This year’s Summer Solstice celebration was a especially wonderful event. The day could not have been more perfect, with a few puffy white clouds passing under the warm, bright Sun.
Airik and Shannell bring their blueberry lemonade over to the party.
Volleyball, frisbee, horseshoes and bucket pong were enjoyed on the Music Room lawn as people relaxed, played music, and frolicked in the sunshine.
This year was extra special because members Mardock and Possum (Clifton and Katia) announced their engagement!
The wedding is to be set for next year and will take place on East Wind’s land. Now that is going to be one big party!
Scotty and Jamis, East Wind’s up and coming brewmasters, put out a simply delightful trio of alcoholic beverages that satisfied every drinker’s particular tastes. There was drum playing and dancing well into the night.
For a number of East Winders, the weekend only began with Solstice as our friends at Flotsam Farm had their fourth annual summer festival with three days of music and a sixty person day float down the Bryant (think of an armada of canoes and kayaks).
Creek Stink playing at Flotsam Farm for the fourth annual Slacker’s Fest. From left to right: PT of East Wind, Carlos of Oran Mor, and Eric and Amelia of Flotsam.
Summer is in full gear and spirits are high. In other news, since my last post, rescued cow Maybelline gave birth to a large, healthy calf. Happy Solstice!
Maybelline and Marbles on his first day out of the womb
Pictures taken and post written by Sumner
Thanks i love your posts! Looking forward to meeting everyone on August 6th! ☺☺☺
I’m also visiting Aug 6th in the hopes of getting accepted for membership! Can’t wait and I hope to meet ya! This Solstice celebration looks like it was a blast and living at East Wind is going to be a dream come true.
That is great to hear, we are always excited about new people coming and bringing their energy. I would advise having as few preconceived notions as possible and come here with an open mind, ready to help out each day. There is plenty of farm work to be done in August!
Brandon yes cant wait to meet you as well! Sumner very open mind here ready to get to work and learn new stuff! See you all soon!
My friend Debra mentioned to me that you will be having a band or several bands playing there sometime in August. Wondered if you had a date set yet. Namaste
Yes, this year’s festival should be late August I think.
Hey,
This was s great read, gave me a glimpse into a simpler and fulfilling life, something very different from what I have been used to. I hope I can come down and visit the community and you Sumner next year when I am in the States.
Hey!!! LinkedIn and now the East Wind blog, didn’t even know that would be on your radar. Yes, definitely come, we will have a blast. We can milk cows together, haha! I don’t know about simpler, but it has been more fulfilling by far.
HI:) I saw this community on googling. i am living in South Korea. and searching how to get there but i don’t think i can visit. first U.S visa is very strict. and i’ve never visited America by the way heared that if i want to reach there, then the car is probably necessary isn’t it? Phew… hope you guys are happy!
It was such a joy to be at East Wind for the summer solstice celebration – but also to just BE with everyone and immerse in the freedom and life and love for this community. Save us a seat under the yurt – we’ll be back!!
That is so wonderful to read. Your presence is always welcome! The gardens love you. And if you do want to write a little something for the blog, please do. I can use the help =)
I really miss living in an IC! Not many open anymore for 5 people though! Well none that aren’t religious anyways. I am happy to see this place is still up and going though!
East Wind is one of the lucky ones, founded by veterans of the first communes started in the late ’60s wave. There certainly is a special magic here. Integrating a large family into an existing community is very difficult. We have been discussing ways of making ourselves more available to incoming families, but historically it hasn’t worked out for various reasons.
Have been watching Eastwind for about 20 years and fascinated by what you have there.
Toying with trying something similar in our little town with of only 13 houses and only us old folks remaining. We need some young industrious, entrepreneurial, homesteady type folks and have been admiring your model since it also incorporates a business. The alternative would just to try to get some young people, homesteading types to move in but lack of housing is an issue, we have land but not much in housing.
Have so many questions like how did you pick your businesses? How did you get the word out that you have created this compound (for lack of a better word) and since you are also in the ‘middle of nowhere’, how were you able to market your businesses.
As it is, we already barter amongst ourselves, trade eggs for blueberries and such. In our very small town we have chickens, goats, bees, blueberries, raspberries, fruit trees but want to expand into a few cattle. We have lots of knowledge, it’s just that the fence building and other manual labors are tough as we get older so we need to make it attractive for younger folks. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak as far as the labor portion is concerned.
I’ve only lived here for three years and I did not pick any of the businesses, although I do help manage the nut butters business. The people who founded East Wind also founded Twin Oaks, which has a hand made hammocks business. East Wind made hammocks for Twin Oaks to generate income in the early years. Some very intrepid entrepreneurs saw the trends in the health food industry and got financing to start the nut butters business in the early 80s. This is our main business today (we stopped making hammocks about a decade ago).
I don’t like the word compound as it evokes images of religious zealots bunkered down awaiting the end times. We don’t have any bunkers (although we do have a decently large cave) and we restrict the number of firearms to six for the whole farm (used for hunting and animal slaughters). Commune is a great word! We sell nationwide (although the East Wind Nut Butters brand is mainly represented in the Midwest) and go on sales trips just like any other business to generate interest.
What I like about East Wind is that there are lots of people interested in all sorts of projects. I would love to be a part of founding a new community in the future. East Wind is an excellent school in such endeavors, especially because you can learn just about any useful homesteading skill here. As far as attracting people with energy and talent, that can be a big issue (especially given a remote location). I’d recommend trying to increase your presence on the internet with blogs, videos, etc. (that is my strategy!). Sounds like you have plenty of resources and if you offer newcomers a stake in them and a stake in your decision making processes you might be surprised at what happens.
I’m an amputee, having my left leg severed on the spot by a drunk driver while I was walking home from swimming with my dogs. I’m able to walk with a prosthetic leg with crutches and also must use a wheelchair for the times without the prosthetic. Are you able to accommodate a guest such as me for 3 weeks? I’m very open to and good at improvising.
Hi Cheryl, I sent your message along to our Membership team, but their email bounced from the email given (Lolalovesmonkees@aol.com). I believe they want to offer a guest spot for a couple weeks so you can check it out. Please send an email to ew.membership@gmail.com and talk to Warren to make arrangements.
Thanks for the info, I looked into creating a Blog ugh. I’d have to learn some to do that. If you ever want to take a day trip I’ll tell you where we’re at although it would never be a large group because we only have eight and a half acres here and with the neighbors probably about that much more so it would always have to be a small group. Neighbor brought me 10 gallons of grapes so I’ll be working on jelly. Told husband we need to be making wine instead lol but we don’t drink. I tried to add a picture but I don’t see where I can do that, can’t do anything around here without chickens helping.. What I do love as well is nothing goes to waste, we took the grapes we wanted, apparently the goats love grapes too and anything that our chickens or goats don’t eat goes in the compost pile.
Hi! My name is Julia and I am going to be visiting East wind in September. I am just curious as to what kind of work is available in that month? Or I guess what work is the most needed? I am wanting to be as prepared as possible, both to work well in the community and make a good impression.
Also, and I understand if this isn’t something you can really comment on, is there currently a large waiting list? You talk about wanting to try and invite families, does that mean east wind is in need of new members?
I am very excited for my visit and have been pouring over as much documentary, articles, and interviews as I can find. As well as these blog posts. So thank you for any info you can send my way. 🙂
The warm season always has plenty of outside work. Seeding the garden for fall starts in September as well as ongoing harvests of summer crops. Washing dishes and pots is easy to plug into work that is very much appreciated. Cooking and cleaning are daily tasks throughout the year. Be open about what you are curious and passionate about and don’t hesitate to ask people if they need help. There will be plenty of things going on, September is a busy month.
I am not on the membership team, but it seems that there is currently no waiting list. Waiting lists are not uncommon and usually go down quickly, as people may be on the waiting list but may not actually ‘take their spot’ when they are up. East Wind is definitely looking for new members. I personally would like to see us have the capacity and ability to invite families, but logistically that is difficult at the moment. We need more facilities to accommodate families (more tiny houses!).
Glad to hear that you are excited to visit! That TRT documentary is really taking off (105K views now). I’ve been taking a lot of film and plan to edit a bunch of videos this fall to help people better understand the various skills that can be learned here as well as a glimpse into what living here is like.
I would love to join,where do I sign up?
Feel free to check out the ‘Visiting and Membership’ tab on our website and then send an email to ew.membership@gmail.com to get the ball rolling!