Christopher Kyprianos

susan vita wrote:Question---is your place suitable for poly families with members who work off site--specifically are you located within a do-able commute to Boston?

As just noted, sorry for teh delay in replying.

There is no housing on site at this point. I have not been able to find others that share the vision who are willing to invest the time and energy to get this off the ground.

It is about an hour ride to Boston, depending on the time of day you are driving in. If you drove about 10 miles you can pick up teh commuter train which take you in so that is a great option too.

Thomas Bruce Shearer wrote:Is this vision still alive? Greenfire Barnstead NH.

Sorry for the delay in responding. Having been checking in to often.

Yes, the vision is still alive though unfortunately I haven't met any more people that share it. This past year the gardens did well and lots of canning resulted. Now working off site to build an indoor hydroponic farm in a warehouse i have about 7 miles from this site. That has been consuming my time this year.

If you are interested in talking more about it let me know and we can connect to share some ideas.

I have to agree that chickens are a great option. I just edited my post to reflect the fact that I do not live near my gardens and that the gardens are set in the woods, where chickens would be a nice mean for teh foxes and other local critters. If the wild turkeys didn't do so much other damage I would like them do the work, but unfortunately they too cause more problems than they resolve.

alex Keenan wrote:What you have is protein That several type of poultry will eat for you.
My chickens keep the grasshoppers down as do the turkeys.
Guineafowl will also do this.
I like the Muscovy idea, they eat insects or animal protein they can catch. I remember a large male with a chipmunk tail hanging from its mouth.
Grasshopper tend to have a breeding cycle you just need to time your poultry around their life cycle.

I am located in Massachusetts and this spring we seem to have grasshoppers in our strawberries. Last year we had some in some of our leafy greens. They are little right now and before they grow I would like to get rid of them. Our gardens are organic and I would prefer to keep them that way. Any suggestions on what to do to take care of these pests?

Chickens are not an option for me as my gardens are in the woods in a place where I do not live, otherwise I would use them. I'm thinking I need some other way to treat the problem.

Hi Joshua,

Thanks for piping in.

Can you give me more information on Morehouse? I would like to check into what they offer.

I have been to a few intentional communities in Mass. and have spoke with many people about both poly living and community living. Yes, I agree that there are challenges in starting up a new community, but that is something I am willing to undertake. I would not be interested in cutting up the property and selling off pieces. That is not the style of community I am proposing. Are you aware of Sirius Community, http://www.siriuscommunity.org/. I have been there many times for a variety of reason and like the general style of how they operate. I also like there main co-housing structure. This is very similar to the model I would like to pursue. I might be interested in living there for a bit, but the main obstacle for me is that it is not near other things I already have some commitments to, thus it is important for me to work with what I have.

I do appreciate your speaking up and sharing your ideas. If you would like to come out for a visit and some conversation feel free to touch base.

Kind regards,

Christopher

Christopher Kyprianos wrote:Many thanks to the great support folks here. They were able to update the thread title. I am optimistically curious to see if this improves the volume and tone of the responses.

Oddly enough since the title change the thread has quieted down. Nonetheless, I want to thank those who shared in 2014 and invite all to share their feeling about how to proceed in 2015.

This past year's veggie and flower gardens were a huge success. The herb gardens did fantastic too. Was able to begin canning, making jams, sauces, relishes and more. Share them with many friends and have a pantry that is fairly well stocked with the winter.

Best to all and well wishes for a safe, healthy and successful new year!

Peace, out...

Christopher

Many thanks to the great support folks here. They were able to update the thread title. I am optimistically curious to see if this improves the volume and tone of the responses.

Nicely stated D. I genuinely appreciate your prospectives and that you have been able to articulate things so well. I wish I had your gift. It might make this conversation move forward more smoothly. Kind regards, Christopher

D. Logan wrote:

I would think that removal of the word entirely might not represent the situation better than it's presence. More likely, the term poly-friendly or something similar is probably the most accurate word for the situation. Anyone there must at least accept without complaint or judgement that some of the members share a non-monogamous relationship, but are not themselves required to be a part of it. I would agree that the current wording (before explanation at least) implies that new members would be expected to participate as part of a poly household.

D.

Good point! I agree that poly-friendly may have been a better term to use here. Unfortunately, I had not thought of that prior to the post. I am not sure if I can edit the title at this point.

I still have to question if why there is such a ruckus over using it. Individuals that are interested or inclined would hopefully contact me off thread to chat in more depth. The bulk of the opposition or challenge seems to me to be coming from the anti-poly community. I do not intrude into monogamous posts and suggest that there is a problem with using their terminology. Seems a little knit picky to me.

Anyway, again D thank you for offering a positive alternative to the terms and discussion.

Best,

Christopher

Christian Wolff wrote:Why describe it as a polyamorous community at all? Just drop that word altogether and let people do whatever they want.

Christian, thank you for your contribution.

The reason I have chosen to include the term is because it is a controversial lifestyle. I would really not want to live with people who did not embrace or who are accepting of the lifestyle. The notion does not require that one participate, but rather are accepting. My experiences so far are that those who are anti-poly hold strong sentiments about their views. I respect their right to have their feeling and even voice them, yet that does not mean I wish to cohabitant with them.

Furthermore, I have made a 32 year investment in a 31 acre parcel to host such a community. Having done so I feel should allow me some voice on the lifestyle acceptance level of the co-inhabitants. Why would one wish to live with people that where not in sync with such choices? Would we want to have others sign up that were not into the permaculture way of life? Why should we use that label. I think that using such labels helps us to filter potential community members, a right that should be reserved for those founding or occupying a community.

I agree that some posted may be viewed as a tad long winded, yet if one wishes to articulate, to the best of their abilities, a concept or defend a stance it does sometimes take more than a few sentences.

Best,

Christopher