Plowshare Farm

xidai

Plowshare Farm

Located in Greenfield, New Hampshire, United States

Mission Statement
Plowshare Farm is an attempt to be responsive to the social, human, spiritual and ecological challenges of our times by working toward creating an environment where every person and every aspect of the natural world can be learned from and valued.

Community Description
Plowshare Farm is a community whose primary task is to serve those in need of special care. Harmonious to this task come a wide variety of activities which support Plowshare Farm’s striving to be a vessel for the balanced and healthy unfolding of the human being. How this manifests and the exact nature of our daily tasks are more challenging to describe.

Like a well-functioning farm (one of the things we strive to be) at Plowshare Farm there are many complexities of relationships and inter-weavings. We are a group of people – coworkers and their families, residents, apprentices, and volunteers who live together in what we call lifesharing homes. We are a biodynamic farm. We are bakery, woodwork and candle-making workshops. We are a vocational training center for people with special needs who join us during the day time. We are a ‘safe port’ for those who, within their lives’ journeys, need some time in a haven for repair. We are fertile ground for other initiatives to meet, germinate and grow. We are a place where the line between caregiver and care receiver is blurred through the understanding that we each have something to learn from the other and that caring for someone or something else is often a very fine path for self-development.

At the heart of these layers is a conscious reaching toward the unfolding of what is truly human in us. Questions such as: “What am I, in my deepest Self, striving toward?” or “What is my nobler Self and how might I become it?” are questions which all of us, coworkers, residents, apprentices and volunteers, have an opportunity to explore within the structure of our daily lives. As a community we carry the questions: How can we reach toward a relationship with our natural resources that is sustainable? How can we participate in bringing about social renewal? How can we stand as a beacon for conscious, interdependent living?

About
Type(s): Commune (organized around sharing almost everything), Spiritual or Religious Community
Programs & Activities: Volunteer, Internship, or Apprenticeship, WWOOF’ing, Guest Farming
Location: Rural

Membership
Adult Members: 35
Visitors accepted: Yes
Open to new Members: Yes

Government
Decision Making: Consensus (everyone agrees)
Identified Leader: Yes, multiple identified leaders
Leadership Core Group: Yes

Cultural Life
Throughout the year we gather, both amongst ourselves and with the wider community for concerts, plays, festivals, Special Olympics and other sports events. We forge relationships of mutual respect, both with friends at Plowshare and with people in the wider community.

Our shared cultural life, especially celebrating the festivals of the year, warms and enlivens us.  The Shepherd’s Play, which we perform in Peterborough every December for a public audience, has become a joyous event eagerly anticipated each year both by members of the Plowshare community and our friends and neighbors in the wider community. The summer is a special time when our community works in the mornings, but our afternoons are devoted to outings, picnics, volleyball, canoeing, swimming, croquet, and other pleasures of the season. Talent shows, dances, sing-a-longs, and festivals in our local towns fill the evenings.  Many friends join us year after year for our much anticipated summer activities.

Both in the quiet of winter and the quickening of summer, at Plowshare Farm our cultural life is rich and fulfilling.

Home Life
The day begins with all household members sharing morning tasks including preparing breakfast, helping others with personal hygiene, hanging laundry, doing the farm chores, and more. Breakfast is a time to share not only our morning meal but also our thoughts, dreams, and plans for the day. Mealtime is one aspect of creating a social life rich in friendships and loving support. While breakfast and dinner take place in our homes, we come together at lunchtime to share a warm meal and visit with friends and neighbors.

At the end of the day we return from our work, share the evening meal, and relax with story-telling, playing games, music, reading, and enjoying the company of our extended family. For all of us home is a place of deep bonds, relaxing moments, and self-renewal.

Source: https://www.plowsharefarm.org
            https://www.ic.org/directory/plowshare-farm/