Have you ever wanted to live in a place where everyone supports one another? Do you want to wake up in the morning without stress, and eager to start the day? Do you want to truly enjoy the way you make a living? Do you want to live a life full of magic, wonder, and joy?
If you answered yes to any or all of these questions, then perhaps Dragonvale is what you seek.
|
|
Introduction
Dragonvale is a growing intentional community in New Sweden, Maine, with the goal of becoming completely self-sufficient and sustainable. We have a deep spiritual connection to the Earth, believe in making a living in common, and sharing in each other's lives. We are building a family (or tribe) based on the principles of mutual love and support. This doesn't mean that we'll never have disagreements or get annoyed with each other. In fact, being human, it would be unrealistic to think that is possible, but by living in an environment of trust, commitment and love, we can more easily deal with the inevitable issues that arise between even the most well-adjusted folks.Our goal here is not to set up hard and fast rules, but rather introduce the concept in a clear form while hopefully inspiring those who read it to become involved in its creation. Dragtonvale will continue to evolve over time, while remaining rooted in our core principles.
Why Dragonvale?
We are often asked: "Why do you call yourselves Dragonvale rather than a more 'serious' or spiritual name?"The name Dragonvale has evolved over many years, and to us it has developed a deep spiritual meaning that reflects our relationship to magick and the natural world around us. The dragon itself is a powerful symbol that contains within it all living creatures on Earth. It is a symbol of strength, unity and magick, and it is these aspects that make the dragon appropriate to our community.
The Land
Another question that we are often asked is: "Why would you settle so far north in New Sweden, Maine?"Our decision to settle in New Sweden was a difficult and complex one, with many diverse factors at work. First and foremost, the land had to speak to us. It had to feel "right." Second, there had to be enough space and resources to do what we want to do without negatively impacting land base. Third, it had to be affordable. And fourth, the zoning laws could not be too restrictive.
The land in New Sweden met all of our criteria, with the additional advantage of having an existing well which reduced our initial set-up cost significantly.
Some have suggested that it will be difficult to farm sustainably this far north, but that is only true if we attempt to farm as if we lived in a warmer climate. There are several ways to adapt to farming in this climate, including: raising plants and animals that are native to colder climates, building greenhouses, and changing our eating habits to maximize the nutritional value of what we eat.
We have built our first dwelling on the land, and have thrived during the coldest part of winter (-40 degrees at one point). We are in the process of planning our spring projects, including the setting up the rabbit and chicken shelters, putting up the second dwelling, and finishing our grey water system.
For more up-to-date news, you can visit the Sacred Lands Discussion Forum.
Sacred Lands
Sacred Lands is a non-denominational, spiritual organization that is the heart of Dragonvale. We use the term "spiritual" rather than "religious" because it is open to many spiritual paths, including Hinduism, Christianity, Paganism, Judaism, Islam, Animism, Taoism, or any other path, so long as they understand that there is no "one right" spiritual path, and hold with the basic tenants of Sacred Lands, which is:"Humans are not, nor can we ever be, separated from the Earth. We are animals, and though we may be different (as no two animals are alike), we are not of greater value than any other. We have no special rights handed down from some far off power. We are one strand in the web of life on this planet, and we are magnificent creatures. Just as birds are magnificent, and algae is magnificent, and deer are magnificent. This amazing world that we share with our brothers and sisters in the community of life was not made for us alone, nor is it ours to conquer, rule or exploit. We are fellow beings in a world teeming with life."
Sacred Lands provides a vital service that benefits the community and its members by organizing community rituals that reflect our diverse religious practices, while honoring the Earth and the web of life around us.
Goals
The primary goal of Dragonvale as a community is to exist. Our existence is dependent (at least for now) on our income, and to that end, we must do a few things in a business-like fashion. That being said, we should remember that there are many ways to run a business, and not all of them fall within what is considered conventional. In other words we can run a successful business without falling into the trap of letting the business run us, and we can do so without sacrificing our values.We are first and foremost a community. The events we offer, sponsor, and host are means to that end, while offering us the additional opportunity to teach others about community, sustainability, and the interconnectedness of all life.
This is one example of the kind of architecture that we would like to have for Dragonvale.Village Layout & Design
The specific physical layout of the community will be suggested by the land, but here are a few basic ideas of what we have in mind:
- The general layout of Dragonvale will probably be circular (a sacred shape), with a gathering space at its center.
- We will likely have one main central building that will contain offices, meeting space, bedrooms, a professional kitchen, showers, and space for larger public events.
- We will farm and raise animals for food and clothes, with our ultimate goal being self sufficiency.
- We will use local materials as much as possible to build our structures.
- Our structures will be as natural as possible, utilizing materials such as clay, earth, sand, straw, wood, stone, sod, wool and fabric. The types of construction will again depend on the land, but there are several building methods that we are considering including: timber frame & straw bale, cob, log, cord wood masonry, and yurts.
- All our dwellings will make the most effective use of geothermal and passive solar heating to minimize our energy use.
- The individual homes of the community will be fairly close together and relatively small.
- There will be both public and private areas of the community.
- Our technology level will be decidedly on the low side. This means that most of the electronics, appliances, tools and such will be limited to certain key areas. We might, for example, have some sort of media building that would house our computers, television, and any other electronic gadgetry that we feel might still be of some use to the community. Other areas with technology might include the kitchen, workshops and office areas.
- We will utilize extensive recycling systems including organic composting, humanure toilets, grey water, and direct reuse of items and materials. This means that we will also be limiting our use of "disposable" items such as paper towels, cleaning products and packaging.
- We expect to eliminate the necessity of outside jobs once the community has sufficient income on its own. There will be no prohibition of outside jobs as such, but many communities fail because people spend more time elsewhere instead of interacting with their community.
- We will all be working to heal ourselves as individuals by unlearning the toxic memes of civilization, and creating a health human culture based on mutual support and an awareness of our interconnectedness to the community of life.
Compatibility
Perhaps the most difficult step is to find people who are compatible with our vision of community and the people involved. We are all coming into this with emotional baggage and dysfunctional programming inflicted upon us by civilization, and it will take time for each person to heal. Unfortunately there may be some who may be too broken, and so not compatible with Dragonvale or its people.Some may say that we are being "exclusive" with our community or that our expectations are too high. To those people, I would say that, rather than being exclusive, we are being specific about our wants and needs. That is not to say that our way is "the one right way." We are simply saying that this is how WE want to live, and that it's better to know what we are trying to build before getting involved with us. Indeed we are being exclusive, but our exclusivity is not based on some kind of arbitrary value judgement. This is what we want to do, and if our way of doing things speaks to you, then we can talk. If on the other hand the way of living that I have outlined here is not to your taste, then that's fine too. We wish you well and no hard feelings.
We are currently working on a self-evaluation test that potential community members will take to explore their compatibility on their own. Once the self-evaluation is complete, then it would be time to meet others online and talk about the vision in detail. That's the time to ask questions, share concerns, and decide if Dragonvale is truly where you are meant to be.
The next step would be to meet people in person. This would be the first step to explore someone's actual compatibility with the folks involved in Dragonvale. This is the time to move ahead or walk away. Getting past this stage does not mean that an individual is a full member of Dragonvale. That process will take at least a year and a day to interact on a daily basis. After that time, the current members would sit down and talk about it with the individual and decide if the person is ready to commit, needs more time to evaluate, or is just incompatible.
Once someone is accepted by the community, there would be a rite of passage and a commitment ceremony.
It Takes A Village
Generally speaking, folks like us are not made of money since it is not generally a significant focus in our lives. It is however important (as long as civilization lasts) to have some money to operate in this society -- even at the edge of it. Since it is unlikely that any of us have the dark soul to become millionaires any time soon, we will have to seek alternative methods.One thing that each of us can do is to get together a modest amount of money -- say around $5,000 -- and pool that money with others. So if one person joins with 99 other people, then suddenly they have $500,000 which is more than enough to build whatever we would wish.
In order to protect everyone involved, we will create a community trust that will hold the money, purchase and pay for all construction costs. That way no one person will have control of it, and we all decide what happens to it. I cannot stress enough the importance of commitment here. Once the money goes into the trust, it belongs to the community. If someone changes their mind and decides to leave, they do not get that money back. That's why it is very important that when you commit to Sacred Lands and Dragonvale, you understand what you are getting into.
That being said, if someone decides to leave on good terms (i.e. they have not violated any major community agreements) then we will do whatever we can to help them transition out. If we have spare money available, then we MAY be able to help them get started, but of course there are no guarantees. Keep in mind that although we are not building a cult here, there does have to be some level of stability, and if people can step in and out of their commitment as easily as changing their socks, then it creates a very unstable environment for everyone involved.
Size Matters
The population of a functional community can be anywhere between 50 and 300 adults and children (plus or minus 50). Our goal with Dragonvale is not to exceed 100 men, women and children. We feel that this number offers us the greatest diversity of skills, personalities, and talents, while allowing us to be completely involved in each others lives. Of course the only way to know for sure if this number will work for us is to see what happens. We will likely have to reevaluate our population level as time goes on. We may discover that 50 is too many, or we may decide that we need 150 to make things work.
Role Playing
As I said earlier, each of us is coming into this with a lot of emotional baggage that needs to be purged before true healing can take place. This may be a long process for some people, and many potential community members might not make it through that phase. There are many tools that we can use to facilitate the purging and healing process and perhaps make it easier on the individual, and the community in general.One of the most useful tools in this healing process is role playing. Yes, I'm talking about those nerdy games like Dungeons and Dragons that you have all played (come on, admit it), but instead of creating a fantasy character that has little resemblance to ourselves, we create a character that reflects the ideal person* that we wish to become, and we role play that character in our every day lives. In psychology, this method is called fixed-role therapy. The usual procedure is that the client is asked to write a self-characterisation and, drawing upon this, the therapist writes a sketch of a new character which the client, if he finds it plausible, is asked to enact for two weeks. This character will not be someone who is the complete opposite of the client but instead is likely to introduce some new construct orthogonal to the client's major existing construct dimensions. During the enactment period, the client is encouraged to "become" the new character, and several therapy sessions will be held in which the client rehearses the role, focusing on situations which he is likely to enter outside the therapy room.
This is essentially the same thing I'm talking about when I say that if we are to create our own community and culture, we will all have to create our own role models. In other words, rather than having a therapist create our new character for us, we will create our own.
In a healthy society, we would have positive role models all around us that we could emulate, but alas in this culture, healthy role models are sorely lacking. So that leaves us no choice but to create our own. Now I'm not talking about creating some fanciful wizard with extraordinary powers. I'm talking about creating a model of how you would like to develop emotionally, spiritually, physically, mentally, and so on. Naturally this must be a realistic goal, so if you are five feet tall, it would be a bit foolish to imagine that you could grow to six feet -- unless you're 12 years old of course.
Then it's just a matter of role playing your character until that character becomes second nature, and eventually becomes you. The phrase "fake it 'til you make it" is applicable here.
Another thing to keep in mind about this process is that our role models are meant to be the ideal us. That is certainly a lofty goal that may take years to achieve, and so we have to remember to appreciate and love who we are in the meantime. Our role models are not meant to make us feel like failures, but to give us clear personal goals. In any given situation, you might ask yourself "what would the ideal me do?"
Of course there are other purposes for having these role models. Since we are creating a new culture, our characters should reflect that. These may be the characters that we will role play during festivals and events.
If we are successful, then perhaps one day our grand children will not need to create fictional role models.
Getting Started
We have created an online forum for discussions about the Dragonvale community and Sacred Lands. Please join us there if you'd like to talk more about these ideas and/or you have an interest in creating something new and wonderful. You can also get news on our progress and perhaps connect with others to start your own community if our particular vision is not for you.[Sacred Lands Discussion Forum]
Community Resources
Here are some useful links that cover many aspects of community building.
