Intentional Community

The following piece is about my experience living on an intentional community – The Tofino Habitat Society. Many people have been here or know someone who has. Stories have been circulating on the internet, and they are not all glamorous. The name ‘Poole’s Land’ or ‘Symbiosis Ecovillage’ might reveal memories and opinions, making emotions resurface.

My truth is my own. I have had my own experiences here, with the relationships I have woven and the contributions I have made. All stories are important to tell because too often the most sensational stories will paint the whole picture. As often is the case, my story is more mixed than the viral ones.

I wandered into ‘Poole’s Land’ and ended up sticking around for longer than I expected, that is, until it evolved into the Tofino Habitat Society. I found that other people who have have lived and participated in this (flawed yet) promising project, have been drawn by their curiousity and hope:

– How can we live differently? Let’s be better.

– Let’s address the aching need for community and toss away all pretense of individualism.

– Let’s be mindful of our ecological footprint and honor Pacha Mama.

– Let’s heal the wounds of the heart and psyche.

– Let’s be excellent to each other.

– Let’s have fun (and share some cannabis?).

 

I cannot start without introducing where I came from:

I come from a place of love: a father who is involved in providing energy to humans, a mother who brings them good health and happiness & an artistic and utopian older sister. I was brought up on hikes and home-cooked meals, developing an deep love for food. When I got to ‘the Land’, I had recently ended 18 consecutive years of being a student. I had studied Agriculture and Environment at McGill University, focusing on food systems and the ecological impact that they have.

During those studies, I thoroughly understood the symptoms of the Earth as it is infested with an acute case of humans. Every square kilometre has been

         paced,

                              managed,

                                                      damaged,

 ‘improved’,

speculated upon,                            

fought over….

Certainly, what I learnt empowered me. Yet this knowledge also shattered me. Warm tears of anxiety would surface after a lecture on how severely our existence destroys the fragility of our climate, land and oceans. So, I chose to focus on agriculture – the interface between human life (and pleasure) and our environment. After graduating I did not feel so much more prepared to solve the imminent climate disruptions, soil erosion and water scarcity. Maybe just more overwhelmed.

How DO I fight the dragon?

So after graduation, I felt the need to spend time with my beloved grandmother and learn about her farm and woodlot in France. If there was one thing I could do, amidst all of this upcoming gloom and uncertainty, it would be to learn from her, to facilitate cultural transmission. I call her Mère Michelle. I spent many vacations on her property, where she fishes carps and pikes from freshwater ponds – a beautiful mixture of natural & anthropogenic features. She also tends to her Certified Sustainable woodlot and to flourishing flower beds. She knows all of the birds who visit her feeder and grows some interesting delicacies, like the physalis.

We were close, exchanging letters and an understanding that I was interested in taking over her hard work. Unfortunately, at the age of 84, which was a couple months before my graduation and our reunion, she got a serious brain stroke. She was ressuscitated into a vegetable state where she now remains, over 3 years later. As you can imagine, this broke my heart. I spent the winter on her farm, paying her regular visits at the hospital and catching up on the sleep missed during the demanding University years.

 

A serious break was in order. Amidst the complexities of managing human life on Earth, I had to rediscover the simple pleasures of life. My generation is expected to fix this complex system that we contribute to without ever having chosen it, without ever shaping it. (Except in minuscule ways with our purchases, our occasional votes or petitions). When facing what looks like a shaky, dire future full of unknowns, I seek a simple solution – and a philosophy for fulfilment. Surely, the answer to such a mess must be simple. Not a set of regulations, negociations and calculations.

 

I was drawn back to Canada, after being chilled by the aloof and haughty attitude of the Frenchies. I was to go West with a great fiery friend of mine and onto a tree-planting* job with two lovely souls. The repetitive action – shovel poking ground, inserting young tree and moving on to the next fertile spot, creating and ideal density was a good meditation. ‘It builds character ey!’. I witnessed first-hand the immensity of the clearcut destruction: hauntingly beautiful open skies and silence. British Columbia: Brazil of the North.

As spring moved on, the tree-planting season dried up. With some money in my pocket, I went floating and wandering. I had to see the vast ocean. So I hitchiked to Vancouver Island with a curly-haired islander.

 

I was drawn to Tofino by rumours of its breath-taking beauty.

Here, magestic old trees kiss the waves while eagles tease the otters,

and kelp poke their heads from the changing water.

I was invited over to ‘the Land’ by a young man who ended up being as angelic as his name, Gabriel. When he showed me around, I was not so naïve as to believe that by living in the forest, sharing meals and bonfires, the world would be fixed. It was comforting to be surrounded by lively, caring, people. Surely, simple living is the answer. Surely looking out for each other is another answer. Taking intitiative and responsibility for shaping the place you live in is important. Some people here understood that.

Obviously there were great set-backs to some of the idealism in us: Smoking too much weed. The owner of the property, being was knee-deep in the sales of ‘Earth Medecines’ aka psychedelics, was more devoted to his business than to the greater vision (or simply too incoherent). The wetness of Tofino (It is a rainforest after all!), combined with the lack of suitable housing, would often wipe off people clinging to their summer’s dream. However, the wild party reputation of the place, was are not so easily shaken off.

Despite all of this, I gained a lot from this experience. First, living with 20 to 100 people daily teaches you a lot about yourself and about pack dynamics. I got to be surrounded by wilderness and colorful folks. Of course there were Rainbows and Drainbows, but I blossomed there. I met my beloved partner there – but that is another story. It’s a long and beautiful story, because the two of us stuck together.

We came back to the Ecovillage-in-the-making, after further meanderings in the great land of Canada. M. Poole, it seemed, was getting tired and willing to slowly let go of the place, entrusting his daughter with its care, if she would like to undertake such an endeavour. The time was ripe. We helped clean it up, introduce some basic rules and hash-out the larger vision. We built composting toilets with the help of skilled and dedicated members of the Land. We set up a comprehensive system for managing the campers and residents. Individuals are stepping up and take responsibility for what can be a thriving, positive, regenerative, creative community. We planted a seed. Now, to see whether it will be nurtured.

Working on the foundation of the composting toilets with Dominic.

Composting toilet’s walls going up.

 

Thy Royal Shitter

I encourage everyone to participate in collective living. It is so enriching for the mind and heart. We cannot go through Life alone. Every action matters, whether getting to know your neighbour, having potlucks, growing food in public areas, joining a club or sharing meals with your roommates. Kindness is as vital as air. Touch is as vital as food. We are human. Be excellent to each other.

*As most Canadians know, tree-planting, is not a tree-hugger’s save-the-world kind of mission. It is the planting part of the extractive clear-cut forestry. A time and energy-consuming forestry practice, that destroys soils and habitat, compromises freshwater, wastes wood, and creates scars on the Earth.