The wording on all of our arrangements is "this arrangement can be terminated by either party at any time."
There have been a lot of people that have come and said they would be here forever and they elected to leave. Some of them I paid for special training with the idea that that knowledge would be an investment in the community. But then they left, taking that knowledge with them. It was always their right. Some people leave because they fall in love, some leave because a new opportunity popped up elsewhere, or some because they just didn't feel like it was a fit anymore.
And we have asked some people to leave. And universally, when we have asked people to leave, it was at the request of multiple other community members - so not just one person.
Residents that are here to drink deeply from these values, complete with the idea that we will all try to make this work, are familiar with how that can be so much more challenging when one person changes and wishes to counter those values.
Before becoming a resident here, it is wise to understand the values and only come here if those values seem like a fit for you.
Permaculture is
perennial - and the benefits come after decades of practicing it. So if you are looking for something to last decades, you want to make sure that you won't be expelled.
If this seems even a tiny bit risky, then you must choose one of these paths:
- embrace that this would be a short term
experience that could go longer - take the risk
- study more about our values until the risk drops to zero
-
don't do it - this community is not a fit for you, and that's okay
From the title:
residents can be expelled at any time - why would anybody subject themselves to that?
Because they have done their research and are confident that they won't ever be expelled. And because they appreciate that if anybody were to deviate far
enough from the value set that a "bad neighbor" would no longer be their neighbor.
Because they want to be part of a community with this set of strong
permaculture values.
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