The March Hare: Fall 2007 Issue 54

Cover Page • Gaining Perspective • Liat Silverman's Bio • Status Report • Nature Corner • A Poem • Hopper's Index

Near Future Horizon — Status Report

by Ted Sterling

Well, we've made it through our first decade on the land. We've accomplished a great deal, and firmly rooted Dancing Rabbit in the realm of thriving communities. DR, Inc., our nonprofit, has arguably succeeded in the first stages of fostering the birth of a village, helping it even in its fledgling years to act as a demonstration project, a resource for anyone interested in living more lightly on the earth.

But what about the village itself, those of us who live here? Reusing lumber and sharing vehicles may be new ideas to many of the people who hear about us for the first time, but once you've lived here for a year or two, these are just some of the many ways you've agreed along with everyone else to act, and you cease to focus on them. What then come into focus are the comforts and pleasures of life, along with daily necessities, and the means of providing them for yourself.

Up to this point we've put the majority of our energies into basic infrastructure—homes, kitchens, a community building, cisterns, power systems, and so on. Now that some of that is established, we want more—not a big box store or a chain restaurant or a movie theater, but a yoga and meditation studio, a cooperative brewpub, art space, a sauna, treehouses, a proper library, and some ziplines (my own dream), among other luxuries. How many of these will the next decade bring? All or most of them, I hope—but meanwhile, what follows are my predictions for the next few years:

• We'll have our first storefront at DR within the next year. Milkweed Mercantile is already under construction, and is projected to include everything from a bed and breakfast to a café, bookstore, commercial kitchen and gift shop. Products grown and made at DR will be featured. DR folk will soon be able to offer a place to stay in the village for friends and family who aren't quite up for roughing it in tent and outhouse.

• I've high hopes that the coming year or two will see the first multi-dwelling structure at DR. Skyhouse has multiple rooms for its subcommunity, and the grain bin apartments share one basic structure, but I hope to see something that includes multiple apartments sharing common space, utilities, and facilities, and that it will be built to include rental space for new residents and members.

• We'll see our first non-residential, purpose-built structures. I don't know which of the above-mentioned yoga/meditation studio, cooperative brewpup, art facility, library or school house will be first to find a home at DR, but all of these are frequently yearned for in conversation here, and each would offer a significant quality-of-life improvement for lots of Rabbits.

• Regular production of biodiesel from wasteveggie oil, sufficient to meet the needs of the DRVC, will come on line, and we'll have a pilot biogas plant up and running.

• Some individual or group will begin growing more beans, grains, and other staple foods for DR consumers.

• Livestock of the four-legged variety will be seen and heard within 3-5 years. I hope to see chickens or ducks by the end of 2008, but the voices clamoring for a small collection of poison-ivy-eating, milk-and-fiber-producing creatures like goats is growing steadily. This will likely entail the first barn-like structure, the rise of hay making, and will require us to work out grazing practices and fees.

• Within five years, we'll have an on-site business or industry that can provide income for a variable number of people with minimal training, thus stabilizing individual finances, facilitating the arrival of new residents and members, and further fueling DR's internal economy. Candidates include: sustainable building education, design, and construction; deconstruction and resale of reclaimed lumber and other building materials; alternative power system installation and maintenance; soyfoods production; and production of dried, canned and fermented foods.

• By 2010, we'll have at least one treehouse, one zipline, and one sauna on the land.

Are you inspired by any of these ideas? Come join us and help turn dreams into reality! Don't see your personal interest represented here? Then move to DR and make sure you (and we) don't miss out on it! These are exciting times at Dancing Rabbit, and our collective potential is limited only by the personnel, time, energy, creativity, and capital (labor, money, and otherwise) required to diversify and increase our efforts. We'll keep you updated on news of new developments, and look forward to seeing you…

Brian and Liberty welcome you…

Cover Page • Gaining Perspective • Liat Silverman's Bio • Status Report • Nature Corner • A Poem • Hopper's Index

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