0:06

Hello and welcome back to the Inside Community Podcast.

I’m your host, Rebecca Mezritz.

Well, friends, it has been a hot minute since we’ve put a podcast out and I’m happy to announce that I gave birth to a beautiful, healthy baby girl back in March and have largely been in Mama mode with her and my older daughter ever since.

0:28

I’ve also been working on putting together some really special events here in Southern Oregon, as well as finding renewed purpose in the community project that we came here to build.

With all the fullness of life and having a baby, I’ve decided to put the podcast on hold for a little while.

0:45

It has been such an honor to create this incredible resource and get to interview all of the brilliant folks who have come onto this show.

I really believe that the gifts of this podcast are for more than folks interested in building community, but are for anyone committed to collaborative culture and finding better ways to live harmoniously with people and planet.

1:06

So thank you so much for being along for this ride and this discovery with me.

This show has been sponsored from the beginning by the Foundation for Intentional Community, and as we enter the season of Sharing Our abundance, I hope you will visit ic.org/podcast and include them in your generosity so they may continue to offer incredible resources for the community, curious and lifelong communitarians alike.

1:33

All that said, I’m so pleased to be able to release 2 bonus episodes of the Inside Community Podcast.

I’ve got one for you today, and I’ll have another one next month.

Today’s episode was recorded this summer at the Emerald Village in North County San Diego at their Full Bloom Festival.

1:51

I had the honor of getting to sit down with the EVO kids and interviewing them about their experience being raised in community ranging in age from 5 to 24.

The perspectives of these young people were touching and heartwarming and funny, and it was a conversation that was honestly one of my favorite of the weekend.

2:11

As we enter a time of the year full of magic and wonder, I hope that the perspectives and the views of Jacob, Serena, Isaiah, Emmanuel, Zoe and Raywin will warm your hearts the way that they did ours.

Welcome everyone to the Inside Community podcast.

2:34

I’m your host, Rebecca Mezritz, and I am so excited to be here today at the Emerald Village in North County San Diego at the full Bloom festival, full Bloom family gathering.

And it just felt like a really first of all, for me to come back here as a, as a beautiful homecoming to be with my family again and get to hang out with all the kiddos and, and lots of faces that I haven’t seen in a while.

3:01

But the beautiful, one of the beautiful things about what they’re doing at this event is creating this future Founders Academy.

And I’m speaking to you right now from the future Founders stage.

And I get to think about, well, what are the things that people who might want to build community, what are they going to want to know about?

3:19

And I think about who are the people that often are most curious about community?

And a lot of times it’s young families because they’re looking around at the world that they’re living in and realizing that the single family home is not a sustainable model.

And we’re so disconnected from our families of origin oftentimes.

3:38

And even if we have a vibrant church community or a vibrant neighborhood that we live in, sometimes it still feels like there’s something missing.

And it’s, it’s such an incredibly beautiful way to raise children.

And so I really wanted to come and we’ve talked in on the podcast before about raising kids and community.

3:55

But now that we’re here at EVO with all of my my kiddos here, I wanted to ask them about their experience of being raised in community and what that was like for them.

So that you could have an insider perspective as you envision yourself and community and raising your family and community or as a kiddo yourself if you have questions or thoughts about what it would be like to live in community.

4:20

So I’m very, very excited to, to be here today.

I would love to just pass the mic down and maybe each of you guys could say your name and, and how old you are so people can have a sense of, of who who our esteemed panel is today.

4:36

I’m Serena and I’m 17 years old.

I’m Emmanuel and I am 12.

Jacob, I’m 24.

Isaiah, I’m 14.

My name is Raywin and I’m 5.

OK, so most of these kids were either born or Raywin was was born when she was here and then Manny was born here as well, Emmanuel born here as well.

5:05

And I say you weren’t born here.

You were born right before you, right before you got here.

But these kids have functionally spent their whole life here at the Emerald Village.

And Jacob was here part time.

He has his his parents are divorced.

5:21

So he had a an outside of community and an inside of community experience.

So I think it’ll be really great to just hear all of the different perspectives and the different vantage points.

So let’s get started.

The first thing I wanted to ask you guys about was what are your first memories of living in community like the first, the first thing when you scan back of like, Oh yeah, this is this is what community is like.

5:47

Does anything jump out at you?

I think the first thing I remember about community is the land itself.

You know, walking around that this community is a group of people, but it is also a place.

And that definitely left a strong impression on me as a kid.

I also remember the adults were all in meetings all the time, like late night and I thought they were so cool and I wanted to like be in the meetings and they’re like Jacob, you don’t need to be in them.

6:11

This isn’t it’s fine.

I’m like, please.

So that’s my one of my early memories in community.

One of my first memories that I can recall is US like there’s a there’s a small like Creek here and it was us like when the first time when it like fully like like got like full of water away.

6:34

We were like playing in like the sand and it was like rafting down.

It was really fun.

That’s one of my first memories.

Oh yeah, rafting on that the the kayaks or whatever in the the Creek.

My first memory may have been getting stung by a bee for the first time on the front lawn.

6:53

Possibly.

I can’t think of anything else before that, but I don’t know.

It’ll come back to me.

I think my first memory of community was actually when we first were like exploring this place and we were walking by the Creek when the Creek was full and it was running a lot more than it is now and there was all the Moss and the there was 2 ducks I believe and it was really nice.

7:20

I love that how like place based a lot of your memories are.

I’m wondering if there’s any moments that where like the energy of being in community and, you know, jump out at you as well.

Like how peaceful it is.

7:37

Like if you just like, hear like the birds chirping on like a Friday evening, Like, it’s just like, like peaceful and nice.

I think like, that’s like in certain times it’s also like really hectic though.

I’m like, we’re like doing stuff.

7:56

I feel like the sense of community obviously is really big.

Just thinking about like everybody coming together for holidays and just community meals.

There’s always a sense of unity and everybody’s doing this together, always, basically.

8:17

Jacob, you might be a good one to start this one off.

Just thinking about how, how is this, this life, this lifestyle, you know, how does it feel different then what you what you imagine it would be like?

Obviously you haven’t lived for the rest of you haven’t, you’ve only really lived in community for the most part.

8:38

But how do you imagine that this is different from from the rest of the world?

That’s a great question.

I think I think one of the best advantages of living in community is being raised by people who aren’t your parents as well, people who are invested in you and have a totally different perspective.

8:56

I mean, I was young so I didn’t, I didn’t have any expectations about what community was.

But I think one of the biggest advantages that most people may not think about is, yeah, all the extra parental figures and their different perspectives.

I mean, obviously it’s a like minded community, but being raised by people who are all ultimately individuals can can make the kids much more well-rounded I would say, and able to see things in different ways and be supported in different directions and things like that.

9:25

I I agree with Jacob and but I’d say that like how it’s the the most like different you probably get from like a different like a single home family is that you get very strong relationships with your neighbors.

9:47

So like, if, if you’re living in like of like just like or your average neighborhood, sometimes you might not like know your next door neighbors or like at all.

And you might not even like, you don’t know you’re you’re the people who are across the street.

10:05

But as when you live in a community, you constantly see them like every hour of every day and like just get to know them really well.

I feel like if I didn’t live in community, I’d be very bored because here I have all my friends and my family and I’m able to hang out with all my friends whenever I want.

10:26

And if I lived in a single home, some two-story apt, I feel like I’d be very bored.

There’s also very practical advantage of living in community.

You know, five families don’t need 5 lawn mowers.

You know, if someone doesn’t have milk, if the water is out.

10:42

There’s a level of a support network that I think is really amazing and it’s obvious, but when you’re living in it, you feel it a lot and you feel really supported in that way, I would say.

Also, you don’t need as many babysitters because you could just go to your other family and they’ll babysit you for free.

11:03

Pretty, pretty great, I’m pretty sure.

Well, you know, that makes me think, you know, just about, about the, the neighborhood vibe and having all your friends here.

11:19

And yeah, what I’m curious to know from from your perspective, what some of the just like the highlights, you know, what it I think about the kid zone and you know, some things like that that we’ve tried to create for you guys over the years to make your experience feel awesomer.

11:40

You know, because a lot of the reason that we do this is, is for you.

And I’m kind of curious to know like, what of that actually landed as like, yeah, our families made this awesome thing for us, you know, did we did we get anything right?

No, just like, did it did anything, did it, did it, did it feel good?

11:58

Like what?

What parts felt good?

Holidays.

OK, tell me why.

Like you guys could just like get like a like a bacon like when we got that trampoline, like that was like for everyone.

We were so excited.

12:13

I think it’s for Christmas, right?

And like you could like get like big gifts that you probably couldn’t get like, but like when you guys come come together and like really like want to do something, you can do it just like, and it’s, it’s just like a really great communal experience during like holidays because you’re just like all like drinking hot chocolate together and it’s just fun.

12:39

Yeah, I was going to say Christmas also.

We do Easter together and other holidays, but Christmas is the best one because we get to all be together all day and also all the events preceding it.

And it’s just so much fun here because you get to deal with everybody, not just your family.

12:59

Yeah, I would say, you know, there’s a lot of big moments, big celebrations, large gap rings and peak experiences that you can point to.

But the other thing is just the day to dayness of it.

I mean, you’re, you’re sharing your life with people you love and who love you and walking over for breakfast or having a laugh at someone else or whatever is a really beautiful thing.

13:19

Just spending time in the land, all those small moments come together and I think make you really feel like you’re a part of something.

I also really enjoy holidays just because everybody comes together for a certain thing and we’re all enjoying the same time together.

13:39

It’s also like when we have meals together where a group like the community will come together to have a meal that somebody has made and then I’ll go off back to their lives.

13:55

I’m going to just breakdown this common misconception because all my friends, when I try to explain like what a community is, they’re like, Oh yeah, you guys just like live in the same house.

No, we do not live in the same house.

Like I went whenever I describe a community to someone, like one of the top three things they say or ask is just like, oh, yeah, you guys all live in the same house, right?

14:17

We do not live in the same house.

We all have our own houses, but we come together a lot and just hang out at other people’s houses a lot too.

Talking about Christmas, I’m just thinking like, you know, Serena, you’re Jewish and you’re talking about Christmas being one of your favorite moments and, and thinking about all of the times that we’ve celebrated different holidays from our different religious backgrounds because we have enjoyed some of those moments.

14:46

Do you feel like that’s been a good experience for you to do you remember, you know, doing a Shabbat or or Passover?

Do any of those kind of stick?

Do they feel like they land?

Yeah, I remember we did a Hanukkah party one year and that was really fun.

15:03

We’ve also hosted Passover.

And I think it’s good to like spread the awareness and show that like, just because you’re not this kind of religion doesn’t mean you can’t appreciate it or celebrate it with the people who do are part of that religion.

Because really, it’s just a time to come together and show people your values so that they can appreciate them too and understand you better.

15:28

Yeah, I I agree with Serena.

Like I’m a Christian.

They’re both Jewish and I don’t know what you are question mark, but it’s really good.

15:45

So like ’cause if you’re in like a, a neighborhood or a home, you might not have get to experience different religions like like you would in a community.

Like some communities that I, I’m, I like know a couple that only support like like like one religion.

16:06

Like you have to be 1 religion to join.

That’s not the that’s not necessarily this one.

Like it’s not even close.

Like we have multiple different religious ties, I guess, and and all the families have like different values and it’s really like opening to like experience all the different ways of life that people experience have.

16:36

I feel like I’m a much more well-rounded person because of it, because I’m not just, I don’t have, I don’t know, just one thing.

I know many things which makes me be able to see life in my own way rather than just being like stuck to what my parents think or what my.

16:53

Family thinks I may not.

I may not be devoted to like a certain religion, but since I live here, I’ve been able to enjoy the culture and the experiences of other people who are devoted to certain religions.

17:13

I love that.

I also think about, you know, you were talking about having all these the parents hold, you know, holding you and having the opportunity to be sort of raised around other people.

And I’m wondering what you think about safety in community like both your physical safety, but also just like the safety of of having, you know, a lot of different adults around.

17:40

And I don’t know that all kids necessarily feel comfortable with a lot of adults and you guys all seem very comfortable.

So I’m curious about about that.

Yeah, I mean, I think that’s a great question.

There’s a lot of different ways you could look at safety on a big land like this.

17:58

If kids are, you know, there’s a, there’s a level of physical safety that’s important.

There’s a lot of people always around to supervise and things like that.

But there’s also a little bit as a kid, that was, it felt like a bit of like we were kind of in the woods or in the wild.

So that that was pretty exciting.

18:15

But then, yeah, the emotional safety of this is a curated community.

You know, we choose who comes here.

And I, I’ve felt safe emotionally around most of the people who spend their time here, spend their life here.

And I think it makes, going back to what I was saying earlier, you know, if there’s some issue, I could go to my parents or I could go to someone else and I’d be safe to talk with them about it.

18:37

Things like that really help you get your emotional needs met as you’re developing.

A lot of times, especially as a teenager, you don’t really want to go talk to your parents about certain issues.

But having like other adults that you feel safe around and know very well, but also know that they’re not your parents, it can help be able to process your emotions or what’s happening with your life because you know that there’s always somebody to talk to, even if it’s not your parents.

19:10

And for like the physical safety aspect, I mean, I don’t know if you know, but like basically all the doors are always open at all the houses.

You just walk in.

And it’s just feels like there’s no real danger because everything just feels safe because there’s no like, oh, don’t come in my house because I don’t want people coming in.

19:31

Like it’s always an open space and you’re always welcome and invited, which makes it feel a lot more just just safe in general.

So, you know, what can you hold on to it for a second?

Because I want to ask you a little bit more about, excuse me, I’ve got your frog in my throat.

19:51

I wanted to ask you a little bit more about about the safety aspect and like that feeling that you have from the other adults.

And what, what do you think it is that’s created that sense of yeah, that you could go and and talk to Mama Leila when you’re having a problem or, or Mamba for something different.

20:11

You know I.

Think just the fact that I’m, I’ve grown up with those people my whole life.

I just know them so well that I know if I go to Mama Leila, for example, that I know that she’ll listen to me and be there for me.

20:26

Well, no matter what because I mean, I’ve known her since I was a child.

So we just have like a bond that has been cultivated for like many, many years.

So we’re just close and it’s easy to talk to, but to anybody really.

20:43

Imagine your grandparents, like do you feel safe around your grandparents?

Like that’s kind of how it is.

Like, you know them, these people, you can like talk to them, They’ll like, like they’ll like give you snacks sometimes.

And it’s just like they’re you’re really, you’re really close with everyone.

21:05

That’s beautiful.

I love hearing.

I love hearing all that.

Well, I want to kind of talk to you about, you know, it’s not all sunshine roses.

There’s definitely, I think for the adults, we’re all very keenly aware of the places and the times when we’re like, no, not feeling it today.

21:27

And I’m just curious about for you from your perspective, you know, what are what are the hard parts about living in community?

And if you wanted to talk a little bit about the times, maybe there you have examples of times where you’ve thought that you didn’t want to live in community or that this, you know, I’m out of here, you want to pack your bags.

21:48

Yeah, I, I recently moved out.

It’s a temporary measure, but being in community to do it properly is a big, requires a big investment of time, effort, energy, love.

It’s the kind of thing that to do it right, you need to show up, you need to participate, you need to be have that energy to give to others and to be a part of the greater thing.

22:09

And I think if you don’t have excess, if you don’t have a lot of energy or social battery or mental stability, then it’s going to be really, really taxing.

I think the other challenge is you’re living with many people.

It’s like any relationship when things are going well, you feel it.

22:27

And so if there’s tension in the village, this is something that we all breathe in and breathe out and it affects us.

So you’re connecting yourself with other people and the love moments are amazing.

And during the difficult times, it’s difficult.

And if you didn’t know these people, you know you’d just be doing your own thing.

22:43

So it’s the double sidedness of all of that connection I would say.

As a child, it’s great.

Honestly, there’s like not much to complain about.

But you can also feel like my parents, they put out, they put out a lot for this community.

And so sometimes, you know, when it gets hard and they’re putting a lot of work, you can feel their energy because they’re just, they put so much to the community.

23:10

And then sometimes, you know, it comes back home and there’s work at home a lot.

You also get to learn like skills that you might not as when you’re not with other people, like, like the ability to easily forgive someone ’cause you’ll argue a lot.

23:30

Like you’ll, you’ll, you’ll argue with your neighbors when you’re with them 24/7.

And you, you learn the ability to forgive ’cause like it ain’t change.

I mean, the door is open to always leave if you’re an adult, I guess ’cause you can’t really just walk away when you’re a kid.

23:50

But you get to like get the learn the ability to forgive way easier than you would we living a normal life I guess.

I feel like the con of living in community is probably not having as much personal space as I would if I lived in a small house.

24:14

But it’s it’s overrun with the good parts of community because even if I am getting woken up early by one of my friends coming up into my room, it’s still good because I’ll still get to hang out with them.

Even though I may not have my space.

24:32

It’s a lot better to be in community so I can have experiences with lots of new people.

Your stuff is not your stuff.

I mean, you have to have boundaries, but yeah, things become communal sometimes for the best.

Sometimes you’re like damn it that was my favorite mug.

24:49

So do you have any advice for, I mean, I’m just thinking about your perception of, of the hard times, particularly I think what I’m hearing you say, and correct me if I’m wrong, is that the harder times for you guys?

Oh, good.

Zoe’s here.

25:07

Yay.

We we’re just joined here.

Zoe, why don’t you introduce yourself, say your name and how old you are?

Hi, I’m Zoe and I’m nine.

OK, good.

Now Zoe’s here.

So we were just talking about some of the hard parts about living in community.

And what I was hearing from from the other kiddos was to me it sounded like the harder times were more when your parents are stressed out.

25:30

It wasn’t really that you were feeling personally negatively effective, other than maybe like a lack of personal space.

And you do definitely notice tensions and conflicts when they do inevitably arise.

So, so do you have like from your perspective, some advice for the adults around around that?

25:51

Like what have you guys seen where you’re like, Oh my gosh, if you guys would just do this, it would be so much easier.

You should definitely like people if you want to join a community.

It’s OK to be an introvert, but people come here and they don’t like people and it does not work at all.

You need to be, yeah, have a good amount of energy, be mentally stable and healthy and like to be around people a lot.

26:11

And there’s nothing wrong with not liking to be around people.

But I just think if if you are like that, you probably shouldn’t live in a community.

You should definitely want, yeah, be very open in terms of having people in your field.

I’m not actually totally sure what they should do better, because they’re already doing it pretty good.

26:29

Oh yeah.

I mean, this place is great.

Actually, there isn’t necessarily a but and actually they’re really they’re not isn’t really an and it’s all just pretty great.

26:53

Awesome.

That’s good to hear because you’re doing a great job.

I’ve got 1.

I know that taking to run a community takes a lot of work, but breaks are necessary.

27:09

Chill.

Chill yourself out sometimes ’cause it’s OK, it’ll be OK.

Well, this too shall pass, as my dad likes to say.

You you need vacations, it like it, I guess.

I mean, you, it’s kind of like work where eventually you, you’re going to need a break cause I’m going on that weekend trick trip down the coast might be good for you if you’re a little bit stressed out and you need just like, it’s like you, you, you need a little, at least a little bit of time to break.

27:44

Most of it about my parents.

Maybe you guys were your kinds of parents.

Maybe ask a bit less questions and a bit slower.

OK.

Because don’t you know how you always like, like, I like, you do this and then right after that you say you do this again, then you do.

28:10

This Oh, OK, so speak more slowly, maybe listen a little bit more shit.

OK, I can.

I think I can hear that.

For the grown.

Ups stay playful.

28:42

Hey, this is Daniel Greenberg, Co director of the Foundation for Intentional Community, and I want to ask you a question.

What is your most hopeful vision for the future?

I know it’s hard to be positive given the state of the world, but even deeper than climate change and other catastrophes lies a crisis of meaning, the colossal failure of our collective imagination.

29:07

You know, most people today find it easier to imagine the end of civilization than the end of capitalism or war.

But our economic, social and political systems are just stories.

We can change that we must change if we are to survive and hopefully thrive in the coming decades.

29:27

So where are the new storytellers?

Where are people imagining what we might become?

You can see where I’m heading with this, right?

Intentional communities are not only envisioning more hopeful futures, they are creating physical, social, cultural, and economic models for how we can live well and lightly together.

29:50

This is why we’re so passionate about our work at the FIC.

It takes community to manifest a future we’ve barely begun to imagine.

It also takes community to build a foundation.

The foundation for intentional community needs your support so we can help you and others turn dreams into reality.

30:14

So please join us at ic.org, become a member, participate in our virtual conversations, learn from expert instructors and consultants, and visit ic.org/donate and contribute what you can today.

Thanks.

30:42

So when you guys imagine yourselves older, you know, even even you Jacob, you know, older than Jacob, do you think, do you think you’re going to live in community?

And and when do you see yourself wanting to live in community?

31:00

Nah.

No.

But if I do, I’d say probably, I mean, like, I, I would want to go back here ’cause this is like, yes, my, my home.

And it’s always, I guess going to be like wherever I go, what, whatever I do, I know that I’m always going to have a place here.

31:19

I guess if, if that, if that makes sense.

I know, I know, but it’s like I if the options always open, you know?

31:37

This, in my opinion, this is the best way to raise kids, is in community, in a group, and so it is most definitely what I would like to do.

Right now I’m at a life phase where I’m focusing on myself as an individual, but once I’m ready to have a family in a greater unit, I would want nothing but being in a collective like this.

31:57

I think watching my parents raise me here shows me that I do want to raise my kids and community in some way.

But also this seems like a lot of work and I don’t think I’m.

I think I might be a little bit too lazy for this.

So I think maybe I would just like to, yeah, have like a community in a different way because obviously I do not want to raise my kids not in community, but maybe not exactly like this.

32:25

So maybe I’d live in a neighborhood with other families that I’m close to, but not as close as this.

Still close.

I want to hear more about that.

Tell me.

Tell me what you imagined it looking like.

You know, just like a few families that are really close together, neighbors like me and my best friend have always talked about having houses right next to each other, having our kids and then just, you know, going to each other’s houses.

32:51

But still having a little bit of a single family style in a way where if you want, it’s not fully like all the meetings and all the events and the community spaces and the land and all that.

33:06

If I were to move into the neighborhood, I would want to know my my neighbors pretty well.

I’d probably like like I I want to get get to know them pretty good.

I know there’s going to be a point in my life where I’m going to want to go off and explore the world and alone, maybe find a nice little small house where I’ll tuck her down for a little while.

33:30

And then later on in life, I will definitely want to come back to community and start a family.

The other thing is, is there are many ways to participate in community and be a part of the community without living here.

33:45

I think that works for some people, but there are plenty of people, some in this room who are part of the greater community, who are part of what we do without living here.

So there are plenty of hybrid models.

So it’s just good to stay, you know, there’s different levels of involvement that you can participate in community, so.

34:04

Do you want to live in community when you get older?

I think.

A bit I am natural.

Zoe.

Yeah, probably when I have kids.

34:23

It’s a really good environment, I think for raising young people, especially because I got raised here, it was pretty cool.

So why do you think, I mean, why do you think people who don’t have kids want to be here?

34:41

I want to come to this because we have a lot of other, you know, single, young, yeah, cool, cool folks that come here and they’re not in the family.

They’re not in the family way yet.

Like what do you think the attraction is?

I think being a like a younger single person, it could get lonely sometimes.

35:01

And living here, you’re never lonely.

I mean, unless you make yourself lonely on purpose, seclude yourself.

But I think it’s because being, you know, living alone can, yeah, you need a community no matter what.

35:17

So seeking a community, especially when you’re like a single person, no kids, you know, this is a really good place to always have family, even if you’re not living with your family.

I feel like the the solo people that are here are really here so that they can connect with other kids.

35:36

Even though they don’t have kids of their own, they can still have the experience of growing up or raising kids.

In the experience of the land, you know, I mean, this is a collective pool of resources in a lot of ways.

35:52

And so you wouldn’t be able to live like this without the group.

And it’s nice to live in the group and to just be a part of it and take advantage of it and enjoy the space and things like that as well.

It’s also just like a, like, like a, just like a space, like a beautiful space that like you can like get to do things that you couldn’t do.

36:14

If like, it’s kind of similar to like the, the, the, the attraction of like traveling around the world, Like you want to do things that you probably couldn’t do when you’re doing what you were originally doing, if that makes any sense.

Like you get new opportunities with what you’re doing, I guess.

36:34

I also think some people come here to look to see if they would like to raise their kids here or raise a family here as a younger person to experience it before they have a family to know if that this is what they really want to do when they have their own family and kids.

36:53

Young people come here to be part of the greater community.

They’re like going off and doing their own things and they want to come back and be in the flow of community while still not needing to go hardcore, live here, raise kids, getting a feel for it while being in the flow.

37:20

I feel like the older but also younger people are here, living here at least I feel like they come here because like, it’s a nice place and people and like the way people want to see before they raise a family here.

37:46

How do you think it could be better like as, as from the kids perspective, you know, whether you mean here where Evo or even here where we are up, up in Oregon now.

I feel like it could be a bit better if there’s like.

38:05

I like it when there’s like a big humongous, huge, big, fantastic place that has a lot of people, a lot of fun things like having more of like and also in some places having a bit more chiller vibes.

38:35

So like half chill and half chill.

OK, so places to rest and places to play.

Does that sound accurate?

OK, Zoe, what about you?

I feel like when I lived here you never really needed to schedule a play date ever.

38:53

If you wanted to play with someone, just walk to their house and if they’re available playtime and I really like that.

I mean, I, I’m almost honest, I’m like, this is like top 5% of communities and like we’re doing it really well.

39:19

Props to the founders, I guess.

And like, I couldn’t add much if I tried really hard.

Like there is like a couple wrinkles in it where I guess it’s a little bit hectic at times where you’re just like like like Zoe said that you need just need like chill.

39:43

And I think that this is still like one of the best I guess.

I mean, how could it be better?

I think is a continuous conversation in community.

It’s why it’s, it’s a big part of the question that the government here is trying to solve.

40:02

The, the community government, the council, there are small things, there’s own specific things, there’s policy things.

But if I think once you have your vision, it’s just chipping away at that.

And so, yeah.

But again, something really specific, I couldn’t, I couldn’t speak to that.

40:20

But it’s what could we do better as an ongoing process and definitely something we we very much think about and live in.

I feel like one thing that could be a little bit better is if there was more land. 9 acres is great, but I mean 10 acres, 8.88.

40:47

I mean, if there was more land, I would have more areas to relax.

I wouldn’t be surrounded by people all the time.

I mean, it’s great that I am, but I would also like a little bit more quiet.

I’m kind of surprised.

41:03

I I love hearing that Like the the prevailing sentiment is like, yeah, we just want more chill vibes.

Like not more kids, not more play structures, not more like not a big trampoline park, but like just more places to relax.

Yeah.

41:22

Like 10 years ago, the parents told us that we would get a tree house.

Never have gotten a tree house.

We’ll never get over that.

That’s what can be better.

We got to a deck and that was about it.

So it’s a gym now, actually.

41:39

So Jim’s gone.

Never mind.

We’re waiting for you guys to get big enough to build your own tree house.

Yeah, I’ll be moved out by the time we get a tree.

House, Isaiah.

One thing I think you guys could do better is completely committing to something that you say you’re going to do like and finishing it.

41:58

For example, I thought the tea house was supposed to be done a year ago.

Oh, we’re getting the call out.

I don’t think that has happened yet.

We wanted a tree house.

That hasn’t happened yet.

You guys need to commit to what you say you’re going to do all.

42:18

Right.

And also make achievable goals within the time length that you set yourselves.

Make it possible, like have it out there where if you try hard enough it can be done.

I hope you guys are taking notes.

42:35

Just saying, just saying better time management, more like reasonable, achievable goals.

I don’t know.

I feel like part of the reason that we’re even here, not to be all like defensive, but we, we, we, we, you shoot for the moon and what is the how does it go?

42:58

And you end up in the stars.

I think you shoot for the stars and maybe you hit the moon, right?

You shoot for the stars and you hit the moon.

So we’re you know, we’re trying, we’re trying, but I like the idea of sort of allowing the and I mean, because you guys, when we first started talking about the treehouse dream, I remember you, we were, we were be it a retreat and you guys with your paper and your crayons like drawing what you thought this a really super amazing tree house could look like, but you weren’t really at an age that that you yourselves personally could actualize that.

43:33

And I feel like now you guys are at the age where you can swing a hammer.

I’ve seen you out there.

I mean, I props, seriously, props to these kiddos because I’ve seen them driving tractors.

I’m like, they’ve been driving tractors, they’ve been swinging hammers, they’ve been like picking.

43:53

I mean, even even Raywin, you know, five years old is out there like moving furniture and and building stages for this event.

I’m like, OK, you know, how can we like empower you guys more to all right, you guys want, want that tree house?

44:09

Let’s let’s see your let’s see your carpentry skills now.

Yeah, We may have done all those crayon drawings, but then there was like, there was like diagrams that we made online with different trees and things and different wood bars.

44:26

Why did that not happen?

We’re building it.

This summer, OK.

We are.

OK, by the time this airs, we’ll have to figure out when this podcast is going to air.

You guys check back in with the Emerald Village.

There’s accountability.

Accountability buddies.

We also raised $6000 I remember.

44:43

Raised $6000.

Oh.

You had like that chart Wait, we we have.

Did that happen?

Where’d it go?

Did that happen?

We got the check.

OK, all right, moving on, moving on from the tree house.

44:59

OK, so we’re we’re we’re coming to the end of our time and I’m I’m thinking about, you know, for other kids.

I don’t know how many kids are out there listening to my podcast right now, but what advice do you have for other kids either who are living in community or whose parents are like, hey, we’re thinking about moving into community?

45:21

Like, do you have some strategies that you feel like have helped you be able to do well here in the community reality?

Yeah, you’re not the main character of the community.

It’s not about you, it’s about everyone.

I mean, you, you have your moment and things like that.

45:37

But it also makes it a lot easier to not be self-conscious because there are eyes on you, but no one’s.

Everyone’s focusing on themself in the bigger picture.

So that’s good advice.

I would say it’s not your show.

You know, there’s a whole show happening.

I feel like if you’re not living in community and you’re just in a boring two-story house, I think you should convince your parents to get you into a community because then your life will be a lot more fun.

46:06

It’s very, it’s very like inclusive, I guess.

Like if there’s something going on, you’re most likely going to have to be there and you got to be ready to hang out with people.

The opposite of that is learn to take space because you are with people a lot.

46:28

And knowing that Oh yeah, I can go off to somewhere else and do my own thing is very important to being able to last a long time.

Because just like putting everything into this and not seeing anything else can burn you out sometimes.

46:44

And knowing to take a little break is not always a bad thing.

I am not sure it’s won’t passing it back to.

Zoe, I’m passing it back to you.

I’m passing it back to Zoe.

47:00

You have to talk.

OK, so any advice, Zoe, for other community kids or people that might live in community?

It’s super fun it you will probably enjoy yourself if you don’t and you want to find a way to do you.

47:26

Have any?

Do you have any advice for any shy kids?

It’s all right to take space, and if you need something, usually the community will be there for you.

All right, so you guys are so awesome.

47:44

Thank you so much.

I mean, really, really, really.

I Yeah, yeah, these kids are great.

Does anybody have any questions for our for our panel?

Yeah, Aniko, I’m really interested in learning, if you notice.

Any difference within you guys who grow up here and the other kids who were?

48:10

I think, I mean, I can’t speak for everybody here, but I think my mental health is probably better living here than it would be if I was living by myself because there’s always somebody to talk to.

And also just growing up with such a stable environment, you know, they, everybody sets good examples and you know that you’re safe here and it really helps with the mental health.

48:36

But also, I don’t know, I think my viewpoint in life is definitely different than it would be if I wasn’t living in community because, you know, you just see so much more than you would.

You see so many more people living different lives and it shows you the bigger picture, a little bit closer that makes.

49:02

Sense also in relationships, I’ve noticed I definitely have a good communication arsenal in terms of navigating conflict, talking about your feelings and what I heard you say was type tactics and things like that because it’s something that’s very taught and you’re submerged in.

49:24

I feel like what I’ve noticed is people who don’t live in community have a harder time communicating with new people.

Like for myself, speaking with people here and around the property and people that have come to visit, I’ve had a lot better experience talking to like those people and people in general then I feel like I would if I didn’t live in community.

49:52

It definitely teaches you social skills pretty good.

I think I have, even though I’m pretty shy and don’t like to talk to people that much all the time.

I’ve it teaches you that you have to sometimes talk to people and it made me a lot better at being able to socialize and be a more extroverted person.

50:16

You also like if someone here like you share skills, I guess someone could like you.

Someone can just like, hey, do you want to learn how to hire a cool knot like you can like people will just like give you skills that you might not get otherwise like you could if if that makes sense, I guess right, You just like get to have.

50:46

New.

Opportunities and skills.

Yeah, because your parents don’t know all the skills and stuff.

Like they have their specific skills, but having like 10 parents, they have a lot of different skills.

So if you want to learn anything, just go ask somebody and I’m sure they’ll know it so easy.

51:09

I think especially for me, it made me more able to give.

Like if you’re just living by yourself with your parents, you’re used to getting attend all the attention and everything kind of catering to you unless your parents work a lot or something.

51:33

But in community, I think it teaches you to give more.

Any other questions?

That was great, Aniko.

Thank you.

Yeah.

Thanks everyone for sharing.

It sounds like your emotional intelligence and like your basic life skills are like top notch and maybe above average for like the regular person who’s living not in community.

51:54

I’m curious like where what you guys aspire to after leaving here?

What’s like a professional ambition?

Do you guys see yourself like working in kind of the the matrix world of like being a lawyer or a doctor or do you see yourselves as artists or living in the land kind of thing?

Just curious where you’re where you’re at.

52:11

I’m a dancer, so my life goal is to be a dancer eventually.

But I also love children and living in a community has definitely actually taught me that because I mean, I’ve known these little kids since they were born.

So, you know, I grew up with children, so being a teacher or something with children always has been a dream of mine.

52:37

Yeah, Dance.

Dance teacher for sure.

I mean, I’m not quite sure.

I’m trying to focus more on the athletic like sort of like dancing, but mine’s more football and soccer focused.

52:55

But I’m just trying to get like, it’s, it’s, I don’t know how to like just yeah.

I’m not totally sure where I want to go in life, but I love food so I might want to be a like a chef or a cook.

53:15

And I know I don’t want to have to be following somebody else’s like hours.

I want to be doing my own hours and making my own foods.

Zookeeper.

Lobotomist.

No, definitely more of a returning back to the land artist, high empathy lifestyle.

53:35

Yeah.

I really don’t know yet, so much time between now and then, but I’ve always really liked art, so I was thinking of either being an artist or an architect or something.

53:51

But I feel like even if I do that, there’s always a place here and I will most definitely return.

Yeah, nobody.

Wants.

Nobody wants to be a podcaster.

Yeah, a good amount of people here have jobs.

54:06

People wonder, like does do people in this community have jobs?

And the answer is a lot of them do, actually.

You can be in community and have a job, but it’s not like a type of cult where everyone is working on the thing and living on the thing there, you know?

So I just want to for the audience out there.

54:24

I mean, you got to make money somehow.

So hopefully.

All right.

Well, gosh, Isaiah, Jacob, Emmanuel, Serena, Zoe Raywin, thank you so much for your time and for your wisdom.

54:40

It’s so incredible to hear each of you speak about your experience and, and just share a little bit with with everybody who’s so curious to know what it’s like to grow up in community.

I would, I usually offer people the opportunity to pitch their projects at this point, but I don’t know how many projects we have here, but Jacob’s Jacob has a project.

55:01

Why don’t you?

Why don’t you pitch it?

OK, so I make videos where I draw people and interview them for social media.

So my mission is to share art and share people’s stories.

So if you’re interested in checking that out, it’s called Portrait project on places where you find video online.

And I’ll be drawing people today if you would like 1.

55:19

Yeah.

With a zero it’s fine.

With a 0.

So thank you so much everyone and thank you to evo and and Full bloom.

It’s such a pleasure to be here.

And yeah, we’ll see you next time on the Inside Community podcast.

55:37

Thanks y’all.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this special bonus episode of the Inside Community Podcast.

If you would like to learn more about the Emerald Village AKA EVO and possibly attend one of their events, including the newly renamed June Bloom Festival coming again in June, check them out on Instagram at Emerald Village Oasis.

56:07

If you want to stay up to date with me during my break, I have a few different projects that you can follow on Instagram.

You can follow this podcast and reach out to me for consulting work at Inside Community Podcast.

You can follow my work with natural dyes and dyeing at Bound for Color.

56:26

And you can follow me and learn more about some of the events that I’m producing here in Southern Oregon, including a fabulous women’s event called Wild Hearth on my personal page at Rebecca Mezritz.

And I’m also on Facebook if you like to hang out there.

56:42

If you want to learn more about being a kid and community or any aspect of community, check out the Inside Community podcast sponsor.

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57:02

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57:25

You can learn more about FIC and access transcripts to this show at ic.org/podcast.

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All of our episodes are going to stay live online wherever you listen to podcasts, so if you’re missing us, you can always tune back in and tap into the wonderful wealth of knowledge that’s been shared on this show.

57:51

Thanks again for listening, and I look forward to seeing you next time on the Inside Community Podcast.

Who left the dishes in the shared kitchen sink?

Who helps out Johnny when he said too?

58:07

Much to drink.

How do we find a way for everyone to agree?

That’s inside community.

It’s a podcast y’all.