Traditions Summary Document

A. Strong traditions

Strong traditions have been established and some fine tuned over years by members. These are rarely changed and if so generally by the most committed members.

1. Social / Art Traditions

i. Decorating and furnishing spaces tradition –

Members are encouraged to decorate and rearrange furnishings while maintaining the intended function of designated areas

ii. Sunday Dinners –

We have Sunday dinners and jam on the last Sunday or each month. They are a joint internal and external community event open to all.

iii. Overnight Guests –

Overnight guests are encouraged. Members sponsor guests and ensure their guests are oriented. Members can invite guests to stay in their person al rooms any time without discussing with community, guests who stay in guest room for up to three nights can be invited without discussion with community but giving a heads up to other members and entering dates in house calendar, guests who stay for longer than 3 nights are discussed with the community. Guests who stay two weeks or longer contribute to rental/utility costs. Guests who stay for more than a night contribute to food costs.

iv. Day guests / dinners -

We enjoy guests in our house and invite them to house food and dinners when they are visiting. If there are a large number of guests or a party then discussion is had with community and contributions for food are made by the sponsoring member.

v. Parties / Meetings tradition:

Members are encouraged to have parties and meetings in the house and to ask permission

2. House Maintenance/operations Traditions

i. Spaces clear –

Spaces such as rooms, chairs, counter tops, tables in all common areas are kept clear or personal or household items.

ii. Please claim me / items in their place tradition:

Household items/tools have designated storage places. Items not in their designated places can be returned by any member to their designated space unless they are actively being used that day. All items are returned to their places are returned to their places by the end of the day. Members can put items in please claim me box if they do not know who an item belongs to or where it belongs. The de-clutter fairy de-clutters the house on a daily and weekly basis.

iii. Items returned to their places:

Items are returned to their designated storage place by the end of the day or after use unless the community is made aware under special circumstances e.g. large project etc.

iv. Storage of all food in glass, metal or ceramic jars or containers:

All food that is brought into the house is immediately stored in such containers rather than in boxes, bags, plastic bottles etc.

v. Labeling and dating of food items:

All food items in containers are labeled and perishable items, especially cooked meals have their preparation date labeled on the container.
Empty kitchen sink/sink bowl tradition: The sink is always left empty and clear of dishes. The sink has a large bowl in it that collects grey water which is emptied and cleaned at least once per day.

vi. House Chore Fairy Traditions:

All members are assigned fairy chores which they do each week to increase the harmony and functioning of the home. The chores as described are strong traditions. These amount to about 3-4 hours/week.

3. Activities of Daily Living Traditions

i. Food and supply shopping at Karma Food Coop:

Other than in special circumstances, all community food and supplies are predominantly purchased at Karma Food Coop to preserve and support the many benefits offered by this community.

ii. Food purchased local and organic:

Food purchased follows the 100 mile diet or is bioregionally within the 100 mile limit of our community. Bioregionally means that if the food cannot be sourced within 100miles, but could bioregionally grow within this limit, then the next closest source for this food is used with a limit of a few provinces or states away. Exceptions may include some staples like salt or some spices/herbs as decided by community.

iii. Approach to splitting food/supplies costs

a. Food costs are mathematically split adjusting for the following factors:

• each individual's daily metabolic rate (to adjust for how much food an individual consumes per day)
• the proportion of all meals that a person consumes in a month that are meals from the Barley Jar
• adjustments to these numbers are recorded on the Food splitting/ contributions summary sheet

b. Contributions to food costs can be made in different ways. Each are recorded on the Food splitting/contributions summary sheet:

• purchased groceries - receipts from these purchases are stored and given to money fairy
• food brought and contributed to house (e.g. food from parents, food from events at work, dumpstered food, food grown on farm project, food brought from previous residence etc.). An estimate is made of how much the food would have cost if it were purchased at Karma Food Coop and this is recorded on Food splitting/contributions summary sheet
• canned items are purchased by the house. Food taken from the pantry is recorded in the canned food accounting sheet which are then included as purchases for that month
• bulk items are purchased by the house and the cost is split over the period of a year going forward and added to each months grocery costs

c. Supplies are split according to the proportion of days someone has stayed at the Barley Jar that month.

4. Social/Membership Traditions

i. Finding new members process tradition:

Potential new house members are provided a summary sheet describing the community, if they are interested in joining they are sent essay questions, if they send replies that indicate interest they are interviewed and provided with the intention and traditions summary.

ii. Freedom to practice intentions and traditions tradition:

We don’t oppress members’ desire to live in a community of shared practice by choosing not to practice or grow in our practice or be diligent in the growth of our practice and we don’t oppress those who are deepening their practice with pressure to grow or adhere to a community practice or intention.

ii. Leaving/Allowing Community to Practice Tradition:

Those of us who feel we wish to practice differently than those more deeply invested in the community and its intentions reduce our degree of membership or leave the community.

iii. Non-sexual / romantic intentions tradition:

Outside of established relationships, sexual or romantic advances or sexual/romantic flirtation toward internal or external community members are made outside of the home rather than in the home.

B. Traditions that are flexible, optional or growing/strengthening

Intentionally Flexible or optional traditions

These intentions are meant to be easily changed by the community as a whole by what makes the most sense or is most desirable at the time or are traditions adopted by some and not all. Flexible traditions are meant to be adhered to by everyone while optional traditions are those that members can choose not to adopt or adhere to.

• 1. Location of furnishings and art
• 2. Family time tradition

C. Traditions  that are Growing/Strengthening

These are strong traditions that the community is working on strengthening or which are not yet fully and widely adopted.

1. Welcoming to all persons and newcomers –

all newcomers to the community are actively made to feel welcome by a sponsor or one of the house members

2. Compassionate / Non-violent communication tradition:

We practice compassionate/non-violent communication and actions.

3. Conflicts are addressed and resolved directly and quickly:

We practice compassionate and loving forms of conflict resolution in a timely manner so that harmony is maintained within ourselves and within our community.

4. “Sacred cloth” tradition:

Cloths are tools and are designated and used as: tea/hand towels, mats, table cloths, napkins, body towels, counter rags, floor rags

5. Projects Tradition:

Projects both personal and communal that affect the communal space are taken on by a member with a completion time.

6. Clothes drying tradition:

Clothes are hung on outside clothes lines or on laundry racks in members own rooms or the basement landing area rather than the sunroom, living room or other common spaces.

7. Maintenance/repair/losses tradition and fund:

We repair, return or replace household items or losses. We collect a monthly fund for the purposes of covering such losses communally. Use of these funds are agreed upon collectively.

8. Intentions and traditions summary:

The house intentions and traditions are written out and developed by those who have been recognized as having mastered the intentions and traditions according to the decision making/deepening commitment tradition. Collective input is always sought and considered in developing traditions and intentions.

9. Moving out of house traditions:

• All belongings are taken: All personal belonging are taken by members who are moving out, or personal items kept in common are donated to members or the community.
• Permission and terms for leaving items: If a member wishes to temporarily leave items when moving, they discuss this with community and determine clear agreed upon terms of leaving an item including: 1) who ultimately owns the item, 2) how the item is to be treated in the meantime 3) how and when the item will eventually leave the house
• Cleaning and repair of room and items being left: Members moving out ensure that their room and related community items are clean and in repair suitable for the next person moving in.

D. Tradition Road Map

• Depth of Membership designations: e.g. external house member, core member, resident member, community member etc.
• External Member Tradition
• Social Drop in hour Tradition

E. House Mindful Manners

• Welcoming to all persons and newcomers
• Return all tools to where they belong
• Leave spaces 10% cleaner and more organized than they were found
• Store personal items large and small in own rooms or designated places:
• Permission when borrowing items not your own out of the house

F. Values

• Fun
• Inclusive
• Sustainable
• Loving
• Kind
• Compassionate
• Honest
• Clean

Document History

Drafts:

Tomislav Svoboda May 3, 2013 4:58pm