Twin Oaks

Our dear friend of many years, Brooke, just moved from Oakland to Twin Oaks Intentional Community in Virginia. Chris, Zeal, and I spent a night at Twin Oaks, seeing Brooke and checking out this magical place. 

Brooke is the artist who did our birth announcements.

There are about 50 cows at Twin Oaks. They are used for meat and milk.

It was coooooooold. 

Here is a community space where any of the 100 members can post notices to the community.

The photo board, where Zeal is featured (see center).

A bench in the main dining space.

Oh, and there is fresh bread made daily, it seems. And wholesome eggs. 

And fresh, raw milk just comes out of this machine anytime you want it! This earned a big thumbs-up from the Hansons.

Hand towels.

And they have their own small school called The Unicorn School, of course. You can actually see a horn coming out of Chris's head. This was unplanned. I think magic just happens where you're at the Unicorn School.

Each of the houses has its own kitchen.

And there is a pond and sauna house (on the left).

One of the main ways T.O. makes money is by selling handmade hammocks.

Every member does about 40 hours of work per week. Work can be anything from childcare to cow milking. This is a glance at Brooke's week. She works on seed saving, pillow making, boxing tofu, cleaning, and child mentoring (group care). She also had some holiday time and some sick time (just in case you thought being sick was a job you could earn hours for).

Outside the herb garden, near Brooke's house.

After an inspiring 18 hours, we decided we have to come back (with Avery) and in warmer weather. Brooke, your new life is beautiful. We are so happy for you!