Page 14 - C.A.L.L. #27 - Summer 2006

excessive consumption. KALEIDOSCOPE
But it's nearly impossible to draw a definitive line
community when they really need it, and the trust by
between needs and wants, so each case that comes
the community that individuals won't abuse the
anywhere close to the line needs to be freshly
collective largesse. In my experience, this trust is being
negotiated. This becomes especially sensitive when we
challenged all the time, and both individuals and
are talking about huge life issues, such as what gets
communities regularly fail to one degree or another.
covered by the community's healthcare policy, or how
It seems to me that the effort of developing a deep
much money a community will allot for educating its
sense of trust, even as it is regularly betrayed, by
children. Is that massage a need or a want? Do you
continually re-experiencing the restoration of trust out
really need at professional development workshop? Or
of the jaws of collapse, is a deep part of the work of
that experimental surgical procedure that may (or may
radically revisioning a better world. The sweat, blood,
not) extend your life at some future time?
and tears of this effort represents the body of labor, one
These decisions always strain the community in a
might say, working to manifest the ideals dreamed by
variety of ways, but especially by raising the all- the utopian mind.
important issue of trust. No community will thrive
Parke Burgess lives at the Emma Goldman Finishing
without enormous reserves of trust - both the trust of
School in Seattle (www.egft.org,) and is Secretary of
individuals that they will be supported by the the FEC (www.thefec.org) .

*Reprinted with permission from Communities magazine, a quarterly publication about intentional communities and cooperative
living in North America. Sample US$6; subscription US$20.00. store.ic.org.

Ruth Wilson (hello there, all the Bang family!) a former member of Kibbutz Gezer, presently living at the
Camphill commune of Solborg, Norway, formulated the following report in Camphill Communities of
Nov/Dec 2005, entitled "Transformation":

During 2005 a group of about 20 of us gathered together at Grobunn in Norway on three separate occasions to
participate in a Camphill Education Course entitled 'Transforming Ourselves, Empowering Each Other'. The
subtitle was 'A whole community approach to intimacy, advocacy, power-sharing, relationships, sexuality,
resilience and preventing abuse. Creating a joyful culture of respectful, consensual social agreements'.
Phew! There was a whole lot of ground covered there. Our super competent facilitator was Julia Wolfson who kept
us on our toes from 9 in the morning till 9 at night. Her imaginative and dynamic use of resources kept us busy,
active, attentive, entertained and learning fast. We discussed many topics, in large groups and small, expressed
them in pictures, in drama, in laughter and in tears. We kept those in need of support uppermost in our thoughts,
words and actions.
Some of us began the course, thinking it was to be primarily about sexuality. But it was so much more than that. It
was really about learning how to make choices in life, how to say yes with conviction, how to say no with strength.
It was about values and beliefs in our society that create disadvantage. It was about the rights that should be
available to every human being. It was about helping people build meaningful relationships and how to avoid
abuse. It was about changing attitudes of individuals and of society, about valuing self respect and respect for each
other. We had before us a shining example - Camphill Soltane's Mission Statement, which among other things is
committed to 'awareness, approaches, practices and methods that uphold the dignity and respect of all people,
particularly those of us whose dignity is under threat, and have limits placed on having a sense of power and
control over our own destiny'.
We worked with many concrete examples of problems and challenges before us and dealt with practical ways of
finding solutions. We tackled many subjects such as Well Being, Choice and Decision Making, Abuse Recognition

and Response, Sexuality Education, and Organisational Responsibilities.
We came away from the course feeling enthusiastic and inspired, if not a little apprehensive of the enormous tasks
ahead of us. We are the tiny seeds that will go towards creating a truly caring, supportive and respectful society.

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