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Bv LYNN McNIcoL
AND EUAN BEAR

eadowdance is a com-
munity-in—the-making

that reveres diversity — i

which is why they’re looking for
members of the lgbtq communi-

ties to come join them.

Currently, the communi-

_ ty’s 12 members, both adults and

children, are living in a dorm at
the now-defunct Goddard College
in Plainfield while they f1ne-tune.

' plans to build an ecovillage on

200 acres in Marshfield.

While the living arrange-
ments and ideals of
Meadowdance are perhaps more
reminiscentof a 1960s-style com-
mune, the community supports
itself with two 21st—century com-
puter—re1ated businesses.
Diversity is one of those ideals —
welcoming people of all types of
backgrounds, including gays and
lesbians. There are no gay or les-
bian members or “seekers”
(potential members staying with
the community while considering
joining) currently at the commu-
nity.

“All people who share
the philosophy of thelcommunity
are welcome, regardless of what

      

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“Day at the Statehouse.

  

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~ the.top*-20~on ‘glbtq-friendli-t ‘

world groups they belong to,”
declares the group’s membership
policy.

Before the building of
their eco-village can begin,

‘ Meadowdance will need to obtain

approval from town officials and
raise enough money for construc-
tion. According to Marshfield
Town Clerk Bobbi
Brimblecombe, the group has not
yet applied for the needed per-
mits. A presentation by the group
at a Design Review Board meet-
ing was received with skepticism
by board members, she said.
“There was skepticism that the
plan as presented by the group’s
representatives would comply
with the Town Plan,” she said.

For now, the cramped
quarters of the rented dorm at
Goddard shelters members as
well as visitors, plus an assort-
ment of pets, including three cats,
an iguana and a hamster. '

In the dorm, members
have their own rooms, but com-
puter workstations take up part of
the space. Meals are shared.

-Leila, at 17 the elder teenager at

Meadowdance, cooked dinner
one evening recently, serving a
Thai noodle dish to the vegetari-
ans and omnivore members and a
guest; others gathered in the

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small living room to talk. Later
on, Sebastian, 12, wandered in to
show off his new snowboarding
jacket. Outside, snow lay more
than a foot deep in the early
evening dark.
Meadowdance envisions

a nurturing lifestyle in which
members support each other
financially and emotionally. The
secular community says it
respects individual religious and
spiritual practices. Community
finances are shared, while mem-
bers have their own spending
money. '

Nuts aim finite

That personal stipend or
allowance is “quite little at the
moment, consonant with the fru-
gality we’ve been practicing since

we started up,” wrote Luc Reid, a '

spokesman for the group, in

response to an email query: $58
per adult per month as an enter-
tainment, clothing, and personal

’ expenses allowance. “Presumably

over time as we build up our eco-
nomic strength we’ll be able to
increase it,” he added. “The
money comes from our business
earnings, as does the money for
everything else.”

The group also shares its

-noncommercial workload, using a

      

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Windham County for the
12th year — a preview.

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point system to keep track of time
each member works.

Members are not
required to work for Dragonfly,
the community’s software testing
business, or Wordsworth, their
typing and editing business -
although currently all adult mem-
bers do.

Adult members are guar-
anteed basic needs such as hous-
ing, food, health care and trans-
portation as long as they meet the
work requirements of 45 hours
per week plus community
“chores” — cooking, clean—up,
shopping, and learning activities
with the children. They may also
work outside the community if
they wish to make more money
for themselves.

The group’s members
strive_for their vision of a sustain-
able lifestyle. The group shares
one washer and dryer, and two
cars get them around. Plans for,
the future Meadowdance commu-
nity include construction of high-
ly energy-efficient homes and a
community center. Members also
envision future gardens using
perrnaculture and organic grow-
ing methods.

Meadowdance empha-
sizes the creation of a nurturing
environment in which to raise

 IN TH T1 

: ARCH ’

children, and plans to open its
small community school to out-
side children in the fall, said Sue
Morris, 21 Meadowdance founding
member. According to Luc Reid,
There are five children just now,
with three more coming this sum-
mer. One is not of school age yet;
two attend Twinfield, the local
public school, and there are two
schooled primarily within the
Meadowdance community.

The group’s vision of
equality includes a group consen-
sus process meant to take every-
one’s concerns into consideration.

Meadowdance is open to
prospective members and hopes
to rent another building from
Goddard in the near future to
accommodate the group’s growth.
Currently a straight community,
Meadowdance members made a
point of inviting readers of OH M
to consider joining them.

Diversity in Belief and
Action

Why would we — lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgender or queer
people — be interested in joining
this community?

“Ultimately the things
that might be attractive about
Meadowdance
to some mem- cont’d on page 8