The Farm: 50 years later

I've been thinking about The Farm Community lately...and the ups and downs they've had...necessary changes made to survive successfully all these years since Stephen Gaskin and all headed out in the bus.
I've never visited although that's where I buy my tempeh starter.

I think there's a lot to learn from their evolution that might apply and be helpful to other prospective intentional communities no matter what the common vision.

https://thefarmcommunity.com/the-farm-today-a-model-community/

   Education and outreach as a way to influence the world at-large remain a priority, exemplified through its many different interrelated projects and organizations.

Like anything created by humans, The Farm is not perfect, as its members readily admit.

Rather, it is the community’s ability to evolve and change, adapt and survive through both good times and hard times, that allow it to serve as a realistic model.The Farm continues to serve as a model for a way in which humans can live together in peace.

It continues to keep the principles of nonviolence as its core foundation.

Respect for the environment and living lightly on the earth continues to be a common thread uniting all members.Currently The Farm Community, related organizations and affiliated individuals own and control over 4000 contiguous acres.

With thousands of acres of hardwood forest surrounding the community being clear-cut in recent years, these ecosystems stand as an island for countless species and protects the watershed for future generations.

By living together in community, individuals gain greater leverage in the pursuit of their ideals.These ideals are passed from one generation to the next through example and collective participation in a variety of efforts that possess a single common purpose: to make a positive difference in the world.

Ultimately it is the ability to pass on core ideals to a future generations that defines sustainability for the community.As society’s awareness on the critical state of the planet increases, a new generation of young idealists are finding The Farm Community as a way to jump start the fulfillment of their vision to create a better world.  

https://thefarmcommunity.com/in-memory-of-stephen-gaskin/

Put out your best love and your best good will, and most serious love all the time, because there is always someone who needs it.”
–Stephen Gaskin

https://thefarmcommunity.com/right-livelihood-earning-a-living/

 Right livelihood is a Buddhist teaching which says that your work should be seamless with your ideals, a concept embraced as part of The Farm’s general philosophy.

After the Changeover, many of the community’s internal services, such as Farm Soy, were converted into businesses to generate income for the residents.Many small businesses were established to provide employment and as a way to support those remaining in the community.
A spirit of entrepreneurship developed which identified the different types of businesses that could be successful in a very rural setting.

For example, our two most successful businesses market their products through national trade shows, returning to their home in rural Tennessee to fulfill orders.  

Surprisingly, the community’s most successful business is an electronic manufacturing facility.
The business was started before the Changeover by the community’s amateur radio crew, using their electronic skills to develop a line of products.
SE International was formed as a corporation with managers of the company holding the majority of stock.It produces Geiger counters and other instruments which detect radioactivity.
These devices have become widely used in hospitals, laboratories, industry and civil defense.

The first business that was established back in the 70’s was The Book Publishing Company.
Today this business is still owned by the community as a whole and employs many members.

The Book Publishing Company catalog also includes many titles by Native American authors.Some businesses are service-oriented providing a variety of technical skills to satisfy the needs of the modern world.
It is recognized as one of the largest publishers of vegetarian and vegan cookbooks, along with a number of titles on health-related topics.

Village Media Services produces videos for marketing and training, as well as documentaries and other types of multi-media. The facilities also include a digital audio recording studio.
Village Media also creates and hosts web sites and produces print materials for a variety of clients.The Farm’s yoga studio is utilized by residents and people who live outside the community.
It provides an excellent example of right livelihood, a small business which contributes to the health and well-being those who use its services.  

and then there's Ina May Gaskin💜
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ina_May_Gaskin
https://thefarmmidwives.org/
https://thefarmmidwives.org/our-history/

For over 50 years, The Farm Midwifery Center has provided a very special service for mothers, babies, and their families.

Women are treated with love and respect, empowering them to fulfill their desire for natural childbirth in a sane and safe home setting.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plenty_International

   In 1974, Stephen Gaskin and The Farm, an intentional community, started an outreach program called Plenty. In response to the devastating 1976 Guatemala earthquake, Plenty sent carpenters who built schools, houses and clinics in remote Mayan villages and a clinic for Mother Teresa. In its first ten years, Plenty established a clinic and orphanage in Bangladesh, an appropriate technology training center and reforestation program in Lesotho, and a wind-powered electric lighting system in a Carib Indian school in Dominica. It provided disaster relief in the "Developing" World and free ambulance service to the South Bronx which helped to train emergency personnel what then became New York City's EMS. It went to sea with Greenpeace and gave the Rainbow Warrior its ham radio, slo-scan TV, and radiation monitoring equipment.

Plenty put Native American FM stations on the air, and pioneered amateur-band television and radio to keep its remote outposts of volunteers connected.Plenty continues to work with Native American primary health care, midwifery, microeconomics, food and ecotourism cooperatives and alternative building programs, including the hemp house on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation with the assistance of The Farm School.

Following the catastrophic landfall of Hurricane Katrina near New Orleans in August 2005, Plenty volunteers worked on a neighborhood-by-neighborhood basis to deliver essential supplies and re-establish civil order. Plenty worked with Veterans for Peace, Camp Casey, and others to place volunteers where they were most needed. Plenty stayed on scene for the following year and organized clean-up and repair of the damage along the coastlines of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana, including the cities of Mobile (Alabama), Biloxi and Gulfport (Mississippi), and Slidell (Louisiana). Plenty also brought displaced and disadvantaged children from the Gulf Coast back to The Farm to participate in its Kids To The Country summer nature school in 2006.

I had an interest in the Farm once, as well as the Black Bear Ranch.  I came to the conclusion I was too much of a loner to be a good fit.   This is the reason why I am intrigued by the Boot program at Wheaton Labs.  It seems to have more positives and fewer negatives through my eyes and personality.

yeah, I know...after living briefly with another 4 to 'way too many'other folks in a tiny cabin I knew I did not want to share space with anyone long term other than Steve and our kids ...and an occasional goat or lamb....we love company though🌞

BUT...so many here speak of wanting to join, wanting to start and trying to survive as an intentional community I thought The Farm is one very successful example.

Spirituality aside and other common bonds as all are different, I think most shared communities could benefit from some physical business on the land to generate an income for the residents.....I'm not sure the internet is enough or at least not enough to solely rely on?  
I like the diversity at The Farm.

Thanks for taking the time to post Judith.

Always enjoy your posts, so thank you for sharing your perspective on many things!

I joined the Farm's e-mailing list a couple years back and they had several excellent retrospective posts.

100% agree it's a good one to study when contemplating ways to tilt the balance towards community  success.

-JP

PS My vote would 100% be to go the mid-wife route if my partner were pregnant and healthy.

Thanks JP!
I was really impressed with the broad range of businesses that have developed there and the growing pains it took to get to that point.

I'll check out the email updates...

a friend is a midwife in our area....back when our kids were born (pre internet🙄) there was a sort of network here of information and experience and also a good GP who was willing to support home deliveries....so it was quite common and inexpensive...not so now I believe at least cost wise.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Bates

    Bates has been a resident of The Farm since 1972.
A former attorney, he argued environmental and civil rights cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and drafted a number of legislative Acts during a 26-year legal career.
The holder of a number of design patents, Bates invented the concentrating photovoltaic arrays and solar-powered automobile displayed at the 1982 World's Fair.
He served on the steering committee of Plenty International for 18 years, focussing on relief and development work with indigenous peoples, human rights and the environment.
An emergency medical technician (EMT), he was a founding member of The Farm Ambulance Service.
He was also a licensed Amateur Radio operator.

Bates has played a major role in the ecovillage movement as one of the organizers of the Global Ecovillage Network (GEN), and served as GEN's chairman of the board (from 2002 to 2003) and president (from 2003 to 2004).
He was also the principal organizer of the Ecovillage Network of the Americas and served as its president (from 1996 to 2003).
In 1994 he founded the Ecovillage Training Center, a "whole systems immersion experience of ecovillage living."
He has taught courses in sustainable design, natural building, permaculture and technologies of the future to students from more than 50 nations.

  Bates's Climate in Crisis (1990) was the first book published on web (rolled paper) press using a 100% recycled product without chemically removing clays or inks.
Since then, he has been planting a private forest to sequester carbon dioxide and related greenhouse gas emissions from travel, business and personal activities.
At 40 acres under mixed-age, mixed-species, climate-resilient management, primarily being managed for ecosystem services, that forest now annually plants itself as it expands.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecovillage_Training_Center

The Ecovillage Training Center is a "total immersion school" for sustainability. It is located at The Farm, an intentional community/ecovillage in Summertown, Tennessee, USA. The curricula of the center are "holistic and comprehensivist" and foster hands-on learning.

Albert Bates, a long-time resident of The Farm, founded the center in July 1994. The original farmhouse was refurbished and renamed "You're Inn at The Farm," to provide accommodation for participants. There are many permaculture design and energy conservation features at the Ecovillage Training Centre that result in a significant reduction in use of resources. These include a 5-kW solar electric system, water catchment, organic gardens, greywater treatment, ponds, wetlands, and natural buildings.

In addition to offering ecovillage apprenticeships, the Training Center's curriculum includes:

Shiitake Mushroom Growing Basics
Solar Installation
Alternative Energy Systems
Bamboo Cultivation and Construction
Ecovillage Design and Permaculture Practicum
Natural Building Basics
The center is affiliated with the Global Ecovillage Network, Gaia University and local colleges and offers college credit for several of its courses.

There were several communities founded in the late 60's, early 70's. Twin Oaks, in Virginia, organized during 'The Summer of Love' in 1967. Stone Garden Farm & Village, in N. Ohio, was started in about 1970.  The Bear Tribe, 'headquartered' near Spokane, Wash., was founded in 1971. The Farm, in Summertown, Tenn. was founded mid-Summer of 1971. The Bear Tribe has passed into history with the death of its leader and founder Sun Bear. The other three still continue.

Because we (Stone Garden) have been around for so long and knew so much of what was happening in the 'movement', we have heard things. We've have also had many people visit here from those other 'gatherings'. At one time The Farm had some (or so we were told) quite difficult times. Mainly of personality, policy, and property questions. Twin Oaks had a severe fire, and (to my way of thinking) got off on some rather strange paths during Covid/BLM. And Bear Tribe was great. But, Sun Bear had some interesting leadership needs/proclivities.

The reason I mention any of this, is that, sometimes it is good to take things with a grain of salt. Not everything is as it sometimes appears to be. We are all trying. We do our best. But we are all human. So just be realistic about dreams and visions.

Hi Jim!
So those of you at Stone Garden Farms were among the survivors!

I have heard stories surrounding Gaskin's Farm about growing pains but the fact that any one group made it this far is amazing to me.

I'm not sure of the odds but many, many failured communities for each success story seems likely.

and even more likely a long trail of dissatisfied former members for each survival story

"Survivors". That's a funny way of putting it. I've never thought of being a survivor. We just keep plugging along. Far as I know, there aren't so many left of those early days. We mostly got old and died off. When I first wrote about this, I should have said there were hundreds of communities, maybe more. Lots and lots anyways. But founders died or sometimes moved on, and communities withered. Or folks changed priorities as they aged, got families, got jobs, got an itch to move. Or changed politics or sometimes religion. And split up. There were some fun places, gone now. I miss 'em.

Anyway, the oldest here is 77 and the youngest is 1 1/2. There's lots of kids, which is either killing the old folks off, or keeping us young. Don't know which. But, having young children does, at least, keep your thinking younger. I almost never talk to anyone about the "old days". Just mostly talk in a language I don't even mostly understand. New words. New ways of thinking. Or doing. Sometimes I'll listen to music, Beatles or Zep, or the Floyd, and the kids will think it's horrible. Shocking sometimes. The best music in the world, ever, and the youngers don't like/appreciate it.

~~~In any case, the point is, .... something about change. Communities are great. Living in community is great. But they change as time goes on. And you really need to pay attention. Or things just don't go on anymore. At one time, for 20+ years or so, we collected truckloads of clothing and food and furniture and even cars and drove them all over everywhere to various Reservations. 70 semi loads or so. At other times, we had the largest organic/perm gardens in N. Ohio. We had a heck of a lot of Farm Share members, and we supplied many health food stores and co-ops. We used to host various gatherings of up to 350 people for the weekend, in Ceremony for Solstice and May Day and such. Now we milk cows and run a very large Farm School/homeschool for kids from all over. And we teach lots of homesteading skills classes. It used to be we got more long-term folks. Now we get many wwoof'ers. And of course we do more Mid-Wife'ing now. Change.

So, I suppose, we have done a lot. We're still here. If someone wants to ask any questions about how to get along with farming, gardening, goof balls living together, living poor, living well off, midwifery, animals, history, old damn tools, writing books, whatever, ask. And I might even feel like talking some more.

There were several communities founded in the late 60's, early 70's. Twin Oaks, in Virginia, organized during 'The Summer of Love' in 1967. Stone Garden Farm & Village, in N. Ohio, was started in about 1970.  The Bear Tribe, 'headquartered' near Spokane, Wash., was founded in 1971. The Farm, in Summertown, Tenn. was founded mid-Summer of 1971. The Bear Tribe has passed into history with the death of its leader and founder Sun Bear. The other three still continue.
   

Thanks Jim!

When I have some time I'll try to begin separate threads about the communities you've mentioned.

We moved to the woods in '73 and have been slowly catching up with what was happening elsewhere back then....I even recently read a book by the Nearings that I think I was 'suppose' to have read decades ago

Writing about the old days sounds fun. And worthwhile. Here's a couple more, ...

Findhorn (sort of the start of it all) N. Scotland. Eileen & Peter Caddy and Dorothy Maclean. 1962. They really got things eco. moving in the U.K. People from all over the world journeyed to learn from them. Read the early books, not so much what has been written more recently. If you really want to understand working with Earth, they are the ones to learn from.

Helen and Scott Nearing got married in 1947, and started their Forest Farm, in Vermont, shortly after. They published their book 'Living the Good Life' in 1954. It became one of the most important books of the 1970's for all us hippies. They are the American organic/perm grandparents of us all.

Raven Rocks, Ohio. 1970. Started out with 19 younger folks. The original intent, (and still is) was to preserve a really beautiful and dramatic eco. landscape. Eventually most of the 1,200 acres will go to permanent protection. They have done some really neat very ecological projects over the years.

Black Bear Ranch, N. Calif. 1968. Really interesting place. My understanding is that it is still (sort of) chugging along. Quite a leftist community in its day.

~~There's another that wasn't really a community. But it functioned like one. Thousands (and thousands) of people from all over the world traveled to Twylah Nitsch's land, and The Wolf Clan Teaching Lodge. Non-family people were always living there, but they mostly came to learn. Twylah was the Granddaughter of the last of The Great Seneca Medicine Men. She knew more than anyone else on the continent of the Old Ways. ~Ancient Traditional Wisdom & Prophesy. She was quite the incredible person.

--One thing about a number of these. They were friends with the Fairies and Faeries, and Big Foot and Little People. There are whole other worlds that most folks don't seem to know about, -or even deny. It's too bad. (It's actually something I've been a bit at odds about, with this group here. There seem to be quite a few (management type) people who somewhat actively oppose recognizing or talking about Nature Spirits and such.) You'd have to be willing to talk/write about such things in order to really understand these communities.