Passion for the Earth – Passion for Community
by Nancy Urekar
Let’s think about it – would you live in an ecovillage? What’s it like? Is it possible? Could you do it?
I faced these questions over five years ago when my living situation was changing and I could have continued living by myself or I could do something completely different. I could make a choice to live with a smaller footprint on the earth.
I define myself as an environmentalist. I want to live my life with purpose. And it has to be fun as that’s one of my requirements for living. I had visited Whole Village but really didn’t know much about it so I decided to explore the option of living there. On the surface it looked pretty good – the people were nice and the house was beautiful with 11 separate living spaces as well as a farmhouse. I could imagine living in the country one hour north of the GTA on 191 acres I could roam. They knew they had space, or would at some point, as things change and spots open up. I was looking for my next adventure so I jumped into the membership process.
This is how it went: First I went to an Orientation. Then I met with a couple of members and had a meeting to talk about the culture and my alignment with their Vision and Mission (https://www.wholevillage.org/who-we-are/). They asked me to think about our conversation and whether my beliefs aligned with their culture and values. After a week I signed a document called “The Culture of Whole Village” and I was assigned a mentor who would guide me through the process. I pre-paid a few months of the $20 to be an Associate Member.
Next I started spending time here. I joined in group dinners. I volunteered. I attended Work Bees and Games Nights. And I went to meetings – lots of meetings. And throughout this I got to know the people who live here and they got to know me. I had to fill out a questionnaire that deeply questioned my goals, work habits, and alignment. I wrote a short autobiography to share with everyone so they could understand better who I was. I also got to read all of their personal stories.
I then arranged to stay a couple of weeks in one of the rental rooms. Luckily I can do much of my work from home. I got to experience what it was really like to live in community. I tried out the different mandate groups to see which two I might join. The choices were Community Dynamics, Farm/Land, Communication/Education, Big Picture and Energy/Infrastructure. Each group meets once a month but there were often planning meetings and other related meetings as well. Every Monday there was a “Check-in” meeting so that everyone could voice their announcements, concerns, calendar items for the week as well as stewardship jobs to be done. And once a month there is a business meeting called “Meeting of the Round” or MOTR for short. One of the interesting things about decision-making here is that most decisions are made by consensus. It makes for some long meetings. But then, once the group reaches consensus (you can pass if you don’t feel strongly), everyone is behind the decision – unlike majority democratic decision making. I found it wasn’t as difficult as it sounds and was very collaborative. So, after all that, I found no red flags or crazy stuff and I liked the people.
I also helped in the garden and around the farm. The residents are trying to become more food secure which means growing and preserving lots of food – good organic food. Fortunately I enjoy working and love working together with others. In fact I find any task is much more fun when working together.
This ecovillage is modeling a way of living that mitigates climate change. It’s a big project and by living here you become part of the project. Over 28,000 trees have been planted and more are planted every spring. They produce biochar to sequester carbon for tens of thousands of years (https://biochar-international.org/biochar/) and to use on the gardens to make them more resilient and fertile. Ruminants are kept to help the pastureland sequester more carbon. The land is stewarded and the vegetables are grown using permaculture techniques. Stewardship is really about a person’s relationship to the land. It’s about what you believe on the inside. I did notice that not everyone participated in the work in the way I expected, but I guess that’s pretty universal. There’s really a lot going on and there are many different life situations among the residents.
So what was it like day-to-day? I lived like a resident. Residents are required to spend at least 13 hours a month on community activities which include meetings, eating together a few times a week, helping prepare or cleanup for those dinners and much more. In addition people need to work at stewarding the land for an additional five hours a month. And then they told me that these were really minimums. If I wasn’t loving doing these things and contributing at least this much time because I wanted to, then it wasn’t likely to work. They’re just not interested in someone who is counting their hours and feeling like it’s a chore. One important thing – I liked all the time I spent with people and working but I also loved that I could escape from them all and have some privacy. I know I can’t be happy without both of these elements and fortunately, both are part of the life here.
Personal growth is another focus of community. If you put a bunch of humans together there is inevitable conflict but lots of growth opportunities. Residents talk about and take communication and personal growth courses together. This is a rich environment to practice these new skills. I have to say I never expected these kind of opportunities at this point in my life – what a bonus!
There were “fun” events as well. Sometimes there are house concerts, games nights, and celebrations. Kids play and adults hang out together. Community dinners, which happen two or three times a week, are a great time to really get to know people.
After my two-week immersion I had to leave. All the residents were polled as to whether I was a good fit. Apparently I passed the scrutiny. I was allowed to come as a long-term guest for a year before I could consider buying in. They told me that what they’re really looking for are partners who will buy into the co-op after spending at least a year. They want people who have skills to share and people who want to help lead various elements of the project.
So after going through all of that I decided that this is a great way to live. Every day is a new adventure around the farm and community. A couple of years later I applied and was accepted as a Shareholder Member and I’m here for the long term. I bought in – I now own a piece of this building and property and I feel very lucky!
The reason I’m writing all of this is because there are opportunities for others to come and live here. I wanted to take away the mystery and encourage you to consider living here. We are looking for new members. Consider coming to visit during a work bee or come to an orientation. All the information is on the website at https://www.wholevillage.org/. It’s hard work but it’s a chance to live with purpose and it’s a great life adventure!