The following is the functional definition of not owning, possessing or having a car as defined by the Barley Jar. It may be needed or used if one regularly uses a particular car or group of cars but one wishes to demonstrate that one does not own or possess this car for the purposes of meeting the Barley Jar intention of not owning, having or possessing a car.

The spirit of the definition of not owning a car is that one does not have or possess a car. Owning a car is not necessarily defined by one’s legal ownership of a car.

Not owning, or having a car:

Definition: One does not possess a car for their own use as further defined below.

In the definition, car, may also refer to “car or group of cars” and will be referred to in the definition as simply ‘car’:

One does not possess a car for their own use if all of the following A criteria are demonstrably met:

A Criteria - All of the following criteria must be met:

1. Not being a sole possessor: One must not be the sole possessor of a car or group of cars or a regular user of a car belonging to a car service, as defined here. One’s use of the shared car is less than 1/3 of the overall use of that car (defined as overall trips x overall distance).
2. Not using that car much: Not using that car for more than 1/10th of both one’s own overall distance traveled and not using that car more than a 1/10th of all of one’s trips of more than 500m in any one month.
3. Not stored nearby: The car is stored more than 5km from one’s residence and the car is stored closer to the other person who shares in the use of the car more than a ¼ of the time (as defined by overall trips x overall distance).
4. Demonstrable: Requirements for demonstrability will be determined by Barley Jar leadership. Examples of what would be considered acceptable data for this determination could include the use data from google maps or a similar distance traveled logging app. Alternatively monthly odometer readings along with a monthly log with trips noted may also be accepted.

B Criteria - Any of the following criteria do not constitute having or possessing a car:

1. Driving as required in one’s work duties: Provided that all of the A criteria are met, driving a car not in one’s possession as part of one’s work duties (as written in one’s job description), when required by one’s work, even if not an essential service, is not considered having a car. Commuting to and from work is not considered part of work duties even if it is listed as such and such commutes would contribute to one’s having a car as per the A criteria.
2. Getting in cars: Getting into a car that is not in your possession (as defined by A criteria) when driven by someone else for any amount of time and any frequency does not contribute to one’s having a car as per A criteria.
3. Owning but not possessing a car: If all of the A criteria are met, and one legally owns the car that would not constitute having a car. For example if one is a parent who legally owns a car and the car is possessed by a child of that parent.

Special Exceptions and Considerations:

1. Driver for another person: Driving another person because that other person is unable to drive a car due to a medically diagnosed disability, if that person relies on being driven by others in order to move around, is given special consideration. In that case, the car is considered shared with that other person and the portion of time or distance that the other person is driven around is considered that other person’s use of the car. In those instances, the other person must be in the car for that trip to be counted as that person’s use. The person being driven would be considered a person sharing possession of the car for the purposes of the A criteria and for the purposes of where the car would need to be stored.
2. Driver for essential services in which use of the car is essential: In the special case where driving a car is required in one’s work where one’s work encompasses an essential service or function as defined by the Government of Canada (These include, but are not limited to, the functions performed by first responders, health care workers, critical infrastructure workers (e.g., hydro and natural gas), and workers who are essential to supply critical goods such as food and medicines.) In order to be considered essential for that work, the driving must be a part of one’s provision of service and one’s duties in that work. For instance driving a postal truck or an ambulance is considered essential to certain employees in ambulance or postal service work, however being an office employee with such services is not essential to the duties of that office job unless it is listed in one’s duties or responsibilities of that job. If in one’s job description, any use of a car for such essential work is considered use by another person for the purposes of meeting the A criteria in this definition.
3. One’s own physical disability: Possession of a car for the purposes of locomotion is considered essential as determined by an occupational therapist and if one does not live in a community where public transport exists for persons with such requirements (for example TTC Wheeltrans in Toronto). If there is such special public transit, then item 3 of the A criteria would not be required in order to meet the A criteria requirements in this definition.
4. Emergency: Having or regularly accessing a car during an emergency involving oneself or someone close such as a close friend or family, does not contribute to one’s having a car. An event is considered an emergency if there is a threat to one’s life, limb or significant item of property and if such an event would be reported to the police by a reasonable person, or such an event would require the use of an ambulance to go to the hospital or admission to an intensive care unit (ICU). The time around such an event (for example a week) would be included as part of the duration of the emergency. Chronic hospitalization other than ICU level of care, or threat to property (for example longer than a week) or a chronic community wide state state of emergency such as a pandemic (for example greater than a month) or changes in measures during such an emergency does not constitute an additional emergency for the purposes of this definition.

Contributions:

• Initial Draft Tomislav Svoboda May 21 2021
• small changes and improvements Tomislav Svoboda May 24 2021

We are an intentional community and research/teaching/practice centre that deeply aims to live sustainably socially, spiritually, environmentally and economically. Our desire is to be the change we want to see in the world.

We share meals/cooking, groceries, cleaning/ chores, music/art/ideas, joint parties, community dinners, collective space and household items, a mixture of privacy and community. We have positive shared values / enthusiasm for sustainable transportation (bikes, no cars owned), local organic vegan food, natural materials (plastic free) and fair trade. Inclusion and diversity are highly valued and desired e.g. no labels / all ages / all abilities / queer-positive / all backgrounds / all social (including marginalized) groups etc. We practice the Plum Village/Order of Interbeing tradition of engaged Zen Buddhism as described by Thich Nhat Hanh as a source of wisdom. We also pursue and choose practices supported by the best available scientific evidence.

Our house is medium to large, we really like having people around as well as having a balance of privacy, we like having guests.Our members positively contribute to our community and to the network of similar homes that we are a part of.

Physically: We live in a century home at the north end of Brunswick Ave in Toronto. The house has 6 bedrooms and there are lots of shared spaces - a kitchen, 2 bathrooms, sunroom, dining room, living room, patio-deck, and garden. We generally have 6-8 housemates including couples and kids.

Our members tend to be and have included community activists, social change agents, artists, trades people, professionals, scientists and farmers.

We host:

• community wide sunday dinners once a month (last sunday of the month - potluck optional with a music jam) all are welcome
• workshops (anything and everything - politics, art, sustainability, social justice)
• music and art events (house concerts, readings and the like)
• guests from all over

Teaching/Practice Membership Streams

The Barley Jar, as a developing training and practice centre, welcomes individuals to be a part of the community as short term guests,  or 1 year residents. The 1 year resident options are 1) the intense training, practice, and contributing residency (with an aim toward a deepening practice and long term membership), 2) the learning experience and  contributing residency, 3) the learning experience residency, 4) the  learning and healing residency.  All 4 can be renewed annually, however in the case of limited space, the first (intense training) stream will be given priority and a spot will always be reserved for the 4th (healing) stream. Priority for the 4th option will be given to individuals who have been chronically homeless  who might join us after the community is close to residency capacity.

Please stay for or join the potluck afterwards!!

We will be having a dinner potluck after the workshop so please bring food if you are able and interested in staying for dinner after the workshop.

We look forward to seeing one, some, many of you there!

Had in Barley Jar Dining Room from 8pm - 9:30pm

Absent: Jae De, Ilya Firer

Regrets: Julie Groulx (in India)

Notes taken by Tomislav

1. Review of minutes from September 11 2014

Minutes from September 11 meeting were read by Bobby, their adoption was moved by Tomislav, seconded by Alix and all approved them as they were.

2. Gratitude:

Kachak: thank you Bobby for the delicious dinner and for living here and making it more pleasant and lively and for making awesome music, Alix for the delicious dinner, for talking to me about work and environment and helping me have a sense of what to do after I graduate, Tomislav for cooking a delicious dinner tonight, being joky all of the time and pleasant, Maddy for the delicious meal on sunday, house chores all of the time, being very thoughtful all of the time, Mikki for being super cute, being my best friend, JD for the lovely meal and joking and making it pleasant, Chad for the conversation last night, learned a lot about stereotypes, patriarchy, the corrupt system, mental illness, big brother, thank you so much everybody, feels like a warm loving community and family

2. Please claim me box

Deferred

3. Guest:

3. Bike fixing thing:

4. Reminders:

5. Maddy's desired chores/Equipment and Supplies Faerie

6. Chad offered to do a deep chore/project

was assigned cleaning up the brush at the side of the house. Chad will be staying with the Lotus Feast Community House.

7. Guesting:

Action Items:

1. Action items from last meeting:

fixing banister on porch by Tomislav - done

putting new project pages in house binder by Tomislav - done

fixing Mikki gate by Tomislav - carried over

fixing back stairs by Tomislav - carried over

fixing door so that there is a spring to close it to be explored by Tomislav - carried over

2. Tomislav and Maddy to come up with description for Equipment and Supplies faerie and dishwasher faery

3. Tomislav to reassign chores to incorporate Ilya and Maddy properly

4. Bobby to triage and repair bikes so we have house bikes

5. Kachak and Bobby to review bike situation and see what bikes can be stored where around the house

Reviewed and approved October 2 2014.

1. Gratitude:

Tomislav: Thanks to Jai De for cooking, Bobby and Norman for moving furniture, Julie for organizing and preparing home for her trip, Kachak for meditating in the morning and her studies.
Jai De: Thank you to the new guests, Kachak for coming back, for housemates being supportive and friendly.
Kachak: Thank you to Tomislav for fixing table, meditation, breakfast and canning. Thank you Julie for being a good friend.
Julie: Thank you Tomislav for your love, friendship and encouragement, Kachak for friendship, Jai De for cooking, Bobby for music.

2. Please claim me box

Jae De noted that there weren't many things in the box but that people could check for themselves.

3. Repairs:

back stairs, Tomislav to add a new sheet to the repair book, fix edge of banister out front.

4. Closing the doors for Mikki:

Tomislav will fix the front door latch, possibly add a spring so that door automatically closes.
Tomislav will place emphasis on this during the orientation.
To do: Fix the front gate.

5. Guest update:

Bobby and Alix in East room until end of October
Norman leaving end of September.
Maddie in Julie's room until Nov 10th or longer. (she might be a guest for November or rent until the end of November)
Ilia is interested in guesting with us for 1 month program
Tomislav proposed Frank from Karma as a potential guest for 1 month program.
Bobby proposed a friend of his from Vancouver as a guest for a few days

6. Dietary requests:

Kachak is going garlic and onion free. Please cook these items separately.

7. Announcements:

Climate change march- Tomislav and Julie might be going to NYC. There is also a march in Nathan Philips Square.
Bobby and Alix going up North.
Sunday the 28th is Sunday night dinner.
Please check your mail. Past roommates mail have been sorted in bundles.
Bobby and Alix would like to do a presentation about their trip. Date undecided.

8. Reminders:

No scent policy -chemical scents especially
Washing dishes as soon as possible, labeling and washing pots.
Empty grey water into sieve to prevent clogging the sink.
Please label pots of oatmeal. Is it to share? Who will clean pot afterwards.
Storage jars are considered to be dishes. Please wash them and don't leave for jar fairy.
Please remember to store compost bin in cupboard with lid on. (was left on floor and Mikki was sick)
Please only feed Mikki dog food until further notice. Tomislav and Maddie ok for treats.
Please remember to label food in fridge with dates.
Please sign up for regular cooking nights for the month.

9. Decision Making at Barley Jar

Discuss transparency around making decisions at next meeting.

Notes: Tomislav

1. Gratitude:

Kachak:Thanks to Tomislav for cooking delicious meals this week and for all of the FUN times and pop corn for agreeing to get tirimisu with me today and encouraging my addiction...hehehe just kidding. Thanks to Maria for taking care of me and helping me to heal.. sharing food and herbs. Thanks to Jai De for all the laughter and jokes. Thanks to Julie for conversations and kitty cats.

Tomislav: thank you Kachak for finding a person who is so interested in living with us and suggesting that we go out together to eat Tirimasu! Kachak for making the best popcorn ever with me! And for smiling so much :-). Thanks to Jai De for his efforts to support quiet time at night and for doing laundry today. Thanks to Maria and Kachak and Julie for helping with dinner last night and Julie K for cleaning up pots this morning. Thanks to Julie K for deep discussion on weekend!

2. Please claim me box:

Kachak and Tomislav reviewed, the rest will be put out on floor in living room for people to claim in next day.

3. Business:

1. Kachak to do plastic purge of fridge - Kachak - done!
2. Julie will make a list of large objects or review with Tomislav - Julie - deferred
3. put list of local foods for May, June, and July on fridge - Tomislav - deferred, will do today.
4. Kachak to check her schedule for regular dinners - Tomislav - will check today or tomorrow.
5. write up scents tradition - Tomislav - deferred, some today
6. organize a date for a workshop on communication - Julie
7. Make a list of ingredients to avoid - unassigned - deferred
8. update house dinner tradition re leftovers - Tomislav - deferred
9. Add relevant elements from meeting to mindful manners tradition manual - Tomislav - deferred, perhaps Kachak and Tomislav will do today

4. Canning - strawberries

Tomislav purchased pressure canner which will arrive perhaps July 10, might have to do some canning without the canner with just boiler pot. Let's do the strawberries this saturday after all.

5. Ghost in room

Says "hi!"..."booh"....thanks to Kachak for update.

6. Julie K's room and sunroom

Agreed that sunroom is common room rather than alternate bedroom. Tomislav will talk to Julie about only sleeping in bedroom rather than sunroom.

7. Cat update

Tomislav andne  Kachak agreed that cats can only be on ground floor if they are being supervised by Kachak, Julie G or Tomislav and that one of them agrees to bottom line / ensuring that any mess is cleaned up.

Action Items:

Action Items for next meeting:

1. Julie will make a list of large objects or review with Tomislav - Julie - deferred
2. put list of local foods for May, June, and July on fridge - Tomislav - deferred, will do today.
3. Kachak to check her schedule for regular dinners - Tomislav - will check today or tomorrow.
4. write up scents tradition - Tomislav - deferred, some today
5. organize a date for a workshop on communication - Julie
6. Make a list of ingredients to avoid - unassigned - deferred
7. update house dinner tradition re leftovers - Tomislav - deferred
8. Add relevant elements from meeting to mindful manners tradition manual - Tomislav - deferred, perhaps Kachak and Tomislav will do today

Notes: Tomislav

Kachak: thank you Julie for making me food after my surgery, thank you Tomislav for getting me laxative for looking after me in general, recommending certain things to heal and get better, feel so grateful, people so supportive

Tomislav: thanks to Julie for compassion in community repair project during a difficult time, thanks to Kachak for despite her surgery helping with his meal preparation and cleanup on the weekend, thanks to Julie and Kachak for helping me on tuesday night when I was cooking late

Julie: thanks to Jai De for being encouraging about filing for ODSP and being empathetic when I was tired, to Kachak for being friend, for sharing how you feel about things and taking care of people in the community, caring for Mikki, helping house members feel comfortable in the house. Tomislav for taking care of the house, for speaking directly with people and resolving conflicts in house, hard work with plants, loving reminders and offers for help, for encouragement in getting affairs in order, reminders when taking on too much and prioritize and time this am and supportive of work I am doing.

1. New Guest + Guests

Tomislav to suggest to Maria to consider Simpler Thymes.

Criteria for a member requires that people be able to take care of themselves and be organized. This can be determined during guesting.

Tomislav to check in with Rene to see if he is flexible on July guest date, but if Maria is leaving by end of June then we could have extra guest. Tomislav and Julie will meet with him to ensure that he can be strong guest.

2. Cat update:

• Julie K is keeping cats in her room because they are peeing and spraying around house until she is confident that this can be resolved.
• She is spending time with cats and will be moving out of Julie Gs room by end of day today

3. Doors locked issue

Discussed having doors locked even if someone goes out for 10-15 minutes or if we are in our rooms then door should be locked - e.g. walking Mikki going to park, neighbours etc.

Dont assume anyone is in house when you leave, lock the door regardless. Door can be unlocked if someone is responsible for it, e.g. in front yard doing work or on ground floor etc.

4. Canning - strawberries

Strawberries are a bit late this season will be available for canning e.g. 21+22 weekend or 27-28 weekend, so all agreed to pencil 10am - 4pm on both saturdays for canning.

also can can greens and will consider this as an option

5. Projects:

Kachak expressed an interest in doing projects before she goes to Vancouver.

There are plenty of projects to do and anyone can work on them. Website keeps track of peoples contributions and a desire for the community is that everyone gets credited for their contributions.

6. Boundaries and communication

The topic as discussed and revisited at last meeting was discussed again. E.g. permission to touch, to clean up mess or to have an in-depth conversation. It could also be the content, e.g. violent, private conversation - not having it in a common area, sending out sexual energy. This can be added to mindful manners. It was suggested that it be perhaps posted in the house somewhere.

7. Cleaning up our own messes:

consider being more meticulous and mindful over cleaning up after ourselves as soon as possible

8. Dehumidifier:

Explained the purpose of the dehudifier being on, keep humidity at 30-50% as per the meter in the basement landing area. Its requested that the dehumidifier be kept on during the day at least for a few hours and not be turned off especially if humidity is greater than 50%.

9. Cooking night reminder:

Kachak can do mondays while she is still here. Julie can do Sunday this week. We will consider doing two nights a week if there are not enough of us, Tomislav

10. Meetings are not optional.

Being in the guest program is that you are fully involved in the community.

Action Items from Last meeting

Action Items for next meeting:

1. Kachak to do plastic purge of fridge - Kachak
2. Julie will make a list of large objects or review with Tomislav - Julie
3. put list of local foods for May, June, and July on fridge - Tomislav
4. Kachak to check her schedule for regular dinners - Tomislav
5. write up scents tradition - Tomislav
6. organize a date for a workshop on communication - Julie
7. Make a list of ingredients to avoid - unassigned
8. update house dinner tradition re leftovers - Tomislav
9. Add relevant elements from meeting to mindful manners tradition manual - Tomislav

Pre meeting conversation: talked about social repair project. Issues raised were

- wether the person who is participating in the social repair project might feel labeled or in fact be labeled as 'social repair'

- this might serve to further alienate or marginalize the person who is involved in the project

- discussed the project being not about any single person but all of us working on this together as a project. In fact the person marginalized and those of us not marginalized are all working on changing our selves to help repair the divides in the community. The person joining us in this way may choose or not choose to fully live with us. This is no different as for instance an external member who may have a different level of involvement with the community.

1. Gratitude:

Kachak: grateful for taking on challenge or practice of social repair, I've gained some insight. Grateful for you two, the intentions, that we talk and communicate. I feel extremely lucky. I feel like this is a prize. Grateful to live with people with good intentions, questioning everything, that we are a philosophical family.
Tomislav: Grateful to Kachak for inviting me to see a movie with friendm for living with folks so interested in social change and looking deeply at values and how to live more intentionally, to Julie for being friend and partner and encouraging and supporting me and for watering plants and thinking deeply about how people in house are feeling.
Julie: Grateful that there are no alcohol bottles on the cabinet. To Tomislav, for spending time outside with you the other day, remembered how much I enjoy doing things around the house, feel so much gratitude and how present and loving you were towards me the other night when I had bladder infection, remembered what it is like to be cared for. For encouraging me to do what I can, helping me create comfortable living space in my room. Grateful to Kachak for speaking up for people in the house, when you speak up about things, like how you think, like that you are riding a bicycle, would like it even more if it had a second brake and a light. Like it that you come to the potlucks, that you are easy going, and your relationship with Mikki and talks that we have. Grateful that you think of others, make me tea or offer me hot water. Asking others if they need the bathroom. Really welcoming to Maria and learning from her about the garden, I like that. Grateful to Kachak for helping with Mikki while I was away. Grateful for Maria for making house more beautiful with flowers, for cooking delicious meal the other day. For hanging out in the back garden and offering her wisdom about certain things. JD: for being encouraging towards me and having the courage to talk about what is on his mind. Thankful to Maria who cleans for her positive interactions.

2. Local Foods:

all agreed that we will put up a chart of local foods for May, June, July

3. Plastic purge in fridge:

Kachak will bottom line a plastic purge of fridge. Getting rid of all plastic items and checking in with people.
Kachak will check with people about possible supplement bottles that might belong to guest.

4. Large items on porch and in house to reconsider:

Julie will make a list of large objects or review with Tomislav

5. Maria's allergies:

there is a list on the fridge, let's try to minimize those things in the house, all agreed.

6. No scent tradition:

Tomislav gave his two cents about the no non-sense about the scents. There is the incense and there are the out-scents. There have been requests by some residents/guests to have a scents tradition in the house. All agreed that this was desirable.
What are the in-scents and the out-scents:

Out-scents:

• no synthetic scents - e.g. in colognes, shampoos
• avoid scents that are difficult for people staying with us when possible, accommodating
• have a reduced level of olfactory noise as defined by the community this includes:
• body odour,
• incense etc.

7. Guests and participation in traditions:

- guests are expected to participate in traditions as others within reason
- focus on positives of a guest
- let things be, e.g. if someone insists on doing something differently, that we let it be but we continue to do things following our tradition
- allergies: as part of orientation, ask what their allergy sensitivities are
- house coordinator will be responsible for overseeing guest traditions are being followed with whoever is the host e.g. sensitivities, allergies etc.

8. Mikki on a leash and related issues:

• Mikki always has to be on a leash, e.g. if sitting on the porch, must be on a leash
• he is an inmate ,for the rest of his life, he must always be under surveillance because of the issue that arose, unless the whole backyard is well blocked off
• this is a rule
• when a lot of guests over, Mikki should be in a room, esp if people are coming and going
• not letting him out onto the backyard to go to backyard to relieve himself, should only go to backyard if he has already gone for a walk to relieve himself

9. House Projects:

- there is a list in binder of projects to do in the summer
- food preservation - canning, fermenting, drying
- Homegrown National Park: native gardening on property -  contest by May 30, take a picture and then send it to them, they are having plant sale on sunday....Julie and Tomislav will go
- humanure project
- website is a project
- workshops - Chantale offered to coordinate this

10. Kachak's surgery:

June 3 is the date, Kachak will later give us an idea of how we can support her.

11. Dishes - pots:

request and announcement that we schedule extra time to clean our pots
all of us will endeavour to get up a bit earlier to make sure that we clean our pots and schedule time to clean our pots
same with glass bottles / jars

All agreed.

12.  boundaries and communication

touching: touching is not a safe thing for everyone, so no touching if someone voices that they don't want to be touched.
verbal: being aware of conversations and seeing if now is a good time to talk about something, sometimes people have a hard time expressing that they have a hard time about some topic. Notice patterns in ourselves, e.g. do we more often talk about positive things or negative things or giving criticism rather than encouragement and gratitude. All of us are affected by speech. This is being brought up because it is a problem right now. Sometimes people can express these boundaries, sometimes they cannot. Check in how you feel after a conversation, was it uplifting.
- workshop on communication: Julie will organize a date, e.g. making a demand vs making a request. Will discuss.
- peace contract - as a first item in hte workshop

13. effective house communication:

if people don't have access to email

will get house computer - Tomislav

14. dinners:

make a list of ingredients to avoid (if used then have alternate or an alternative), not related to particular person
make a list of ingredients that are favourable
everyone to choose a dinner night
Julie - wednesdays
Kachak - will check schedule
Tomislav - thursdays

that we ensure that there is enough food for all housemates that night and for lunch the next day, incorporating leftovers etc.

If there are leftovers from the previous day, then additional food is made to ensure that there is enough food for dinner that night and enough for lunch for everyone the next day. Dinner duty person checks in with people to see if it makes sense to put out and heat up/prepare leftovers for any people in the house.

All agreed. Enter into house dinner traditions - Tomislav

Action Items for next meeting:

1. Kachak to do plastic purge of fridge - Kachak
2. Julie will make a list of large objects or review with Tomislav - Julie
3. put list of local foods for May, June, and July on fridge - Tomislav
4. Kachak to check her schedule for regular dinners - Tomislav
5. write up scents tradition - Tomislav
6. organize a date for a workshop on communication - Julie
7. Make a list of ingredients to avoid - unassigned
8. update house dinner tradition re leftovers - Tomislav
9. Add relevant elements from meeting to mindful manners tradition manual - Tomislav

Present: Kachak and Tomislav

Regrets: Julie (away in China)

Place: Barley Jar Dining Room 4pm - 5:30pm or so

1.Gratitude

• Tomislav grateful to Kachak, friendship like family, making food, inviting friends and introducing them like David and Amanda and being able to talk about relationships and seeing the movie Noah together at the theatre...exploring social repair together
• Kachak to Tomislav, for letting me live here, teaching me so many things, learn so much just by living here, a lot of fun watching movie together, grateful for food you made yesterday lentils and potatoes, everything you do, helping the community making it more peaceful and loving resolving conflicts with roommates

2. Please claim me:

We will look through it after meeting and request that others do as well on black board.

3. Saturday morning worker bees:

We would set that time as a time that we could do chores together, so if you wanted to do chores with others, you could do it at that time.

4. Scent free environment

Kachak and Tomislav recalled incidents where they felt very uncomfortable when a housemate wore a scent that they found very unpleasant and that it would be easier to have a general tradition in the house towards scents rather than dealing with it on a case by case basis

- suggest that we have a tradition of being a scent free house, what does that mean
- or maybe have unnatural scents / natural scent tradition
- perhaps gentle/mild scents and non-synthetic scents, only natural scents
- to be further explored, perhaps, anyone could request for a scent to be turned down, it was joked that perhaps people could vote people's scent off
- this could apply to incense, body products, cooking, guests, body odour, farts, food waste, general waste etc.

5. Mindful Manners:

Discussed a desire for having customs or manners that increase and balance comfort or harmony in the house with respect to hygeine, sustainability, safety, being loving/supportive to each other, balanced with fun
- licking items left for general use e.g. jars that still have food in them
- certain conversations speaking in ways that might be considered less loving or explicit

6. Money from Lukas,

Lukas donated $160 of change to the house, Tomislav and Kachak and Tomislav deposited in his account. Thoughts for what we could do with it:
- buy ice cream - could get some vegan ice cream like soy delicious
- movies
- something delicious
- something more of a treat rather than utilitarian like catching up on food costs
- going out together to do something fun like seeing a movie or having a food treat, concert to be further discussed with Julie

7. housemates:

1 or two spots free
experimenting with guest program
- Tomislav to advertise on house list, craigslist and kijiji
- couchsurfing
- workaway
options such as that we could post on
Kachak mentioned that Dave is interested, he would be interested in living with us, not sure if he would be interested in aspirations but he might enjoy learning, Tomislav will send email.

8. living in community:

Talked about wanting to feel like family with housemates rather than like fellow residents in a hotel or boarding home and ways to encourage that....are already feeling that way, we could explore how to encourage that more

9. Peace Treaty:

Kachak and Tomislav read the peace treaty and liked it very much and would like to implement it in the house, will discuss at next meeting. Kachak will find the peace treaty online and share with house.

10. gardening day on saturday - May 18 2014

kachak and Tomislav to do some planting...
Tomislav will get seedlings and seeds early saturday morning
Maybe Maria or Jai De will join

11. talked about things changing with Jai De

Discussed wishing we could be more supportive and ways that we can express missing our connection with him. Kachak and Tomislav agreed that they would write him a note each telling him that they care and wish to be there and miss him and help in any way possible.

9. Deferred

- making the house according to TNH traditions

Announcements

- potluck environment Journal party on May 23 2014

Things to include in your letter of intention

Please include the following information in your letter of intention:

• Interesting information about you that will help us get to know you. For example:
• Your current work, areas of interest or study that occupy you most
• your work or study history
• your hobbies or personal interests
• your goals in life
• Your interests and goals in staying with us

• what length of time you are interested in staying with us (up to 1 month)
• why you are interested in staying with us
• and what you hope to gain from staying with us.
• An understanding of expectations that like others in the community
• you will be involved in doing assigned chores and cooking meals
• you are passionate about and/or interested in engaging in, or learning about our traditions and intentions

On our end, we really want to and intend to make being a guest with us a really full, enjoyable and inspiring experience.