) We have meetings. Our kids play together. We share one large building (where our home offices, art studio, playroom, guest rooms and said laundry facilities are located,) and many fields, cross-country ski trails and wooded areas. But we are not a commune.

We have our own homes, independent finances (we don't pool our money!) and make our own choices for our families. We don't wander about nude (okay, the kids do sometimes...) or grow pot or sacrifice animals. We are just some folks who like each other and who decided to go in on a piece of land that none of could of afforded on our own.

When we first bought the property we tossed about several names to try to define what we "are". "Intentional community" seemed too grand- there are only 6 (plus kids) of us after all, co-housing seemed a bit of a misnomer since we don't actually share houses. So we settled on "intentional neighbourhood" (though we rarely call it that, it's usually just termed "the farm.")

This land was once a commune though. It was owned by a christian community that had upwards of 40 people here, schooled their kids in the main house basement, shared meals and finances and gardens and a strict faith. We don't know all the details, but clearly things didn't work out for them. But we are glad to inherit the fruit of their toiling- the large "big house" that was their dining hall, school and church, the four family cabins, the water systems and gardens and fields and barns and outbuildings.

And I love it. I love that my children will grow up with so much space and will have other children close by with similar values, that they will have other adults to mentor them and will play on the swings in the barn and collect eggs on Saturday mornings and fly kites in the front fields and run naked in the sprinkler, and gather raspberries and ski in the back woods. And I love walking down the driveway to borrow flour or ask advice on a good cold remedy. And I love nights like this where it's dark and quiet and we are cozy in our own little home.