Voluntary Peasants, True Stories of America's Biggest Commune: Adventures of a reporter who followed the 60s over the edge to create a spiritual utopia
Book Details
Author(s)Melvyn Stiriss
PublisherNew Beat Books
ISBN / ASINB01A7INM2W
ISBN-13978B01A7INM22
MarketplaceCanada 🇨🇦
Description
Every chapter an entertainingly crafted unique adventure exploring the now relevant question: Can back-to-the-land collective living really help save the world?
A young reporter’s search for enlightenment and a remarkable experiment in collective living that follows the spirit of the time and transports readers from Greenwich Village beatniks in the 50s to Woodstock, San Francisco, on an outrageous, hippie, round-the-country, bus caravan to living twelve years building America’s biggest commune—The Farm—a bold attempt to “live out of the box” and create a better way of life—a vibrant, Earth-friendly, people-friendly, eclectic, agrarian, vegan community and cannabis church—a commune awarded the Swedish Right Livelihood Award—“For caring, sharing and acting with and on behalf of those in need at home and abroad.”
Stiriss—“Working in collaboration with 300 friends, we dedicated our lives to a grand social experiment to make the world better. In 1971, we co-founded and I lived thirteen years in America’s biggest commune, living the dream in the boondocks of Tennessee.”
“Pooling resources, working together, we built our own town—complete with farming, construction, motor pool, soy dairy, clinic, lab, doctors, midwives, bakery, cottage industries, FM radio station, solar-heated school, a dozen satellite communities and humanitarian aid projects around the world. At peak—1,450 people enjoyed Zero Unemployment, Universal Healthcare, and basic necessities on $100/person a month!” The Farm was a 24/7 peace demonstration.
Beyond sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll—beyond hippies—Stiriss sheds new light on the sixties when, as a UPI reporter, he followed the story of the times over the edge to live the story himself. Cool, fun, true stories that transport the reader on an entertaining, mind-expanding, psychedelic odyssey.
“Imagine all the people living life in peace.”—John Lennon
That was us! We had it going.
From 1971-1983, the collective years, nearly 5,000 people lived and worked together at The Farm as “voluntary peasants”—sharing labor, life and friendship; living a path with heart; working without pay—to create a globally-affordable, sustainable, safe, sane, meaningful, lifestyle.
Voluntary Peasants includes revealing stories of the author’s deeply personal, spiritual student-teacher relationship with Stephen Gaskin and his wife, midwife Ina May Gaskin, and we examine effects of group think and the whole guru trip.
Voluntary Peasants will be available August, 2016
A young reporter’s search for enlightenment and a remarkable experiment in collective living that follows the spirit of the time and transports readers from Greenwich Village beatniks in the 50s to Woodstock, San Francisco, on an outrageous, hippie, round-the-country, bus caravan to living twelve years building America’s biggest commune—The Farm—a bold attempt to “live out of the box” and create a better way of life—a vibrant, Earth-friendly, people-friendly, eclectic, agrarian, vegan community and cannabis church—a commune awarded the Swedish Right Livelihood Award—“For caring, sharing and acting with and on behalf of those in need at home and abroad.”
Stiriss—“Working in collaboration with 300 friends, we dedicated our lives to a grand social experiment to make the world better. In 1971, we co-founded and I lived thirteen years in America’s biggest commune, living the dream in the boondocks of Tennessee.”
“Pooling resources, working together, we built our own town—complete with farming, construction, motor pool, soy dairy, clinic, lab, doctors, midwives, bakery, cottage industries, FM radio station, solar-heated school, a dozen satellite communities and humanitarian aid projects around the world. At peak—1,450 people enjoyed Zero Unemployment, Universal Healthcare, and basic necessities on $100/person a month!” The Farm was a 24/7 peace demonstration.
Beyond sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll—beyond hippies—Stiriss sheds new light on the sixties when, as a UPI reporter, he followed the story of the times over the edge to live the story himself. Cool, fun, true stories that transport the reader on an entertaining, mind-expanding, psychedelic odyssey.
“Imagine all the people living life in peace.”—John Lennon
That was us! We had it going.
From 1971-1983, the collective years, nearly 5,000 people lived and worked together at The Farm as “voluntary peasants”—sharing labor, life and friendship; living a path with heart; working without pay—to create a globally-affordable, sustainable, safe, sane, meaningful, lifestyle.
Voluntary Peasants includes revealing stories of the author’s deeply personal, spiritual student-teacher relationship with Stephen Gaskin and his wife, midwife Ina May Gaskin, and we examine effects of group think and the whole guru trip.
Voluntary Peasants will be available August, 2016
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