Kawashaway Community Circle Notes

back

Circle Date

August 31, 2003 at Kawashaway (Memorial Day)

Future Circle Dates

Present

Beebalm*, Xeno*, Pollen*, Teddy Bear*, Two Turtles*, Sunflower, Cicada

* indicates Steward

(5 / 15 Stewards present = quorum)

Agenda

• update on Gathering
• update on Land Use Committee
• update on residency
• keep Circle list as it is, or morph it
• November and December Circle dates and locations
• two-week stay policy proposal: A cumulative stay on the land
  of more than 2 weeks in a cycle from Summer Gathering to Summer
  Gathering outside of community times of Summer Gathering, Labor Day,
  Woodcutters, Thanksgiving, solstice and Memorial Day, requires
  conversation with the community at a regular community circle.

Circle Discussion and Action

• Land Use Committee update: Beebalm reported that the call went out
  to join the LUC and replies are still incoming. Rocky, Pollen, Two
  Turtles, Beebalm, presumably Bearberry, and one of the loons who
  cried at out this moment are interested.

• Two Week Stay Policy: Eureka had proposed a revision to the two-
  week stay rule (see above). Discussion: it seems unwieldy to have
  such a rule; rewriting the rule doesn't change the fact that we
  still have to deal with it when someone violates the spirit or
  letter of the rule; thoughts that the community dealt with the last
  issue of this coming up well—we didn't abandon Bruce and he didn't
  abandon us; there was some disconnect in the process of addressing
  the issue with Bruce early on; feeling that it was difficult for
  Bruce to communicate to the community; we have been generous to
  Bruce. We went around a few times about whether or not to reject the
  proposal on the table. It seemed to the Circle that the core issue
  here is how we communicate with one another around our presence on
  the land.

  CONSENSUS: We don't dig the proposed policy change, and while there
  is no need to put it back on the agenda for future Circles, the
  issues behind it will continue to surface and we encourage
  discussion of those issues as we tackle other things around land use.

• Gathering Update: Two Turtles reported that in the metaview,
  registration income paid for Gathering expenses, and the money from
  the quilt and auction (see H or Braeburn for details) was
  profit. We noticed that this was despite the feeling that the group
  was smaller this year.

• Residency Update: Pollen reported that he has not made much
  progress on his shelter beyond trying to site it. There was
  appreciation for Pollen's reports to the list on the land. Pollen
  also has a cell phone with voice mail which he checks regularly. We
  appreciated the cleanliness of the kitchen (thanks to Apple Cider
  and Terrapin) and the progress on cutting wood (thanks to Bruce).
  Pollen noted that he won't be around for Woodcutters Ball.

New Business

• Tents on the Land: Two Turtles brought up the issue
  of tents staying up. Discussion: the land is more accessible if
  tents can stay up between visits; there will be an impact on the
  land with many tents staying up; there is also a sense of
  entitlement that comes with tents staying up without asking the
  community; the issue of impact on the land is questionable—does it
  really do any more damage than what we do already tenting in the
  same places every year?; we need to talk about it; convenience isn't
  necessarily a value we all share. Beebalm proposed moving the
  discussion to Land Use. Discussion: feeling that resting tents are
  left behind and are like nonessential waste, alien to the land; we
  should be respecting one another's needs and caring for the land; do
  we need a rule?; it's an emerging issue as there seem to be more
  people using the land than before.

  We agreed to hold the discussion again at the next Circle.

• November and December Circles: We felt that November needs to be
  in the Cities. Teddy Bear would like to host December at his place
  in Duluth. We loved this idea. Beebalm will contact Rocky about
  hosting November in the Cities.

• Circle list issues: We agreed to table this discussion.

Forward to Next Circle

• Tents up between Gatherettes

• Circle list issues
  

Action Items

Submitted by Beebalm

back