Hello internet and blog followers,

I am going to be heading off into Detroit to take part in the vibrant progressive and radical social change communities there. First I will be spending two weeks at the Trumbullplex. I found the Trumbullplex in Slingshot magazine’s radical contact list.  The Trumbullplex was created in 1993 when members of the collective established the nonprofit corporation Wayne Association of Collective Housing and purchased the property, two Victorian houses on either side of a single-story art space. The Trumbullplex’s mission statement says that they,  “want to create a positive environment for revolutionary change in which economic and social relationships are based on mutual aid and the absence of hierarchy.”All of the decision-making process are consensus based decision-making just like Quaker process. The collective values of the house go so deep that you can not interview one person from the house for an interview; when journalists ask the house for an interview they all must be present. The members of the collective all hold various jobs as well as operate various organisations and initiatives around Detroit. The Trumbullplex itself operates as an art gallery, infoshop, music venue, and an all around community center.

From the Trumbullplex I will be off to Brother Nature Produce. Brother Nature is an urban farm specializing in micro greens. The man who runs Brother Nature Produce was one of the co-founders of the Trumbullplex. Greg is known through the community for employing and teaching the unemployed locals of Detroit at his farm. He does lots of open pile large-scale composting on the vacant lots of the city.

I have jumped into this project without much fear of rejection and just set out to find out how I could take part in the growing movement in Detroit from the inside. I will get to see how an anarchist community functions and spend time with people who have been doing this kind of work for a very long time. I will also see how a new startup CSA growing literally in the streets of Detroit interacts with the community. I can’t wait to be in Detroit and hear all of the interesting perspectives and take part in the very crucial work that they are doing.

Peace,

Henry

Trumbullplex:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trumbullplex  

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Brother Nature Producehttp://www.facebook.com/pages/Brother-Nature-Produce/152167309159?v=info