[Scpg] Uncovering the Clutter by Robina McCurdy on Tour in Southern CA

[Wesley Roe and Marjorie Lakin Erickson]

Uncovering the Clutter

Many of us dream of forming effective permaculture groups, communities and 
even eco-villages. Tui is a very special permaculture village in New 
Zealand, established in the early 1980s. Here in Part Two, Robina McCurdy 
describes the 'invisible structures' that underpin the community and how 
members have created key ways of resolving conflicts.

Article first published in 'Permaculture Magazine' No. 24	
Tui has a steady stream of visitors, coming to experience community life 
for a short period of time. Most people are primarily interested in the 
social aspects of community living. Of all the questions asked, by far the 
most common are around issues of human relationships within a close living 
context. As a reflection of 'Western' society today, people are most 
concerned about individual versus communal rights, freedoms and 
responsibilities, also communication, conflict resolution, decision-making 
and leadership. Behind these concerns is the fear of losing one's 
individuality within the group, coupled with the realisation that group 
interaction and involve-ment is important for personal wellbeing.
These issues are at the forefront of our lives at Tui. We have worked 
continually on them over the years, both philosophically and in 
experimenting with appropriate structures and guidelines to facilitate 
quality relating. I believe this area of endeavour to be Tui's greatest 
strength. The Tui Community Mission Statement, written in 1991, captures 
the essence of why we choose to live in community: "As a community living 
together, we are seeking wholeness through fulfilling relationships with 
ourselves, others and our planet."

Membership
In order to assume full rights and responsibilities for living at Tui, one 
needs to become a member of the Tui Land Trust, requiring a trial period as 
a resident in the Tui Community. Membership occurs in stages: short term 
visitor (up to 1 month); long term visitor (6 months); prospective member 
(up to 18 months); full member (after official election, for the duration 
of living on the land). Each applicant requires individual consideration. 
The procedure is common for all, but the conditions are flexible in order 
to meet individual needs. When a person applies to become a prospective 
member, he or she chooses a 'facilitator' who guides them through the more 
formal aspects of living at Tui, whilst providing personal support where 
needed. The staged membership process provides a way whereby members and 
non-members have time to find out if living together works for them. 
Non-members have the opportunity to discover if the culture, customs and 
philosophy of Tui are sufficiently aligned with their own, in order to 
invest their future with that group of people.

Leadership
Tui's leadership is non-hierarchical and there is no specific leader, 
either political or spiritual. Overall there is a respect for each other's 
skills and personal qualities, as we entrust each other with guiding the 
group in particular arenas of decision-making and action plans. As we 
encourage development of the whole person and mobility of roles, each 
person takes a turn at meeting facilitation, and people are encouraged to 
change roles of responsibility at least once a year. There is an overlap 
period for training of skills and learning of systems as one person phases 
out and another phases in.

Labour
In the early days there was more informal labour pooling for communal 
tasks. We were at an excited, idealist, pioneering stage and the economic 
support system gave many of us the time to put our energies into building 
up Tui. We were living in temporary accommodations and the children were 
still very young. Input was based on trust and collective dedication of 
'the pioneers', with individual choice as to how much time you put in. The 
style was fairly anarchistic. In the longer term, this approach led to a 
wide difference in labour input. This became a contentious community issue, 
which gave rise to a 'Tuki' on the theme of labour input and community 
organisation (please see PM22 for details on 'Tukis'.).
As a result of this, we established a fairly efficiently organised system 
of specific roles and tasks needed to keep the place running smoothly, with 
teams or individuals for all areas of community and land maintenance. Now, 
each person gives a similar amount of time input per week, a minimum of one 
day. Each area has a job description put together by those workers and 
endorsed by the community.
All teams are empowered by the rest of the community to make decisions, 
act, and run their finances as they see fit in the interests of us all. 
Freedom with responsibility and accountability is the keynote.

Finances
I believe that the greatest test of a community's spiritual alignment is 
how it deals with the financial realm. In my experiences of community work 
and life, this is where the most energy gets stuck, and the atmosphere in 
which a discussion takes place can easily become 'leaden'. Already Tui had 
come far along the track to consensus around financial matters by deciding 
to purchase land under a Trust rather than Company structure, and declaring 
that the amount a person pledges to the Trust for land purchase be 
voluntary. This later changed to a guideline amount and proportion of an 
incoming member's assets. Individual circumstances are taken into account 
when the incoming member meets with the finance group to discuss his or her 
contribution.
On a daily level, income earning is an individual's responsibility. Each 
month we all contribute a small amount to community and land management 
overheads and development, as well as for bulk food such as grains, which 
we do not grow on the land. Members earn their income in a diversity of 
ways, including outside wage-working, small businesses, government 
benefits, consultancies and products.
By lifestyle choice, most Tui people devote only half of the week to income 
earning. This allows time for family, community work and other pursuits. 
This is made possible by Tui members having lower financial overheads than 
individual property owners, primarily because the cost of land is shared, 
as well as facilities, machinery, rates, county services, and bulk food. 
Labour is voluntarily provided by community residents, and food is 
primarily home grown. It is my opinion that for a community to function 
holistically on all levels, an essential ingredient is to have a form of 
income earning that ties people together. Of necessity this keeps people 
having to move forward as a group, as their 'food source' is bound in with 
evolving sustainable relationships.

Management and Meeting
Each week we hold a two hour business and sharing meeting. It has rotating 
facilitation (generally one person will facilitate four to six meetings), 
and decision-making is by consensus. Diverse and creative methods are used 
as appropriate, to arrive at decisions efficiently and yet sensitively. If 
a block to decision-making happens, the facilitator may call a time of 
silent reflection, or challenge the person or people who are holding on the 
agreement to share in depth what is behind their decision. After that there 
may be further discussion as new information is brought to light, or the 
person may be asked if they are prepared to stand aside so that the matter 
can be actioned, although they may not agree with the decision.
We have small working groups. Before a group needs to work on an issue, 
broad policy has already been formed and endorsed by the community as a 
body. If it is an entirely new area, the group will bring it forward to the 
community for a policy decision, often with a proposal already formulated 
for discussion. Since we have adopted the small group and empowerment 
system, our community meetings are less unwieldy, less frustrating, not 
overloaded, more efficient, lighter and more fun.
Once a month a part of the meeting is devoted to issues which concern Tui 
children, and all children, from the youngest to the oldest, are present. 
This is an opportunity for children or adults to bring forward proposals or 
problems which need total community input, or to report on particular 
progress or events. Typical items would be outings, funding for a 
children's item, serious behavioural difficulties, or community sports 
events. At times it can be overwhelming for children to speak out in a big 
group. In these instances one or two adults of the children's choice would 
meet separately with the group of children, and report back to the meeting.

Conflict Resolution
Conflict resolution per se is a process needed 'at the end of the line'. 
Conflict does and will happen in any group, so learning ways to deal with 
it is vital to the life of a group. It arises because of a lack of honesty, 
differences in habits, lifestyle and values, projections and reflections, 
and inappropriate structures to meet the needs of a particular group. 
Providing ways to deal with these areas signi-ficantly minimises conflict. 
If the group does not have agreed mechanisms to deal with conflict, the 
tension that builds up, spoken or unspoken, inevitably brings about 
distancing. The imploded energy created by denial is likely to destroy the 
group eventually.
In my observations and experience, groups which have not upheld personal 
growth as a pre-requisite for group growth and prosperity, have ultimately 
destroyed themselves. Conversely, if the group's members have a 
self-centred approach to personal growth, the group's growth will be 
seriously stunted, although it may have the illusion of appearing healthy 
upon initial contact.

There is a strong caution here for the New Age movement, where the right 
jargon can make it look as if people are being accepting, understanding, 
adaptable and responsible, whereas underneath another personal agenda is 
going on, e.g. making 'I' own/accept statements when the underlying tone is 
'you' are to blame.The privileged society has become so sophisticated at 
using the communication styles learned through higher education and 
trans-personal workshops, that these 'underground streams' are often 
unconscious.
At Tui we are not absolved from this tendency. Our collective commitment to 
giving feedback and 'speaking our truth', helps to minimise the exercising 
of this somersault psychology. Personal growth is an important aim of all 
of us at Tui, and because of this, the approaches outlined here work for 
us. If personal growth is not one of your group's common aims, you may need 
quite different approaches.
All prospective members and members of Tui make a commitment not to walk 
away from conflict. If requested, a member, small group, or, if necessary, 
the whole community, can be supportive in conflict resolution. We have 
learnt, and continue to learn, useful communication skills to help us move 
and grow through these times. We expect children, as well as adults, to 
deal with conflict constructively. The following is our agreement around 
conflict:

"If a major conflict arises between two members, or between one member and 
the rest of the community, and they are unwilling or unable to resolve it, 
the situation is unacceptable to Tui. A community meeting shall be called 
by any resident member in order to work towards resolution. It is required 
that both members attend. More than one meeting may be necessary. If no 
satisfactory progress is made, an outside facilitator, acceptable to the 
members in conflict, will be invited, and a further attempt made."

Common Agreements for Daily Living
At the beginning of our time on Tui land, after a year of our experiences 
of living together, the Common Agreements document was drawn up. Although 
it is useful as a reference, as a community we generally felt that the 
discussion and decision-making about the issues raised is more vital than 
the document itself. However, I would strongly recommend any group coming 
together to get clear on boundaries around behaviours which affect their 
daily lives. It is surprising how different seemingly insignificant 
personal attitudes and behaviours can have a major impact on people who 
share territory. It is useful to have these things out in the open early 
on, to avoid 'battles' or imploded resentments. It is also a useful 
guideline as to whether or not you can live together.

Emotional Management
Tui's mode tended towards crisis management before we faced the fact that, 
as individuals and as a community, we needed to do something major about 
taking responsibility for our own realities. This has meant learning to own 
our mental attitudes and emotional states of being rather than attributing 
cause or blame to others. Ultimately it amounts to taking 100% 
responsibility for our inner and outer worlds - creations and reflections, 
responses and reactions. There is a lot to say on this, and I would refer 
anyone wanting to investigate deeper, to search in personal growth and 
healing literature.
When, through various teachers and workshops, we increasingly began to take 
full responsibility for our belief systems and strengthened commitment to 
actively bring about change, the way we related to each other and dealt 
with differences shifted remarkably. Instead of arguing, backbiting, 
repressing, 'putting each other down', or 'dumping' on each other, we 
listened, considered and valued each other's perspective. This was not and 
is not always so. Taking full responsibility requires vigilance and 
constant practise and behoves feedback to keep on track. The more support 
and positive feedback from life itself there is, the less effort it takes, 
and this way of seeing the world and relating to others becomes natural. 
The learning never stops.

Parenting
To me, growing up in an extended family is the biggest plus of all aspects 
of community life. The children are surrounded by many role models and 
styles of parenting. At Tui a child is ultimately under the care of his or 
her blood parents in all respects, and yet every single adult in the 
community develops their own form of relationship with each child, 
including discipline and guidance. They form natural affinities with 
different adults besides their parents, to whom they go to for nurturing 
and support. The importance of this is evident at Tui as our children enter 
teenage years. Children grow up with others of all ages, who become like 
brothers and sisters, just as in a bloodline extended family.
Community life is extremely supportive of parents. They are not isolated in 
the home; the environment is safe for small children to roam and explore 
without supervision; there is the emotional and physical support of other 
parents. There is the opportunity to work co-operatively with other adults, 
pursue your interests, and still be in close contact with your children. As 
is the case at Tui, community living provides scope for parents whose 
relationships change and who choose to part ways, to live separately on the 
same property and co-parent - with a minimum impact on the child 
emotionally or physically.

Spiritual Basis
It is difficult to define our spiritual basis because it is so interwoven 
in how we live our lives, our relationships with each other, the land we 
are guardians for and our planet generally. The closest names may be Deep 
Ecology or Earth-Centred Spirituality. We do not adhere to any dogma or 
religion. We embody New Age, but could not be defined as that, as we 
acknowledge all chakras as sacred and valid, not just the 'higher' ones. We 
bring spirituality into physicality in a tangible way through our 
relationship with each other, the earth, and our work. We encourage humour, 
passion for life and dropping addictions, both substance and behavioural. 
As a community we encourage a vegetarian diet, and strongly discourage drugs.
A vital part of our spiritual growth is that we commit to clear, honest 
communication and feedback, and taking responsibility for our emotional 
energy (e.g. anger) rather than 'dumping' on each other. We are by no means 
holier than those who have not made conscious choices to do these things in 
their lives. It is just that by choice we are willing to heal our wounds 
and become more whole.
Collectively, we believe that this is fundamental to the creation of a 
sustainable society, and we want no less. Community life accelerates this 
opportunity many-fold. Be honest with yourself about whether you are ready 
for this challenge before you embark on any community venture! Well known 
author, Scott Peck, has defined that to get in touch with true community we 
go through the stages of pseudo-community and then chaos. We at Tui have 
surely done that - and we are richly rewarded. I encourage you to hang in 
there should you take the plunge!

Philosophical Reflection
Personally, I find living in community fulfilling, stimulating and 
sustaining. I have sometimes heard intentional community referred to as 'a 
social experiment'. Yet for me it is 'the norm', with the current 
Western-lifestyle norm of the socially isolated nuclear family being the 
social experiment! Through life at Tui I am rediscovering what I believe to 
be a natural social pattern encoded within the genes, as basic as an 
animal's instinct. I believe that in us this pattern is overlaid by 
conditioning generated from fear of intimacy, and separation from our Earth 
Mother. I am fascinated that as I discover about other land-based 
intentional communities around the planet that have been operating for some 
time, I find that they have developed similar customs to ourselves, even 
down to some fine details. There are essential patterns in leaves and 
water-flow, so it is feasible there are God-given blueprints for human 
settlement, regardless of how sophisticated we think we have become. It is 
simply a matter of uncovering the clutter

Extracted from 'Towards Sacred Society' by Robina McCurdy in the book 
Creating Harmony - Conflict Resolution in Community edited by Hildur 
Jackson, published by Permanent Publications, priced £14.95 plus postage 
and packing. Please see The Earth Repair Catalogue for full details.

Robina McCurdy is a community development worker, teacher, permaculture 
designer, landworker, innovator and pioneer. As well as living and working 
at Tui Community, she works as a consultant for 'Village Development' in 
South Africa based at the Tholego Development Project, a permaculture 
education and demonstration centre for rural and regional self reliance. 
Address: Tui Community, Wainui Bay, RDI, Takaka, Aoteroa/New Zealand. 
www.planetorganic.org.nz