First off there will be chickens down by the greenhouses, laying real eggs that may provide part of your breakfast should you choose to go and get said eggs or you will have eggs you can pick up each week from the common house. If you like spinach with your omelet you go to the greenhouse IN THE MIDDLE OF WINTER and pick fresh spinach. Or you could receive a box of fresh veggies from the greenhouse each week.
Depending on the decisions of the residents there may be a cow or goat to milk and feed and clean up after. Then again we may not be that ambitious yet. But we COULD. Those that have horses, beef cows or pigs will be throwing a bale of hay to them or feeding them scraps.
Then there will be the yoga and meditation crowd in the common house doing their thing while the heavier exercise equipment will be used in the exercise room. Others might be hiking The White Hill to watch the sunrise.
There’s a kid or two waiting their turn to practice the piano. (Oh joy not to have it happening at home. Going to have insulation in that music/library room so it doesn’t disturb the yoga/mediation people). There could be people wandering into the common house with the fresh produce and fruit from the greenhouses for anyone who wants a smoothie that morning.
There is probably a child or two playing in the playroom while their parents are busy. The monitors are linked to the parent’s phone to listen for any problems.
Soon enough the massage therapist will start using the therapy room for his/her appointment that morning. Later the aestetician will be using the same therapy room for facials for a client. In the common office spaces, people will be strolling in for a conference call or a zoom meeting or to get some paperwork done.
All the white paper is shredded and added to the compost piles over by the large animals and chickens. It is one of the eight year olds community jobs to shred paper. The other kids envy the fun job and look forward to when it is their turn. Meanwhile they are dusting furniture, emptying the trash in the kitchen and bathrooms, and sweeping the floors. Everyone has a job to do in the common house to keep it maintained. With so many helping, no one is overly burdened.
Same with the outside chores. Some are pulling weeds in the shared area between the houses, while others work in the greenhouse. Everyone eight and older contributes an hour a week. Littler ones help as their parents direct, usually 15-20 minutes. Gathering eggs is a perfect job for the littlest residents. Even the oldest resident, in her late nineties, contributes by crocheting hot pads for the kitchen or teaching the others how to make rag rugs from old clothes.
There is a greenhouse manager whose job is to run the greenhouses. They provide food to the community at an agreed upon amount and they are then free to sell the remainder to the public, make value added products with the food, sell plants and so forth. The food to the community is used by the dinner cooks to provide meals for the residents 3-4 nights a week. Every resident is in a cooking trio and will cook every three weeks or so for the entire community. Classes are given by chefs on how to cook easily for a crowd.
A relaxed guest might just be coming out of the guest suite to go fix themselves a smoothie long after the morning has been shaking and moving for a whole lot of people that live there. They are greeted warmly and given some excursion ideas nearby. They rent the shared electric car and are off to their adventure to Arches National Park.
While some children wait for the school bus to pick them up by the entrance, others prefer home school and are getting ready for a field trip with other home schooled children in the community. Some of the retired teachers that live there teach special science classes or cooking classes in the common house, timing it so all the kids can join in, even the ones going to public school.
A retired engineer, turned photographer takes some teenagers on a walkabout teaching about lighting and framing. A contented grandma-looking woman sits on the couch by the fireplace crocheting, enjoying all the comings and goings and giving hugs to delighted youngsters. When she tires and needs a nap she goes to her quiet, private home and enjoys the solitude for an hour or two.
A couple of parents sit outside the common house on the patio by the pond, sipping on their tea while the kids play in the playground. They have just delivered a meal to their friend who isn’t feeling well, and brought her child out to play to give a needed break. They are discussing one of the agenda items for the Village meeting tonight. One of the neighbor dogs is having trouble adjusting to community life and has been caught chasing the cows more than once. He was caught with a chicken in his mouth, which was luckily rescued.
The community is going to have to decide whether new rules about dogs are needed or if the dog must leave for repeated infractions of the existing rules. He is a beloved family member and the adults are carefully considering the ramifications if he is sent away.
The villagers have been trained in how to facilitate meetings, how to handle difficult conversations, and how to decide how to decide so that everyone is heard. Meetings are held once a month and usually last a couple hours. The whole Village is run by these meetings and while they strive for 100%, 80% is good enough to pass something. The dog issue is so serious it requires a 90% or greater vote.
Different committees work on various projects and report to the group about finances, the greenhouse, the animals, the gardens, upcoming needed maintenance on the common house and issues that need resolving. While Villagers make a big commitment to the community spending 5-10 hours a month on meetings, projects and committees, they feel it is worth it to have a kind of close knit village like Springbrook Village.
The meeting over, parents hurry to put their kids to bed. The dog is going to have a special trainer come in to work with it. The dog owner’s kids promise to keep a better eye on him also and not let him out of their fenced yard. The silver haired ones gather round the fire pit to relax, listen to one play the guitar and watch the moon rise. A coyote howls in the distance. This is community the way it was meant to be lived.
