The Shire Springs Community is an important place in the larger town of Big Bend. The Shire is being improved and gradually becoming more developed, productive, and cohesive… This (under construction) web page/site is used as an organizational tool to work towards a more functional Shire forest, farm, and residential community.
Getting Needs Met:
We all have needs and we can support each other in getting all of our needs met at the Shire. We are working on increasing our communications, understanding each others’ needs better, and working together to help each other THRIVE!
Draft Ideas: Shire Mutual Shared Community Needs:
1. Maintain Good Communication (our version of NVC)
2. Maintain Shire as a Safe Place to Live and Work
3. Participation in Improving Shire Facilities & Land
4. Being a Good Neighbor and Community Member
5. Care & Productivity of Farm, Gardens, & Orchards,
6. Support for Healthy Forest, Springs, Creeks, & Pond.
7. Contributing to Overhead Expenses (tax, insurance, utilities, maintenance, etc.)
8. Supporting Each Others’ Goals & Needs
9. Self-Care and Healthy Activity as a Community
10. Privacy and Self-Determination
Methods to Work Towards Our Mutual Shared Needs:
1. Regular Meetings With Local Participants
2. Regular Meals With Local Participants
3. Clear Co-Existence Participant Agreements For Unity and Facilities & Land Use
4. Practice Good Communication, Patience, Tolerance, & Kindness
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Participant Agreements For Unity and Facilities & Land Use:
1. Regular meetings will be held (ideally at Shire), but could also be online.
2. Monthly meetings will sometimes include sharing a meal, and ideally we will also share meals together without the meeting part.
3. We agree to communicate any issues that come up directly to the members involved. We will strive to do this both in person (for the personal friendly touch) and in writing (for the permanent record tool).
4. Any new residents will fill out a participant question form and be introduced to existing current participants for evaluation before moving onto the land.
5. Any significant changes that affect other Shire participants will be shared and discussed before being implemented.
What Else??
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**Ideas: Here are some Agreements, that can be added to our respective membership/lease agreements, and that are to be followed by everyone using the land.
- Water is life. Please respect the health and well-being of the springs, creeks and ponds. The well is a limited resource and should be used appropriately.
- Fire is real. No outside fires during fire season. Use extreme caution when using machines, vehicles and tools. Be sure to reserve water in the well in case of emergency.
- Animals have impact. Any new animal(s) need to have the expressed consent of the tenants and landowners. A safe, working enclosure and watering systems need to be established before the animals arrive on site. Animals should not invade the private space of the tenants or pose a safety risk to any existing resident or guest. Animals should not stress or exceed the limited resources available at the Shire (i.e., water, grazing, etc).
- This is a safe place for children. Do not bring aggressive people or animals to the premises. Do not do anything to attract unneeded attention of law enforcement or other agencies. Drive slow, pick up after yourself and use common sense. If you wouldn’t trust the person alone with your child, don’t bring them here.
- Communication is key to a healthy Shire. Any construction, events or changes to the property needs to be communicated with the tenants and landowner. When problems arise, communicating as a team will help lead to healthy solutions.
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For Potential New Shire Residents:
-Traditional Rental Application (two pages, asks about rental history, income, references, and a few other things)
–Shire Participant Question Form (could be tailored to Potential New Shire Residents for their specific situation).
Supplemental Questions for Potential Mothership Residents
1. What brought you to Big Bend, and how did you come to arrive at the Shire?_______________________________________________
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2. How do you ideally see yourself participating in Shire and the greater Big Bend community (and for how long)?
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3. How do you create harmony where you live?
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4. Please list and describe any group-living experience(s) you have had in the past, and describe how it worked out for you.
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5. Please describe your main interests, hobbies, skills, etc.
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6. What are your needs and expectations if you were to live at the Shire?
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7. What are three things that excite you about the possibility of living at the Shire Mothership?
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8. What are three challenges that you may have living at the Mothership?
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9. As your initial trial period is ending, is there any other feedback you would like to share with the other vested Shire community members & residents?
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10. If asked to do so, would you agree to sign a month-to-month lease that ends on (fill in specific date), and move out by that date?__________________________________________
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Living and Working Together:
Getting Needs Met
Here are some of our needs. I NEED:
SAFETY:
-To feel personally safe at the Shire
-To feel children and all people are safe at the Shire
-To feel safe from potential theft from the Shire
-To have all pets under control and not harming or scaring anything or anyone.
-To have only known, trusted, safe, and respectful visitors and/or workers come to the Shire.
PEACE & JOY:
-To feel happy and free at the Shire
-To keep the Shire beautiful, pleasant, and well-maintained
-To feel respected and heard by fellow Shire folk
-To have limited/minimal amount of traffic, noise, coming and going, etc.
-To have everyone “on the same page”, without surprise changes.
REGENERATIVE SYSTEMS:
-To have healthy and productive forest, farm, gardens…
-To honor and nurture the abundance of the land and waters at the Shire
-To practice regenerative land management practices, including forest, farm, springs, creeks, pond, etc.
-To protect the Shire (from misuse, abuse, fire, pollution, litter, neglect, etc.)
-To care for and nourish the land and ecosystems at the Shire
-To manage all Shire livestock to prevent suffering or harming or scaring anything or anyone.
COMMUNITY:
-To be on friendly and mutually supportive terms with fellow Shire participants and other neighbors
-To have functional effective direct easy communication with fellow Shire participants [so if an issue or problem comes up we feel confident that it will be shared honestly and gently with the person(s) involved]
-To experience mutually supportive cooperation-To find solutions, including compromises, resulting in everyone feeling respected with personal needs met.
-To have regular communication (meetings and/or meals) with fellow Shire participants
-To have clear agreements about day-to-day and long term functioning of systems, human behavior, and boundaries at the Shire (such as all the things on this list and ways to make them happen)
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Are these your needs too?
What else do you need?
Shire Springs Community Agreements & Guidelines
As a participant in the Shire Springs Community Project, I will do my best to follow these collaborative group agreements:
1. Be a helpful and loving participant with the place and people.
2. Watch over the Shire property and look out for the safety and security of the place and people.
3. Live in community in Lower Impact ways (see Impacts 101 chart)
4. Respect and help protect Shire wildlife, ecology, and habitat.
5. Communicate clearly, directly, respectfully, & compassionately.
6. When interpersonal challenges arise, use empathy, solution-oriented compassionate communication and refrain from blame or judgement.
7. Be responsible & considerate with personal space use, belongings, pets, children, guests, food, trash/recycling/compost, dishes, use of common spaces/furniture/equipment/tools, etc.
8. Be health & safety conscious: fire safety, accident prevention, germ management, healthy foods, air quality, etc.
9. What Else?