Path to Membership

Living in an intentional community can be a deeply rewarding experience. Many people are realizing the shortcomings of consumer culture and are searching for a better way to live. Living at East Wind offers the opportunity to be your own boss and pursue work that truly interests you, to develop a deeper connection with the natural world, to share your day-to-day life with an extended family of like-minded people, and to be a part of a movement to create a better quality of life for everyone in your community. East Wind isn’t the place for everyone, but some of our current members consider moving to community to be one of the best decisions of their lives. If we desire something better than ‘the American dream’ for ourselves and for future generations, we must develop alternatives and set an example for others to follow. So take some advice from Mohandas Gandhi and “be the change you want to see in the world.” That’s what East Winders do every single day. Leading an autonomous life is an incredibly empowering experience. You will certainly be amazed as your innate potential reveals itself.

Those interested in joining East Wind are welcome to inquire about arranging a visit. Contact us first at ew.membership@gmail.com, as dropping in unannounced is not accepted. After completing a three week visitor period, visitors can apply for either provisional membership at East Wind. Provisional membership is somewhat of a trial membership, and is a year-long process to becoming a full member. You can click here to read all legislation pertaining to membership and visitors.

East Wind is self-governed through direct democracy. All members and visitors are welcome to participate in our political processes and speak in community meetings. However, visitors and provisional members (those during their first year of membership) are not granted a full vote. All full members have an equal vote and equal access to utilize the established processes. Only full members can sign and pass petitions.

3-Week Visitor Period

Visitors applying for membership are expected to work 105 total labor hours (35 hours per week) in order to be eligible for provisional membership. You must also stay the full three weeks. If 15% of full members submit written concerns to membership that a visitor is incompatible with the community, a visitor will have 24 hours to leave the property. Examples would be severe behavior or communication problems, not doing fair share, or deliberately repudiating the bylaws.

Wait List

When there are no rooms available, visitors transitioning to provisional members will be put on a wait list. When there is a gender imbalance, those of the minority genders will be given priority for rooms. When a room becomes available, the membership manager will inform the person at the top of the list – if that person is not able or ready to return at that time, they will go to the bottom of the list and the person next in line will be offered the space.

Provisional Member (PM) Leave

After successfully completing a visitor period, individuals may take up to one year of PM Leave before returning to begin their provisional membership, if the leave is taken within the first month of becoming a member. If leave is taken in the second month of membership, the leave may last up to one month. If the leave is taken at any other time during provisional membership, it can last up to two weeks. Your room will be held for you for the amount of leave you are eligible for as long as it is not a whole year.

Provisional Membership

To become a provisional member, you come “onto the system,” meaning you have a standard living space and a DF the same as full members (If no spaces are available, you go onto the waiting list.).

Three Months for Voting

New provisional members, in the first few months of membership, are nonvoting. After three months (excluding Leaves), you will have 1⁄2 a vote in all community decision making processes other than petitions and membership votes, which are full members only. Community and membership votes are determined by simple majority and petitions by 2/3rds supermajority.

Call to Vote

At any time during your provisional membership, 25% of full members may request a vote on your membership. If mediation is unsuccessful after a one week waiting period, the vote will commence. When a quorum of 50% or greater of full members is reached, your membership continues if there are more “yes” than “no” and ends if there are more “no” than “yes”. If quorum is not reached, the vote will be extended, and decided by simple majority after the third extension.

Six-month vote

At six months, provisional members are voted on through a “no”-only ballot (so that apathy/unopinionated defaults to a “yes”). If more than 15% of full members vote “no,” a meeting is scheduled to talk about why some people are concerned about your membership. If 25% or more vote “no,” the meeting is followed by a second vote, this time with “yes” and “no,” that determines by simple majority if your membership continues.

Provisional members also attain medical coverage at six months, for those aspects of care covered by East Wind but not covered by Medicaid. Before this, only work-related accidents are covered.

Full member vote

After one year, full members vote by simple majority on whether you become a full member, your provisional membership is extended another six months, or your membership is terminated. All full members are equal owners of our land, businesses, and assets. Full members can only be expelled from the community with a 2/3rds petition. Failure to do fair share, physical violence, theft, violating the community’s property or income codes, and deliberate attempts to destroy or disband the community are the enumerated expellable offenses. Though problems do occasionally arise, we are usually able to resolve issues amongst ourselves and expulsion is rather uncommon.

Associates

Associates spend at least 2 months of the year at East Wind, and at least 2 months off the farm. Only full members are eligible to switch to associate status. Individuals with associate status have no voting rights, but may still attend community meetings and share their opinions. 

East Wind offers a home to those who want to help us in our mission to create a sustainable and egalitarian communal lifestyle. If these values are important to you, please consider visiting us in the Ozarks and getting involved.