Earthaven is like two different villages in the winter and summer. In winter all the leaves are off the trees and everything in the village feels closer together. I can see buildings in other neighborhoods and mountain horizon around us. When the leaves grow in, bright green curtains shift how our neighborhoods relate physically with each other. As the leaves come out, so do the people. We move into the season of work and play.

Every year around the first of May, we celebrate this shift of seasons and life with our Beltaine Festival — a day of celebration, ritual, and feasting. The festival begins with a May Faire. We gather on the Village Green to make flower wreaths, paint faces, play games, have a picnic lunch, and just chill out together in the sun. We dance around our Maypole, dancing in the summer. We jump over our sacred Bel Fire. We feast around the fire, sing songs, and recite poetry into the night.

Beltaine is the Celtic name for the cross-quarter holiday between the spring equinox and the summer solstice. Linguistically, one of the meanings of the word Beltaine is “lucky fire.” Ancient Celtic culture was a herding culture. Beltaine was the time of year to move the herds from the winter fields into the summer shielings (fields). Villagers would drive the herd between two fires, blessing the animals and also driving away disease and insects. The Bel Fire would also bless the villagers and the land.

At Earthaven, villagers jump over a small fire in pairs, in groups, and individually to bless their new and continuing relationships, while the community sings, dances, and reflects on the vast web of relationships in the village.

At Earthaven, we are inspired by long-established customs around the world and are developing our own traditions for our community. As we move around the wheel of the year, having traditions that ground us in the season is important. As Beltaine comes to Earthaven, we know that we will once again play together at the Beltaine Festival. I enjoy how this yearly gathering highlights the growing children and our changing lives. Annual traditions help us notice what has changed, as well as appreciate what has stayed the same.

Establishing traditions for your family or community is easy. Choose something to do every year to welcome the summer. It can be as simple as a special meal or a campfire. Your traditions will evolve over time. Honoring the seasons with tradition can help us to honor ourselves as we grow and change. Finding ways to do this together is what community is all about.

What does this change of season look like in your area and how do you celebrate? Please leave a comment in this blog post.

As we move into the season of work and play, Beltaine is a great time to bless and celebrate our bodies. Gathering in community to play in the sun is a wonderful way to bless the coming season.

The post Seasons Changing: Beltaine Traditions at Earthaven appeared first on Earthaven Ecovillage.

Courtney Brooke: All right Paul, what are the three things you most love about living at Earthhaven?

Paul Caron: Well, this is going to be a kind of a unique answer because  my relationship to Earthaven is different from other people in that I’ve been visioning and working towards this situation all my life. I mean literally since I was 19. I decided that making a community would be the thing to do.

So, for me, the main thing that I love about Earthaven is that it’s exceeded my total expectations. Like really doing it, making a difference and the fact is I have a tendency to be a little bit of a hermit. So I like it that people are around and I always have help when I need it. You know it’s the social situation is just perfect. Much better than being in town although I must say that an ecovillage needs to come to every city block. It’s not just a rural thing. It’s just that we moved out here because it would be easier to you know avoid government regulations and such so that worked out pretty good too that’s another whole story…

The post Paul Caron: The Three Things I Love about Earthaven Ecovillage appeared first on Earthaven Ecovillage.

The Big Day, as it is so often referred to, is not merely a symbol of two people sharing their devotion in the company of loved ones; all too often it also represents the internalized values of consumer culture. This means that stress, pressure, and anxiety make as much of an entrance as wedding cakes do.

In this newsletter’s Behind the Scenes, you can read about two of our community’s beloveds and their big day. Keep reading for the full article.

“Mentally, we had already taken our vows,” said Deborah about that day and her marriage to Lyndon at Earthaven on Saturday, November 9. As we started to create the ceremony, searching within ourselves for how it would reflect our values, the usual trappings of more traditional weddings just fell away. We opted for no rings, no bouquet. We borrowed a LOT from people, and decided that anything we bought had to be re-usable by the community.”

For them, the wedding was about bringing together the families of their origin with the cultivated family of this village.

Over 100 people, from as far west as Portland, Oregon, and as far north as New York, gathered in our Council Hall to bear witness. Yet it wasn’t the physical distance traveled that made this ceremony special, it was the emotional distance that got traversed.

The wedding wasn’t just a tribute to the love that Deborah and Lyndon share. It was a tribute to the love of a village for this couple and a tribute from two families that span the cultural divides of their respective lives in Texas and in Maryland. It was even a tribute to Deborah’s late partner, Chris, as many of his kin also gathered in support.

One could say the day commenced with the persimmon tree planting—a symbol of something that starts out small, grows over time, gets more stable, and bears fruit—intentions that Deb and Lyndon have for their relationship. Or maybe the big day got its metaphorical start a week earlier when a team of villagers held a tortilla-making work party, where corn that was grown on this land got soaked, ground, and rolled out into one of Lyndon’s favorite foods.

The contributions by community and family members were numerous. We became the wedding planners, the decorators, caterers, musicians, and space holders. Deb’s dad, the photographer. Kaitlin, the priestess.

Ancestors were named, the directions were called in, and people were invited to share as they felt called to. Folks shared their hearts in the form of blessings, prayers, songs, life anecdotes, family memories….

This day, this big day, seeded something more than the commitment that Deborah and Lyndon share—it allowed for the seeds of a life we are creating here at Earthaven to carry onward with the tailwinds of other’s lives.

The post Behind the Scenes – the Big Day appeared first on Earthaven Ecovillage.

Diana Leafe Christian, international author, workshop leader, and advocate for ecovillages, community living, and the Sociocracy governance method, receives the Fellowship for Intentional Community’s (FIC) 2018 Geoph Kozeny Communitarian Award at the West Coast Communities Conference in San Diego in September of this year.

The Kozeny Award honors communitarians for a lifetime of work in the communities movement: as networkers, in media relations, as community builders, and/or providing leadership in the communities movement. Diana’s contributions were recognized in all areas, “…sometimes by taking a leading role,” writes the FIC, “and sometimes by providing invaluable assistance to others working in those areas.” (Communities, Fall 2017)

above: Diana teaching at Findhorn.

Diana and her Mom, Rosetta Neff (who passed away last May at 100), joined Earthaven in 2002. Diana has played major roles in our Promotions and Membership Committees and introduced us to decision-making practices used in other communities, including Sociocracy and the N St. Consensus Method (a variation of which we now use).

Diana became the editor of Communities in 1993, networking, editing and writing about community living for 14 years. Her book, Creating a Life Together, is a seminal reference for people interested in starting communities. Her second book Finding Community, is now a core resource for people looking for a community to join.

Diana travels internationally, teaching workshops on starting successful new ecovillages and on Sociocracy, and consulting with communities long established and those just starting out. We’re blessed to have her here the rest of the year!

The post Diana Leafe Christian FIC’s Communitarian of the Year! appeared first on Earthaven Ecovillage.

We’re blessed with the arrival of Jasper Ori Millar-Swiftcreek, born to Julia and Jonathan August 29, Virgo Sun/ Sagittarius Moon!

Originally from Richmond, VA, Jonathan came to Earthaven from Asheville in 2009. He is passionate about family and children, and about food production and cooking, nature connection, health and wellness and herbalism. He works with Red Moon Herbs in Asheville three days a week. Jonathan is also Dad to Oakley Swiftcreek, who lives part-time in the Hut Hamlet.

Julia came to Earthaven in 2011 after exploring community in Europe, Israel and the U.S. She grew up in Louisville, KY. Julia lived in several neighborhoods before she joined Jonathan at Village Terraces. Feminism and women’s spirituality, Judaism, family, holistic healing and gardening are at the top of her list. When Jasper is old enough, she plans to continue pursuing a nursing career.

The post New Baby! appeared first on Earthaven Ecovillage.

On Monday, September 11th, we turned 23 years young, managed a small parade in the wake of Hurricane Irma weather, and packed the White Owl for a community lunch and some good old socializing! Then on Saturday night, the 16th, nearby Celo-community-based gypsy jazz band Carpathian Spruce lit up the Council Hall with their wild and celebratory style, while friends and neighbors joined members for a whirl of a celebration!

Many changes lie ahead for Earthaven in 2017 and ’18, as most of our neighborhoods turn into linked, separately owned, residential parcels, and we pursue an updated way to manage our Village Center.

As you read this edition of our newsletter, please picture us thriving through the changing process and coming out feeling robust and ready to keep growing. It’s a big change from our original all-in-one vision and, though more complex in some ways, it may actually be a reasonable template for other groups considering coming together to protect land and nature.

Photos from top to bottom:

Birthday cake crafted by Tricia Baehr

Early Permaculture Design Class site map of the Earthaven neighborhood now known as Bellavia Gardens.

Determined members carry on the Founding Day parade tradition, in the wake of Hurricane Irma’s soggy weather.

below: Whirling away at Saturday night’s 23rd anniversary dance party.

The post Dancing Into Our 24th Year! appeared first on Earthaven Ecovillage.

Our teenagers keep growing, and soon the oldest ones will no longer be teens. Mira Biddle Tieman, first baby of a member born since Earthaven began, spent as much time living at Earthaven as her Mom, Tara, could conjure, while living and working in Asheville the rest of the time. They traveled together around the globe, and Mira was homeschooled for many years.

More recently, Mira moved between her Dad, Jim’s, house and Mom’s place at Westwood Cohousing, until Mira moved into a yome on the property of her new mentor, Marston Blow.

Mira turned 18 in March, and with her Mom’s encouragement began designing an “initiation” ceremony she decided to hold at her home in the forest. Old and new friends joined in for blessings and to share beloved and precious memories. Girlfriends sang songs written for the occasion; later, the whole company lifted Mira up and sang Mira, you are beautiful/Mira, you are strong/So wonderful to be with/We’ll help you carry on… (the song we sing for new members).

Right: Mira and Steve sing and dance to the Galaxy Song, which he taught her many years ago, while Mom gets a closeup.

Later, a silent walk to the grove at Hidden Valley led to more songs and a storytelling circle.

(Left: That’s Mira on the right.)

Tara reported Mira felt honored by the “awesome send-off ” and the demonstration of support for her journey. The only sad note (if any) is knowing Mira belongs to the world now, and isn’t planning to spend the bulk of her 20s helping to grow the community we hope she’ll nevertheless to return to.

Teenagers have always been the scarcer of age groups at Earthaven, so we got a nice surprise recently when Tricia and John Baehr (right,with 16-year-old twins Birke and Brandt and 13-year-old sister Bailey) told us they’ve decided to stick around and become Full Members. They’ve been both residents and neighbors since 2012, and have added so much good energy to the community.

Though the long-term residency of our teenagers is uncertain given the social and educational opportunities calling from the world, for now we often get to see eldest resident teen Dylan McBridewood and (youngest) Liefke Carwyn along with close neighbors Kayla Burstein and Katie Walters, at most social events and many games on the Village Green. Vive le adolescence!

The post Coming of Age in Community – Mira Tieman Turns 18, and we celebrate! appeared first on Earthaven Ecovillage.

We glimpsed Rosetta’s beginnings in Indiana, her early move to and marriage in Los Angeles, her family’s move to Hawaii and her own world travels while a career employee with the airlines. Perhaps the most enticing pictures of all were those of Rosetta we were told she sent to her husband when he was in the service.

Many of us take time to visit and check in with Rosetta, who still walks to the Tuesday morning Coffee & Trade Hour at the Village Center from her home in the Forest Garden neighborhood (in good weather). Usually Geni carries groceries home for Rosetta so she’s free to wield her cane as needed. We give thanks for the gift of Rosetta’s graceful carrying of her elder years.

 Rosetta as a young woman in California.

The post Eldest Earthavener, Rosetta Neff, celebrates a century! appeared first on Earthaven Ecovillage.

Twenty years ago on September 11, 1994, a dozen people so disillusioned with existing options for satisfying, life-affirming living situations, put their hands and available capital together to put Earthaven Ecovillage on the Western North Carolina map. This year, in the midst of much rethinking and refreshing of goals and potential, we celebrated the theme of Giveaway, a time-honored indigenous peoples’ response to prosperity and abundance. No, we haven’t gotten that big endowment yet, but we recognized our wealth in this special bioregion, this splendid forest, these crystal creeks, these developing farms and gardens, these gorgeous children, the skills and talents among us, and most of all the rich and abundant relationships we’ve formed with one another.

Gathering on the Saturday night before the 11th, we enjoyed a delicious finger-food buffet donated by Tricia, and then joined each other at the community Fire Circle. Carleigh got the fire going with a bow drill (whew!) and then Zev led off a spontaneous offering of stories and memories from our two decades of growth, as winding as the roads that lead us here. Old friends, some who only came around early on but who never lost touch with us, retold favorite memories for the newest EHers to hear.

On Sunday morning, quite a few folks turned up both for Kimchi’s Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) mini-workshop and a Trauma Release session with Gaspar. Gaspar also organized a volley-ball game on the Village Green, and Rainbow coordinated a mural painting party to brighten up the game room that has blossomed inside the old brown storage containers. The younger ecovillagers were given paint and the run of the interior of the game room.

We feasted together on the Village Plaza with local and donated dishes and desserts, and were thrilled to look around and see old friends and former Earthaven family showing up to celebrate with us. A ceremonial circle of gratitude and abundant wishes for the future was followed by a Timeline brainstorm in which we recalled the many big and small events still in our hearts, charting the year of their occurrence as best we could, for a chronological outline of the history of Earthaven. In the afternoon, informal teach-ins and tours were offered, while many just lingered in the Village Center to socialize and absorb the good vibes.

The post Earthaven Celebrates 20th Anniversary with “Intimate” Gathering of 125 Local Friends and Neighbors! appeared first on Earthaven Ecovillage.

It seems the whole month of May was taken up with the preparations for THE wedding. The village was abuzz with excitement and anticipation for the May 25th event.

It was one of those times when everyone comes together to celebrate the same wonderful thing, and old friends and new ones show up to add to the yummy extended family feeling.

Praise and thanks go to Kaitlin and Bruce for creating a beautiful weekend charged with excitement, laughter, joyful tears and a loving honoring of many traditions.

And praise also to our  budding entrepreneurs whose impeccable presentations made an elegant, natural, locally-sourced reception and dinner.

Photos courtesy Kaitlin Johnston

The post The Wedding of Kaitlin & Bruce appeared first on Earthaven Ecovillage.