It's Normal to Share: the South Knowlesville Community Co-op
The second instalment of BLAST FOR THE PAST (for super-geniuses only)
This leads me to something that I've often desired to convey.
That we anarchists are a part of a spiritual lineage stretching back into the ancient wilderness from which we all emerged.
We carry the blood memory of what it means to be free, and we have chosen to make our loyalty to that memory the primary focus of our lives.
When I honour my ancestors, I honour not only my blood ancestors, but also all those radicals and revolutionaries who came before us, who fought not only for their freedom, but also for ours.
As we tread deeper and deeper into the storm of storms, may we remember the courage of those who came before us, that to fight for freedom is to partake of a communion with some of the bravest, most beautiful and most brilliant souls that have ever graced the Earth... and that surely, through many darker days, our forebears maintained faith in the eventual triumph of human decency through sheer force of will.
Let's honour them. Let's keep that faith, and let's keep it strong. If ever the world's needed it, it needs it now.
To indulge fantasies of doom, to wallow in despair, to submit to gloom – these responses are unworthy of us.
No matter how hateful and wilfully ignorant some humans might choose to be, I maintain that humanity is fucking beautiful, so help me Goddess, tabernak.
-Me, writing in the Earth First! Journal (some time before Standing Rock).
Recently, I announced that I am launching a series called BLAST FROM THE PAST, and will begin publishing some of my older writing here.
If you want to check out the first instalment, in which I explain the project, I refer you to the following article.
This latest instalment of BLAST FROM THE PAST will focus on an inspiring example of an intentional community in New Brunswick, Canada.
Those of you that have any familiarity with the East Coast anarchist counter-culture will likely know about the Knowlesville community because of the Praxis Project, an anarchist-led permaculture festival featuring workshops, activities for kids, and some awesome all-night dance parties.
The story of the Knowlesville Community Co-op, also known as the Knowlesville Land Trust, provides a lot that we can learn from, and I hope that enjoy this piece!
If this piece has piqued your interest, I encourage you to keep an eye for
Usually, the Praxis Project is held in early June. You can expect these kinds of workshops:
I hope folks enjoy this piece, and if you get the chance to attend next year’s Praxis Project, all I’ve got to say is:
YOU’RE WELCOME.
(thank me later)
It's Normal to Share: the South Knowlesville Community Co-op
A few years back at the Toronto Anarchist Bookfair, I was browsing tables and came to one full of herbs, salves, homemade patches, and the like. I struck up a conversation with the woman tending her wares, who is a herbalist. Within minutes, she had told me about an intentional community that she is a part of in New Brunswick and had essentially offered me a hectare of land if I wanted to move there... though I would have to live there for four seasons before building a house.
It's not every day that you get an offer like that. I took her card and told her I would visit... when I got around to it. I hung onto the card for over two years, and now I'm here. I'm not planning to move here, but I am very interested in experiments in community organization. This is a good case study, and unlike most intentional communities that anarchists are a part of, this one is public. They have a website and they're open to visitors. And did I mention that they'll give you a free hectare of land?
So, what's the deal? It's called a Community Land Trust. It is a way for the land to be owned not by one individual, but by a community as a whole. A CLT is a non-profit corporation created to take land of the speculative marketplace, and place it into a system of trusteeship, thereby retaining the use-value of the land for the benefit of a community. In doing so, CLTs can provide secure and affordable access to land for housing, farming, small businesses, and civic projects.
Without getting too specific, individual residents typically lease the land they build their homes on. Residents make an annual lease payment which helps the CLT pay for property taxes and collectively owned improvements to the land (driveways, wells, etc). The lease may be for a plot large enough for just a house and a small yard, or more extensive, depending on how the CLT members decide to distribute it. The lease contract may last up to 99 years with opportunity for renewal; for all intents and purposes it is just like owning land, without having to shoulder the burden alone. If one wishes to leave the land trust, they may sell any improvements to the land, and transfer over their land title to the membership of the CLT.
It's truly a beautiful community. It's definitely not a commune. It's more of a rural neighbourhood – members of the community have their own houses, gardens, family units, etc... They don't necessarily interact on a daily basis. They help each other out on an as-needed basis and they come together for meetings, feasts, and socials.
Everything is walking distance, with the houses are clustered around one building. This central hub of the community is called the Knowlesvilles Art and Nature Centre, which is a school.
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