by Joe Cole
“Community is not a place, but a way of life.” –Herbert Lovett
On June 30, the Membership and Marketing Circle hosted a Last Saturday event to provide an overview of the work of the circle. We discussed issues in membership, explored our work addressing racism and racial equity, and offered a forum for small-group processing. We also worked on building collaborative skill and strengthening community bonds.
We began with the question: “What are we doing as a community, and why aren’t we done yet?” Part of the answer is that we are immersed in a project of Culture Change, and the work of creating Collaborative Culture is never complete. As we plan and develop an Ecovillage, we seek to deepen our own capacities for cooperation, sustainable living, and social justice. To support those goals, we have a membership process with multiple levels that provides members and the community opportunities to check how we are doing and how good of a fit we might be together in the journey ahead.
Over the past year, we as a community have learned more 
about who we are and what we are looking for: we are committed to creating an Ecovillage, and we are looking for people who are willing to work collaboratively, live sustainably, and learn together along the way. Membership and Marketing has focused on recruiting and supporting members, clarifying policies and levels of membership, and also building skills for collaborative work in the community. We’ve incorporated “regenerative sustainability” into our mission, which signals a deeper commitment to living sustainability in ways that heal, restore, and enrich the land and the larger ecosystems and social systems in which we live.
During the gathering, we asked those present about their experience in the membership process, whether anything has been holding them back, and what they needed to move forward in membership at Hart’s Mill. Some folks are moving slowly in membership, while others are just starting out, and some have been advancing at a steady pace. Creating an Ecovillage requires a lot of work, and some of us occasionally feel daunted at the immensity of the task. Others are very interested in the community, but have a partner who is not as keen. Some members spoke of the challenges of balancing work, family, and participation in the community development process. Others wanted to know more specific details about what the community would look like and how much it would cost to live there before they felt comfortable committing to the membership process.
We also asked for input and suggestions that might aid Hart’s Mill in attracting members 
more effectively. Attendees brainstormed a lot of good ideas: community participation in events like the Eno River Festival, finding more places to post flyers, expanding our online and social media presence, looking west of the Triangle towards Burlington and Greensboro for recruiting members, soliciting news and journal articles about the community, nurturing relationships with those who have already shown interest, and crafting our marketing message to clarify who we want to attract and who would be a good fit for our community. We had a few visitors from other local communities who spoke about how much it has helped their communities to have expert consultants guide them and shape their vision and approach to development.
In the second half of the afternoon, we talked about the community’s commitment to Diversity and Racial Equity. Why does this matter at Hart’s Mill, and what are we doing? Amy spoke from the heart about the urgency of addressing racism in our society, our community, and ourselves, and she talked about how this work is needed to address injustices and also heal ourselves and our relationships in the wider world. While we are still a mostly white community, we are working on understanding racism and striving for racial equity. Several members have taken the weekend trainings on Anti-Racism work through the Racial Equity Institute, and Hart’s Mill has also co-hosted an educational session with Standing Up for Racial Justice. Some Hart’s Mill members participated in the Hate Free Schools Coalition, which worked over a year to persuade the
Orange County School Board to ban displays of the Confederate Flag in public schools. In addition to diversifying our membership, our goals include supporting racial equity work in the broader community around us.
Next, we paired up and discussed what the issues of race, racism, and racial equity bring up for us, and also how people are feeling about Hart’s Mill’s approach to racism and racial equity so far. Members shared their thoughts about both the importance and the challenges of working on racial equity and deepening our awareness of racism in our community, our society, and our everyday lives.
We also asked participants how we as a community can keep fostering racial diversity and racial equity. Members offered ideas for expanding diversity and equity within Hart’s Mill and also in the broader community. As a mostly white group, it may be difficult for people of color to join, and yet Hart’s Mill can still work for racial equity and social justice by increasing our own understanding of racism and by cultivating relationships with people and organizations who are working on these issues. We strongly recommend racial equity trainings for all who are interested in Hart’s Mill.
To prepare for the discussion on racism and racial equity, we recommended a list of short readings. Please take the time to check these articles out (links provided to pdf files on our website):
- I’m not a Racist but Racism is in Me, by Joe Cole, Communities Magazine #178
- Barriers to Diversity in Community, by Crystal Farmer, Communities Magazine #178
- Starbucks and the Issue of White Space, by J Cobb, the New Yorker
- Geri’s and Anthony’s blog posts concerning racial equity and Hart’s Mill: Viewing Racial Equity with New Eyes; What is Hart’s Mill Trying to Become?
We closed the afternoon by distributing commitment cards to invite people to name how they would like to contribute going forward. Folks volunteered for website maintenance, social media support, distributing materials and flyers, and participating in Membership and Marketing Circle meetings (first Thursday of every month). After the gathering, a couple of people decided to move up to the next level of membership!
One of our jobs in Membership and Marketing Circle is to nurture community bonds, and we are glad this Last Saturday gathering brought people together to get to know one another and explore the joys and challenges of membership at Hart’s Mill Ecovillage
Please contact us and let us know how you would like to contribute to the growth and development of our membership at Hart’s Mill. The Membership & Marketing Circle would love to have you come visit! We meet the first Thursday of every month–check out the monthly calendar for information and to RSVP.
