Dacha Project, Freeville NY
Many people are impressed that we are still such close friends, and in fact never wanted to kill each other while living together in a van for three months. However, our journey was a small feat compared to that of those at the Dacha Project, a self described “do-it-yourself, egalitarian and educational homestead” just north of Ithaca, New York.
Six years ago, a group of six friends got together and bought 16 acres of land in the beautiful hills of western New York. They have since successfully built two houses from natural materials, are completely off-grid and have cultivated a beautiful garden. So far, they don’t want to kill each other! The cottage was built first using straw bales, after which they built a larger common house. This house has an earth berm on the north side to insulate it and reinforce the wall, and a full wall of windows on the south facing wall to take advantage of passive solar. These factors combine to effectively regulate the temperature year round, an astounding feat for the area. Read more here about how they did it:http://dachaproject.com/about-the-dacha/heat/ Each of the five bedrooms has access to the same amount of sunlight because they are all on one side of a long hallway, and the house is otherwise heated with wood burning stoves. For energy, the house relies on their diesel generator, which they run on veggie oil, but they also have solar panels and plans for more in the future. The design of this place is awesome, particularly because they did it all themselves (and remained friends in the process!) Check out their website for more cool details: http://dachaproject.com/about-the-dacha/ As we came to learn in every place we visited, the social strength of a group was just as important to community resilience as their structural integrity. The Dacha Project is as radical in the way they build community as they are in how they build homes. Since the beginning, they have shared resources, pooling their financial and intellectual assets to achieve common goals. Additionally, they are active participants in the Ithaca Freeskool, an alternative education system where local residents teach each other skills and knowledge at no cost. Our host, Lily, told us she loves living this way because of the freedom it offers her. Because they paid off their land, built their own house, and share resources so openly they are not weighed down by large financial burdens. | Moreover, this community takes care of each other, and teaches others how to do the same. They are not only self-sufficient, but offer internships, host workdays, and invite educational collaboration whenever possible. We were very blessed to visit such a wonderful place, and truly inspired because we can see ourselves building a similar community someday. |
Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey Kindnesses
After our stay in Ithaca, which included a visit to their awesome food co-op, Green-Star Natural Foods Market, we headed East to Massachusetts. We intended to stay for a night with our lovely friend Dana’s parents, Curtis and Aileen. However, we got much more than we bargained for, in the best way possible. Aileen leads a spiritual community, which was awesome to learn about. It was a valuable reminder that spirituality is an important piece of community resilience. We shared our hopes, dreams, and anxieties regarding our trip and the future, and were met with tremendous support. The discussions we all shared left us feeling validated in our journey and encouraged to continue moving forward. Moreover, we ate amazingly good food and felt so incredibly welcomed and cared for. Needless to say, we stayed for an extra night. |
Leaving well-fed and grateful, we headed to Boston to see some sights. We took “the T” into town and walked the freedom trail- though immediately sidetracked by a dog park. Enjoying the day full of history and good food, we navigated the city’s small, one way streets and admired its rich cultural diversity. | The next day we got to Manhattan, NY and saw the sights there; Central Park, Times Square, and even a show at Radio City Music Hall. We were both overwhelmed with the big city vibe (and awful driving situation) so we were extraordinarily grateful to get a warm healthy meal and a roof over our heads in Blairstown, NJ with hosts Tanya and Mike. |
Genesis Farm
After a cozy night near the Appalachian Trail, our host Tanya suggested we pay a visit Genesis Farm. The farm’s programs focus on transitioning out of the Earth’s current state of crisis by teaching awareness and providing resources to foster change. Nestled on 231 acres of preserved land, Genesis Farm and gardens demonstrate the amazing possibilities of mindful living. Genesis is sponsored by the Sisters of St. Dominic of Caldwell, NJ and they have decided to keep all but 5 acres of the land preserved. The Farm runs a Community Supported Garden that feeds about 300 families each year growing delicious food biodynamically, having share-holder members make decisions about the land with motivations other than profit.
We loved walking around the property, which was absolutely beautiful, and met some very nice people while we were there. We even stumbled upon their amazing bookstore, which had some tremendous resources for sustainability and community resilience. The “Transition” books were particularly insightful in that regard, mentioning physical infrastructure, economic structures, and social systems as the three pillars of community resilience. It was humbling to find the answer to our question “what is community resilience?” organized into a beautiful, published chart. However, it was also validating because we did indeed see evidence of these three pillars everywhere we went, and ultimately found many unique and real-life examples of what resilience can look like in a variety of communities. |
We took a trip down to Washington D.C. to see some beloved friends. We braved the rain and the cold, saw some sights, spent a lot of time having van issues fixed, and ate great chocolate. We loved staying at our friend Soizic’s co-op, which was yet another community of wonderful, welcoming (and weird) people. | Soon enough Thanksgiving was just around the corner! Our friend John from Yellowstone had told us we could come visit in New Jersey once we got there, so we took advantage of his offer and ended up spending the holiday eating a big family meal with his relatives. We snuck in a trip to the Atlantic Ocean, where we caught a breathtaking sunrise. Well-taken care of and ready for some California sun, on November 29th we officially embarked on our journey home. |
The Trek Home
The Amish As we began our two week journey back to Santa Barbara we wanted to stop by one last community. We thought that the Amish people in Pennsylvania might be a good example of community resilience, but when we got to Christiana we found it was more difficult to approach them than many other communities. We did not know who to contact or exactly where to visit, so we drove from town to town and felt something unexpected; an air of separation and a strange sense of cultural commodification. | We visited Amish markets and shops and struggled with the authenticity of the products, since they existed to be sold for tourists rather than used traditionally. To ask a community that has clearly been forced to commodify its traditions in order to survive financially about resilience would have been very uncomfortable, and potentially inappropriate. Perhaps if Amish country was not such a large tourist destination, or we had made contact as researchers ahead of time, we might have learned more. |
After Pennsylvania, we booked it home because we had to return the van on time. We stayed in a great hostel in Columbus OH, saw the arch in St. Louis, MO, and visited our friends Elsey and Cassidy in Kansas City, MO all in the space of three days. The next week of our trip was just as packed.
We stayed with the beautiful Julia in Boulder, CO, where we got to explore the Naropa Buddhist College and CU Boulder campus. We enjoyed exploring Naropa because it teaches its students to explore inner resources to courageously face the complex world, to help transform that world through skill and compassion, and to attain lifelong happiness and meaning. We also tromped around in the snow at CU Boulder and found the Environmental Design Program building. We were impressed by the all the great things happening in just that one building! | The next part of the drive was probably the hardest. We faced icy roads, temperatures just barely above 0, and few resources around us. After a few hours of icy roads and diminishing light between Boulder, CO and Moab, UT, we decided to split the trip into two days, resting for a night in the wonderful Glenwood Springs, CO. |
However, the next day wasn’t any easier. The roads were still awful and even pulling off at an exit seemed dubious. After a dark, slow, scary drive down to Moab we were so grateful to have a welcoming and warm home to stay the night. We chatted with our hosts Celia and Drake and their puppy dog Mac about how to not get burnt out when you’re an environmental activist. Celia is a part time professor at UCSB and full time activist so she had some great insight and advice.
The next day we visited Arches National Park (a few miles from Moab) and were amazed by its beauty. We are so grateful to have access to National Parks, and enjoyed our time taking in the landscape of snow-dusted orange rock figures. On our way to Las Vegas, we stopped at Moab’s food co-op, Moonflower, for some road snacks. | Many hours later, we arrived exhausted from all the driving and from the building anticipation of returning home. However, we had good food and conversation, friendly distant family who took care of us, and even our own beds! This was a foreign luxury after months of sharing cramped quarters, but one we reluctantly embraced. The thought of no longer living together was a hard one for us to come to terms with. |
That last day of driving was hard emotionally! We didn’t want the trip to be over, but were so excited to see friendly faces and be back in familiar places. We felt unsure how exactly the trip had affected us and what we would do with all the incredible information and experiences we had acquired. Even still, four months later, we are figuring that out, but there are some things we are sure of:
- Resilience comes in many forms, and looks different in each community. It was empowering to realize that resilience is feasible for all people, and gave us hope for a brighter future.
- This trip changed our lives for the better. We developed a habit of practicing gratitude which we continue to this day. We have evidence of our own strength and resilience, to carry with us for the rest of our lives.
- None of this would have been possible without genuine human kindness and love. From the very beginning, our friends rallied around us to help us fundraise and plan. Throughout our trip the kindness of people we barely knew made us feel at home, validated, and supported on our mission. For three months we traversed the country in a van, collecting stories and exploring communities different from anything we had ever seen. We survived by our strong will and stronger sense of humor, but also because of the unending support of our ever-expanding community.
- Resilience comes in many forms, and looks different in each community. It was empowering to realize that resilience is feasible for all people, and gave us hope for a brighter future.
- This trip changed our lives for the better. We developed a habit of practicing gratitude which we continue to this day. We have evidence of our own strength and resilience, to carry with us for the rest of our lives.
- None of this would have been possible without genuine human kindness and love. From the very beginning, our friends rallied around us to help us fundraise and plan. Throughout our trip the kindness of people we barely knew made us feel at home, validated, and supported on our mission. For three months we traversed the country in a van, collecting stories and exploring communities different from anything we had ever seen. We survived by our strong will and stronger sense of humor, but also because of the unending support of our ever-expanding community.