Claymont Community

     After a relaxing break at the Rainbow Gathering we were ready to get back into farming.

The foyer of the Great Barn

And after two weeks of camping in the woods, we were ready to get back into a shower. The eight hour drive from Tennessee to Charles Town, West Virginia was the longest drive of the trip so far, and we were glad when we finally arrived at Claymont Society for Continuous Education. The Claymont Society has been around since 1974 when John Bennett bought the historic site to establish a center for his teachings in the United States. He was a student of G. I. Gurdieff and the Fourth Way, which focuses on techniques for self-reflection, self-development, and spirituality, as well as having a sustainable relationship with nature. In the past the Society offered ten month courses in the Fourth Way, and had a large community living on the property. Currently about ten people live there permanently, with other past members living nearby and still participating.

The Great Barn

     When we arrived Jennifer gave us a tour of the Great Barn, where we would be staying.
It is called the Great Barn because it was originally Bushrod Washington's horse barn. Bushrod was George's grand-nephew, and in the 1840s built the existing mansion and barn on the 300 acre property. The Great Barn is, as the name suggests, quite large. The second floor alone has accommodations for eighty people, while the first floor has an expansive dining room, meditation room, and kitchen. We stayed in the WWOOFer dorm, which we had to ourselves, and cooked in a little kitchen off of the commercial kitchen.
     Our first day of work was helping out Rob, a nearby farmer who is leasing land from Claymont for a community-oriented farm, fittingly called Community Gardens. Over the course of his ten-year cultivation, he has evolved into the niche of salad mixes and pea shoots.

Rob's farm

Originally a Claymont resident, he maintains a symbiotic relationship with the current community, and all WWOOFers get to enjoy a variety of produce he provides. We worked there once or twice a week, and helped him harvest produce for market, in addition to tying up tomatoes, planting starts, and stringing electric fence to keep the huge deer population at bay (local land development had forced many animals onto Claymont property, and we saw about six deer a day, as well as a few groundhogs).

Pea shootin'

We also helped plant peas densely in flats, to be harvested just two weeks later as pea shoots, a very popular delicacy at the local farmer's market.

Maurice, Holly, and Rob

At the end of the workday Rob always had a big melon or crate of peaches for him, WWOOFers, and Maurice and Amy Jo (full-timers), to share; a great way to end those 105 degree days.
     One day while we were at Rob's, a team of volunteers from For the Love of Children (FLOC) came to help out. FLOC provides outdoor opportunities for youth and young adults through "adventure challenges, environmental education, and sustainability practices," sometimes bringing the children to the farm to help out. This time, however, it was just the counselors. With about eight extra hands we got a lot done, and we also were invited to an upcoming high ropes course event that FLOC was hosting.

Enjoying the refreshing swimming hole

     The next day we helped clean out and organize The Octogon, a massive room with 20 ft ceilings at the end of the barn which was historically used to show horses, but now is part stage, part storage space. Several members from the ManKind Project (MKP) also came to help with this daunting task. Claymont's main source of income is hosting seminars in its vast buildings, and MKP is one of the many groups to use the space for their retreats. Other Claymont residents helped out too, and we worked with Julie, a fellow WWOOFer, Jenna, the WWOOF coordinator, and Amy, the president of Claymont Society. The Octogon did not have air conditioning, and by the time we had it organized we were hot, sweaty, and dirty. Luckily the Claymont folks knew just the antidote, and later that afternoon we all went to a nearby swimming hole. We swam where a river and a spring met, and the contrast between the warm and freezing water enhanced our frolicking.

Planting tomatoes

     The Claymont garden consisted of the Orchard, West, East, Mandala, and Greenhouse gardens, all of which were impressively mapped out and planned by Jenna. Each garden consisted of between six and ten beds of varying sizes, and each of these had a detailed season-long planting schedule. Unfortunately a recent downturn in WWOOFers had allowed the weeds to get the upper hand. On the upside, the prolific weeds gave us a chance to try out some new wild edibles, including thistle and curly dock seeds. Dock seeds can, through a long and arduous process, be husked, ground, and sifted into flour.

Dock processing

We are still in the middle of this process, but have already invested over five hours for about 2 cups of flour, so it better be good. An instrumental force against the weeds was the weekly community workday, where Claymont residents and members of the surrounding community banded together to plant new crops and get the weeds under control. Most of the harvested produce went to the CSA and is picked up every Thursday.
     As part of the workdays we worked on both the garden and ourselves. Part of the Fourth Way is balancing the intellectual, emotional, and physical aspects of the self, and exercises that help achieve this harmony are referred to as "inner work." During community garden days we would be given a short exercise or mantra to practice while gardening in order to be more balanced and present.

Ernest and Holly at a Community workday

Wednesday and Thursday mornings also began with a short inner work meeting to facilitate additional internal reflection.

Meditation room in the Great Barn

The loom room

     WWOOFers get together every Monday with other members of the Claymont community to touch base and plan out the following week. Workshop opportunities were also brought to our attention; one afternoon we were able to take a yoga class with Jenna. After the meeting we all cleaned the Great Barn together, ensuring that it was ready for the next seminar. When we finished the cleaning everyone gathered for a community potluck dinner. One of the high points of community living is sharing meals together, and we always enjoy getting to know people while enjoying delicious food.
     At the meeting WWOOFers divvied up chores including watering and gathering eggs. Most of our garden time was "at will," and we were free to tackle any of the many tasks that needed doing. By the time we left we had redefined five large beds, and planted peppers, pumpkins, and tomatoes.
     The high ropes course FLOC invited us to was on Thursday afternoon, so after rising early and helping with CSA harvest, we packed a lunch and set out. We arrived just in time to join the group of counselors and their visiting families as they headed to the course.

Getting ready to zipline

Neither Randy or Holly had ever done a high ropes course before, so we were excited to do as many activities as we could. After getting our helmets and harnesses, we waited our turn for vertical options to ascend to the zip line platform. Between the gym rope, caving ladder, and the Giants' Ladder, a series of six horizontal 10' timbers suspended at about 4' apart, we chose the latter ladder, because it was the option that encouraged climbing with a partner.

Taking the plunge

After a climb time that was only slightly better than a group of 11-year-olds, we summited. The only way down was a thrilling ride on a 200 ft zip line, which was well worth the effort. Next we tried out the Tarzan walk way, where we tight-rope walked across a cable using hanging ropes for support. All roads led to the zip line, so we got to go on one more zip before heading home.

Pausing mid-course for a picture

     Since it had been well over the obligatory 8 weeks since we'd given blood in Winston-Salem, we were itchin' to donate that hemoglobin. On Saturday we finished work early and headed over to a local blood drive. George, a fellow WWOOFer who had recently arrived at Claymont, had also been wanting to give blood, and came with us. By the time we arrived, a few people had already been turned away because they had not hydrated enough over the course of the day, so the Red Cross workers were happy to get our eagerly flowing blood. Holly even out-paced a "squirter" who had spouted blood all over the place when poked. Once again our completely altruistic action was repaid handsomely with good food, and a coupon for a free milkshake.

Carriage house by the mansion

     Our second week there, two different groups held seminars at the retreat center. Salvi was a Latin-immersion group, whose members came and only spoke Latin, even to Claymont staff. There was also a Rolfing group, who specialize in a form of holistic body work. With the seminars came opportunities to help out in the kitchen. Helping clean up after meals got us in on Peter Humes' delicious dishes.
     Occasionally we had community lunches where everyone came together to cook and eat.

Jenna, George, Chris and Holly at a community lunch

The community meals were always a relaxing and pleasant time for connecting with each other. The day before we left Jenna and Amy organized a farewell pancake breakfast for us, and we enjoyed yummy blackberry pancakes while saying our goodbyes.

Goerge, Randy, Amy

Carol Ann, Jenna, Holly