Earthaven has 330 acres. About 40 are devoted to farmland, and 50 to neighborhoods and their gardens. So there are more than 200 acres in forest! I like living there because it feels like a world inside of the world. When I was little I thought it was normal to live in the middle of a forest with lots of friendly people. One time I was exploring the woods with my friends and we got lost. Don’t worry, we found our way! I think it’s really cool we had the opportunity to get lost, as well as woods to get lost in!

I was homeschooled most of my life. It was really fun. There were barely any rules, and we went on plant walks almost every day. Our lunch was an hour long and, in addition to that, there was an hour-long free time. Some of us were in second grade in reading and fifth grade in math. Or the opposite. We were all different and we learned at our own pace

right: Aidan’s first year in homeschool.

 Our parents taught in turn each day of the week, one subject the whole day. We learned things in fourth grade people learn in high school or college, like anatomy. We were way ahead in some places and way behind in others.

We had chores at the end of the day. Each person had their own job and everyone knew what to do. There were only four of us in our homeschool then, but nowadays, there’s 13 toddlers running around!

Sometimes I close my eyes and Earthaven feels like a dream. There are farm animals to hang out with, and berries straight off the bush, but it’s the people that sum it all up! So many people have to be willing to live together in a successful way. Working together to create a community, we’re like cells working to make a body, to make a better world.

Aidan O’Hare, almost 13, is one of several teens to start attending local charter schools this year. Excited to meet more of their peer groups and have access to a wider range of educational possibilities, their reports are upbeat and reassuring. A longer version of Aidan’s essay was written for a recent 7th grade assignment.

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Soon several young folks at Earthaven will be turning 18, an age we’ve often considered time to wonder about their relationships to formal membership.

right: Not long ago, three Earthaven teens—Bailey (now 15), brother Brandt (now 18) and Dylan (17 next month)—still had plenty of time to hang out together at home.

Teen-centered activities at Earthaven can be spare, especially with the call of social groups, academia and creative opportunities in the nearby population centers of Black Mountain and Asheville. Thanks to neighbor Griffin Abee’s leadership, most of the teens participate in her teen yoga classes at the Full Circle zendo next door.

 above: Teens at Earthaven now flip their lids for yoga.

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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!

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This past year, Michelle Dionne and Brent Hickey’s mutual interest and experience in mentoring youth found a ripe group of adolescents, at and near Earthaven, eager to work with them towards meaningful rites of passage. The program went so well that they’ve planned a year-long journey with local teens starting this coming March. The two interwoven circles, ages 12 to 17—one for girls and one for guys—are designed “to re-weave the web of support throughout our community, guiding our young people to become capable, healthy adults who feel empowered to help the culture heal.”

Michelle writes: “Throughout human history, communities gathered around their young to guide them into maturity, teaching them the skills necessary to sustain life and helping them discover their unique gifts. Tribal cultures realized each person playing their role effectively was essential to the survival of the tribe as a whole.…

“Our intent is to help our young people deepen their sense of belonging and purpose. As they explore and develop their gifts and become more skillful, they get to put them into action through community service. Our focus includes earth skills, hands-on projects, nature-based ceremonies and healthy teenage sexuality.”

Michelle began teaching and mentoring adolescent girls eight years ago, bringing herbal medicine, healing dance, ceremony, tribal culture, homesteading, and sacred relationship to her work. Brent’s Bachelor’s in Counseling and Psychology has been useful in various settings—serving orphans, homeless and special needs youth, directing camps and apprenticeship programs, counseling at-risk youth, teaching photography, as well as managing community service projects. For more information, please visit their website at www.themandorla.com.

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