“I believe this is a first for Dancing Rabbit,” said Nathan, who was facilitating the meeting. “Let the voting begin!” It was my privilege to witness a momentous occasion in Dancing Rabbit history – the first official non-consensus voting process. The ecovillage has historically made its decisions through consensus, and although many decisions are now made in smaller committees, for important group decisions up to 70 people would discuss and have to come to agreement on a course of action. As the community grew, the process could get slow and clunky. Many people I spoke with felt that the the community had outgrown consensus for all-village decisions, and for the past few years Dancing Rabbit has been moving towards electing a Village Council of seven members. The vote I witnessed was to determine the top five slates of candidates for the first ever Village Council. After the voting closed and people took a break while the tabulation occurred, there was a quiet sense of cautious relief verging on jubilation. Some members embraced or kissed cheeks, releasing the pressure of the previous long meeting. After the results were announced and the meeting closed, all members, residents and observers circled up and got to move their bodies a little: together we stomped, clapped, and sent a big smacking air kiss across the room. It was ridiculous, and we all erupted in laughter, any remaining tension melting away.
This is Jess, writing a Guest Blog post. I’m here with my husband and almost-two-year-old for the month of June. I feel so grateful to have a long enough stay here to witness both the extraordinary and the mundane rhythms of village life. I’ve had the time to take early morning walks on the land, while my husband and toddler are still cuddled together asleep in our tent. I walked through the prairie, each seed head on each blade of grass shining and heavy with dew. In a forested strip I found a mushroom as large, lacy and meaty as a healthy head of cabbage (but unfortunately, I believe, poisonous). I got a little lost and found an old homestead, and on the way back noted the pattern of daisies sprinkled through the high prairie, clustered near the bee boxes.
We’ve gone for almost daily dips in the pond, and even participated in water sports. The first water polo game of the season was a few days ago, with teams including kids 8 years old to former varsity water polo players. Somehow the only ball that showed up was a tennis ball, so it was used; hilarity ensued.
As I write this, I hear the red wagon being pulled down the gravel road outside the shared Computer Room and I know that preschool is over. Once a week, the kids six and under (with some older kids as “helpers”) gather for three hours and have a blast. My toddler adores it, and can already recite the names of all the kids he plays with. This week they made three pieces of collective artwork on canvases (old boards) using various colors of mud, curls of bark, mulberry pigment, scraps of wire, daisies and other vegetation they picked on their walk to the pond. They’re now displayed as a Preschool art show in the courtyard.
What I’ve been most impressed with here at Dancing Rabbit is people’s ability to be open and friendly and honest in the midst of such an influx of volunteers, visitors, and program participants. Everyone works out their own balance of public and private, their own strategy for what to hold back and how to engage while living in community. I have so enjoyed having enough time here to watch my relationships change in small ways on a daily basis, and to get glimpses of what they might yield if I was able to put in a little more of that magic currency, time.
Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage is an intentional community of more than 70 people in Rutledge, northeast Missouri, practicing ecologically sustainable living. We offer a free tour to the public on the second and fourth Saturdays of the month from April-October, with July 6th being our next tour date. The tour begins at 1:00 pm and generally lasts one and a half to two hours. You do not need to make a reservation for regularly scheduled Saturday tours. For more information you can visit our website www.dancingrabbit.org, read our blog The March Hare at blog.dancingrabbit.org, or give us a call at(660) 883-5511.