When you fall in love with community-mates, over time and through all kinds of circumstances, you develop a relationship very much like family. When they leave or die, it’s an amazing loss and also a treasure trove of meaningful connection and nourishing memory. We can’t say enough about them, but we try….

Susan (Suchi) Lathrop lived and created sacred space at Earthaven for fourteen years, and was stricken with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease), a disabling encroachment on natural body movement, not long after her best friend, Kimchi Rylander, was diagnosed with breast cancer.

It’s hard for us to accept and yet when it faces you square on, it challenges us to rise to the situation and lift things to their highest level. And rise we did, with Kimchi (who died in February) and again with Suchi.

Both women wanted to live their final days in the community they loved and so a large contingent of Earthaven members came together to do whatever was necessary to see these beloved women through their end-of-life transitions.

right: Suchi & Kimchi greet firefighters last year.

The following obituary is about Suchi’s life within and beyond Earthaven.

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Susan (aka Suchi) Lathrop passed away in peace at home in Earthaven Ecovillage on May 17, surrounded by beloved friends. She had been suffering with a quickly declining condition of ALS. A wake and funeral were also held at Earthaven.

Suchi was a beloved leader in her community, not just at Earthaven, but in and around Asheville. She was outspoken and generous, and was the innovator of many community functions that have since become Earthaven traditions, including the weekly Coffee & Trade event on Tuesday mornings. Her guidance and determination made a huge difference! She was the Earthaven Firekeeper (like a President, only more so), and had a voice in many key committees over the years.

right: Suchi at the Trading Post.

As a core member of the Hut Hamlet neighborhood, Suchi co-owned the Tribal Condo with her beloved friend, Kimchi Rylander, for over a decade. She was an ardent gardener and filled her greenhouse with food all year round.

Suchi grew up in upstate New York, focusing her academic studies in psychology and library science. She has been a dedicated supporter of the Palestinian cause in Israel, and a leading member of the local Friends group in bringing attention to the issues. She was also Clerk of the Black Mountain Friends Meeting for several years.

Suchi’s hope is that people who want to honor her life donate a day or two of volunteer support to local non-profits in her name and the name of her community, Earthaven.

The post Letting Go Slowly appeared first on Earthaven Ecovillage.

This past fall, we harvested a beautiful collection of fruits and vegetables. As any harvester knows, Ma Nature produces bountiful amounts of food and there’s always enough to share.

One morning, Suchi and I were walking in the Hut Hamlet neighborhood and came upon a Crabapple tree that was dripping with fruit. . . 45 pounds, to be exact. We dashed for our buckets and harvested the tart apples, noticing that there was hardly any insect or mold/mildew rot. This tree was one of the early perennials planted at Earthaven about 12 years ago. Some folks believe that crabapples are the only wild survivors of our domestic apples.

After 20 pounds, we decided to carry our harvest to the kitchen and find a way to preserve these “mini-apples”. We decided to make “Spiced Crabapples” by placing the cleaned fruit in a crock with apple cider vinegar, honey, and spices.

After a few days, on a cool fall evening, we heated up the crabapple brine and packed it in 24 one-pint jars. What a fun way to warm ourselves and appreciate our fall harvest!

Here’s to your happy harvest!

 Tribal Condo Clan is a co-housing exploration dedicated to simplicity and preservation of the commonwealth. Currently, Kimchi Rylander (pictured left) and Suchi Lathrop (pictured right) live there with three other residents

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Suchi has been living at Earthaven since 2002. She began searching for community after her partner died, hoping to find social connections and a cooperative living situation.  Now, eight years later, Suchi is intensely involved in community life.

Suchi gives tours, is on the visitors’ committee, created the Peace Garden, and has been a leader in social organizing. She also started the Coffee and Trade as well as the weekly happy hour, and helps run the Trading Post. “Hospitality is my passion,” she said. Recently, Suchi became involved in starting a workers’ cooperative to build a code kitchen that can serve guests.

When she’s not busy organizing, Suchi spends her time maintaining her share of the household at Tribal Condo. She also enjoys reading, studying, and walking the land.  “If you wanted to imagine a perfect retirement this is pretty close to it,” she said. “As a Quaker, this appeals to me because we live simply here. We are very close to nature.”

Before coming to Earthaven, Suchi was running an Independent Living program for people who were developmentally challenged. She also spent time as a librarian and an electrician. “I wasn’t passionate about any of those jobs,” she said. “If I had it to do over again I’d be a psychotherapist.”

Suchi is currently studying Nonviolent Communication, Body-Centered Psychotherapy, and Zegg Forum. Everywhere she looks there are new opportunities to learn. “This is a beautiful community,” she said. “It’s very diverse and it’s very dynamic. It’s never dull.”

As much as she loves life at Earthaven, Suchi admits that there have been some challenges. “There have been difficult times. The thing about community is that you go through it instead of flying away from it. It’s hard to imagine living anywhere else.”

Davene Wasser came to Earthaven in April 2010 with her son Eli and husband Jamie to simplify her life and live more closely to nature. She is a writer, editor, educator, and artist. After ten years of researching community, Davene is thrilled to be living her dream.

The post Member Profile – Suchi appeared first on Earthaven Ecovillage.

A yome is a variation on the concept of a yurt. It has eight sides while a yurt is round. It is 18 feet across, has canvas sides and roof, and is completely insulated, with four windows and a wooden door. And… it is locally made by Peter Belt’s Red Sky Shelters.

We installed the used yome on a high deck behind the Tribal Condo, which is home to Suchi, Kimchi, and Marie.

The 24’ by 24’ deck was built by Robert, Darren, and Robin. Thank you! It was quite a project. It is high enough to hang a wooden swing made by our very own Greg Geis, who produces them in his wood shop on the land.

Since we began using the yome three months ago, we have had yoga once a week, hands on healing and shamanic journeying classes, movies, planning sessions, and just plain retreat time. In the future we are interested in having book discussions and small group retreats. It is wonderful to feel that the space meets so many needs.

In addition, our personal guests will have a private place to stay that is airy, dry, and roomy. They will, however, hear the music of the frogs, squawking of the chickens, and the drumming of an occasional piliated woodpecker, as well as a multiplicity of human sounds.

Suchi is a full member at Earthaven with a passion for hospitality and community.

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