Page 17 - C.A.L.L. #45 - Summer 2019

At Compersia, sharing is

more than caring — it‟s life

Streetsensemedia.org
January 25, 2019
By Samantha Caruso

As children, many of us were encouraged to learn how to take turns. For some, sharing toys,
emotions and common spaces with those around us was an early lesson in societal values.
But Compersia, an “intentional community” in the Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C.,

has taken the concept of sharing to a new level.

The cooperative derives its name from “compersion”, which means “the feeling of joy one has
experiencing another‟s joy.” Compersion is the opposite of schadenfreude.

The seven adults and four children who are members of Compersia share basic economic
necessities, including their house and individual incomes.

Founded in March 2016, Compersia is the first commune in D.C. to be recognized by the
Federation of Egalitarian Communities. Members log their labor — both income-generating
work, like a paid salary, and non-income generating work, like childcare and household chores
— to ensure that all contribute significantly to the commune.

Anthony Telos, a Compersia member, has been at the cooperative for about a year, but
before coming to D.C., he spent time at housing cooperatives that “share some things, but
definitely fewer things.”

“I was in search of a community that shared my values more so,” Telos said. “And that‟s what
sent me into Compersia, a more resource-sharing community… You don‟t see a lifestyle like
this validated from the outside very often.”

Members share funds via a joint bank account, which differs significantly from the practice

of most sharing communities. “Any out of the ordinary spending that‟s over $100, we ask
each other about that,” Telos said. In the spring, for example, he asked for the group‟s
permission to take a community herbalism course, which they allowed.

Right now, Telos mainly contributes non-income generating labor: He volunteers on two local
urban farms, one of which gives much of its produce to Bread for the City, and canvasses for
petitions organized by groups he supports. On Saturdays, he runs a farmers market.

Another Compersia member, Kathryn Johnson, works at the American Friends Service