A midden is an intriguing or marvelous rubbish heap. Packrats and octopi make middens—so do ocean currents and human civilizations. We call our house The Midden because we make use of the artifacts (groceries, furniture, shoes) thrown away or overlooked by mainstream society. And all the while, we’re using this stuff to build more whole and meaningful systems to provide for ourselves.
We also love to care for each other, share our skills and ideas, and do what we can to confront systems of oppression that bring us all down. We’re eco-activists, prison abolitionists, housing justice advocates, writers and theatre artists, adventurous human beings and more.
WHAT WE’RE ABOUT
We believe in things like: doing it ourselves, anti-authoritarianism, using (and re-using) our resources responsibly, friends and hanging out, dumpstering, caring for each other and staying solid. You can read lots more on our website http://themidden.wordpress.com/.
PRACTICES
Our agreements help us to build a life (and make a living) through things we enjoy. Some of these agreements include:
A labor-sharing system, where paid and unpaid work are equally valued
Sharing a certain degree of our income and expenses
Weekly house meetings, where we check in with each other and make decisions about house projects
MEMBERSHIP
The community started in 2008 with some folks living together on King Ave, and in 2010 we bought a house on Chittenden Avenue. We know our neighbors, are close to just about everything, and live very affordably.
We’re looking for new people to live here! If you’re interested in learning about how to become a member, or if you have any other questions, come stop by! Give us a call at (614) 725-4333 or send us an email at [email protected].
The annual assembly for the FEC takes place during March, in an attempt to happen at the beginning of the year when it's least inconvenient to everyone. We have gardeners whose season hasn't yet kicked into high gear, a goat herd who's fielding baby goats (conveniently within range of the assembly), outdoor workers whose season hasn't totally started yet, and people to whom the changing of seasons has absolutely no effect.
Our occasional updates have gotten more and more occasional. It’s been over a year since we gave a shout out, and there has been a lot of change around here. Some of the biggest and hardest news for our home has been a lot of members have left. Everyone has their own reasons and stories […]
Occasional Update #13 August 2014 It’s been a pretty long stretch since our last update— and a fair amount of things have happened. We had a ridiculously cold winter that not only kept us inside, but kept the bugs at bay this summer (worth it?). Despite the frigid weather, we were able to run our […]
We’ve made this place a home for 3 years now. Earlier this month was our annual Land Day, which we’ve never properly celebrated before. It feels substantial to do so now. We decorated, had a nice dinner together, built a fort around the wood stove, and cracked open some glow sticks. (Well actually that was […]
Cole and Alex just got back from the annual Twin Oaks Communities Conference. (an out door structure at Twin Oaks!) They were quite popular, even after telling everyone that we eat trash and stress about fracking and gentrification and other less-than-sexy situations. They came home feeling rejuvenated by everyone’s enthusiasm, and with a pretty good […]
