Since 1967, people have come to the fields & forests of Twin Oaks to share life and work, and to participate in a secular society embracing cooperation, nonviolence, equality, and ecology. We’re not centered around a religion or a charismatic guru. That’s not what Twin Oaks is about. We may get close to worshiping a dinner made from our tofu and organic garden fare, but that’s as far as it goes. Twin Oaks members are a very diverse lot, and believe in different things. This freedom of choice is intrinsic to our happiness and compassion for each other. Living a more meaningful, sustainable, ecofriendly life. We govern ourselves by a form of social democracy and shared responsibility among various managers, planners, and committees. Each member works 42 hours a week in the community’s business and domestic areas. We all share housing, food, and resources like vehicles, computers, tools, internet access, furniture, appliances, etc. We aim to consume less and are conscious about living lightly upon the Earth. Each member gets a personal allowance each month based on the community income. We enjoy working and living together (except for random crabby days and random crabby members), and are grateful for the chance Twin Oaks gives us to live in a more meaningful, responsible life. A Worker-Owned Cooperative
Our tofu business generates much of Twin Oaks income. Members who want to make tofu volunteer to involved in the process, and often devote a large part of their time to it. We take pride in making a really good healthy food and distributing it in an eco-friendly manner. We eat a lot of our own tofu, too… Every day! So we are very focused on consistency and quality in tofu making. The balance of Community income is made by Twin Oaks Hammocks, which is our hand-crafted hammocks business. We make the hammocks right here in Twin Oaks Community, and are one of the last US-made hammock companies in North America. We also do book indexing, and help with an heirloom seed company run by Acorn, another nearby community. We're very proud to be involved in Southern Exposure Seed Exchange. We’re self-supporting economically and share all income. Our businesses are all run as worker-owned cooperatives. In the end, less than half of our daily work goes into income-producing areas, and that makes life different at Twin Oaks. Most of our labor hours go into tasks that enhance and embrace the simple quality of life at Twin Oaks—gardening, cooking, cleaning, milking cows, feeding chickens, repairing barns, chopping wood, making cheese, and caring for each other. Most people do a variety of work, rather than the same thing day in and day out. Social life, creativity in all forms and the desire for human insight and personal growth are also respected here. Personal responsibility is important, as is personal accountability, and honesty. Want to come see Twin Oaks for yourself? We have a Saturday tour on most weekends. To make a reservation, call 540-894-5126 Monday-Saturday, 9-5 EST. We also have a 3-week visitor period for those interested in becoming a member. Discover more about Twin Oaks at www.TwinOaks.org.
