sequatchie valley institute

Q: How was it started? By whom?

A: The McIntyre and Kimmons families come from a long line of homesteaders. Tools, experience, and knowledge have been passed down from generation to generation. The land around Moonshadow (200 acres of steep mountainside) was purchased in 1965 by Ed McIntyre. In 1971 Ed, his wife Nona, their daughter Carol, her husband Johnny, and their kids Patrick and Joel moved onto the land. Within the next five years, using tools and help from both Carol and Johnny’s parents, they cleared three acres for gardens, orchards, and living space. They lived in tents, a trailer, and a shop/work space built out of salvaged materials. That was the beginning. In 1993 they purchased an additional 100 acres. In 2000, 37 acres were purchased by the Kimmons family as part of our conservation program.

Q: Were you trying to get away from something? Back to something?

A: By 1971 there was plenty of information questioning the American lifestyle – work, nutrition, politics, play. The Kimmons’ were definitely trying to get back to the basics. The “back to the earth movement” embodied these ideas and had amassed enough information so that a small group of people with no background in living off the land could actually do it. Carol and Johnny did the early research and everyone learned a lot through trial and error.

Q: Is Moonshadow completely self-sufficient?

A: What is “completely self-sufficient” anyway? Isn’t it true that we’re all connected to everything in the universe? Never totally independent, right?   We are trying to be as self-reliant as possible. If we were to grow all of our own food and make everything we needed ourselves – it would take all of our time!  We feel a responsibility to be involved in things that are happening on the other side of the creek as well. Our main house has a fully functioning solar-electric power system that even powers our refrigerator. We grow most of our nutrition, if not most of our food. Our stove and “water-on-demand” water heater are propane operated.

Q: Where does your money come from?

A: First of all, the land was cheap and easily paid for. Johnny’s folks had a small ranch in New Mexico – they passed down tools and the knowledge to use them. Johnny and Carol have often worked overseas and in nearby communities as science teachers. Our artwork and crafts products have always been a contributing factor to our finances. We have also received (and are always looking for) small grants for our work. The Sequatchie Valley Institute doesn’t allow for much income, but does bring in money for equipment and workshops.

Q: Do you sell food/herbs that you grow?

A: We have sold organic salad greens to our local health food store and shiitake-innoculated logs at a local market. We’ve used herbs in crafts such as dream pillows. But, we’re more involved in providing for ourselves and experimentation, rather than production.

Q: Do you have any animals?

A: You mean besides us? We have a dog named Pepper and two cats — Moonshine and Selva.  We have a flock of ducks and one goose – and we also have a skunk, mice, a flying squirrel, and other mammals living with us – or do we live with them? In the past we’ve had chickens, dairy goats, bees, horses, mules, pigs, and guinea fowl and llamas. The forest around us hosts many animals indigenous to Southern Appalachia. We share our daily lives with hawks, turkey vultures, owls, woodpeckers, cotton hispid rats, raccoons, foxes, frogs, fish (in our pond), copperheads and rattlers, and many others.

Q: How many hand- crafted buildings do you have? What are they built out of?

A: We have one large farmhouse made from hand-hewn logs from the forest, stone from the creek and mountainside, and concrete (which certainly IS mistreated in the industrialized world – but used wisely a little bit can go a long way and last a very long time).

Other structures built with similar methods include: a log cabin (our first home — now used for tool storage), a Swedish-style pole-barn (once our goats’ home now used for storage and living space), two bungalows (used as living space for staff), and a few other structures:

Great Grandmother Nona lived in a round earth-bermed Mother Earth News house which was built by a contractor and is on the grid. Our other Great Grandmother, Nana, has a house next door, built with 95% wood from our land, milled on site with our portable saw mill.

Mud Dauber is a two-story stone foundation home and cob 2nd floor with an attached greenhouse and a “green” roof. It has a propane water heater and running springwater and is used for long-term living.

Earthshag is a hybrid Earth Ship (rammed earth tires) and Earth Bag (bags of earth covered in cob) with a glass roof. It is often used as a temple or for short-term living quarters.

Shukunla is a large 3-story structure built from log poles harvested during the catastrophic southern pine beetle infestation of the late 1990′s. It also includes plank flooring which was harvested and milled on site. Though it is currently a large, open-air pavillion, we plan to enclose the upper story to use as dormitory space.

Q: What is your decision-making process?

A: When there are more than just a handful of folks here, every morning we have a community meeting. Being a small open group (usually between 10-15 people), we don’t have much difficulty making decisions. We use a consensus decision-making process, if necessary. We also have formal SVI staff meetings. SVI has a terrific Board of Directors that meet 4-6 times a year to help guide the organization. Here we also use consensus, if needed.

Q: Why does moonshadow ask for contributions to the community fund, even for folks who come to work? Why does SVI ask for contributions for tours, educational programs and events?

A: The community is not one and the same with SVI. Moonshadow is a residence, situated on private land that functions as a nature preserve, and as a setting for SVI.  Folks who live on-site pay into the community fund to cover lodging, food, facilities, maintenance, etc.

Sequatchie Valley Institute is an educational nonprofit… not a full-time living community. Those who are new to permaculture, building, the arts, media production, etc. are seen as students or interns of educational programs.

For those who have the time and skills to teach and manage a group of community members and interns, host and run successful events, and show positive returns, they may be eligible for compensation through SVI on a level that can offset community fund requirements.

SVI, as an educational nonprofit with facilities open to the public, has substantial expenses for insurance, bookkeeping, accountancy, staffing, etc. Like most nonprofits, we run an extremely lean operation and rely on our donors for funding.

All SVI events offer sliding scale fee structures. We also offer stipends for work share during events, which can cover or reduce fees and lodging.

Most of us who are successfully living in the moonshadow community and adjacent communities have outside sources of income, in addition to our small stipends from SVI for staff duties and educational work. Carol and Johnny teach university biology. Carol also makes and sells pottery at local and regional craft events. Patrick and Ashley make and sell glasswork and jewelry, and they both receive income as consultants in their fields of knowledge. A community member provides elder care and manages group tours. One of our long-term interns and community members got in and out of the dot.com boom early. Another is a partner in an internet development and hosting company. Someone else sells tie-dyes, batiks and herbal soaps. Yet another knits, sews and sells various craft items.