Crystal Waters

Crystal Waters

This community is so huge it gives the impression of a living organism. The 85 plots house hundreds of residents, each with their own focus and approach to sustainability. The wealth of knowledge here has caused the place to become almost a display village. Many residents assist this process by running courses and workshops in the community spaces for the public and students of lifestyle. There are also many efforts to link Crystal Waters to national and global Eco-Village networks. There is a community newsletter and many residents publish books and contribute articles to Magazines such as Genoa, Eco-living, Diggers and Dreamers and Earth Garden.

Other residents focus on personal businesses or just getting on with living sustainably, they aren’t so actively in ‘spreading the word’. This leads to an interesting atmosphere within the community. As Australia turns it’s head toward sustainability it shines the spotlight on places like Crystal Waters. I got the feeling some residents have a vision of city people running for the hills in search of help when crunch time comes, will they be ready to help? I am so excited by the dynamic atmosphere that is created as mainstream Australia grapples with ecologically friendly living as a growingly urgent priority. Residents of sustainable communities all over Australia have built their knowledge through years of trial and error and the perseverance it takes to break away from the mainstream, now the mainstream wants to join in. In the city ideas like ‘sustainable living’, ‘organics’ and 'renewable energy’ are all entering the conciousnes of city dwellers. These options are being introduced through largely corporate means as big business responds to public demand. I am presented with two different worlds, green living entering the mainstream and green living in communities built on a passion for community connection. Can we bring eco-friendly technology into our highly individualised lives? What to you think? I reckon we will find out soon, get involved and help the process evolve so I can find out sooner! It is an exciting time to be alive! It seems to me that fixing the earth is the first step to fixing our own health and well-being, I take all increased care as a good sign. Maybe I can tout that idea to A Current Affair: The “Attain Spiritual Wellbeing By Saving The Earth” no, actually, the “Loose Weight by Saving The Earth Diet” YEAH! Send any ideas (perhaps a reality TV show?) to me at emptycageproductions@yahoo.com.au

Back at Crystal Waters…

Despite all the variations in focus, individual differences aren’t as devastating here as they are in smaller communities. At Crystal Waters you can chose with whom and how much you are involved. This does lead to a bit of an involvement hierarchy: the more you are involved more effect you have in the community goings on, but this system seems to be self-regulating. It also economises on people’s initial energy and enthusiasm and lets people rest when they are burnt out.

When Crystal Waters’ committees vote on issues they require a two thirds majority. I really like this system, it cuts the hours of discussion time to arrive at unanimity but often requires some consensus building which leaves fewer ‘losers’ than a 50/50 vote. Most times the members here all agree anyway.

Here is one of Crystal Waters’ 85 different interpretations of a permaculture garden. There is also a communal garden, dairy and bakery which supplies the general store. The organic produce grown here is also sold at market days that locals, visitors, Wwoofers and residents attend.

A landscaped water recycling system in the making.

At Crystal Waters I met and Wwoofed with the lovely Christopher Bradley, an ex-restaurateur from Sydney. Christopher sold up shop and moved here about three years ago.

This is his circular permaculture garden where we collected our lunch every day. I miss those salads…and Christopher!

Many residents build a temporary house during the making of their final house. This is the case with Christopher’s beautiful future studio where he now lives. His temporary loo is one of the simplest to make, It creates effective safe soil in 12 months. (there is a lurking bucket under this seat)

Here is the lovely Guillaume saving the day… I know you’re all cringing but trust me, emptying the poo bucket is very satisfying! Turning something you didn’t want anything to do with in to something useful is a great feeling. Once you’ve had poo bucket, you never go back baby yeah!

That reminds me, to meet someone equally enthusiastic about poo meet Hamish http://www.naturalevent.com.au/ who runs the best festival in Australia. Go to FRL,http://www.bilyana.com/ I’ll change your life.

We sun-dried the extra crop of cherry tomatoes. Solar power go!

Muhahaha I’m from South Australia so cane toads are hilariously novel to me, these pests are still prolific in Queensland and not so funny to the locals.

Due to minimal car movement (there is a 30K speed limit) no cats and dogs and protective neighbours, native wildlife also thrives at Crystal Waters. Kangaroos are everywhere and residents must get creative keeping them out of the garden beds. Heavy-duty fences are a common solution.

There is so much more to tell here… Check out their website for info on Crystal Waters’ history, infrastructure and courses coming up. I recommend a visit here if you have any interest in permaculture or ecologically-friendly housing. The architecture here will blow you away, very creative, unique and stylish. Check out the website. http://genoa.ecovillage.org/genoceania/ecocentre/index.html

Then my circus family all played on the beach and I skipped merrily on my way!

Auravale

Auravale

The first Community I visited was the isolated and scarcely populated ‘Auravale’, in North Queensland, just out of Cooktown. The remaining residents here are champions of besting the odds and creating ingenious alternative technology. Look at their solar panels…

These ones power
the communal house
where Wwoofers stay.

And the batteries
where the power is stored.

The three lovely kids who currently live at Auravale are home schooled. In this photo they are with some friends from the nearby town one night when we had a bonfire.

The get-over-your-modesty-loo is flushed by filling a water container from the nearby folded hose and simply tipping it in! The pure spring water at Auravale is piped from two streams that run through the property, the pipe runs a few K’s up for water pressure. Some residents (definitely Rainforest John) also have water tanks, but spring water is plentiful in the wet season.

The water is heated in recycled hot water systems propped over a fireplace. It takes about 20 minutes to heat up a bath full. Fiona super-mother is washing some blankets too big for hand washing. I call it foot washing.

Like so many dwellings at Auravale this one is empty but this is the construction look of most. Recycled local materials and not many walls (ahhh good old Queensland, got to love a state where you don’t need walls) and the essential mosquito nets!

I really wish I had a photo of the orchard. The 30 year-old fruit trees here were laden with every tropical fruit under the sun. You could survive purely on the fruit. I’m pretty sure local Mic lived soley on fruit, wild pig and a few occasional extras from town.

Lots of past love has gone into Auravale

So what happened? Seems there are many different reasons for the collapse of the thriving Auravale community in the 80’s: Change in government legislation that cut off support payments to rural areas, communards not being able to own a share in the land and consequently feeling less investment in it’s future, and of course, good old personal differences, the fate of many a promising Intentional Community.

Sustainability seems trickier in extremely remote areas were there is no option to earn small amounts of money additional to sustaining yourself and family. Even people that have managed total self-sufficiency are greatly helped by the ability to earn money on the side to cover unavoidable dealings with government such as taxes and rates. The remaining Auravale residents (five adults) earn money by travelling long distances to occasional work. Thankfully this predicament is easier to overcome these days with internet access which often provides community residents a way of earning money from home. Lots of this was going on at Crystal Waters, my next stop.

Auravale was difficult to leave, literally. Getting in was fine but the Queensland rain raised the stream crossing and the submarine (Chester) got stuck. Submarine, PAH!

Sunrises used to symbolize the end of an all night adventure, living in a van has given me a whole new appreciation for them.

Next I headed off to the thriving community Crystal Waters which lies just out of Maleny north of Brisvegas...

Fryers Forest

Fryers Forest

Near Castlemaine in Victoria was started in 1995 by Su Dennett and David Holmgren were two of the original land purchasers.  They still keep connections with the community although they do not currently live on the community.

Fryers is a Body Corporate, set up under the Victorian Subdivision Act. That means residents hold a freehold title and the areas they inhabit are roughly one acre. The remainder is jointly owned and a community house is planned for the twelfth, jointly owned, non-residential block, but is not yet underway.

The main focus is native bush regeneration.

Lilly plaits Leelah's hair in the living room of their community built straw-bale house.

Anthony's house frontage:  The red render matches with the stark red earth in this area so the house blends beautifully with it's surroundings.  He is working on a small vege patch to the left of this photo and a straw bale surrounding wall was under construction!

Crafting personal touches to incorporate into the house structure.  Mosiac was very popular in this household!

Fryers forest, more than any community I have visited so far, has a relaxed feeling; It is a completely “expectation free-zone”. There has been the usual community conflicts concerning the bi-laws (eg. Speed limits, cats and dogs).  There are now "inside pets" allowed and a small part of the land houses horses. Here is a picture of an outdoor cat run which links to indoors, giving the cats some outdoor roaming whilst protecting the natives.

Even the eco-friendly loo has mosiac mastery!

The expectation-free atmosphere does not lead to any lack of community spirit. Community time is voluntary and involves more play than work.

Anthony (a talented barista) owns a kick-ass coffee machine and puts on “café” every few days, once a week, or whenever he feels like it. People come and make a small donation for their coffee. The only rule about café is "no talking community politics". This is a fantastic contributor to making Fryers work (in my opinion). What is essentially a ‘no gossiping’ clause maintains community spirit without breeding misgivings amongst those who don’t attend. There is no need to worry that people speak badly of you for not participating. 

The lack of these “expectations” at Fryers really alerted me to how common they are in community living. The feeling of looming expectations may be the mental construction of the individual (rather than others ACTUALLY thinking badly of them for not participating) however it still has the effect of making the non-participant feel isolated. This is a conundrum because surely the intention of Intentional Community is a commitment to participation. On the other hand, people often need phases of retreat from community during illness, loss of loved ones, relationship troubles, or simply a lack of energy for community participation. 

Some people wanting to live communally might find Fryers Forest too “hands off”; All of their communal activity is based around fun rather than work.* But the relaxed atmosphere here was a thing to behold.

Another example of great community glue at Fryers forest is their 2way radios. Every household has a 2way radio (to be used only in certain hours, not too early/late) which communards use to contact other members without having to pay for phone calls. Rather than being intrusive (as it might sound to some) this has the effect of giving a lovely daily overview of community goings on. Regular messages such as 

“has anyone seen Leelah recently?” 

and 

“yep, I saw her riding north past the dam about half an hour ago” 

and sometimes 

“I’m making a fruit cake and I need 1 cup of sultanas and cooking whisky, can anyone help me out?”. 

These messages were also ‘expectation free’ inviting participation but not eliciting it, it spurred silly joyful messages and constantly confirmed a feeling of being connected to the whole. Easy communication also had the effect of increasing resource sharing because it was so easy, people would often offer to get things from town for others on their shopping run. Tools and Wwoofers and energy was also utilised.

Fryers has a fantastic dam for swimming! The water level was down this year but it keeps the heat and is great for night time or in the rain swimming! 

The members of Fryers are self-employed or work in the local area.

Thanks very much to Ant and his lovely family who looked after me here at Fryers Forest I loved my time with you! They also took me to meet seminal Permiculture experts David and Su where I got to eat pasta freshly made from just milled wheat! Yikes! That's tasty sustainability!

David and Su run fantastic courses from their home in Hepburn Springs.  It is the most amazing example of sustainable living I have seen on my travels.There is also a section in this website detailing Fryers Forest.

http://www.holmgren.com.au/

*This was the phase that was happening when I visited but it of course, has not always been the case. During the building phases community members worked with each other daily (these times are thought of very fondly) and the same still happens but it is not an expectation.

Moonie Creek Co-Op

Moonie Creek Co-op is in Victoria and is home to this gorgeous creature Olive the wombat

Moonie Creek has few permanant residents, it mostly houses Melbournites who live in the city and use Moonie Creek as their holiday space.

Here are some of the houses on the property, all owner designed and built.

I had a lovely stay here with Shaun and Nobuko. Due to the isolated spot it's hard to both live on the property and work. Nobuko is a local district nurse and Shaun is the handiest handyman I have ever met! Here is Shaun on the balcony of the house he built twice! He dabbles in apiary to keep the family/friends in honey and makes beautiful wood craft. Here are some examples of Shaun's work:
The community has been powered by a water turbine which is powered by a natural stream which runs through the property. Here is me demonstrating unblocking the man-made dam which allows the water to pour through the turbine


The water turbine is further downstream. Power is distributed between the 8 houses.

Here is John's hot water heater. The flu of the oven heats the water. It works!





Not all jobs are weeding! At Moonie Creek my favourites were picking mulberries and restoring this old typewriter! More info on Moonie Creek are coming, but an all round lovely place with vegetarian dogs! Thanks so much to my lovely hosts, they made me feel welcome any time!

Nanna Fights Fires

I had a little stop over in Maffra staying with my Nanna, the beautiful Betty Ripper.

Moora Moora

Moora Moora Co-operative

The front gate to Moora Moora, Healesville, Victoria.

Bob's wood box. Fill it outside, collect it inside.

Luc and Amy the splendid Wwoof hosts of goodness are setting up a community garden which will supply residents with organic vegies! The garden is just getting started in this pic: Now deliveries are up and running!

The wind turbine!

Bob shows us his hand made solar hot water heater and I try out the exercise bike energy generator which charges a 12volt battery. I had to peddle till dinner was finished cooking! Only kidding.

Julia's art studio was constructed at a community working bee when I was there! It was a prezzie from Jeremy. Here is their house, Jarra and Jinja the kids sleep upstairs.

Below Shin and Jane are willing workers in the vegie patch!

The Rant: Moora Moora started up in 1974 on a forested hilltop near Healsville (70kms out of Melbourne). It has a fluctuating population of around 40 Adults 20 children there are 30 potential house sites with still a few to be built upon. The settlement is organised in to 6 clusters, each with it’s own name and personality. New members can also buy an existing house when it comes up for sale.
Moora Moraites are not connected to the grid so families have individual solar hook ups. They tap into a natural spring that runs through the property. Community workday is on the 3rd Sunday of every month at a different person’s house every time with lovely cakes and tea! (I had chlorophill juice, wooo, new experience!) When I was there new pipes were being dug into a field with a trencher.
There is a minimum 6 months (but usually 12) “getting to know you” period for prospective members in which they rent a vacant house or stay at ‘The Lodge’.

No dogs and cats are allowed but there are horses, which are used for riding and a source of manure. I know this first hand from a rainy day of chocolate shovelling.

Moora Moora houses the prolific contributor to environmental discourse Bob Rich here is his website if you want to check out his writing http://bobswriting.com (everything from science-fiction to how to build your own house manual). Founding member Peter Cock still lives here, he gained Australia wide knowledge of Intentional Communities when he toured Communities in 1970. His book “Alternative Australia” recounts the journey.

All houses are different combinations of alternative building. Mostly earth walls and more recently, straw bale. Solar heating. Spring and rainwater. Many of the earlier houses were built to rely purely on spring water. There has been a push from the newer residents to convert their dependence to rain water tanks, which is telling of the change in priorities of communards.

When I was at Moora Moora there was a community discussion (lead by the younger members) about hosting a rave/doof/dance party. It was a really interesting time to witness a shift in community activity to something more relevant to younger communards as a means of community celebration that is a part of their sense of belonging. When the meeting resolved everyone had decided to allow the doof as a part of the community commitment to alternative culture. Like other successful Intentional Communities Moora Moora has made a commitment to change in response to societal needs. In this case, alternative culture will evolve in response to mainstream societal culture.

For the first time a communal vege patch is being started at Moora Moora! Luc and Amy settled here with the purpose of creating a CSA (community sponsored agriculture). They found Moora Moora when they were Wwoofing and made a proposition to the community. It was so exciting to Wwoof with this wonderful pair as they laid out the first beds of the large-scale organic garden. Now the community members of Moora Moora will have local organic vegies delivered to their door.
It’s a rare thing for communal gardens to be sustained in community. The reason I believe it will succeed here:

• *Two full time committed organisers with previous experience
• *Financial support from a local population base (they contribute money in advance which provides money for the infrastructure (seeds, mulch, waterworks ect.)
• *Wwoofer worker support
• *Passion - Amy and Luc are really passionate about organic gardening: They rock.

Another rocking feature of Moora Moora is a large, systematised Wwoof quarters. Wwoofers (not to blow my own trumpet) seem to bring a flow of energy and ideas through Intentional Community. Hosting a Wwoofer does, however, take a certain amount of emotional energy (they stay in your house and are involved in your life full-time). At Moora Moora Wwoofers stay in “The Lodge” and are given the rounds by a caretaker. Wwoofers have two days off a week (in which a Wwoofer makes their own meals from the stocked Wwoofer pantry) One other day is work for the community (which the caretaker overseas) the remaining days are to whatever family needs some Wwoof help, you Wwoof on their property and they feed you.
As a Wwoofer it’s a great way of meeting many families and getting a good overview of the community. Your full 6 hours are usually utilised (because people want to make the most of their Wwoof time) but you get great meals because everyone’s ultra prepared! From a Wwoofer perspective it’s a more impersonal experience (people don’t really get to know your name unless you’re around for a while) but it is good if you need some time alone after a big immersion experience (like Wwoofing usually is).
From a community perspective a formal system like this can really churn through the Wwoofers and create a whole Wwoofer tribe in peak season (lots of energy for working bees), community members don’t have to provide accommodation to their Wwoofer for the day and you don’t need to retract your Wwoof entry if you go on holiday or just don’t have the energy for Wwoofers. This system means Wwoof hosts also may miss the interconnectedness of a real Wwoofer experience. However, some hosts have Wwoof entries of their own or poach idle Lodge Wwoofers in the night lured by the promise of a relief from Korean spicy cabbage pilfered from the Wwoof clan when one can’t be bothered to cook pasta.

This is getting a bit rambly sorry, this is for you Jay, I think The Wolery needs a Lodge.

In conclusion, Moora Moora was great. Lots of energy and strong connections to mainstream life (which is good for everyone, especially the mainstream). It seems that trade connections (market gardens and fair days) are important for keeping the lines of communications open and Moora Moora (similar to Crystal Waters) had the close local connection of the Healsville community which created a nice relationship of reciprocity.

Check out their official Website http://mooramoora.org

Commonground

Commonground is a community/venue which hosts guests guests, Wwoofers and visitors. At the time I visited there were six residents.


Produce from the organic vege patch is sold at local farmers markets.






Greywater from the house collects in this tipping trough. After collecting for a while the trough tips and is poured onto either the sheoaks or the orchard depending on what needs water.



The no dogs or cats rule once applied to commonground untill Nalu appeared out of nowhere and claimed the place as hers!
A happy Chelsea in the kitchen! After you wash the dishes you stack them no drying required! Designed to recline!