Comune / Alternative Living

[Victoria]

Does anyone know any locations of these type of places in the Highlands / Islands?

[Ojibwa]

There is one called the Findhorn Foundation (I think) near Elgin, Moray. If you google it you'll find the info.

[Bill Fernie]

The best known is probably the Findhorn Community
See http://www.findhorn.org/home_new.php

It is world famous and many people have been there over the years since it was set up. Some people live there permanently. There are plenty of books around about the place and others have written with much of it available online if you try Google.

As with all things different people will have a differing views on the merits of what they do.

[Tom Cornwall]

wasn't there something like this up near Durness and Cape Wrath a few years ago?

[emszxr]

wasn't there something like this up near Durness and Cape Wrath a few years ago?

are you thinking of balnakeil

[sweetheart]

http://www.holyisland.org/ . ...

Dounreay offers a new kind of commune, where everyone comes together
around a dangerous, life threatening toxic waste dump to celibrate the
free money that comes from cleaning up a previous generation's waste.
The commune is nuclear/chemical in nature, leading the way in nuclear
spiritualism by spreading little flakes of nuclear fuel about the beaches
like a holy glowing dust, that if they are successful the entire north might
be detectable from space, but uninhabitable. Inside this big spherical
building is a huge hot tub where everyone relaxes after a long day at
the waste:
http://www.ukaea.org.uk/sites/dounreay_quick_facts.htm
As well, some of the pubs on the isle of skye are like communes. ;)

Some crofting villiages in the far north aspire to it with the crofting coops
in villiages like skerray near Tongue, but this is not a spiritual kind of thing,
but more a sharing of agricultural gear.

Tashi Dalek

[Victoria]

are you thinking of balnakeil

I'v been there before. strange little place. Got a good book and a lovely hot choccy from there though!

[The_man_from_del_monte]

I practice alternative living where I am, I dance around the trees in the nude playing my flute and in the mornings I sit in the middle of a field listening to a morning raga whilst digging into my mung bean and alfalfa seed breakfast..... it's fun :)
































Only kidding by the way ;)

[Victoria]

[quote=The_man_from_del_monte;201015]I practice alternative living where I am, I dance around the trees in the nude playing my flute and in the mornings I sit in the middle of a field listening to a morning raga whilst digging into my mung bean and alfalfa seed breakfast..... it's fun
































Only kidding by the way /quote]

[lol] [lol]

[emszxr]

yes i used to take a spin up there on the bike now and then. great place.

[The_man_from_del_monte]

I'v been there before.

I've been everywhere but I've never been to me.

Far out thread Victoria ;)

[George Brims]

Well if we're going to turn this into a song quotes thread...I used to be much older then, I'm younger than that now.

[Gleber2]

Scorraig(sp), an island off the west coast, had a flourishing commune but I don't know if it survived.

[The_man_from_del_monte]

Well if we're going to turn this into a song quotes thread...I used to be much older then, I'm younger than that now.

Probably the best album to sum it up is Roger Waters - The Pros And Cons Of Hitchhiking.......... check out the lyrics you'll see what I mean ;) Here's "one" track:

4:50am (go fishing)

As cars go by I cast my mind's eye
Over back packs on roof racks
Beyond the horizon
Where dream makers
Working white plastic processors
Invite the unwary
To reach for the pie in the sky
Go fishing my boy!

We set out in the spring
With a trunk full of books about everything
About solar devices
And how nice natural childbirth is
We cut down some trees
And trailed our ideals
Through the forest glade
We dammed up the stream
And the kids cooled their heels
In the fishing pool we'd made
We held hands and we exchanged bands
And we practically lived off the land

You adopted a fox cub
Whose mother was somebody's coat
You fed him by hand
And then snuggled him down
In the grandfather bed while I wrote
We grew our own maize
And only occasionally went into town
To stock up on antibiotics
And shells for the shotgun that I kept around
I told the kids stories
While you worked your loom
And the sun went down sooner each day.

The leaves all fell down
Our crops all turned brown
It was over
As the first snowflakes fell
I realised all was not well in the camp
The kids caught bronchits
The space heater ran out of diesel
One weekend a friend from the East
Rot his soul
Stole your heart
I said (swearword here) it then
Take the kids back town
Maybe I'll see you around"

And so...leaving all our hopes and dreams
To the wind and the rain
Taking only our stash
Left our litter and trash
And set out on the road again
On the road again



Fantastic album!!

[Jeemag_USA]

I practice alternative living where I am, I dance around the trees in the nude playing my flute and in the mornings I sit in the middle of a field listening to a morning raga whilst digging into my mung bean and alfalfa seed breakfast..... it's fun

Only kidding by the way ;)

Got any pictures :Razz

[Jeemag_USA]

The best known is probably the Findhorn Community
See http://www.findhorn.org/home_new.php

It is world famous and many people have been there over the years since it was set up. Some people live there permanently. There are plenty of books around about the place and others have written with much of it available online if you try Google.

As with all things different people will have a differing views on the merits of what they do.

Mike Scott went and lived there after the Waterboys split up, think he went a little doo lally and went their to gather his thoughts. Supposed to be a nice place.

[The_man_from_del_monte]

Got any pictures :Razz


Don't encourage me man, you really don't want to see me dancing around a tree buck naked..... not pretty, not pretty at all!

[Jeemag_USA]

Don't encourage me man, you really don't want to see me dancing around a tree buck naked..... not pretty, not pretty at all!

I was more interested in having a look at your flute [lol]

[Errogie]

Scorraig isn't an island, it's a peninsula south of Ullapool between little and big Loch Broom but only accessible by boat or by a 5 mile walk in from Badlurach.

In the late 60's it was an almost abandoned crofting township which became repopulated by folk looking for an alternative life style and became a great model of self sufficiency and independence with it's own school, wind generators, a boat builder and violin maker. The original residents are getting a bit creaky now and looking for home helps and other support services and I don't know whether it is still as strong in community terms or even if their kids are for staying on or are likely to repeat the cycle of clearing out for the bright lights and big wages in the usual way.

Well worth the walk in if only to see a settlement which has managed to cheerfully rebuilt itself using recycled materials and without some of the usual constraints imposed by planning and building regulations and petty officialdom.

[compo]

all sounds a bit strange to me

[Errogie]

It's a dream and an aspiration shared by a great many people and some of them manage to get it together. I enjoy meeting anyone who is prepared to question the fundamental values in our society and have real concerns about relying too heavily upon Tesco's plentiful aisles.

But some of that comes down to being a fan of the Whole Earth Catalogue a great hippy and alternative DIY compendium from the 60's which told you everything from how to construct a teepee to building a wind generator out of old car components. Today's youth seem to have lost some of that pioneering, spirit and while they may profess green credentials seem less inclined to cut loose from home comforts and make a commitment to try and live the self sufficiency dream.

The last time I saw anyone really go down this road was at the time of the millenium bug scare when several families sold up and prepared to be completely self sufficient so they could survive the predicted chaos throughout society. Of course as we know that was a total non event like any of the periodic end of the world predictions by various religious cults.