Through several of our class lectures and discussions, we have seen that the power of community is at the heart of social and personal well-being, as well as collective, transformative change.
Looking back I can pick out several different forms of community that I have been a part of: school, extracurricular, regional, familial, campus, etc. But never before have I experienced a community quite like this one. Solheimar is not only an eco-village, but it is a place where homes people (disabled community members) are engaged and interact as equal individuals in the town’s functioning and operations. The unique characteristics I find at this community stem from this reversed integration; with a population of only about 100 people, the village is shaped by the tight-knit atmosphere, security, and personal one-on-one relationships that are formed.
Morning community meetings exemplify this atmosphere. There is something powerful and surreal about the synergy that can be created as we join hands each and every morning, first in silence, and then concluding in song at the end of announcements.
Without making a connection to place, one might not be able to fully comprehend the need or importance for citizenship (both locally and globally). And that connection to place relies upon the relationships formed at local levels. Solheimar citizens collectively share this very important sense of place—as do the majority of all Icelanders for their entire country. This commitment that they have to their land, village, and home is the essence of pure citizenship.
The feeling of community can apply to many aspects. One important aspect that our CELL curriculum emphasizes is personal environmental stewardship. You may wonder, “How can just one individual make an impact?” (I know I sure have before!). But it is actually at the individual level where change takes root. If each individual takes on the commitment to work together, the action—that action that was so insignificant in scale by just one person—becomes momentum towards a larger, holistic movement. Little action is better than no action. And when action takes place in the form of community, it is taking place from the heart—a passion that is shared by all. And there is no telling what can limit that communal momentum of heart.
-Leah Jaynes