Member Intro – Liz

For almost as long as I’ve considered what my future might hold, the idea of large swaths of land and an intentional, collective community has been my go-to daydream. 

As Americans in the 21st century, we spend so much time creating and supporting systems that are, in many ways, radically removed from any way beneficial to our daily lives, the immediacy of direct action and engagement with soil and other people beckons many of us. After all, there cannot help but be something seductive about the idea of a group of people creating something on a bit of land that defies the capitalist status quo in which we typically toil. 

I had always relegated it to a dream for those times I needed a small mental break from the daily grind. The idea of being able to move on it seemed so far-fetched as to be nearly impossible – not just the thought of pulling together the funds to initiate such an ambition, but the mental bandwidth to begin finding a space for it, the connecting of people with a similar vision… I assumed it would remain in the fluffy clouds of my mind as my workaday flight of fancy. I assumed my periodic escapes into temporary autonomous zones with people of similar mindsets would be the extent of my ability to ever participate in a collective creative space.

But then, one day, an acquaintance posted something on Facebook about a piece of land he’d found for sale at a pretty low price – and, hey, was anyone interested in going in with him on buying it? I reached out for more info, and… 

Look, I’m not going to lie: I was skeptical and doubtful and SUPER unsure. But I also had this little voice in the back of my head telling me that this could be a way to move forward on that thing I’ve always wanted but never could figure out how to make happen. Here were other people who wanted an intentional, collective community too! And none of us would have to haul it up from the ground by ourselves!

And I decided what the heck? It seemed as though there were forces conspiring to give me exactly what I’d dreamt of for so long – did I have the hubris to look at that and say no?

As it turned out, no, I didn’t. So I leapt. 

We are still in the earliest days of creating our Collective Spaces project. Finding ways to create and enfold a community, working to be actively anti-racist, creating equity without barriers of financial inequity or ableist thoughts, being thoughtful stewards – these are not simple efforts. But they are efforts to which I am committed. And I am beyond grateful to have others to share both the vision and the work with. 

I am proud to be part of Collective Spaces from its inception and founding.