The second farm Jon and I had an opportunity to be at, wasn´t a "farm" in the traditional sense. It was actually a newly established Rainbow Community that also wanted to live sustainably. While the brother who owned the land had it set aside for about 10 years, it was only a year ago that the community was established with a handful of likeminded people. On 80 hectares of jungle land, there were a handful of living quarters near the river, a handful of hectares designated for cultivation, and the rest was intented to be left as a preserve.
Most of the permanent members leave the community for stretches of time to either handle VISA issues (only two of the seven members we met were Peruvian) or go on other "missions". Because the community is not yet sustainable, members need to have a source of income outside of the community to chip in for food and other supplies. They also grew enough Sugar Cane to make syrup, which gets sold in the town every week or so.
The primary concern for almost all members of the community was to live harmoniously away from traditional senses of society, and setting up and maintaining a sustainable permaculture was secondary. While it was seen as an important means of being able to live according to their vision, so was having time to meditate, do yoga, fast... Needless to say, the members were a group of super hippies. Many of the common home comforts were of little importance, or deliberately cut out of their lifestyle:
1. All living spaces were semi-comunal. If an individual built a home, it was understood that it would be used as living quarters for guests and other members if the owner is away. "Homes" were not much more than structures meant to keep out of rain and sun. There were no walls. (This brought up another question of how members are able to have intimate moments, but we never found out the answer.)
2. No soaps. While there was a means of using detergents if one wished (away from the river), the members opted for other means of disinfection. Mud for skin and hair (careful not to do it too often, as it can dry out your skin), and ash for dishes and the kitchen area.
3. No electricity. While every member took advantage of electrical conveniences while away from the community, it was generally felt that it would be a bad idea to have within the grounds. One reason was that even with clean generated energy, a battery would be required, with is NOT clean. The second reason was the general idea that electrowaves and electromagnetism does us more harm than is worth the convenience.
4. No running water, nor a "clean" source of water. There was no well. Though at one point, a new member suggested that everyone contribute to have one dug, in the end, no one wanted to pay into having one put in. Before we left, however, a very ambitious WWOOFer decided to start the project of digging one by hand. Once it started, others began to help with the process. We did have basins that were used for convenient dish washing, which got emptied and refilled from the river whenever they got too dirty. It was obvious, however, that standards for "dirty" water differed drastically.
5. Food. This was a big one for us. For many of the permanent residents, food had strong connections with spiritual health and a means of exercising discipline. All dishes had to be made without onions, garlic, salt, or sugar. (Some members had additional requests such as cutting all seeds out of cucumbers, but this was more about preference.) We grew accostomed to eating raw garlic with meals and adding salt to EVERYTHING. Unfortunately, we never quite got used to eating 2 or 3 bananas before heading out to the jungle to clear cut an area (to "liberate" the banana trees) with machetes for 4 hours with a short break for more bananas. The fruit tasted wonderful, but digested so quickly we were constantly running out of energy.
Needless to say, clothing also highly optional.
The idea of this community is to demand nothing from each other, and for each to contribute according to their will and desire. This was extended to all guests and WWOOFers alike. We were welcome to meditate, learn, fast, explore, and work as we chose. The only prevalent ideas is that all things are communal, and all meals are shared together. Prior to each meal, which was prepared by everyone in turn, we all held hands, sang songs of thankfulness or joy, Ohmed, then ate together.
...and here comes the hard part...
Despite the beautiful vision of the members there, the reality of the community was not so harmonious. When Jon and I arrived, it was right in the middle of a rather heated discussion, the subject of which had made many WWOOFers feel somewhat unwelcome, which was followed by a couple of incidents that made us feel both uncomfortable and a little like calling "bullshit". (To be fair, these incidents were with people who later turned out not to be part of the permanent community.) Then every day thereafter, we witnessed bickering or discussions that were obiously stifling feelings of resentment.
We decided that finances be damned, this was a bad place for us with negative energy that was affecting our daily moods as well. We decided to leave as soon as the water levels dropped.
One day, the bickering escalated to a full-scale yelling match with brothers standing nose to nose, and statements like "Fuck YOU, brother!". Jon had, at one point, to sit them down like children in a time-out for fear that things might actually become physical. ...This incident ended with one of the newly committed members leaving, uncertain if he will ever return.
By this point, for various reasons, all permanent members had left to take care of business in the city or with immigration, except for Arnoud, who is the founding member of the community. And suddenly, it was a magical place, full of harmony, singing, cooperation... Our last 2 days in the community were great, and we finally began to feel like we had hoped to feel for the previous 2 weeks.
We decided to leave as planned, despite the change for the better. While it´s our hope that the return of the members brings back a more positive energy than had been there before, we didn´t want to wait to find out.
At this point, I would like to add that Arnoud is an amazingly centered person, who has exactly the kind of motivation, patience and openness that would make such a community work. There were a few other members who also displayed the same positive energy, and we have reason to believe that a particular incident prior to our arrival sparked a downward spiral of hostility that is not usually present there.
We did come away from the experience with some developed ideas about communes and what we feel is required to function well. Bottom line, it´s a very romantic idea, but difficult to execute and more so with the type of personalities that are typically attracted to such a lifestyle.
...Oh, and this is the toughest cat you´ll ever meet! She catches lizards and gobbles them down in just a few seconds. Also a sweetheart.
