“Hey, MemDem*! Look what we’re doing! We’re prancing on our tippy toes!”
Those now-famous words were exclaimed by the glorious Miss Rae as she bounced around the Great Room with a whole lotta Rabbit folk from ages short to tall.
Hi all! Katherine here, writing from an impromptu dance party in the common house at Dancing Rabbit. A techno version of the 80’s classic “Tainted Love” blasts from our one speaker as feet pound and people SWEAT! It is hot in Missouri this week, which would be a bit confusing for the start of September except for the fact that this whole season has been rainy, cool, and now hot. Go figure and leave it to the Rabbits to pick a super hot night to dance our tails off.
You know it, you love it, now playing: “Dancing Queen” by Abba, circa 1976. We’ve got kids and visitors and fans and ice cubes at this dance party and it don’t get no better than this! Yes, we live on 10% of the resources of most folks, yet our frivolity certainly shows no sign of lack.
In fact, did y’all know that we also have a queen? The Queen of Clean graced us with her royal presence this weekend to address her loyal minions and inspire the second of two yearly Land Cleans. The spring and fall bring about visitors and tour groups of people who want to see what is actually going on at our little village in Northeast Missouri, because they have heard the rumors from the internet and their neighbors. We more than welcome folks to come check us out and see our awesome houses, cooperative kitchens, and natural landscaping (weeds?!).
We get a lot of comments regarding the high grown weeds interspersed throughout our village and questioned as to why we don’t cut them down. Why would we? These beautiful flowers: ironweed, bergamot, and brown-eyed Susan, just to name a few, are a natural part of our prairie and encourage pollinators that we all need to make the world go ’round. This is one aspect of our village living with the land, not just on it. During this Land Clean we managed to deconstruct a rotted-wood structure, organize the bike shed, and tidy up the garden beds around town, all without mowing down our beloved native flora.
Would you like to come see our weeds for yourself? You are cordially invited to Dancing Rabbit’s Open House next Saturday, September 12th from 1-4 pm. We will have a petting zoo, farmer’s market, and tours all around town to let you get a glimpse of our lives.
Fresh treats are being made by our local co-ed scout troop, the Prairie Phoenix #373 (ages 6-10), and cold drinks will be available at the Milkweed Mercantile. Want to wash your hands after petting the goats? Try some homemade soap created by friend and neighbor Kim K. of Artemisia Soaps & Herbals.
Next up in our musical journey, James Brown, “Get Up Offa That Thing” (also 1976). As the lyrics go, “get up offa that thing and dance ’til you feel better”! I know more than a few Rabbits that this saying goes for…
Laird and Illly got up offa their things this week to attend the Communities Conference at Twin Oaks in Louisa, Virginia. This totally rad gathering of communal minds meets annually to discuss cooperation, sustainability, and equality, amid the beautiful trees and calming foliage of the 48 year old community.
This sharing of culture and knowledge keeps communities connected all over the world and maintains our support of one another through a network of awesome folks. The Fellowship for Intentional Community (FIC) is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting cooperative culture and has a directory to find these communities around the globe. Check it out! You may be surprised to find that your very own neighbors are… communitarians!
Speaking of sharing with neighbors, Skyhouse Kitchen has been the epitome of community this week with… apples! They helped out some neighbors in nearby Memphis by picking their trees for them and sharing the fruits of their labor. The canning has commenced with such goodies as applesauce, pie filling, juice, and chutney. What pulp didn’t make it into a can, did make it into fresh baked bread and in turn, into tummies. Yum!
If you find yourself anywhere in the vicinity of Skyhouse, be prepared to take home an armful of apples for your own devices (mine are going into the solar dehydrator) or perhaps be willing to drop some of the brown ones off with the goats and chickens. Apples for all!
This party just reached “tornado storm” proportions with the epic song from Journey, “Don’t Stop Believin'” (’81). I don’t believe that I have ever seen so many air guitars in one room. And who says we don’t have talent?! No one, that’s who.
Ma’ikwe (DR Inc.’s Executive Director) also left this week to share her oratory talent with colleges and groups across the US, during her 2015 National Speaking Tour. In between train rides from California and Washington to Florida and Maine, Ma’ikwe is giving workshops at colleges and beyond to really walk the talk: “Sustainable is Possible: Creating Low Carbon, High Quality Lives… Together.” This spring she touched hundreds of lives with a similar tour and it is very exciting to know that it is happening once again!
Outreach and education is a large part of our mission at Dancing Rabbit and for me, an incredibly valuable aspect of this life. One way that we fulfill this goal is by inviting students and classes to our village for various learning opportunities. One such opportunity ended this week after 8 days in our midst. The Permaculture Design Course was led by Bill Wilson of Midwest Permaculture and consisted of a “deep understanding of the brilliance of permaculture design & thinking”.
They were an absolutely swell group of 15 or so folks that traveled to NEMO for the course, with a few of our very own Rabbits thrown in for good measure. I am happy to say as an average Rabbit looking in on the situation, things seemed to go extremely well. Thank you Bill, Sharon, and all of the DR staff that helped make this connection happen. And thank you Rabbits for opening your lives to these occasions! (Insert Smiley Face here.)
Last song! Queen, “Don’t Stop Me Now” (1978)! I don’t know what y’all think about all this but from my perspective, there definitely seems to be no stopping these Dancing Rabbits. Until next time, party on, folks!
* “MemDem” is the nickname for the Memphis Democrat, the local paper that our weekly updates have been appearing in for years.
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Missed the Twin Oaks Communities Conference? Here’s another chance! The West Coast Communities Conference is happening Oct 9-11 in Mendocino County, CA. Whether you’re brand spanking new to intentional communities or have been living in them for years, join other community explorers in the splendor of nature for a weekend of skill-building, networking, and celebration that promises to inspire and educate!
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Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage is an intentional community and nonprofit outside Rutledge, in northeast Missouri, focused on demonstrating sustainable living possibilities. Find out more about us by visiting our website, reading our blog, or emailing us.