Community Hub
We went on a home ed visit this week to a self sufficient holding in a village nearby. It was a really wonderful and eye opening visit. Learning about how they live on the land they have, producing their own energy, food, water (via rain!) and all of the bureaucratic tape they have had to get through was fascinating.
They are totally off the water system and recycle all of the water waste they produce, through an enlightening system of filters, reeds, ponds and willows. They even have a composting toilet! Their energy is produced via wind turbine and solar power, which produces enough for them to be able to sell some back to the national power grid.
The community element they are building up was like music to our ears. A few years ago they began to make weekly vegetable boxes up for people to buy. These are only open to people within two miles of their farm, as they want to serve the local community. They have never advertised these boxes, word has just spread around the area. People collect the boxes on a Friday, and a little community forms, with children running around the farm to see what is growing, and adults conversing - if only for a while.
Over time little connections have built up for the family, for example, locally they will help out a friend they know in exchange for wood, another contact exchanges work for horse manure! Like wise, these same people will help out the owners of the holding we went to in exchange for vegetables, straw, chickens or eggs. They met their best friends through helping to rebuild a bridge!
The owners vision was that more holdings like his would spring up in communities across the country, thus benefiting the communities they are in and becoming part of a community hub.
I’m not sure if they owners are Christian, but what they are doing in the area around them is so kingdom. It was a real encouragement to us.
community hub, environment, home ed, local communityabout
Posted on April 17, 2008
Posted by lynhallewell
Sounds like an awesome deal. Makes one think about what it *would* look like as a missional work…
Definitely!
Hey Lyn, what is it called? My son just did a report on “green” communities around the world…but I can’t remember what the UK one was…anyhow it was interesting stuff, much like you describe.
It is called Guilden Gate. It really is interesting seeing first hand how they live.
that sounds great, lyn.
Thanks Cindy!