The Village Anthropologist

I arrived in the Yarrow Ecovillage two months ago, unsure what to expect.  I'd spent about three years reading about ecovillages and intentional communities, for both personal interest and as preparation for a PhD in Social Anthropology.  I'd read books on communities all over the world and from various points in history.  I'd visited the website countless times, written research proposals, and spoken with community members over email and on Skype.  Yet, when I arrived in Yarrow after a 4400km drive out from Toronto, I felt like I had a pretty limited idea of what an ecovillage was.  I'd read about them, but I'd never lived in one.

I'm in the midst of what anthropologists call ethnographic fieldwork.  The idea behind ethnography is both comfortingly simple and dauntingly complex: learn about a different way of life by living it.  Anthropologists do this all over the world.  Classmates of mine are - at this moment - scattered across the globe, studying a wide range of topics from goat herding in Inner Mongolia to debt consulting practices in Southern England.  I chose to live in an ecovillage, in a community that practices cohousing, not only out of an academic interest, but also because the more I read, the more the idea appealed to me on a personal level.  What would it be like to live in a place where people are 'determined to live as neighbours'?  What does it mean to put the idea of 'community' so central in day-to-day life?  What does it feel like to know everyone on your street, to eat dinner with them, to work with them, to build something with them?  These were questions I wanted to explore in my own life.  

I had countless hypotheses.  I'm a social scientist, after all.  In social science, though, I've learned that some of the most plausible hypotheses fall by the wayside when confronted with experience.  Thinking about people is no substitute for spending time with people.  So I'm here.  Exploring.  Experiencing.  Living.  It may take a long time to get a good grasp of life here, but I've already learned that people at the Yarrow Ecovillage are a welcoming bunch.  In mid-August, they welcomed me.  In late September, they welcomed my partner Carolyn.  Perhaps we'll all be welcoming you soon!
   

November 2nd we start the next step!

Wow.  That is all I have to say.

Wow.

Words can not explain to you how amazed I am at the quality of the people that are coming to the Ecovillage.  We only have six units left in the multigenerational homes.  Any ONE, or all of them, would make my neighbourhood a fantastic place to live.  We don't have long to wait until we'll know who all our neighbours are.  The coordinating committee is well at work of the exact timeline for how we'll build out the final phase of our neighbourhood.

Orange you glad to join us!

Where I'm feeling most excited is in the people coming to the big day on November 2nd for the Adult only Cohousing.

Chuck calls this "Seniors" cohousing.  but thats just because he doesn't have to live in it.  I have noticed a cringe in the people considering building "seniors" that I completely understand.

Who wants to build themselves an old folks home?  Certainly not me!  i don't feel old.  I want to build a "young folks home" and never feel like the old fart I will one day look in the mirror and see staring back.

But really?  I want to stay active.  I want to continue to learn and grow.  I never want to loose a whole day sitting in front of the TV waiting for my kids to call.

Never.

Before Paul and I moved to Groundswell, back when we still weren't "sure" about this cohousing business I remember driving back to Alberta in silence.  After a long while I said, "Well at the very least I know where I want to live after the kids leave."

Its true that cohousing is amazing for kids but I think it is possibly even better for empty nesters.  Think about it.  Now days many grown children live miles away from their parents.  Children don't have a problem making new friends.  I think every kids Sophie has ever played with is her new best friend... but as adults?  How do we meet new people?  Really?

Elderberry cohousing is still just a dream.  I am lucky enough to know so many of the people that will be coming to the meeting on Novemeber 2nd that I can't help be excited about the community they could have.  Will there be enough of them?  Will they feel enough synergy to go for it?

I hope so.  They are all amazing.

Please do me a favour.  If you've read this and you know any cool 50-65 year olds interested in community invite them to the November 2nd Focus Group.  Wouldn't it be amazing if the room was full of smiling faces?  Woudn't it be cool to see them build their amazing new home together?

As we near the end of the push to build Groundswell we are all ready for something new.  The wetland has been dug, the last of the Groundswell units will sell quickly this fall... I think we're ready for the next step.  Don't you?