Thinkin' About It All - written by Ken and posted on the O&I Board on 7/9/87
Edited on 2/98 to improve readability for posting to the Web.

I have a dream. I have a dream that what we have going here does, can, and will serve as an agent for positive world change. We have the structure to do it. The key word for me is "structure". You need people with the values we value, but without structure to encourage and support us, our efforts will be limited and short-lived.

Now what will help make for this positive world change? - which as I see is a spreading of egalitarianism. Gandhi said "Live simply, so that others may simply live". I have seen different interpretations of this at Twin Oaks. Some see it as a reduction of the amount of world resources we consume. I support this, but I also see my own time and everyone's time as a world resource. 'Living simply' to me means making the most effective use of the resources available to me. So I do not agree that one is necessarily living more simply if say one were to live without electricity, heat with wood, car pool, or cook without a microwave.

For example, we would all take a giant step forward in living more simply if we were to supply our own electricity needs by putting a turbine in at the Mill. Then our electricity would be being produced by a non-polluting and renewable resource method. Every time we turned on a light we would no longer have to think that we were taking part in a non-politically correct action by being part of the energy demand that has made for a reason for nuclear power plants, the using up of the world's non-renewable resources, and the polluting of the environment. We would no longer be part of the problem, but part of the solution.

Interestingly enough, after the change-over to the self-production of electricity at the Mill, it would not take any more effort, will, altruism, caring, love, or even conscious thought of wanting to be 'politically correct' for that act of turning on a light to be just that, whereas before it was just the opposite (in this context). What we would have done is to have changed the structure so that it supports the desire to be politically correct.

I see it as almost inevitable that we will do the above (ed. note: as of 2/98 this project shows no signs of happening), and in fact am planning on it. Leslie and I have talked about getting electric carts for on-the-farm and EC* use. One of the advantages would be that it would be the first Twin Oaks vehicle that would have the potential (if we put the turbine in at the Mill) of not being a drain on the world world's non-renewable resources. When we buy and run a gasoline powered engine we are forced into adding to the world's problems. An electric cart would give us a choice.
(* EC: Emerald City - our industrial building/site)

This is not to say that we should not buy or use any more gasoline powered engines. The ideal is to find the point of balance between the advantages and the disadvantages. Find the best tradeoff.

What I see as the things we can do to make our lives more enjoyable and effective include the following:

1) Invest ASAP in a new rope machine. We are paying Romoco* over $60K a year to make the rope for us that we can't make ourselves. A new rope machine would cost $100-150K. We would pay this off in a maximum of 2.5 years with the money we would have had to pay Romoco anyway. A new machine would at least double our production with no increase in labor. It would also be quieter, easier to maintain, and we would have fewer problems with discoloration of the rope. This would be a quick and sound way for us to increase our income without raising quota. (ed. note: on 1/98 we bought a 'newer' second rope machine)
(*Romoco: a rope manufacturer in North Carolina).

2) As I wrote earlier, look into putting a turbine in at the mill. We spend over $15K a year on electricity - and that is money that is going to support such things as the North Anna nuke.

3) Put more energy into recruitment. In terms of labor alone, most additional members help an enormous amount. Their work lowers quota for all of us here, as well as making more labor available for all those extras that make this way of life special.

4) Have year round OPP with better rates. As I stated in a paper last year, a unit of hammock OPP earns the community over $20. The worker gets less than half of that for co's project. Why should co's extra labor and energy be taxed when the project in some way already benefits the community? There are scores of more projects that I would do if I did not feel so exploited by the current set-up. And since there usually are more orders for hammocks than we can fill, we don't need to worry about the hammocks made through OPP, - so why limit when OPP can be done. If I see something lacking in the community and I want to do something about it, give me the effective means to take care of it!

5) Start a second hammock shop nearby that members can earn VE(Vacation Earnings) at. We are going to need to find another source for hammocks in the next few years with Pier One expanding. Why not open a shop nearby or in C'ville that could possibly be run by ex-members. We could get better rates for VE than we do at Workshop 5*, as well as work in a more supportive and familiar environment. If the shop was in C'ville, it could serve as a home away from home for us. The trips we make already to and from C'ville could provide a convenient transportation link. Members could hang out there and work if they want to while waiting for a ride. Visitors and guests could use it as a connection to make it easier to get to and from Twin Oaks, and link up with public transportation. Members could earn VE easily at such a C'ville 'house', and thereby feel like their community was helping them to take care of their VE needs, and not just leaving them to fend for themselves. This would reduce turnover and bring about more respect for what the community stands for. The shop/house could also serve to help members in transition. They could work there to pay off their debts before and/or after joining. And members who were leaving could use it to help them get some money together to get started on.
(*Workshop 5 is a business that mostly employs mentally 'challenged' people. Twin Oaks no longer contracts out hammock work to them.)

6) Improve our own hammock shop environment. This could come in the form of air conditioning; a better and more reliable sound system; a large library of books and lectures on tape; a compact disc library (I've already got this one started); someone available most of the time to assist visitors, do on-the-farm sales, work with the UPS person, answer the products office phone, stay on top of what numbers the shuttle winder should be set to, co-ordinate production (so we don't run out of things like set-ups and braid, and solve other problems as they come up). My dream is for a new shop that would be about the size of Zhankoye* with a larger main room and some other separate work spaces. Everyone who wanted to could work at a community meeting or any other meeting. People could meet privately and work, or watch a movie or listen to a lecture while working. When the separate spaces were not being used for making hammocks, perhaps they could be available for recreation and art use.
(*Zhankoye: our main kitchen and dining building)

7) Improve the Zhankoye working environment. Izzy had a paper on how he frustrated by not having our garden produce used. I'm frustrated by there being so many leftovers and so much waste. It would be great if we had a person who would co-ordinate and work with the cooks on things like: what food needs to get used up; suggestions on what to cook, how much, and perhaps some tips on how to cook as well; getting the fresh produce and herbs that the cooks don't know about, or don't have time to find; and answering questions and acting as a general trouble-shooter. When the kitchen tape deck broke recently, in my opinion that should have been immediately taken care of. So many people work in Zhankoye everyday that it would have been far worth the investment if we had immediately gone out and bought a new tape deck.

8) Put a cap on overquota. I don't think everyone fully realizes it, but hours done overquota still cost the community. Having lots of overquota done drives quota up because people are able to use those hours to go on vacation and then not have their in-quota labor available to the community for that time. I recommend that it be established that the amount of overquota that can be done in an area be no more than the number of hours equal to half that area's assigned budget. Otherwise, it's just like when the Fed prints more money and the result is inflation.

Thanks for reading this and giving me a chance to air some of my ideas and thoughts. We've got so many opportunities here to improve our own lives and those of others. Let's make the most of this and support ourselves in our endeavors. Thanks for being a part of 'Living the Dream'.