Working together

Being used to individual work, where we are assigned goals to achieve with little room for creativity, connecting with the strength of the community has been a discovery for many of us. It´s amazing that so much can be done by such different types of people. We come to an agreement to plant lettuces or potatoes or to till the soil. We work hard, but because we enjoy it.

People are willing to offer physical work. Although we are not all young or in shape, work does not discriminate and everything counts. It has been a wonderful way to reconnect with our own strength and ability and to learn not to underestimate that of others.

Having a communal area, as well as the more individual plots, helps us meet up somewhere. Planting and harvesting, when we work shoulder to shoulder, shows us that we can create, not merely consume. Although we do eat the harvest, if possible, communally by the heat of the fire and the love of our cooks.

Sometimes, this kind of work, planning it in assembly, communal effort and shared care are not productive and efficient. Sometimes, we cannot control all the factors. We cannot control the sun, the rain, the cold… and this goes against our inner values. Learning to debate, to advance, to enjoy the present, to wait, to watch things grow, these are the fruits we get from the communal area.