Casa Robino

Shortly after the equinox ritual called the element of air, wind blew hard enough to send plastic chairs flying around us. When we called water, clouds blocked the sun and it felt for a moment like we might actually get rain. And less than 15 minutes after we called the element of fire into the circle, brown clouds from the neighbors land started billowing overheard in the courtyard.

This is what the fire looked like from the Twin Oaks grave yard

I broke from the ritual to check in with the office person. Kathryn had already dispatched Sabrina to the graveyard to see what she could see. When i got there half an hour later i took the above picture and was relieved to see the first so far form our property line. My relief was misinformed.

The picture above is about where the fire started but did not give any real indication of how far the fire had spread at that moment. Within half an hour of this first sighting the local Louisa Fire Department was here in force. They blocked traffic on W. Old Mountain Road. They told us to go across Vigor Road (which the Twin Oaks driveways are on) and wait for the all clear. And so almost everyone stopped doing what they we and went across the street. The preparation of dinner was interrupted, so Keenan and Kelpie went and got a bunch of pizzas for everyone. Things seemed to be improving and the fire department let us come back and eat our pizzas in the courtyard.

But things were not getting better. Before 7 PM, we were being told we needed to evacuate the entire Twin Oaks campus. A school bus was brought in and took people to Acorn and the Louisa middle school, where they waited out the fire fighting.

Emerald City is gone

The fire spread from the neighboring land and took out the kilns, the warehouse and all the woodworking spaces (called ECW). It also spread to the conference site and destroyed the pavilion, the kitchen and all of the material storage up there. Miraculously, Oz (which is the spray varnish building that had burned some years back and had been replaced by a steel and concreate building) survived the blaze.

After some hours, after surveying briefly the damage i spotted a number of small fires in the woods between Tupelo and EC. I spent a couple of hours extinguishing these, while the fire fighters were working on bigger blazes. Perhaps most scary was their work on a fire which was quite near Tupelo, one of our larger residences.

After the fire fighters had largely controlled the fire, there were still many fires in the trees.

The problem was several trees were still on fire higher up than could be reached and were dropping burning branches to the ground. But fortunately the cool night air was reducing the spread of the fire.

In all this tragedy there is some good news. No one was hurt, none of the various pets, many of which could not be found at the time of the evacuation, have been reported missing. No residences were harmed (though Tupelo had a close call).

At about midnight a young fire fighter came across me doing my small fire extinguishing thing and encouraged me to go home, saying these small fires in this cold night air were unlikely to spread and that the fire fighters would be monitoring the woods for any spread and would be there until the whole situation was under control.

Exhausted and covered with ash i returned to the courtyard where some of our members returned, while many stayed overnight at other locations in town.

You can contribute to the general Twin Oaks Community Fire Relief Fund, the Twin Oaks Conference Site Fire Relief Fund, or both.

You can contribute to the general Twin Oaks Community Fire Relief Fund via Stripe. This link has the lowest fees, and contributions will focus primarily on general repairs and restoration. You can contribute using a debit card, credit card, Apple Pay, Cash App, Klarna or a bank account. ​​Contributions via this link are not tax deductible. Donate to the Twin Oaks Recovery Fund here, or by scanning the QR code.

You can donate to the Twin Oaks Conference Site Fire Relief Fund via DonorBox. These donations will focus primarily on restoring the conference site. Donations via this link are tax-deductible via the Foundation for Intentional Community’s fiscal sponsorship of the TOCC. Donate to the Twin Oaks Conference site Fire Relief Fund here.

Thank you friends. I will likely update in a future blog post and updates will be added to the FB group as well, https://www.facebook.com/groups/TwinOaksFriends.

By Keenan

Dining: 

Twin Oaks BETA version) Llano is crowded, noisy, and filthy and should be condemned.

Twin Oaks 2.0) ZK sets new standard in luxuriousness and cleanliness at Twin Oaks.

Twin Oaks 3.0) ZK is crowded, noisy, and filthy and should be condemned. Dining should happen in Llano, but only if it has a less offensive name.

Visitor program:

Twin Oaks BETA version) Visitors housed in SLG’s.

Twin Oaks 2.0) Visitors housed in Aurora.

Twin Oaks 3.0) Visitors housed in SLG’s and Ta Chenerates housed in Aurora.

Degania:

Twin Oaks BETA version) Degania is built for childrens’ program.

Twin Oaks 2.0) Degania abandoned.

Twin Oaks 3.0) Degania used for childrens’ program and then Degania abandoned again.

Technology:

Twin Oaks BETA version) No video allowed anywhere.

Twin Oaks 2.0) No video allowed in bedrooms.

Twin Oaks 3.0) No video allowed in public spaces.

Allowance:

Twin Oaks BETA version) Allowance is .75 cents a month

Twin Oaks 2.0) Allowance is $35.00 a month

Twin Oaks 3.0) Allowance is $115.00 a month

Behavior issues:

Twin Oaks BETA version) Behaviorism will deal with any problematic behaviors among members.

Twin Oaks 2.0) Behaviorism doesn’t work. Problematic behavior is dealt with through policy: feedbacks, support groups, process team, mediation, mental health team, and membership team.

Twin Oaks 3.0) nothing works to change problematic behavior—reject all visitors who exhibit any potentially problematic behavior.

A/C:

Twin Oaks BETA version) Air conditioning kills the planet.

Twin Oaks 2.0) Air conditioning protects equipment, but is not for people.

Twin Oaks 3.0) Air conditioning kills mold and saves lives.

What is offensive: 

Twin Oaks BETA version) Makeup and shaving are offensive.

Twin Oaks 2.0) Having babies is offensive.

Twin Oaks 3.0) Wrong pronouns are offensive.

Buildings:

Twin Oaks BETA version) Naming buildings after past communal efforts is uplifting and inspirational.

Twin Oaks 2.0) No new buildings to name.

Twin Oaks 3.0) Naming buildings after past communities with problematic values is offensive.

Children:

Twin Oaks BETA version) No children until the community is ready.

Twin Oaks 2.0) The community raises children. Biological parents discouraged from caring for children. Censor children’s books to remove all mention of “mother” or “father.”

Twin Oaks 3.0) Pregnancy approval process to ensure that parents really want to be parents. Parents raise children.

Labor:

Twin Oaks BETA version) Variable labor system (members work too much).

Twin Oaks 2.0) Quota is set at 49 (members work too much).

Twin Oaks 3.0) Quota is set at 42 (members work too much).

Taking a break:

Twin Oaks BETA version) Don’t leave the farm during a hammocks push.

Twin Oaks 2.0) P.A.L. policy

Twin Oaks 3.0) P.A.L., Suspended membership, Emotional LOA, Sabbatical, and Associate Membership.

Building design:

Twin Oaks BETA version) Members reject mainstream building practices, like proper foundations. All building labor comes from Twin Oaks members

Twin Oaks 2.0) Members accept mainstream building practices and most building labor comes from Twin Oaks members.

Twin Oaks 3.0) Building labor is hired.

Income:

Twin Oaks BETA version) Hammocks is main income source. Concerns about Pier 1 as main account eventually prove accurate.

Twin Oaks 2.0) Tofu is main income source. Concerns about cost of upgrading tofu eventually prove accurate.

Twin Oaks 3.0) Seed Racks is main income source. Concerns…?

Decision-making:

Twin Oaks BETA version) Members involved in all decisions of the community.

Twin Oaks 2.0) Decision-making happens at the managerial level after much community process.

Twin Oaks 3.0) Members are sometimes, but not always, informed of decisions.

Ex-members:

Twin Oaks BETA version) Ex-members are treated like traitors to the values of Twin Oaks.

Twin Oaks 2.0) Ex-members are treated like old friends and welcome to come to parties.

Twin Oaks 3.0) Ex-members buy adjoining property.

Cleanliness:

Twin Oaks BETA version) Cleaning is a bourgeois middle-class affectation that focuses on appearance over substance.

Twin Oaks 2.0) Cleaning with chemicals is bad for the planet.

Twin Oaks 3.0) Mold kills! Scrub everything! Use bleach!

Trees:

Twin Oaks BETA version) There are no trees near newly built buildings.

Twin Oaks 2.0) Plant trees to provide coolness and shade buildings.

Twin Oaks 3.0) Fight mold! Cut trees near buildings down! 

You are a long term member after…:

Twin Oaks BETA version) 2 years

Twin Oaks 2.0) 5 years

Twin Oaks 3.0) 10 years

Longest term member at Twin Oaks:

Twin Oaks BETA version) McCune

Twin Oaks 2.0) McCune

Twin Oaks 3.0) McCune

Communal networking:

Twin Oaks BETA version) Twin Oaks is isolated and focused on survival.

Twin Oaks 2.0) Twin Oaks helps build a national communal movement (Communities magazine, builds FEC, Leaves of Twin Oaks, welcomes national media).

Twin Oaks 3.0) Twin Oaks helps develop a local network of communities in Louisa County.

Leaving Twin Oaks:

Twin Oaks BETA version) You get nothing if you leave Twin Oaks.

Twin Oaks 2.0) You get $50 and a hammock.

Twin Oaks 3.0) You get nothing if you leave Twin Oaks.

Death:

Twin Oaks BETA version) No need for a cemetery.

Twin Oaks 2.0) Cemetery in the woods on a hill.

Twin Oaks 3.0) Can’t keep track of buried bodies.

This is mainly satire, please don’t message the blamer…also…make your own additions to the evolution of Twin Oaks.

Back in 2018, a group of communitarians went to Florida to work on an amendment to the state constitution which would restore voting rights to ex-felons. In a close race we won this election which would have turned the state blue with over 1.4 million state residents being able to vote. Sadly, Ron DeSantis was also elected in that cycle and with his keen disregard for the will of the people of the state, he gutted the referendum, blocked felons from getting their vote and set up an election police which was specifically designed to intimidate BIPOC voters and maintain the Republican majority of that state.

Flip Team in Florida 2018

Despite DeSantis meddling, this idea of out-of-state volunteers helping in state wide elections with national significance was compelling to a number of communitarians. In 2020, we went to Maine to try to unseat Republican Senator Susan Collins and then went to Georgia for the two run off elections which we helped win and secure the Senate for the Democrats. In 2022, we came back to Georgia for another runoff election and were successful again.

Our specialty is choosing close elections, recruiting creative and enthusiastic communitarians and helping tilt the balance away from authoritarianism and voter suppression. In the 2024 cycle we also have reproductive rights on the ballot in many states and if there was ever a time to fight the country’s drift towards tyranny it is now.

I would encourage you to read the brand new Flip 2024 Prospectus and support this project. There are 3 ways you can help:

Air Team: The Air team provides support for our efforts on the ground, providing key analytical
and logistical support to the ground team(s) in the target states. We recruit air team members
through our blog posts, social media posts, Democratic party newsletters, and more. Air team members are typically volunteers working from home.

Ground Team: This team includes the volunteers who are physically in-state. The ground team is flexible in its approach and always looking for opportunities to attract voter attention. We lean in to the skills of a given team on the ground in a given area. For example, when our team consists of analysts and
policy wonks we tend to do more GOTV efforts like developing and distributing free ride share
to the polls info. When the ground team consists dominantly of musicians and street
performers, we are likely to be out staging a performance, create a video, a flash mob or some other type of event. We pay our canvassers and we also organize paid canvassing work sponsored by
affiliated groups to help compensate them (e.g. SEIU, PTP, Planned Parenthood, etc).

Angel Team: The Angel team focuses on finding & providing resources for the other teams this includes everything from finding free housing to cash contributions to grocery store gift cards. We have historically funded our work via crowdfunding and community support. We have had a good mix of larger angel funders and small donations. This style of funding maximizes our freedom and flexibility.

If you would like to make a donation please visit our GoFundMe crowd funder.