MendoDragon

Small attempt at filling in the void

2012-05-17T08:49:00.001-07:00

Thought for the day.....

Our environment is in the heightened sensitivity stage of foreplay right now. The flowers are flirting and oh so attractive, alluring, enticing, sending out pheronomes and offering themselves to be pollenated. I'm not being anthropomorphic at all but acknowledging the wisdom of nature. We humans think we written the operating manual on how to be but really we are just another expression of the divine. In fact, haven't we gotten a little side tracted lately on the road to being?

Your Ecovillage Awaits

2012-04-30T23:38:00.001-07:00

Our friend Tom Wodetski is very kind and very intelligent. He recently announced that the commune that he helped found in the 70's is for sale. Since this blog is about living in community I would like to give you the opportunity to gather your affinity group together to think about coming up with a down payment in order to acquire this very desirable homestead. Here is what Tom has to say and the description of the land follows:

Hello. Salmon Creek Farm, the commune I lived on from 1975 to 1990 and am still part owner of, is soon to be placed for sale, now that none of us 13 owners live there any more. I'm asking you if you will send out this description below to all your friends and acquaintances who might be interested or know others who might be. We hope to sell it-- 30 rural acres with 8 legalized cabins on the Mendocino Coast-- to good, community-oriented and neighbor-sensitive people. If you could help us find them, we and they would be very grateful.

Salmon Creek Farm

30 rural acres with 8 rustic cabins in Albion, California, on the Mendocino Coast.

1.8 miles from the Pacific Ocean lies "Salmon Creek Farm." This wooded, south-facing, 30-acre property is located at the end of a quiet country lane in the desirable Middle Ridge Road neighborhood in Albion. The village of Mendocino is only 20 minutes away.

Just inside the front gates in a sunny meadow is Orchard House, a 580-sq-foot cabin surrounded by a mature, well-maintained fruit tree orchard. This fenced open expanse of meadow is an ideal garden location with nearby outbuildings.

Beyond Orchard House are seven additional rustic, legalized, owner-built Class-K cabins tucked away down footpaths in charming settings. Majestic Redwood trees grace the hillsides and beautiful woodland trails wind throughout. A year-round stream bisects the land, flowing into Big Salmon Creek that forms the southern border of the property.

"Salmon Creek Farm" was lovingly settled by a family-oriented commune in the early 1970s and has remained in their hands as a living community for 40 years. This unique commitment to community continues today on Middle Ridge Road with friendly neighbors, monthly potlucks and a swimming pond within walking distance. This is a magical place to live.

General Information:

Location: 32297 Middle Ridge Road, Albion, CA

Approx. acerage: 30.5 acres

Coastal Zone: No

Number of dwellings: 8 Class-K owner-built Cabins

Sewer: 2 cabins with septic systems, 6 cabins with gray water and detached privy

Forest: Redwood & Douglas Fir, approx. 750,000 bd/ft.

Water: Year round stream provides 1400 gal/day, spring box to tanks to cabins

Fire prevention: 8 dwellings have fire hydrants with 20,000 gal of available water

Electricity: available to all dwellings and water system

Heat: Approved wood burning stoves and chimney systems in each cabin

Cooking: Portable propane tanks in each dwelling

List Price: $679,000 with 30-40% down

Price per acre: ~$22,600

Photos are available upon request. For more information contact:

David Coddington

Big River Realty

707 937-3233

DavidC@mcn.org

Flower Moon Pot Luck

2012-04-09T19:40:00.005-07:00

At a MendoDragon meeting a couple of months ago we decided to schedule a pot luck dinner on the first Friday of each month. Serendipitously, this months first Friday, April 4, was also the full moon, always a good reason to celebrate. By word of mouth and through email we invite folks to join us for food and music, never knowing who will come. Not only the food, but who appears contributes to the “luck” factor of the mixture.

This was our second potluck and it was populated by many folks we are meeting for the first time. I am reminded about how timeless this practice is of people gathering to break bread. And there was some hearty homemade whole grain bread to break, too, even though we sliced it. Some other delicious offerings were, salad made from garden greens, homemade quiche and macaroni and cheese, pasta salad, guacamole, marble pound cake, lentil soup, homemade brandied cherries dipped in chocolate, sauteed tofu in coconut sauce, home pressed apple juice, and raisin kefir water. Lots of friendly chatter and chewing co-mingled with easy going guitar playing and a little singing.

It was pleasant being with new and old friends from a sister community, Emerald Earth. Soon, Emerald Earth will host a gathering of local intentional communities to compare notes, talk about what works for them, what the challenges are, etc. Anderson Valley is home to at least 6 communities that we know of and I have yet to visit any of them. Something to look forward to.

The Moon was rising as the first couple with young children left at sundown. Luna is up there blessing us and sometimes we hardly take the time to notice. That's how it is with nature, true treasures are ignored and even destroyed as many choose to buy in to the mirage of modern life. In the past, when we had less manufactured distraction, we were more aware of the natural world. This is exemplified by the names given to each full Moon. April's was known as the Seed Moon, Planter’s Moon, Sprouting Grass Moon, Grass Moon, Flower Moon, Egg Moon, Fish Moon, and Moon When Geese Return in Scattered Formation (Dakota Sioux). With just a couple of words each name tells a story about what people observed or did at this time of year.

April’s name is believed to be derived from Aprilis from the Latin word aperire meaning to open. This “opening” refers to the budding and flowering of the perennial plants and trees. May all our eyes be open in gratitude to the beauty and blessings of our Mother Earth. Every day is Earth Day.

Spring Equinox

2012-03-21T08:33:00.008-07:00

I'm flummoxed about how time escaped me and I have fallen out of my lunar cycle about blogging. I can offer excuses like losing track of the phase of the moon in Ecuador, it always hiding above the cloud blanket, or having been down with the flu for a couple of weeks but in reality it takes a strong will to accomplish any intention no matter what the circumstances and of course the competition of other priorities interferes too.

Today I will myself to take keyboard in hands, sitting up in bed to write before I do anything else. Even though, I sit here guiltily knowing that the hens want to be freed from their coop. Our days here at MendoDragon are framed by releasing and feeding the hens in the morning and tucking them back into their coop in the evening. So I'm putting on my clogs right now and running out in my pajamas to do just that. I'll be right back...

They were more than ready to be released, all 9 of them. Four of them are only 8 months old but look full grown now. They were fertile eggs from friends in Philo. We tucked them under broody Zsa Zsa last summer after realizing she wouldn't budge until she hatched something. Her own eggs are not fertile since we don't have a rooster. We opted to keep the noise down and the rape. I'm not saying all roosters are unpleasant but past experiences have been challenging. When roosters start attacking the hand that feeds them that makes them undesirable.

We did have a sweet banty rooster once with feathery feet. I guess you could say he was a new age sensitive rooster because when he was in the chicken yard and spotted a morsel to eat he would make a particular sound and call over the hens and offer it to them. He made a soft little crowing noise, too. He fertilized eggs and we had hens that got broody and hatched them. It was so sweet to see a mini little rooster with feathery feet emerge. A hen, hatching and caring for her brood is one of the most heart warming motherly things in the world to witness. The little peepers trail around so close to Mama exploring around the yard learning to scratch and then sleep tucked under her at night. This looks really funny when they get older and don't fit under her anymore but still insist on being there. Having them secured in their coop at night is crucial as they are so vulnerable to raccoon, fox and weasels and it is such a sad loss to see massacred hens and chicks first thing in the morning. We have a sign up sheet for house and yard chores and take turns making sure there is always someone available to begin and end the day caring for the hens. After all...they are providing about 2 dozen eggs a week now and we are very thankful to them for that.

Gathering eggs feels like getting to have a treasure hunt everyday even though they are not usually hard to find. A couple of weeks ago we harvested some honey comb, too. The gold of the yolk of the egg and the golden flower nectar neatly packed in the geometrically perfect form of the comb are everyday miracles worth more than the currency we would get if we were to sell them. The quality of life would go down more than a few notches without them. Even primitive life included these gifts. Another beauty of these two particular blessings is the potential for their abundance. With enough hens and enough hives it's not unusual to have so much that there is extra to sell or barter. I'd still rather trade eggs for artichokes and keep the money out of the equation.

In case you are wondering about my trip to Ecuador it was full of psychological polarities even if geographically on the equator. Canoa, the coastal resort town did have a wide expanse of white sandy beach and warm water. Witnessing the sun shimmer on the breathing waves of mother ocean is always a spiritual experience for me. But I needed to walk north beyond the littering crowds of people to break free of all the debris on the beach to experience this communion.

I then spent the afternoon picking up plastic in all of it's manufactured forms from small screw caps, and bits of rope to the large soda bottles. I imagined myself living there dedicated to working with the community to start a recycling program. Just like our friends from InforAmazon in Brazil who are educating to clean up litter along the rivers there. The other striking polarization was the ubiquitous undernourished unwanted dogs on the one hand and the growing number of overly coddled designer dogs on the other hand. More than ever Ecuador needs a dedicated mobile force of veterinarians to euthanize, spay and neuter.

I had a deep connection with two women, Goretti and Olgmanka, from the Amazon who came to Mindo during Carnaval. They were among the vendors in a big tent selling jewelry made from naturally colorful seeds large and small. Goretti was dressed in full regalia with red markings on her face as she was part of a troupe of traditional dancers. I admired the arm and ankle bands she wore that made a pleasing sound like rain bouncing on broad leaves when she moved. I was delighted to notice a pair for sale on her table. I did not haggle when told the price which made Goretti smile and then gift to me a pair of earrings. I told Goretti I would think of her when I dance wearing my arm bands and a warm sisterly feeling swept over us making our eyes well. The vendor across the isle, an Otavallean lady from whom I had bought a sweater took our picture and I joked that in Ecuador I get to be the tall one. I'm only 5'1" but a good 4 inches taller than Goretti. Olgmanka then asked if I would email her and attach the picture. Imagine that.....tribally connected on the web.

Full Moon at the Equator

2012-02-08T17:53:00.000-08:00

Monday I blew out of Mendocino County with helter skelter winds seemingly ushering in rain clouds but I´ve since heard that it was a mere skiff of moisture that actually touched ground. My full moon was actually spent in the air between SF and Dallas enroute to Ecuador. I had hoped to catch a glimpse of luna from my window seat but she did not make herself obvious.

Tuesday between 6 and 7 pm I landed in Quito, welcomed with big smiles by Freeda and Canelo who have been here since December 3. This is my 6th trip here within the last 20 years. I will visit Mindo and see all the new developments that Freeda has built with the help of Canelo´s father Cristian and the CFI volunteers, such as the greenhouse, and mushroom installations, but then go where I have never been before, the northern coast.

As I sat down to write this evening a steady down pour was dumping from the clouds surrounding us. I am once again surrounded by astounding green growth intermingled and vibrating with all the fertility that the rains bring. The only thing lusher than this cloud forest is the rain forest at lower elevations. If just a fraction of all this moisture could be funneled up to Northern California both locations would be better off. It´s calm now. A different kind of cicada is singing while the rivulets trickle along muddy streets seeking the depths where the black water dragon sleeps.

Sounds like a good setting for a dream.....I´ll let you know if one reveals itself.

Next posting from the coast.

New Moon, 2012 Year of the Water Dragon

2012-01-23T11:50:00.000-08:00

January 23, Chinese Year of the Water Dragon

Within the last few days the Water Dragon has arrived in waves of rain. Beginning last Thursday, we were jolted out of the limbo of warm, sunny days and nights of hard frost, back into the reality of functioning in the downpours of a more normal Northern California winter. Even though all of last years annuals have frozen and died, the froggie's unified chorus sing out the return of fecundity.

Thankfully, there was a brief, 3 hour parting of the waters on Saturday when blue sky and sun allowed for a mid day foray 10 miles south of Boonville to a little olive oil ranch in Yorkville where Ron, the owner, graciously allowed us to use his log splitter. Sharon and Cookie (her sweet old dog) and I climbed into good old Warren (my '66 Ford pickup) and we rendezvoused with Eric and Christina where we all worked to load up two trucks full of wood. Probably enough to last through the cold season.

Sunday, the day of our Pruning Party arrived with slanting rain and we embraced it, knowing that if we couldn't prune we could still party. The first to arrive was Charlie, our Save Hendy Woods Activist/Organizer, and capable arborist who just last month felled the old acacia that wanted to take over the back yard. Odd feeling, how even tree huggers can agree to cut down a tree sometimes. After Christina cooked some breakfast she and Charlie worked on pruning two apple trees, Eric and Margie worked stacking more wood and then they all situated some pallets for our new compost system as the welcome rain deeply blessed them right through their jackets.

In the meantime, the Barbara Vindis had arrived. Her soft spoken helpful assistant, Richard drove them all the way over scenic hwy 253 in the downpour. Nothing stops Barbara...at the age of 86 she can outwork and out produce anyone I know. She is the topiary lady who has transformed her shrubs into elephants, ballerinas and rabbits and will return on a sunny day to help us coax our shrubs into hearts, dragons or whatever lies hidden within them. But today we mainly eat. Here is what she brought with her....a huge bowl of potato salad, deviled eggs and pickles, a mountain of chicken breast schnitzel, Plum Schlivovitz and Grape Brandy home brewed in a homemade still, and to top it all off homemade cream puff horns and vanilla merinque cookies. All this, as well as the food we had prepared, made for a feasting overflow.

It was apropos to raise our glasses in a toast of gratitude. We're grateful for our dear friends and housemates and all they offer, and we're grateful to have finally signed the papers and closed the escrow for purchasing the MendoDragon house and property. It is now in our hands. We begin in earnest to work together to transform it into a place of beauty with abundant gardens and charming tiny house personal pods, a place where people can work to co- create, celebrate and encourage in each other the best of being human.

January Full Moon

2012-01-09T11:30:00.000-08:00

Despite the lack of rain, January 2012 is unfolding with optimism here in Northern California. At the MendoDragon Community, we are nearing the end of our escrow period, mid air in the leap over this hurdle in acquiring the financial control of the purchase of our homestead. The cycling in of the Chinese Year of the Dragon on the New Moon, January 23, is a reassuring synchronicity in timing. Working with lunar rhythms is beginning to unfold naturally for us and it feels right to set an intention to post regularly to this blog on the Full Moons and New Moons.

During this first quarter of the year we are planning for our annual pruning party, a permaculture visioning workshop and a mycoremediation retreat/workshop. On January 22 we invite our local friends to again share their pruning skills as we tame back the rose canes and shape our fruit trees with nurturing gratitude. Lynda's inspiring idea to prune our landscape shrubs into topiary designs has us all a-buzz.

Because there is so much we would like to build in the way of gardens, ponds and structures we are looking for guidance from people versed in permaculture design. By my new moon posting I hope to announce the particulars about who will lead and when the visioning workshop will be held.

The Amazon Mycorenewal Project team will meet for a strategic Planning retreat to determine what their goals are for 2012. At this time we will install the MendoDragon edible mushroom site and offer a workshop in mushroom growing. Look for the date and other details in my next blog.

We are working with many others in our bio-region to work for much needed democratic oversight and change in our government. On the state level we encourage everyone to sign onto petitions for the ballot initiative calling for the mandatory labeling of all genetically engineered foods.

In cities and counties all over the country people are working together to pass resolutions urging a Constitutional amendment to end corporate personhood. The following is a press release about talks being given in Mendocino County by David Cobb, chief organizer of MoveToAmend.org, a nationwide coalition focused on abolishing "Corporate Personhood" and reestablishing a government of, by, and for the people.

“Creating Democracy and Challenging Corporate Rule” will be the topic of David Cobb's upcoming speaking tour through five Mendocino County communities. Cobb, an attorney, past Green Party presidential candidate and an inspiring speaker, will explain how corporate cash has captured our politics, and what citizens can do to reestablish real democracy.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 ruling in Citizens United v. FEC opened the floodgates to unlimited corporate spending on elections. The Court's five conservative justices declared that corporations are "persons" and their spending in elections is "free speech" that can not be limited.

“Corporate Personhood" commonly refers to a court-created precedent that gives corporations constitutional rights intended solely for human beings. Cobb states, “Corporate personhood is not an inconsequential legal technicality. The Supreme Court ruled that a corporation was a ‘legal person’ with 14th Amendment protections years before they granted full legal personhood to African-Americans, immigrants, natives, or women.”

“We are inspired by historic social movements that recognized the necessity of altering fundamental power relationships,” said Cobb. “America has progressed when ordinary people joined together-- from the Revolutionaries, Abolitionists, Suffragists, Trade Unionists and Civil Rights activists through today's Occupiers. Move to Amend proudly joins this tradition as it works to make the U.S. Constitution and our nation more democratic.”

David Cobb's five local talks will provide information about the issue and describe how Mendocino County can join this national campaign to end Corporate Personhood and its corruption of our political system. Part history lesson and part heart-felt call to action, David’s presentation is not to be missed.

David Cobb will speak January 31st at the Boonville Fairgrounds at 6:30 PM; February 1st at the Point Arena Library at 6:30 PM; February 2nd at the Willits Grange at 7 PM; February 3rd at the Caspar Community Center at 7 PM, and February 13th at Ukiah's Saturday Afternoon Clubhouse at 7 PM. More information can be obtained from Tom Wodetzki at tw@mcn.org

From Mondragon to MendoDragon

2011-11-28T23:01:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the MendoDragon Community hearth on the web. This is where we will share stories about what we are dreaming, doing, co-creating on a small piece of land in our unfolding version of Ecotopia. We are a part of the intentional community renaissance movement. All over our planet are emerging energetic collectives of people walking our talk, learning by doing, living as self reliantly as possible and sharing what we learn with others who also want to live in healthy, sustainable reciprocity with our earthly bio-regions.

People ask us why we're called MendoDragon. The name is a play on words with the Mondragon Collectives of the Basque region of Spain. We learned of this successful system of democratic economic governance back in the year 2000 when many of us foresaw the current economic collapse at the beginning of the Economic Localization Movement.

The Mondragon Collectives have revolutionary implications because of its structure of non-hierarchical democratic governance, with worker ownership and control, challenging the capitalist system at its very heart. Where capitalism awards profit and control to capital and hires labor, Mondragon awards profit and control to labor. In the process, it has developed a worker-centered culture which, rather than infantilizing, empowers. Mondragon members are citizens of a worker commonwealth, with the full rights that such citizenship confers.

Also, Mondragon has created a total system where one can learn, work, shop, and live within a cooperative environment. In such an environment motivation is high because members share an overall cooperative culture which integrates material and moral incentives, and which extends into every aspect of life, work, community, education, consumption, and family.

Perhaps one of the most brilliant achievements of the Mondragon organizational system is the way in which it has combined collective ownership with the incentives of individual ownership in a mixed system which recognizes both the individual and the collective side of human motivation.

A strong argument can be made for the importance of creating more networks like Mondragon, if humans are to move toward social liberation. Its systems approach to job creation confronts the problems of economic organization and development head-on, managing at once to create freedom in work and enough jobs to have a powerful impact on a regional economy.

We felt moved to start a collective based on Mondragon principles, formed an LLC with 4 members and called it MendoDragon. We resurrected a dormant greenhouse to begin a nursery collective called Lovin' Blooms. Original collective members chose not to continue to work together but the nursery still exists as a partnership and provides plant starts to the greater community. When we learned that having an LLC would not assist us in acquiring a conventional loan to purchase the land for our community we dis-incorporated. So what remains is the original spirit of co-ownership and co-creation as we enter 2012...the Chinese Year of the Dragon, an auspicious time for the MendoDragon Community and, indeed, the yearning to evolve global human community. With loving thoughts and positive actions we strive to sincerely listen to one another, find our common goals, and actualize them together.

2011-11-15T10:58:00.001-08:00

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