The March Hare: Summer '01
Issue 29

Starting to look like a village * Help Us! * Earthen Floors * Coming to DR * The Adventures of Super-Muk * Letters to the March Hare * Eco to Go: Packaging

Come see our past issues for lots of Dancing Rabbit information.

Coming to DR

by Elizabeth Henry

My journey to Dancing Rabbit began four months ago when I left my home in Haines Junction, Yukon. After a three-month university stop in Ontario I headed for 1 Dancing Rabbit Lane, Rutledge Missouri. 3030.2 miles later, I stepped off the train and into DR's car and was welcomed by the familiar smell of greasy french fries. A few miles down the road it hit me--I was sitting in a car powered by biodiesel! Before I had a chance to calm my excited nerves, the biodiesel car pulled up to a small house and I got my first look at DR. After being welcomed by DR members and residents, I headed for the bathroom where I had my first encounter with a composting toilet. It was so exciting to be free from the wastes of flushable toilets. By the time I had figured out how to pile sawdust into the toilet, I was exhausted from the day of travel and decided to pack it in for the evening.

The new eco-experiences continued into the second day when I sat down to a bioregional, all-organic lunch. This lunch made me realize how much of my usual diet was being shipped halfway across the world. As I sat over a delicious bean dish, pondering my food habits, I realized I was having some trouble understanding the conversations around me. Everyone kept on using the word co which I later found out is a gender neutral pronoun that replaces he, she, his, or her in DR speech. After lunch my afternoon was busy as I put up my tent in a beautiful forested patch and took a walk out on the 280 acres of DR land.

By the end of the second day I began to realize that I was on a steep learning curve and that it would take me a couple of weeks to settle into the DR community. During this transition time I spent a lot of energy meeting the 20+ people living at DR. As well my body was quickly whipped into shape as I began tree planting and prairie restoration work for my land management internship. Luckily I also had enough energy left to try some organic gardening and strawbale construction work. One of the highlights was stomping clay and sand together to make plaster for the strawbale houses being built in DR's townsite.

Amazingly six weeks has past since I had my first biodiesel car ride, and I'm enjoying the DR routine of working hard during the day, eating meals in the outdoor kitchen with 25 other people, and participating in weekly meetings and social events. I find I have barely enough time to read because there's always a fun event or a dip in the pond calling me away from my book. By far my favorite events have been the after supper sing-alongs and the crazy upbeat dance parties.

Unfortunately I only have six more weeks left in my internship, but I'm looking forward to deepening the friendships I've begun and enjoying the daily company of 25 like-minded people. Living in an ecovillage has already taught me so much about eco-friendly lifestyles and living in community. I have no doubt the skills I learn at DR and the friendships I make will stay with me long after my internship is done.

---

To see another intern's description of Elizabeth "Mukluk" Henry's time at DR, see the comic on the next page by Emily.

Starting to look like a village * Help Us! * Earthen Floors * Coming to DR * The Adventures of Super-Muk * Letters to the March Hare * Eco to Go: Packaging